EXCITED – that’s the word Seamus Hayes uses the most when describing his thoughts on Gaelic football under the new rules.
‘Anyone who has football in their heart and wants to see football back to where it should be will be hugely excited by these changes,’ the Carbery Rangers manager says.
The Rosscarbery man agrees that football needed this sudden jolt to its system after it drifted in recent years.
‘When I heard about these changes coming in, it was one of the deciding factors in wanting to stay on for another year,’ admits Hayes, who will manage his home club’s football team for a third season in a row.
‘Looking at everyone involved in the game, from coaches to players to spectators, there was a lot of negativity surrounding football so it needed some change.
‘Everyone wants to enjoy football, whether you are playing or watching. At club level, you face the blanket defence more often than not, and then you have to mimic it when you play that, and I found it was getting very, very repetitive. With these new rules, the excitement is back.’
In his club playing days, Hayes was a forward of note, and towards the end he recalls hearing ‘get behind the ball’ more and more. It was a sign of where football was going, and went. Hence, the need for radical changes – the end result are the seven core enhancements designed to speed up the game and make it less defensive. The Ross boss made the trip recently to Páirc Uí Chaoimh for Cork’s Division 2 football league opener against Meath – the new rules made a positive first impression.
‘The solo-and-go free has been well received, and seeing it in action was great, it sped up the game so much more,’ Hayes says, and the three-up and three-back change has the potential to be a game-changer.
‘There were glimpses of the flair player being able to unlock a defence with a good kick pass, or a good pass into space,’ Hayes adds, and as a former forward he can appreciate how the new rules can work to an attacker’s advantage.
‘I was watching Chris Óg Jones for Cork and was thinking that with us having Johnno (John O’Rourke) back fully this year after he retired from Cork, the rules will suit players like him,’ Hayes explains.
‘Maybe under the old rules, it didn't suit their style of play but we want to see the creative players who have that flair and instinct do what they do best. Look at Mark Cronin scoring seven points (against Meath), we want the intelligent, skilful footballers to thrive – that’s who fans want to go and watch.
‘I think we will see a return of high-scoring games because the forwards will have a little more room to show what they can do.’
Carbery Rangers' John O'Rourke will be a key man for his club this season.
Hayes acknowledges that a wrinkle in the new rules is the 12v11 scenario when a goalkeeper joins an attack. The fear is it will lead to a return to bad habits, teams retreating deep into their defensive shell.
‘Lads in my management group are already sick of listening to me on this – it’s the one that I really, really don’t like,’ Hayes admits.
‘We want to promote one-on-one contests, going man-to-man, but by allowing this 12v11 scenario teams will revert to type, and we will have the goalkeeper as the quarter back, dictating the play, over and back. I don’t like it. It needs to be looked at straightaway.’
A shared concern is how these new rules will be implemented at club level. Hayes understands this, but also points out that these are now the rules so clubs needs to adjust to them, too.
‘There has to be some concerns but I would be very optimistic about these changes. Clubs will have to step up and make sure their facilities are right, in terms of markings on the pitch,’ he says.
‘I know there were two two-pointers not given in the Cork and Meath game, and it was referenced after that they couldn’t quite see the markings and that’s at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, so what about at a club grounds after a heavy shower? That could be problematic.
‘I know from my own experience and talking to fellas around West Cork, you might go to a junior game and there would be very few markings on a pitch. Clubs will have to step up. It’s not acceptable if you turn up to a game and it doesn’t have the proper markings – the game should be forfeited if that’s the case.’
Hayes knows too that club players must pay heed to the new dissent rules as this can lead to the referee moving the ball forward 50 metres, up to the opposition’s 13-metre line. Also, only a team captain can speak to the ref for clarification on a decision.
‘There will be huge pressure on the referees, but there has to be buy-in from management and players here,’ Hayes says.
‘There needs to be a shift in culture, to give refs more respect and everyone needs to work on that. It’s asking a lot of a referee at club level to implement all these rules so we need to realise that refs go out with the best of intentions.
‘I had a big worry about penalties for dissent, that they are very harsh penalties, but seeing them in action, I think if they are implemented with common sense it will improve the relationship with players and referees.’
Carbery Rangers, thanks to Stephen Murray’s work in the background, have circulated edited clips with voice-overs to Ross players ahead of their return to the pitch, to bring them up to speed with the new rules. There will be teething problems, but Hayes feels the shared excitement will add an extra element to the season ahead. Walking out of Páirc Uí Chaoimh after Cork’s win against Meath, there were even talks about fans making the trip to Down for last weekend’s clash.
‘That’s a welcome change to the cynicism we have heard about football,’ adds Hayes, as the excitement builds ahead of their county league Division 2 opener against Castletownbere next month.
