The GAA will later this year trial all kickouts and puckouts going beyond the near ’45 — but perhaps it will have unintended consequences.
BY SHANE STAPLETON
One of the new rules set to be trialled in GAA later this year is that all kickouts and puckouts must go beyond the near ’45.
Not be a naysayer, but my immediate concern relates to the unintended consequences.
Obviously, the plan is for this to create more room, have less short play, and return the role of the 50-50 ball in the air.
That all sounds good, but what we may well see is more rucks and more traffic.
Teams may simply decide that each player should drop outside that ’45 for every restart, knowing that none of the defenders inside that zone can receive the ball.
Pretty quickly, the team in possession will realise they are outnumbered out the pitch, so they will then need to push out. Will this just lead to extended rucks? It may well do.
Having been involved with the UCD freshers for the past few seasons, another question I have is whether this is the correct competition to trial these new rules.
Yes, the freshers is a great competition, but we’re talking about a level which is well removed from elite club and inter-county — which ultimately the rules are aimed at.
Freshers teams often operate for most of their campaigns without their best players who are either still on club duty or being pulled to inter-county Under-20 training/challenge matches.
So the GAA will end up trialling these rules among weakened teams who have not had a chance to work collectively to any meaningless level, and have not honed their gameplan to the nth degree.
So while the test may suggest positive readings, we won’t truly know how it will play out across the board, for good or for bad.
Proposed Playing Rules for Trialling in Freshers 1 Football and Hurling Competitions 2023
Gaelic Football Playing Rules:
FOOTBALL
1. Kick-Out in Football to Travel Outside the near 45m. Line.
(i) Amend Rule 2.7 (a), Set Play (Football) to read:
“The ball shall travel outside the near 45m. line before being played by another player of the defending team”.
(ii) Amend Rule 4.29 -Technical Fouls (Football) to read:
“For another player on the team taking a kick-out to play the ball before it has travelled outside the near 45m line”.
Penalty
(i) Cancel kick-out
(ii) Throw-in the ball on defenders’ 20m line in front of the scoring space.
2. Prohibition on Playing a Free Kick, Side-line Kick or Free Kick awarded for a Mark backwards between the two 20m.lines.
(i) Amend Rule 2.5 Set Play (Football) by adding:
“A free kick shall not be played backwards between the two 20m lines”.
(ii) Amend Rule 2.9 Set Play (Football) by adding after the first sentence:
“The side-line kick shall not be played backwards between the two 20m. lines”.
(iii) Amend Rule 2.12 (a) Set Play (Football) by adding after the first sentence:
“A free-kick taken for award of a Mark shall not be played backwards between the two 20m. lines”.
(iv) Amend Rule 4.25 -Technical Fouls (Football) by adding:
(c) To play the ball backwards from a free-kick, side-line kick or free-kick awarded for a Mark between the two
20m. lines”.
Penalty
(i) Cancel the free Kick, side-line kick or a free kick awarded for a Mark.
(ii) Throw-In the ball where the foul occurred.
HURLING
1. Amend Rule 1.7 (b) Rules of Fair Play (Hurling) to read:
(b) Released from the holding – hand and struck with a definite striking action of a hand, either by:
(i) The other hand
Or
(ii) Tapping the ball on the hurley and striking the ball with either hand.
The process of striking the ball with the non-original holding hand involves the transferring the hurley from one hand to the other.
2. Amend Definition 10 Hand Pass (b) Hurling to read:
(b) Hurling
The ball shall be released from the holding-hand and struck with a definite striking action of a hand by, either by:
(i) The other hand
Or
(ii) Tapping the ball on the hurley and striking the ball with either hand.
3. Amend Rule 4.2 (b), Rules of Foul Play (Hurling) by adding:
“As specified in Rule 1.7 (b) Rules of Fair Play (Hurling)”.
The wording of the proposed puck-out trial is as follows.
(i) Amend Rule 2.6 – Set Play (Hurling) by amending the final sentence to read:
“The ball shall travel outside the near 45m line before being played by another player of the defending team”.
(ii) Amend Rule 4.29, Rules of Foul Play (Hurling) to read:
“For another player on the team taking the puck-out to play the ball before it has travelled outside the near 45m line”.
Penalty
(i) Cancel puck-out.
(ii) Throw In the ball on defenders’ 20m. line opposite the scoring space.
(iii) Amend Rule 1.2(i), Rules of Specification, by deleting the word “(Football)” in the first line.
(This provides for the marking of a 45m.line in Hurling.)
Dimensions of hurleys
Juvenile (child) up to and including 26″ hurley – maximum bas of 15cm
Junior (youth) up to and including 30″ hurley – maximum bas of 16cm
Senior (Adult) 30″ up to and including 36″ hurley – maximum bas of 17cm
Adult goalkeeper hurley – maximum bas size of 21cm.
