Canavan: Tweaks needed, but game in better place

Peter Canavan says that while tweaks may be required to the new football rules, he is confident that the overall game is already in a better place.

Round one of the Allianz Football League saw the the Football Review Committee's (FRC) much-trumpeted 'enhanced' rules really get tested in earnest.

Canavan, now a member of the FRC, kept a close eye on proceedings over the weekend where some high scoring, confused supporters, prominent goalkeepers and heavy punishment for dissent were to the fore.

The RTÉ analyst said that while some of the games were of a "mediocre" standard, this was more down to heavy pitches and rustiness from the opening round of games rather than the rules.

"By and large, when I got a chance to review a lot of the games that took place over the weekend, I thought there were many more positives than negatives to be taken out of it," he told RTÉ's Game On.

"In particular, the tap and go, of all the rule enhancements, that was the one that was really well used. The net result is that you have a much faster game as a result.

"Likewise, if teams were to try and impede someone from taking the tap and go straight away, there was a 50m penalty. Players were soon catching on to the fact that you can’t slow the game down as much as you’d like to.

"I definitely believe there are tweaks needed to it. I wouldn’t be a fan of every rule that is there, but I believe we’ll have a better game as a result."

The FRC have established a 'Games Intelligence Unit' (GIU) which will monitor, track and collect data from the new rule enhancements.

Based on the GIU findings, the FRC will be able to propose modifications to the rule enhancements on an ongoing basis throughout the 2025 season if required. A Special Congress later this year