New rules for next years National League

[Gnevin]

Football is only a game of running basketball and the fittest team wins.  If ye are going to run the length of the field handing the ball to each other as ye run along then why not go all the way into the square and throw it in the net.  As for as moving the penalty spot a yard nearer the goals, what ye should do is get a peg like we used to use for snaring rabbits and put a string on the ball and if you miss you have up to three try's at it.  Thank god for hurling !

Yawn, come back to me when more than 1 team decide to field a hurling team.

[Bud Wiser]

Dublin will win Leinster next year.

As for football?

Every year we go through this procedure of trying to make new rules.  No matter what new rule you make, other than when a player receives the ball he kicks it after taking five steps or less, football will never be any good. I have got to the stage where I will only watch hurling matches, I wouldn't watch Kerry and Dublin if they were playing in my back garden.

[trileacman]

Dublin will win Leinster next year.

As for football?

Every year we go through this procedure of trying to make new rules.  No matter what new rule you make, other than when a player receives the ball he kicks it after taking five steps or less, football will never be any good. I have got to the stage where I will only watch hurling matches, I wouldn't watch Kerry and Dublin if they were playing in my back garden.

Hurling will never be any good. I have gotten to the stage where I will only watch football matches, I wouldn't watch Kilkenny if they were playing down the lane.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

The mark is a terrible idea, when I heard they are introducing it for the league I nearly got sick. Having watched AFL in Australia both at tv and live I have to say its one of the most boring parts of their game and slows it down to a snorefest. Most Irish I knew over there where not to impressed with the mark either. I found it quite interesting when I watched AFL with Brits, Germans, Canadians, French, Estonians etc. they all hated how slow the mark in AFL made the game, on more than one occasion I showed them Gaelic Football footage and they loved the game, far more impressed than AFL & complimented the fact that players just got on with playing rather than getting what they thought as boring and silly marks.

[Rawhide]

Football is only a game of running basketball and the fittest team wins.  If ye are going to run the length of the field handing the ball to each other as ye run along then why not go all the way into the square and throw it in the net.  As for as moving the penalty spot a yard nearer the goals, what ye should do is get a peg like we used to use for snaring rabbits and put a string on the ball and if you miss you have up to three try's at it.  Thank god for hurling !

and this from Mr anti GPA. 

[Zapatista]

I think the ball should be made smaller and each player should be given a stick in which to strike the smaller ball. It would really speed things up I reckon.

[ballinaman]

The mark is a terrible idea, when I heard they are introducing it for the league I nearly got sick. Having watched AFL in Australia both at tv and live I have to say its one of the most boring parts of their game and slows it down to a snorefest. Most Irish I knew over there where not to impressed with the mark either. I found it quite interesting when I watched AFL with Brits, Germans, Canadians, French, Estonians etc. they all hated how slow the mark in AFL made the game, on more than one occasion I showed them Gaelic Football footage and they loved the game, far more impressed than AFL & complimented the fact that players just got on with playing rather than getting what they thought as boring and silly marks.

The proposed rule change here will only see a mark being awarded from a kick out caught between the 45s. Don't see how it's going to slow the game down anymore than whats happening at the minute, players fields the ball brilliantly and then has 4 or 5 players hanging out of him when he lands and a free can be awarded either way which is very annoying due to the lack of consistency.

[redhugh]

I don't like the way the league is used as a test ground for changes such as those proposed- it belittles the competition.The rules as they stand are fine in my opinion if they were properly and consistently administered.Standard interpretation of the rules would help the game more than this anual urge to change them.Too many refs are known for being hard on this,or handy on that,this should not be the case, and leads to lads trying to second guess the ref rather than playing to the rules.

[cornafean]

The square ball rule should be changed, It would be so much easier to call, even the umpires wouldn't be afraid to call it, if it was like this.

A player is not allowed into their opponents small square until the ball:

  1. Is touched by an opponent in the square or
  2. Bounces in the square.

Sorry, this would make square balls more, not less, difficult to judge.

[Bogball XV]

• 4 points for a goal has to the way forward
• the advantage rule seems to make sense
• square ball was impossible to police so has to go
• the mark - if it's for kickouts only that's grand, I wouldn't want it thoughout the game though.

Rubbish, 2 quick fire goals and a team are out of site. Pack the defence and see the game off, most negative strategy you could take.
Also say a team are down by 2 with 3 mins to go. Score a goal, pack the defence, game over. no time for the other team to get the required 2 points and no way of getting the goal.

and you probably don't even see the contradictions.

[Bogball XV]

sin bins and the countdown clock would also be massive additions, I would also quite like to see citing as in rugby after the game, these would be the only way in which incidents would be revisited, no more of this trial because the sunday game were outraged rubbish. 
Also, if a wee bit of sportsmanship was introduced it would be no bad thing, that's aimed more at the county and clubs who refuse to accept their punishments and try and get off on technicalities because the rule books need to be rewritten.

[eireogatron]

The square ball rule should be changed, It would be so much easier to call, even the umpires wouldn't be afraid to call it, if it was like this.

A player is not allowed into their opponents small square until the ball:

  1. Is touched by an opponent in the square or
  2. Bounces in the square.

Sorry, this would make square balls more, not less, difficult to judge.

yeah, makes no sense. If you have to wait for an opponent to retrieve the ball, its more than likely going to be the keeper. In which case theres no point going into the square because you cant tackle him there anyway! As for the point on it bouncing - what?!!

It should just be scrapped! It was introduced to protect keepers, who get over protected by refs now anyway so its obselete. People who think this would encourage pumping the ball in are misreading the situation IMO. This happens anyway and just because you would be allowed to encroach the square wouldnt make a blind bit of difference - in fact if the forward was to stand in the square it may have the opposite effect as he would have no forward momentum attacking the ball from a standing jump - giving the keeper/FB ample opportunity to come out and clatter the ball away. Only IMO of course.

[thejuice]

Ok, I didnt mean bounce, I meant when the ball touches the ground. I dont see how it would make more difficult.

Its much more easier to call as all the action will in front of the umpire/referee, as opposed to trying to guess when a high ball has entred the square. It would also make it easier for forwards to judge it too.

Essentially it makes the objective of the attacking team playing the ball in, in front of and around the square but not into.

[ha ha derry]

Dublin will win Leinster next year.

As for football?

Every year we go through this procedure of trying to make new rules.  No matter what new rule you make, other than when a player receives the ball he kicks it after taking five steps or less, football will never be any good. I have got to the stage where I will only watch hurling matches, I wouldn't watch Kerry and Dublin if they were playing in my back garden.

Hurling will never be any good. I have gotten to the stage where I will only watch football matches, I wouldn't watch Kilkenny if they were playing down the lane.

Try watching a hurling match first and then a football match straight after... ye won,t see half time in the football zzzzzzzzz

[BennyHarp]

I watched a game of club hurling in Tyrone one day followed by a club football game - the hurling was rubbish!