CORK GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan hailed the opening national league weekend of the new Gaelic football rules as a ‘spectacular success’, but still lamented the decision not to proceed with the four-point goal.
Initially, when the Football Review Committee (FRC) proposed reforms to the game, a goal’s value was going to be increased from its current three points to four points, but this was eventually dropped before the new rules were given the green light. O’Donovan feels it was a missed opportunity, but has given the new rules the thumbs up.
‘I am totally in favour, love it, Cork and Meath (in Division 2) was a totally different occasion last weekend to what we have seen in the league in previous years. Of course there is plenty of chat online about if someone’s foot was over the line or not, that’s just ironing out a few wrinkles,’ O’Donovan told Off The Ball AM.
‘It’s too early to say but I am not necessarily a fan of 12 v 11 once the goalkeeper comes out because when that happened the defences started to back off and go into their ring of steel – and it reduced the one-on-one contest. If you put 12 on 11 it’s not as if the extra man is going to score and it’s beautiful football, it’s more a case that the defence sits back and goes into their old ways again.
‘I am still a fan of the four-point goal. I still think there is an imbalance with the one, the two and the three. For me, it’s either one and three or one, two and four. I just think you are devaluing the goal a little bit. Cork got two goals against Meath and in the context of the game they deserved it (to be worth four points) because they were much harder scores to kick than two-pointers, for example.
‘It’s too early to say but for the first day out and given the changes, it was a spectacular success. Let’s wait for weekend two.’
