Sam Callinan hopeful Mayo have turned corner after three-year slump

Mayo defender Sam Callinan says it's hard to judge the impact the new rules in Gaelic football might have, but the Green and Red have left no stone unturned as they prepare to play under them during the 2025 season.

The new rules were overwhelmingly backed at the end of last year by the GAA's Special Congress and they will see the introduction of two-point scores for shots from distance, kickouts having to go further down the field, and three players having to remain in the opposition half at all times, amongst other changes.

Read: Landslide votes at Special Congress mean Gaelic football to have raft of new rules in 2025

They're designed to prevent teams engaging in defensive, negative tactics which have become commonplace in the game over the last decade. Possession-based football off short kickouts, excessive handpassing and packed defences have led to criticism of the spectacle of Gaelic football.

This has manifested itself in falling attendances at games, up to and including All-Ireland semi-finals, over the last number of years. This is despite the fact that the championship is as open as its ever been, with four different winners in four seasons for the first time since the 2009-2012 period.

But the hope is that the new rules will lead to much more open football, with space for the game's creative players to express themselves.

And Callinan says that Kevin McStay, and his Mayo management team, have spent plenty of time looking at scenarios since the return of inter-county training last month.

"In fairness to our management, from the day they were ratified we've been implementing those walk throughs and those training sessions," he said at the launch of the Electric Ireland Higher Education Sigerson Cup.

"Sometimes it's at