Cian McKeown of Roscommon celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Allianz Football League Division 2 match between Roscommon and Down at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
We’re just one weekend in, but after the first round of the Allianz Football League it would appear that the FRC’s rule enhancements are already having the desired effect.
The FRC was tasked with making Gaelic football “a more exciting and dynamic viewing experience” by “introducing innovations that could increase the overall entertainment value for spectators.”
Most people would agree that more scores equals more entertainment, and we certainly had that in the first round of the Allianz Football League.
A quick comparison with the first round of last year’s Allianz Football League paints a revealing picture.
16 first-round matches across the four divisions last year yielded a scoring total of 31-368 which equates to an average of 29 points per match.
Last weekend a total of 13 first-round matches (three matches were postponed due to inclement weather) yielded a scoring total of 31-400 which equates to an average of 38 points per match.
So that means an average of nine points more per match was scored in the first round of this year’s Allianz Football League compared to last year.
This isn’t just because teams can now score two-pointers by kicking the ball over the bar from outside the arc.
In total, 46 two-pointers were scored over the weekend. If those scores were worth just a single point then the average score per match would have been 36 points, still a healthy seven points better per game that last year’s average in the first round of the League.
At least one two-pointer was kicked in every single League game over the weekend but the two most prolific matches in this regard were Roscommon v Down and Cavan v Monaghan in Division Two which both produced a total of nine two-pointers.
That match between Roscommon and Down was undoubtedly the tie of the round in terms of being a positive advertisement for the FRC rule enhancements.
A cumulative score of 4-41, some spectacular two-point scores, a goal for Roscommon that showed there’s risk as well as reward to having your goalkeeper rove up the field, and a vivid illustration that matches can now turn very quickly due to the new scoring system.
Roscommon manager Davy Burke during the Allianz Football League Division 2 match between Roscommon and Down at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
After the match Roscommon manager, Davy Burke, didn’t even try to hide his excitement at how positively transformative the new rules can be for Gaelic football.
“It’s chaotic, isn’t it? It’s mental,” said Burke after the game. “We spoke yesterday … we said we could be five up at half-time or we could be five down, easily.
“You’re not emptying the bench when you’re six points up any more,” Burke noted. “You could be five or six up or down and you’re right in the game. That’s great for the bench, it’s great for the belief. You replicate that in training.
“We did a small bit on that, being five or six points down, in training. It’s going to happen again next Sunday probably. We played Dublin last week; we were three or four points up and within five minutes, we were eight down.”
The biggest roar of the day at King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park came in the second-half when Colm Neary turned the ball over for Roscommon with a brilliant block, Cian McKeon picked out Ciaráin Murtagh with a beautifully flighted 50 metre pass, and Murtagh drove the ball to the Down net from around 40 yards out with Mourne County goalkeeper John O’Hare stranded up the field.
We had plenty of examples over the weekend of how goalkeepers can give their team a helpful 12 v 11 numerical advantage in the opposition half, but here was evidence that such a ploy can also backfire.
“It puts manners on them,” said Burke “Ultimately, it’s 12 v 11. It’s risk/reward. But I’m sure Jim Gavin and his friends are delighted with that.”
Burke believes the most positive rule of all is the solo and go, which injects serious speed into the game and makes it difficult for teams to put up the sort of defensive road-blocks that had become such a feature of Gaelic football.
“Serious rule. A brilliant rule for both sides,” “Hard to defend and it creates goals. We’re on track for a savage product. It’s going to be brilliant.”
Louth manager Ger Brennan during the Allianz Football League Division 2 match between Westmeath and Louth at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath. Photo by Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.
It’s clear too that players and managers are still learning on the fly with some of the new rule enhancements, particular the 3 v 3 rule and the ball being brought forward 50 metres for dissent.
Louth had some difficulty in this regard in their narrow win over Westmeath, and manager Ger Brennan is determined they’ll learn from the experience.
"That's the manager's fault, I didn't have the lads ready for that,” he said after the match. “We were poor on that.
“There's a lot of learnings there, I think. We have to nail down the new rules, particularly who's staying up and who's staying back.
"I think that's probably one of the obvious learnings for us today.”
It’s going to take some time for everyone – managers, players, and spectators – to get a full grip on the new rule enhancements, but it seems clear already that the overall impact of them is going to be a positive one.
