New rules for next years National League

[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.

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

I never see half time in Hurling matches anyway, I stop watch after 20 minutes when Kilkenny are leading by 11 points.

[rosnarun]

i dont care what rules they make but tinkering with any game only makes a balls of it A la Rugby and the new rules often have the opposite effect to that intended. im sure thats what will happen in the case of the mark . players will do anything other than allow a fair catch.after all with the wind a good lickout and catch(steal a few yards) and your shooting for a point.
It ll be a balls and ruin the league and disappear by summer

[BennyHarp]

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

Hardly the best opportunity to compare hurling with football.

Indeed. Imagine watching a football game in Kilkenny followed by a hurling game.
Stupid point Benny.

It was supposed to be a stupid sarcastic point in response to what I think is a ricidulous argument that hurling fans trot out from time to time. Sorry should I have put loads of head eye rolling smileys in there so people would understand?

[ha ha derry]

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

Hardly the best opportunity to compare hurling with football.
[/
Indeed. Imagine watching a football game in Kilkenny followed by a hurling game.
Stupid point Benny.

It was supposed to be a stupid sarcastic point in response to what I think is a ricidulous argument that hurling fans trot out from time to time. Sorry should I have put loads of head eye rolling smileys in there so people would understand?

try the same experiment in kilkenny 

[Bing Crosby .]

The one thing that should be put in but wont be for strange reasons is the clock. At present we have had daylight robbery with some creative messing with time added on.

Are you implying that there is too much time added on at present This is simply not the case . The fact is referee's NEVER allocate the proper time . The clock is never stopped half of the time it should be . I sometimes watch games where a measly 2 or 3 minutes have been allocated when in actual fact 6 or 7 minutes would have been more like it and sometimes even more than that , I'm being deadly serious here .
Time keeping in games is IMO the most important part of all of this , not only is the present system inept , an example being Limerick v Meath this year in the football Championship , it was a disgrace the way the ref blew 5 minutes before proper injury should have been up .  These mistakes with time keeping are happening in every game League and Championship/ club and county for years . Not alone this but 35 minutes a side is too short , 40 or even 45 minutes would be more like it . So what if a half goes on for 50 minutes or so . I think matches are over way too quick . The countdown clock in the ladies game has to come in , it only makes sense .   

[WhoAreYaWhoAreYa!]

I agree. Thats my biggest concern aswell. The time keeping should be completely taken out of the hand of the ref. Why not let the 3rd official do it? Sure all he does anyway is hold up a board a few times for subs being made and tell managers to stay off the pitch! The time should stop whenever the ball is out of play! That way theres no bullshit like in stoppage time, 5 minutes of a player lying on the ground, then pop over the free and the games over. Proper timing is the biggest rule change for me. It would go a long way to ssorting out rows. The mark is a decent idea in theory, but from the kickout only! A player should be rewarded for such a skill.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

There's no doubt that these now perennial tinkerings with the rules is devaluing the League as a compettion: "Just try out these latest whims we've had here lads, then we'll see what we'll use for the real competition come May, though that could be something of a lottery too". Pure shite.

Get a grip GAA and stop pandering to every Johnny who has a gripe about one particular aspect or another and cop on to the tried and tested tradition that already exists.

Edit: With the exception of a countdown clock, but that's something's that been proven to work well, not some fecking finger in the wind.

[macdanger2]

With the exception of a countdown clock, but that's something's that been proven to work well, not some fecking finger in the wind.

The finger in the wind technique is what has gotten us to where we are now and any move to change or abolish this will be strenuously opposed. I have already been in contact with the Cork football and hurling panels and they are ready to picket if there is any more of this chat.

[Long Ball]

Personally I don't like them. The mark between the 50's will slow the game down, the penalty spot moving to just 11 metres out will make it far too easy to score- I'd rather the goals were made as wide as soccer goals to lead to more scores.
i think the square ball rule will lead to several goals that have more to do with luck than skill and will lead to many keepers getting flattened due to the fact that they will have a 1-2 yard run up for a high ball while a full-forward can come charging in from 10-12 yards out at full pace to leap for a ball.

[mackers]

I agree. Thats my biggest concern aswell. The time keeping should be completely taken out of the hand of the ref. Why not let the 3rd official do it? Sure all he does anyway is hold up a board a few times for subs being made and tell managers to stay off the pitch! The time should stop whenever the ball is out of play! That way theres no bullshit like in stoppage time, 5 minutes of a player lying on the ground, then pop over the free and the games over. Proper timing is the biggest rule change for me. It would go a long way to ssorting out rows. The mark is a decent idea in theory, but from the kickout only! A player should be rewarded for such a skill.

I think the mark from kickouts only should be kept permanently and I have been looking this one introduced for years......it's very annoying to see a great catch being penalised as the midfielder is blown up for overcarrying. The development squad coaches are actually starting to coach the catch OUT of the game for this reason. I'm aware of one lad that has been told to STOP trying to catch the ball as he will only give away a free!!!!

[Blue Island]

I think the mark from kickouts only should be kept permanently and I have been looking this one introduced for years......it's very annoying to see a great catch being penalised as the midfielder is blown up for overcarrying. The development squad coaches are actually starting to coach the catch OUT of the game for this reason. I'm aware of one lad that has been told to STOP trying to catch the ball as he will only give away a free!!!!
[/quote]

I think the mark is a non runner. Not a fan of it at all when watching the aussie rules and it would only interupt the flow of the game. The fluidity of a game of football is one of it's greatest assets and to stop a game for a mark detracts from that.

On the otherhand, I agree with you that the great skill of high fielding is not rewarded. I also think that Mickey Harte's argument dismissing the mark out of hand, because it favours tall players is a Little disingenuous. Some of the best fielders are not that tall, for instance O'Se is about 6ft 3. It is a wonderful skill and a big catch in the middle of the park can create as much enjoyment for the viewing public as a well taken point.

The problem as I see it stems from the fact that opposing players surround a high catching midfielder as soon as he hits the ground and the midfielder finds himself surrounded. Inevitably the ref blows for overcarrying and it sickens the hole. I can see why coaches are instructing their players not to make a clean catch. In my own club when Dan Gordon he hits the ground usually finds himself surrounded by more enemies that the Brits at Rourke's drift.

Perhaps a solution is not allowing a mark, but allowing any player who catches a ball clean from a kickout six steps instead of the usual four. That way it gives a chance for the catcher to break free and if can't do that in six steps he is at fault or he is being fouled. It gives the catcher a slight advantage and does not stop the flow of the game.

[mackers]

I don't think that giving a midfielder a mark will slow the game up, how many times will it happen in a game? Half a dozen times maybe? At the minute the fluidity of the game is stopped anyway as it's a free kick AGAINST the midfielder..... in a lot of cases he normally doesn't release the ball immediately and there's a fecking ruck before the free is taken!!
I read Harte's thoughts on this this morning and I agree with you when you say Harte is being disingenious on this as his team have benefited from the swarming of a midfielder and Tyrone don't have a recognised high fielder like a O'Se or Nicolas Murphy so they may suffer from the new rule.

[Hardy]

Why don't they concentrate on the real problems in the game instead of making up non-existent ones? Tackle the diving and injury feigning, the goading and trash talking and the soccer-aping antics and take an example from rugby by legislating for respect for referees. And introduce a policy of mandatory referral of any assault on an official to the guards. And tackle the refusal of referees to implement the rules as they are written. These are the real problems of the game.

I used to like the mark idea for kickouts, but I'm going off it, largely as a result of the arguments presented here and the law of unintended and unanticipated effects. I would say, though, that it can easily be done without slowing down the game if it's simply implemented as a rule that the fielder of a kickout can't be tackled until he's played the ball, which he has to do by the four steps rule. I certainly wouldn't want a whistle going every time someone catches a ball. That stuff used to drive me mad in the International Rules games.

The lunacy of suggesting increasing the value of a goal is beyond belief. I'd do the exact opposite and reduce it to two points. Goals are not the essence of the game. Point scoring is the core skill of gaelic football and the idea that the people charged with minding and developing the game would attempt to devalue it is frightening.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Why don't they concentrate on the real problems in the game instead of making up non-existent ones? Tackle the diving and injury feigning, the goading and trash talking and the soccer-aping antics and take an example from rugby by legislating for respect for referees. And introduce a policy of mandatory referral of any assault on an official to the guards. And tackle the refusal of referees to implement the rules as they are written. These are the real problems of the game.

I used to like the mark idea for kickouts, but I'm going off it, largely as a result of the arguments presented here and the law of unintended and unanticipated effects. I would say, though, that it can easily be done without slowing down the game if it's simply implemented as a rule that the fielder of a kickout can't be tackled until he's played the ball, which he has to do by the four steps rule. I certainly wouldn't want a whistle going every time someone catches a ball. That stuff used to drive me mad in the International Rules games.

The lunacy of suggesting increasing the value of a goal is beyond belief. I'd do the exact opposite and reduce it to two points. Goals are not the essence of the game. Point scoring is the core skill of gaelic football and the idea that the people charged with minding and developing the game would attempt to devalue it is frightening.

There's a lot of stuff that happens in rugby that if it happened in gaa there would be outrage. Look at what happened Ferris yesterday. That sort of stuff seems to happen regularly enough despite them having these great rules.

[Hardy]

TD, that must be a new record for selective quoting. Quote the whole sentence and it alters the meaning completely. To be clear: the only lesson I'm proposing to take from rugby is the respect for referees that's enforced in that sport.