Gaelic Football - Rules & Regulations discussion/clarification

[JoG2]

There is no doubt that the new rules have addressed some of the negative tactics that had emerged but there are some downsides to these new rules that should not be ignored.

The arc and the 2-point scores are dictating the pattern of play in almost every game. It can be quite boring to watch the ball being passed over the back outside the arc. The direct attacking play of old offered much more variety with the spectacle of the one to one tussles between the forward and his marker.

Weather conditions enable the team with the wind in the first half build up a big lead. It is not unknown for the wind to abate so the other team does not have the same advantage in the second half.

Given the basketball-like nature of the up and down the field pattern under the new rules then maybe they should go the whole hog and introduce a shot clock 

The more I think about it , and  The more I see how the  game is evolving , the 2 pointer is all backwards.  It should be 1 point for outside  the arc and 2 points for inside . It would encourage  more play near the goals, rather than pissing about  50 yards away

Although I'd prefer the  arc was  scrapped altogether

A 10 yard fisted 2 pointer would be worth the admission fee alone

[Armagh18]

You learn something every day.

I was talking to a referee and he was giving out about the ignorance of Ben O'Connor questioning why Liam Gordon who refereed the Tipp v Cork game didn't add on the time for the melee at the end of the first half.

Turns out a referee isn't meant to add on time for a melee and it isn't in the rulebook to do so.

Surely common sense would meant they do though?

[Cunny Funt]

A question on the 2 pointers.  Am I the only one who thinks 3v3 violations being punished by 2 pts to be too extreme?  If a team violates with TWO players should the opposition be awarded a penalty?

Also, couldn't they have compromised on the 2 pt idea by abolishing the 2 pt frees?  It's only a matter of time before every team has a Sean O'Se and 2 point frees begin to look as routine as a conversion in American football.

Strangly not even discussed at HQ.

For me, the two point free is an abomination, truly a blight on the game.  There's little more unappealing than seeing a keeper trundling up and taking well over the allowed time to slot over another 50m free.
I have heard the arguments for its retention, namely that cynical defenders will foul every time outside the two point arc, but to my mind that can be easily dealt with by referees using existing rules.  The maths of it doesn't make sense in any case, apparently the most straightforward 2 point shot (top of the D) is about 65% successful with no pressure, but this reduces to just 30% when pressurised.  From a free it's somewhere around 80%, therefore mathematically (and we know coaches love their maths), the expected value of a 1 point free kick at 0.8pts is still greater than the expected value of a pressurised 2 point attempt at 0.6pts, so not only will the cynical defender run the risk of picking up a card, but the player will also provide a higher value scoring opportunity, even with frees being reduced to 1 point.

The other aspect of 2-pointers which is becoming apparent is the impact they have on the goal, yes, it seems as though more goals are being scored (haven't checked), but there's definitely a reduction in excitement as the spectators understand that the importance of a goal has been hugely undermined by the addition of the much more obtainable 2-pointer.  The obvious answer is to increase the value of the goal to 4 points, which it was originally supposed to be, before some in GAA officialdom showed their mathematical prowess by insisting that this would lead to one-sided games with huge margins of victory.

Probably also time to comment on the new hooter system - seemingly the brainchild of Eamonn Fitzmaurice (is there a more nauseating commentator??) who believes it allows for exact time-keeping - he seems to have forgotten that the starting and stopping of the clock is relatively arbitrary and dependent on the referee.  It completely lends itself to cynical play as we saw for the last few minutes of Derry v Meath, where Meath (understandably) fouled Derry players repeatedly out the field in order to run down the minutes.  Armagh v Galway saw a free awarded with 30 secs left be taken after the hooter to win the game.  We had the Kerry winner v Roscommon where the on-field decision was questionable. I'm sure there are many similar instances which could illustrate the problems this new version of the hooter has brought in.  Whilst I was in favour of the old hooter system which was a good solution and provided certainty to players, I would be happy to revert to leaving it in the referee's hands which as we saw in the club championships was adequate.

So all in all, I'm largely in favour of the new rules, they've massively improved the game, but we need to seriously look at increasing the value of the goal, get rid of the hooter and get rid of the 2 point free.  Easy eh??

With the pre-season competitions back this January it's a pity those games weren't used as a trial to see how they'd go without two pointers frees.  The club championship season just gone did just fine without the use of a hooter why the same couldn't be done with the 2026 inter county season I don't know, and the system costs a lot of money that should be used on something more useful


It appears every thing is locked in place now for a few years, did I hear 5 years? not sure was that very wise as HQ now move onto their effort of pushing the All-Ireland final back to August and scrapping pre season competitions again

[johnnycool]

You learn something every day.

I was talking to a referee and he was giving out about the ignorance of Ben O'Connor questioning why Liam Gordon who refereed the Tipp v Cork game didn't add on the time for the melee at the end of the first half.

Turns out a referee isn't meant to add on time for a melee and it isn't in the rulebook to do so.

Surely common sense would meant they do though?

The way this referee worded it, he thinks because the delay "is on the players" that the rule as it stands is right.

I can see both sides of it.

Winning by a few points and hanging on for dear life, start a melee and that'll kill the game off.