The proposed rule changes announced during the week by Jim Gavin and the Football Review Committee got everybody talking and the one comment I've heard again and again is, 'if those rules come in, it’ll completely change the game'.
For a team of people whose brief was to effectively do just that, it’s a brave indication that they are doing what was asked of them.
We have got used to rule changes over the years. in fact, with it being a bit of a tinker here, tinker there job, we got fed up and shouted ‘please just leave the game be’. But we all knew the game wasn’t right and its much waited on evolution has never appeared.
Various suggestions were made but it was hard to see any of them truly working. Yet, these set of proposals are different gravy. And the key thing there is, it is a ‘set’. Several are directly linked in that they are needed to allow the other to be possible and, not only that, together they end up greater than the sum of their parts.
It’s very notable that they practically all benefit the team on the ball. Defenders across the country may get out their placards because if ever there was a case for discrimination, then they could argue this is it!
It is the attacking team that has such varied options and the defensive team with all the headaches. Shoot from range for two points, or if an opposition defence presses out, cut in and go for your four-point goal. If the opposition sets up, launch it long and try gain a mark where you can still go for goal knowing you’ve got the advantage.
There is much debate over how the three men up the pitch rule will be refereed. I believe firmly it is possible to officiate it. It will be second nature if realising that it is very crowded to glance back and ensure that there
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Enda Macginley