Gaelic Football - Rules & Regulations discussion/clarification

[Armagh18]

What is the logic behind a 2-pointer becomes a point only if it touches another player on the way in?

Because then it wasn't scored outside the arc. I suppose it was to stop say a shot dropping short and a forward getting a touch on it to send it over becoming worth 2 point.

[JoG2]

Great to see an outbreak of positivity instead of the oul "GAAboard says NO".
The whole reason for the 2 point free was to stop deliberate fouling outside the arc as a way of preventing 2 pointers from play.
Only tweak I'd favour now is do away with the option of going for a 2 pointer for the 3 up breach etc.
A free in front of goal is punishment enough.

100% -

On the kickouts, I think it is class that we now have battles for breaking ball and have properly contested kickouts. It really means is that there is another front where both teams must compete.

Even in high quality games When the most efficient teams were playing, it had become: short kickout > secure possession > avoid contact> keep possession until you shoot > shoot > repeat. Unless there was a press on the kickout and very aggressive defending (which occasionally happened in waves) that was the trend in games between well matched teams.

Although I think the rule about not being allowed to tackle a player after a mark isn't good. Also, the rules around winning / taking an advanced mark are unclear or else the refereeing of them is inconsistent.

When you say teams are competing, you mean a dozen men battering in to each other hoping the ball bounces in their favour, much like hoping a rugby ball bounces for you? There is just far too much luck in this for me.

Love football ver 2025 BTW, except the kickout rule

The bit in bold, maybe pre 2025, but as the ball cannot go back to the keeper, teams will press the kickout so there is no real easy out if the small arc replaced the big arc re kickouts

[SaffronSports]

What is the logic behind a 2-pointer becomes a point only if it touches another player on the way in?

Because then it wasn't scored outside the arc. I suppose it was to stop say a shot dropping short and a forward getting a touch on it to send it over becoming worth 2 point.

Absolutely no issue with a forward touching it and it becoming a point but if it's a defensive touch then we're basically saying you have to score from 40m out and it has to go a metre over the bar as well for it to be 2 points.

[Saffron_sam20]

ive come to terms with most of the rules, still think the 2pt and the sickout rules arent really needed. the 2pt is actually so frustrating watching teams hit aimless shots from distance. the solo and go, 3 up and keeper not being able to take the ball in his own half are the ones that have really sped it up.

[Smokin Joe]

A fairly big downside of the kickout is the amount of injuries that there are due to the huge physical contests where there are 6-8 men colliding with each othe for the ball with the result that players can land on the ground in a way that causes them serious injury.
It's almost a guaranteed biproduct of the sheer amount of contests for kickouts.  I'd hope the FRC is keeping an eye on this.

[Truthsayer]

A fairly big downside of the kickout is the amount of injuries that there are due to the huge physical contests where there are 6-8 men colliding with each othe for the ball with the result that players can land on the ground in a way that causes them serious injury.
It's almost a guaranteed biproduct of the sheer amount of contests for kickouts.  I'd hope the FRC is keeping an eye on this.

Is this a theory or have you stats of increased injuries from kick-outs to support that?. Sounds like nonsense.. competitive fielding a great part of our game for decades and thankfully back again..

[Armagh18]

A fairly big downside of the kickout is the amount of injuries that there are due to the huge physical contests where there are 6-8 men colliding with each othe for the ball with the result that players can land on the ground in a way that causes them serious injury.
It's almost a guaranteed biproduct of the sheer amount of contests for kickouts.  I'd hope the FRC is keeping an eye on this.

Any examples of it? Does make sense tbf but can't really think of any. O'Connor for Kerry landed on the shoulder awkwardly in a league game it I remember rightly

[thewobbler]

Injuries?

Galway in last year's final, you know after having  effectively no contested kickouts for the best part of a decade.

My recollection might be hazy. But Walsh and Comer genuinely weren't fit to play. Sean Kelly came on but they might as well have sent of a traffic cone. John Daly wasn't fit to come off the bench. Rob Finnerty left the play after 10 minutes.

Blaming kick outs for injuries just seems to me a bit like religious fanaticism; whereby the findings are already decided, regardless of evidence.

[Truthsayer]

Now we're in desperation mode to tear down the new rules. When team managers and physios claim new kick-out rule is causing more injuries it will be worth looking at.. I ain't heard a word from them yet. Absolute nonsense.

[APM]

Great to see an outbreak of positivity instead of the oul "GAAboard says NO".
The whole reason for the 2 point free was to stop deliberate fouling outside the arc as a way of preventing 2 pointers from play.
Only tweak I'd favour now is do away with the option of going for a 2 pointer for the 3 up breach etc.
A free in front of goal is punishment enough.

100% -

On the kickouts, I think it is class that we now have battles for breaking ball and have properly contested kickouts. It really means is that there is another front where both teams must compete.

Even in high quality games When the most efficient teams were playing, it had become: short kickout > secure possession > avoid contact> keep possession until you shoot > shoot > repeat. Unless there was a press on the kickout and very aggressive defending (which occasionally happened in waves) that was the trend in games between well matched teams.

Although I think the rule about not being allowed to tackle a player after a mark isn't good. Also, the rules around winning / taking an advanced mark are unclear or else the refereeing of them is inconsistent.

When you say teams are competing, you mean a dozen men battering in to each other hoping the ball bounces in their favour, much like hoping a rugby ball bounces for you? There is just far too much luck in this for me.

Love football ver 2025 BTW, except the kickout rule

The bit in bold, maybe pre 2025, but as the ball cannot go back to the keeper, teams will press the kickout so there is no real easy out if the small arc replaced the big arc re kickouts

I'm surprised at these comments and others like them. Was this not the norm until short kickouts came into vogue. For me those midfield battles for clean catches and breaking ball were a massive part of what football was all about. If anything the rules around marks mean there is less battering than in the past. And I never recall any complaints in the past about the role of luck etc or injuries / too much contact in midfield. Except perhaps the unfairness of a midfielder being penalised for over carrying after a great catch due to being swarmed.

[Truthsayer]

It's nonsense. The dying embers of resisting change...

[Captain Scarlet]

As we get into the business end of the season you will see more lads 'buying' advantages ie running into lads screaming for it to be moved up after they catch a ball.
That rule needs to be looked at, as when this does happen people will lump this one rule in with all the good one.

Also, I think you should be allowed drop the ball after a foul as opposed to hand it back, because lads can jump on the player who fouled the ball and then it pressures the ref.

The 50m dissent rule was a big worry but ya know what...lads have just STFU now and you don't see mouthing.

It's one year in and it was never going to be perfect but Christ the games are great to watch and the players seem to be enjoying it more.

[Smokin Joe]

A fairly big downside of the kickout is the amount of injuries that there are due to the huge physical contests where there are 6-8 men colliding with each othe for the ball with the result that players can land on the ground in a way that causes them serious injury.
It's almost a guaranteed biproduct of the sheer amount of contests for kickouts.  I'd hope the FRC is keeping an eye on this.

Is this a theory or have you stats of increased injuries from kick-outs to support that?. Sounds like nonsense.. competitive fielding a great part of our game for decades and thankfully back again..

Kerry's 2 starting midfielders have been out injured due to collisions under the congested kickout.  This never happened the last few years with a lot of the kickouts being uncontested.  The "competitive fielding" that was part of our game for decades that people wanted to get back to was a one on one contest, or perhaps two on two at tops.  I don't think the Cork box kickout (or similar versions of) was what anyone, most of all the FRC, wanted to achieve with their kickout rule.  There tends to be a scrum for possession on quite a lot of the kickouts, very little clean catches.  I firmly believe it is the clean catching that people want to see when they hark back to "a part of our great game for decades".

[JoG2]

Great to see an outbreak of positivity instead of the oul "GAAboard says NO".
The whole reason for the 2 point free was to stop deliberate fouling outside the arc as a way of preventing 2 pointers from play.
Only tweak I'd favour now is do away with the option of going for a 2 pointer for the 3 up breach etc.
A free in front of goal is punishment enough.

100% -

On the kickouts, I think it is class that we now have battles for breaking ball and have properly contested kickouts. It really means is that there is another front where both teams must compete.

Even in high quality games When the most efficient teams were playing, it had become: short kickout > secure possession > avoid contact> keep possession until you shoot > shoot > repeat. Unless there was a press on the kickout and very aggressive defending (which occasionally happened in waves) that was the trend in games between well matched teams.

Although I think the rule about not being allowed to tackle a player after a mark isn't good. Also, the rules around winning / taking an advanced mark are unclear or else the refereeing of them is inconsistent.

When you say teams are competing, you mean a dozen men battering in to each other hoping the ball bounces in their favour, much like hoping a rugby ball bounces for you? There is just far too much luck in this for me.

Love football ver 2025 BTW, except the kickout rule

The bit in bold, maybe pre 2025, but as the ball cannot go back to the keeper, teams will press the kickout so there is no real easy out if the small arc replaced the big arc re kickouts

I'm surprised at these comments and others like them. Was this not the norm until short kickouts came into vogue. For me those midfield battles for clean catches and breaking ball were a massive part of what football was all about. If anything the rules around marks mean there is less battering than in the past. And I never recall any complaints in the past about the role of luck etc or injuries / too much contact in midfield. Except perhaps the unfairness of a midfielder being penalised for over carrying after a great catch due to being swarmed.

We've never a time when players have to be outside the large arc to receive a kickout before ie a lorry load of players from each team condensed into 1 part of the pitch, because that's what we have now.

If we revert back to the smaller arc, players are spread out more. They'll still be long kickouts as teams won't want to risk being turned over around the 20m line. You push up on all the defenders, how often is a keeper going to risk the short kick out? It'll only happen if the opposition allows it, pretty much what we are seeing now with the new rules.

How does this kind of thinking around the kick outs surprise you? That's what surprises me

[Truthsayer]

The kick-out conspiracy theory being expounded (since yesterday!) is comical. Need to put the pipe down Smokin Joe!