Running the rules: What the players think of the proposed rule changes

Central council delegate Benny Hurl and six intercounty footballers speak to Niall Gartland ahead of Saturday’s Special Congress on the new rules.

SOON, all will be revealed. A Special Congress will take place this Saturday to determine whether Jim Gavin and his band of merry men will have their way.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know the craic. A high-powered committee headed up by the former Dublin manager was tasked with improving Gaelic football as a spectacle and even critics must acknowledge the inventiveness of what they’ve produced.

This grouping – the Football Review Committee to give it its proper title – will bring forth to Congress a whole host of proposed new changes with the potential to completely revolutionise a sport oft-castigated for its evolution towards a more evolution-based game (obviously, not everyone’s enthralled with the idea of a 40-metre arc and so on).

The rules have been thoroughly road-tested – and even saw a fleeting return of the idle interprovincials – and we’ll find out on Saturday whether they’ll be given the go-ahead for the 2025 season.

Delegates will have their say on nearly 50 motions, grouped into 18 different batches for voting purposes with a 60 per cent majority required on each occasion.

Tyrone’s Central Council delegate Benny Hurl is one of a six-man delegation that will represent the Red Hand County. He broadly welcomes the changes, though he harbours very real concerns that it could apply even more pressure on already beleaguered referees at club level.

But first, the positives.

“The general consensus is that football needed fixed. In saying that, there have been a lot of very good examples of some very, very good games, but those have been the exception rather than the rule.

“And all of this defensive coaching has filtered down not only to our clubs at adult level, but underage as well. Jim Gavin was appointed by the new Uachtarán Jarlath Burns to look into the whole thing and I see a lot of very positive changes.”

Hurl, who was keen to emphasise that any rule changes will initially be introduced on a temporary basis for 2025 only, is concerned however that referees won’t be able to keep up, both figuratively and literally, with the radical changes to our game.

“The issue I would have, and I know a lot of other people feel the same, is that we’re not equipped at club level to deal with the proposed new rules.

“It shouldn’t be a problem in Tyrone Championship games as there’s a full complement of officials, but referees could find themselves under serious pressure if he’s going to an All-County League match or an underage game on his own. I think he’d nearly need eyes on the back of his head to implement all the rules properly.”

He continued: “We talk about a crisis of refereeing in Tyrone. If you look at all the rule changes, they’re designed to make the game more entertaining, faster and more high-scoring, and it’s going to be difficult for players and referees to keep track of scores.”

One of the core rule changes that will be tabled at Congress is the stipulation that teams must have at least three outfield players on each side of the half-way line, aimed at freeing up space for inside forwards accustomed to being drowned out by mass defences. That’s all well and good but Benny is worried about what that could mean for the elder referees among us.

“The game’s going to be a whole lot faster. In the sandbox games, the GPS data revealed that there was a lot more running overall, including more sprinting. That’ll impact on referees as well as they’ll be up and down the field. I’d have concerns for the older cohort of referees who are very much important to us.

“Look, it might all work out in the end, and I really hope it does, but I think the impact on referees at club level hasn’t been fully measured and hopefully the GAA can do something about that.”

Mícheál Bannigan (Monaghan)

1 Do you personally believe that a change to the rules was necessary in the first place?

I would say there was – games have become hard to watch, I noticed it more the last 12 months in particular.

2 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you like and why?

I like the solo and go, a lot of teams focus on fouling high up the field, especially when they lose possession to stop a counter attack. The solo and go is a great way to counteract it with a 50-metre penalty as well. The three up in theory sounds good too.

3 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you dislike and why?

I don’t like the scoring arc and the new kickout. If the other rules improve the game as a spectacle, then there’s no need to change the scoring. The kickout one is strange, leave it as it is I think. In saying all that, I haven’t played the new rules yet and I may feel different after playing them.

4 Do you think players and referees will adapt quickly to the changes or do you foresee there being difficulties in that respect?

With regards referees, I wouldn’t like to do their job, trying to watch the play, counting steps, see if there is three men up, making sure the goalkeeper is in a certain half receiving the ball. It certainly makes their job tougher I think. As a player, it’s hard to know – as I said I haven’t played them yet so I would probably need to play a few games to see. I suppose referees would feel similar. It’s a pity there was no pre-season competition of some kind, what a good idea that would be.

Gary O’Rourke (Cavan)

1 Do you personally believe that a change to the rules was necessary in the first place?

From a spectator’s point of view, there probably needed to be some change. The exciting, high-scoring games were probably a lot less common over the last few years. When you’re a player, you don’t really think about that, you just do whatever it takes to win a game, and that probably took away from the spectacle at some stages during games. The majority of people seem to want change. Personally I enjoy a tactical battle where teams have to try and find ways to break each other down, but that probably isn’t enjoyable for some people out there.

2 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you like and why?

From what I’ve seen so far, the solo and go, and ‘keepers not waiting for the players to be outside the 20-metre line for kickouts seem to be working well. Anything that speeds up the general play and increases the ball in play time will lend itself to more attacking football being played and less waiting around.

The new advanced mark probably hasn’t been utilised a huge pile so far in games I’ve seen, possibly due to the time of year, but I think it has potential to add a lot. It adds an aspect of spontaneity to the game, where you never know if a player will just pull the trigger or not when he gets a mark inside. Defenders and ‘keepers will have to be ultra alert as anything could happen in those scenarios.

3 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you dislike and why?

It’s probably too early to say there is any that I outright don’t like, the sample size is still too small, but there are some which personally I feel are a bit too harsh.

I think the no back-pass anywhere inside your own half may be a bit too restrictive. I understand the idea behind it, trying to promote vertical football and stop players going back to a safe pass, but in the scenario where a corner-back gets a ball inside his own 13 in the corner, I feel a natural move is to go laterally to a ‘keeper who can then take off down the field, speeding the game up in the process.

Perhaps having no back pass between 20-metre line and the halfway would be more applicable to stop the slow rotation of play, but that’s only my thoughts on it.

4 Do you think players and referees will adapt quickly to the changes or do you foresee there being difficulties in that respect?

I think you have seen already how quickly both players and referees are adapting to the new rules. In the games played so far, you could see how with each quarter and with each game, the players were learning on the go, making tweaks to their play which lends itself better to the new rules. Each game got better with fewer rule errors, and a great utilisation of the rules. Having the referees on the mic outlined how quickly they had grasped the rules as well. They were able to explain rules and apply them quickly. I think it is a testament to the high level IQ of both players and referees that they could adapt so quickly to the changes.

Darragh McGurn (Fermanagh)

1 Do you personally believe that a change to the rules was necessary in the first place?

Yes I believe rule changes were becoming necessary to bring a bit of life back into the game again. Maybe not as many as we are seeing but I suppose there’s only one way to find out if they will work or not.

2 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you like and why?

I like keeping three players up at all times. As a forward, at inter-county level over the last number of years, a lot of your energy is used running back towards your own goal. It’s not as simple as just going back to the way the game used to be played. So I think this rule will have a positive impact on attacking forward play, as long as it can be managed correctly.

3 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you dislike and why?

⁠I’ll stay with an open mind and see how things pan out. I’d be able to give a better answer after a few competitive games as to what I like and dislike

4 Do you think players and referees will adapt quickly to the changes or do you foresee there being difficulties in that respect?

⁠I think so. All good teams will adapt quickly and those who don’t will struggle. Naturally there will be challenges but that’s part and parcel of change. We will have to be patient.

Marc Jordan (Antrim)

1 Do you personally believe that a change to the rules was necessary in the first place?

In terms of playing the game, I actually don’t mind overly breaking down a blanket defence or playing against 14 or 15 men. I actually personally don’t find that much of a turn-off, but it’s only when you’re watching the game. So from a spectator point of view, yes, I do think that the rule changes, or definitely some, are required to some extent. But playing it actually doesn’t bother me.

2 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you like and why?

The rule I suppose I’d have the biggest issue with was four points for a goal. Now it looks like I don’t think they’re even going to put that forward, I’m not overly sure. I just think that would have caused issues with games going away from teams very quickly. So I think it’s a positive that that one’s not going to come in.

3 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you dislike and why?

The problem I’ll probably see going forward though is the 50-yard rule and any kind of chat back, because sometimes I think it’s just different referees are going to interpret things in different ways. You might be frustrated with yourself and maybe shout or something like that, and I just think there could be issues with referees interpreting things differently. And then I think just bringing like 50 yards, I think it could be manageable in inter-county, but whether in club it would nearly be impossible. I could just imagine the stories from next year’s championship if that came in. I don’t think that actually is the case, but I do think that could be subjective enough and I think there could be some issues during the season with where the initial free was and then where it was the free was taken and stuff like that, to be honest.

4 Do you think players and referees will adapt quickly to the changes or do you foresee there being difficulties in that respect?

I think in the league there’ll be a number of shocks to be honest. As players get used to the rules, as coaches kind of see what other teams are doing and how they’re setting up, particularly with the kicks and how they’re going to use the keeper. But I think as you get closer to championship, they might become more infrequent.

Danny Magill (Down)

1 Do you personally believe that a change to the rules was necessary in the first place?

Initially I’d have said no, I thought the game especially at county level was in a really good place, we’ve had four different All-Ireland winners in recent years as well as different teams merging the gap to the top table – Louth, and Roscommon to name a few. However after watching the inter-provincial games I am definitely more open-minded. It looked extremely entertaining albeit very tough to play in considering the physical demands of the game. I suppose we’ll not know if the new rules are the right call until we see them in full flow.

2 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you like and why?

I really like the solo and go option. It will definitely help speed up the game and cut out the cynical foul. I also like the two-point arc. It’ll give the likes of your big shooters the opportunity to express their ability to kick from distance although I wouldn’t want to be a referee counting the scores.

3 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you dislike and why?

I dislike the 1v1 throw up, I think all viewers enjoy the 2v2 and the bit of wrestling before the games. I’m not a fan of the four-point goal either – I just feel the so called bigger counties could have a game killed inside 10, 15 minutes if they hit the net two or three times.

4 Do you think players and referees will adapt quickly to the changes or do you foresee there being difficulties in that respect?

I definitely see the new rule changes taking time to settle into the game and for everybody to get used to them. Managers, players, referees, viewers –we’re all on the same boat but I do believe we have to give it a real go rather than throwing our heads up at it. We all want the game to become better, faster, more enjoyable and that’s up to everyone to give it a try. It’ll definitely not be easy, I suppose the hardest part of the rule changes is for the referees and making sure they get as much help as possible especially at club level. Time will tell if it was the right call but until then we have to give it a go.

Ryan Murray (Antrim)

1 Do you personally believe that a change to the rules was necessary in the first place?

It’s a tricky one, I think from a player perspective they’re not overly needed. Teams and managers come up with different ways to control or play the game. Look at Jim McGuinness’ Donegal, where he brought in something different and then you had the Dublin team, then the likes of Kerry and Armagh. They’ve all evolved and brought something to it. However, in terms of the game as a spectacle, they’re probably needed. Chatting to friends and family, it seems like all anyone ever does is harp on about the matches being boring and one-dimsensional. So yes, from a spectator point of view, there deserves to be some changes.

2 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you like and why?

The 3v3 rule. That might encourage earlier passes into the forwards and more of an end-to-end game. Also I quite like the shooting arc especially as a forward. It would be good to see a reward for long-range scores. However, if they keep the goal at three points and a long-range point at two, there’s possibly not much reward in working a goal.

3 Which, if any, of the proposed changes do you dislike and why?

I think something needs to be done about dissent and giving the ball back and purposely landing on the ball. Over the years, when a team’s ahead it’s so easy to kill the game. The new rules will help that but I think bringing the ball forward 50 yards looks pretty stupid. It’s quite hard to follow so I’m not sure about that one. The 1 v 1 in the middle I’m not sure about either. Not going back to the keeper, as a forward that’s quite good because you might be help to push higher in the defence, but keepers have become an increasingly important part of the game and the new rule is perhaps taking something away from that.

4 Do you think players and referees will adapt quickly to the changes or do you foresee there being difficulties in that respect?

I think that’s the main issue. I’m not sure how on earth referees are going to manage this. It’s tricky enough as it is for referees, so bringing in these rules and keeping an eye on it is going to be extremely difficult. Linesmen and lineswomen will have to be far more involved in terms of looking at the 3v3 rule and so on. At intercounty level it might work as you’ve more eyes on the game and all the best referees. If it has any chance of working it might be an intercounty level but I think it will be near impossible at club level.