Wicklow only equalised with Longford in the 77th minute of their Leinster championship first round clash on Sunday, before lengthening clear in extra-time.
If there was a hooter in place, they may not have got the chance.
The game was played under the traditional timekeeping rules, with the amount of additional time down to the referee's discretion.
Meanwhile, next Saturday's Leinster championship clash between Westmeath and Kildare will be played under the new rules, whereby the clock is stopped whenever there's a break in play, with a hooter sounding on 70 minutes, indicating that the game is over when the last play is complete. Should games in the same competition be played under different rules?
This year, the hooter system is only being used in games which are live on television or being streamed, as Westmeath-Kildare is on GAA+.
6 April 2025; Conor Fee, left, and Joe Prendergast of Wicklow celebrate after the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship round one match between Longford and Wicklow at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in Longford. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
The FRC are hopeful that every game on live tv or streaming will have the hooter system in place this year, though other games may not have it.
"Obviously, from an FRC perspective, we'd like to see it everywhere but the harsh reality of it is some grounds aren't ready," FRC chairman Jim Gavin said during a media briefing recently, with implementation of the hooter system costing county boards approximately €7,000 for the technology.
Speaking on The RTÉ GAA podcast, pundits Ciaran Whelan and Dessie Dolan discussed the issue, and how it may cause trouble down the line.
Whelan raised the possibility that certain group stage games in the All-Ireland series will have the hooter, while others won't.
"This thing that there's only hooters for games that are streamed or live on tv. That's going to be a massive problem," the Dubliner said.
15 March 2025; Seán Bugler of Dublin, 12, kicks the ball out over the sideline to end the game after the hooter had went in the second half during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Dublin and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
"But also, you have to consider now you're heading into a group system where you've three games in a group where two of them are on the hooter and one of them won't be."
Whelan says teams will have strategies in place in terms of managing the clock in the closing stages of games, with the hooter impacting on how they play.
"You're asking the players to get used to watching the clock, or playing the clock and they'll have set plays for the last few minutes and strategies of closing out games and all of a sudden, you're playing one week with the hooter, and the next with the ref's interpretation.
"It has to be one way or the other. That's going to come to the surface."
Dessie Dolan agrees with Whelan, saying it will cause 'untold' confusion in the coming weeks.
"The confusion that would cause will be untold. Will supporters know? Who will know what's left on the clock?
