Gavin’s gameplan is utterly sensible and player orientated – like himself

You’re tasked with putting a group of people together to right the wrongs of the world. The only stipulation being that those thereon must be of reputable standing and commanding of respect among those with whom they will be working with and the wider audience pertaining to those people as well. Who do you pick?

Call me old fashioned, but, Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are a must. Likewise, Barack Obama is non negotiable. How about somebody left of field? If anyone suggests Bono or Elon Musk this computer and the person using it will explode. Personally, I’d plump for Jim Gavin.

In an almost spiritual way, he reminds me of Sean Boylan. A gentle, deft way of dealing with people which just has a magnetism which draws people into the aura which surrounds him and working with him. On mature recollection, an t-Uachtarain CLG Jarlath Burns would be considered to be of very similar makeup himself. So it was no surprise to see the man from Silverbridge draft in the Air Corps most famous employee to lead those charged with remedying what ails Gaelic football.

In a way, though, there’s a sense Gavin’s ingenuity has been tapped into too late. A case of closing the stable door when the steed has bolted. Because, thankfully, the obsession with defencive, borefest football appears to have abated.

Though why wouldn’t it, when Dublin (mesmerically)  and, most recently, Armagh, have proven there is another way. That is to say, using the long ball and let the pigskin do the work.

Which is why it was utterly disheartening, if sadly not surprising, to hear a former inter county footballer opine recently that “You can’t play football that way, anymore”. Meaning kicking the ball long into the inside forward line if there are folks therein capable of scoring.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but, aren’t the winners determined by who scores the most? I couldn’t care less if a player used broken wind to direct the ball over the bar.

To that end, it is mightily encouraging to note that, in the raft of proposed reforms published this week, deterrents against mass defending contained within the dictums include references to keeping three players – not including goalkeepers – between the two 65m lines at all times. Whilst, at the same time, there’s an obvious sense that the proposals proffered by Gavin and his committee are – logically you might say – slanted towards rewarding attacking and hence more attractive football.

At the end of the day, butts on seats are what keep the wheels of the GAA turning and it is not condescending to point out that what one veteran Gael known to me refers to as the PPI – Plain People of Ireland – have become at best bored or at worst completely disillusioned with the direction the game has gone. Over whatever timespan one cared to affix to such analysis.

A wise men once said that people vote best with their feet and – much to the chagrin of the GAA’s top brass, they most certainly did that during this past Championship campaign a quarter of a year ago. With paltry attendances paling in comparison to the throngs which can be seen at club fixtures up and down the country. Verifiable due to the quantity of games one can now take in due to platforms like clubber.ie and TG4.

And the reason? Simply that, by and large, club football remains unincumbered by maze-like systems which are predicated on suffocating the life and collective will out of their opponents. Such is the fear of being turned over and being the one responsible for your team potentially losing.

However, thanks to the innovation of Gavin and his group, fear of losing will now manifest itself in teams being unable to sit back and do the ‘What we have we hold’ system because of the rewards now on offer for kicking scores from further out the field.

In fact, when it’s thought about, it will be very interesting to observe how teams go about defending. There’s a brain teaser there. On one hand, if a defence sits it, the opposing attack have the option of shooting from further away from goal.

But, if the defending team decide to push up on runners from deep, either going mano-o-mano or by utilising drift defence, it does leave the option for teams with good inside forwards to leave them in situ and let the ball in quick and direct where – per se – you have a Rian O’Neill or a Shane Walsh or Con O’Callaghan or a David Clifford capable of unleashing untold havoc.

Overall, Gavin’s gameplan is utterly sensible and player orientated – like himself. As with whenever there are rule experiments or changes brought in, there will always be a sense of wanting a bit more.

For instance, my two long held chestnuts – a limit on consecutive hand passess and the forbidding of passing the ball backwards are still on the back burner and short of charcole.

However, there’s no doubt the latest round of trialled rules should make the game quicker and more direct. Which in turn should render it more enjoyable and entertaining to both watch and play.

The full list of recommendations put forward by Jim Gavin’s think tank are listed hereafter:

• Four points for a goal and two points for a score from outside or on the 20-metre line and a 40-metre arc, measured from the centre of the goal. 45s would remain one point but regular frees could be worth two.
• Both teams must keep three players (not including the goalkeeper) inside each 65, or possibly a new halfway line, at all times. Goalkeepers can only receive the ball in the large rectangle or after passing their own 65.
• Kickouts to be taken from the 20m line and go forward outside the arc
• A black-card for holding/grabbing the jersey if deemed a tactical foul, and the ball brought forward 50 metres. Contributing to a melee to become a black-card offence and making head-to-head contact with an opponent a red
• A player, or one of their team-mates, can elect to ‘solo and go’ rather than take a free-kick when fouled
• Players have to hand the ball to a fouled opponent, rather than dropping it or kicking it away
• Line umpires can bring incidents to the referee’s attention at any time, rather than waiting for a break in play
• ‘Forceful’ on-field dissent would be punished by bringing the ball forward 50 metres, rather than the current 30, while dissent from team officials or panel members on the sideline would result in an automatic 13m free
• The advanced mark will only apply within the 20-metre line and automatic advantage will apply, encouraging forwards to continue play
• Matches to be timed by a countdown clock, that the referee can stop, and concluded by a hooter – as in Ladies football – signalling the end of the game, likely once the ball next goes out of play
• Penalty shootouts, and possibly extra-time, to be replaced by an ‘overtime showdown’ next-score-wins format, or one where the conceding team has one opportunity to match their opponents’ score and prolong the additional period
• Throw-ins to start a half will be contested by just one player from each team, with another on the sideline, and all others behind the 65m lines
• Teams can introduce six substitutes, rather than the current five
• The square-ball rule would be standardised, meaning players could enter the large rectangle once the ball was kicked, regardless of whether it was in open play or from a free-kick.
• In a revival of sorts for the Interprovincial Championships (aka the Railway Cup) Croke Park will stage matches between the four provinces played under the experimental rules in mid October.