By Niall Gartland

THE GAA should consider changing the rules with a view towards making Gaelic Football a more attractive spectacle to watch, says Cavan legend Stephen King.

King was in attendance as Derry clinched a dramatic Ulster final victory over Donegal over extra-time, but he was disappointed by the defensive approach of the two teams.

It’s fair to say the game has divided opinions – RTE commentator Marty Morrissey was scathing on of the game’s quality, while the BBC pundits preferred to focus on the tense nature of the game as well as some mammoth individual displays from the likes of Brendan Rogers and Chrissy McKaigue.

King didn’t find it a particularly entertaining watch, it’s fair to say, and he thinks rule changes could be the order of the day.

“The way the game went, whenever someone got a point it almost felt like it could be a winning score as you’d go 10 minutes without another. It was very negative and hard to watch, and I can’t help but wonder how do you stop all this negative play.

“Goalkeepers are fantastic these days and can ping the ball 50 yards onto a lad’s chest, so maybe if they were forced to kick the ball beyond the ’45’. Maybe that would stop this thing of kicking the ball out to a fella on the edge of the D, there’s no skill in that. You could stop the backpass to a goalie as well.

“They need to try and tweak things anyway, if the GAA need an example of negativity and holding onto the ball they just need to replay the Ulster final. If Donegal had the ball, Derry had 14 players back and vice-versa.”