Deflected two-point attempts will only be worth one point under new Gaelic football rules
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Goalkeepers and defenders will be encouraged to get a touch on two-point attempts as only direct kicks over the bar from outside the 40-metre line will be worth double points.
Deflected scores were one of the clarifications sought and given in a coaches’ seminar with Football Review Committee members on Monday evening.
Presented by Colm Collins, Éamonn Fitzmaurice, James Horan and Colm Nally and hosted by GAA player development lead Jack Cooney, over 1,000 coaches logged in for the online briefing on the new experimental rules set to come into play from the Allianz Leagues at the end of next month.
Former Mayo manager Horan confirmed if a goalkeeper or defender manages to touch over a two-point attempt from play, a free or sideline kick it will be deemed a point and a white flag raised instead of an orange one. “The ball has to go directly over the bar to be a two-point option,” he said.
There is also no rule in Gaelic football preventing a team-mate from lifting another to prevent a ball from going over the bar. Such occurrences have rarely been seen but may be considered by teams more now that there is an extra value put on long-range points.
During the briefing, ex-Kerry boss Fitzmaurice confirmed if a goalkeeper is exempt from the three-v-three rule and can’t count as either a defender or a forward. It was also explained that if a team choses to allocate an outfield jersey to a goalkeeper, they must still have at least three outfield players in each half of the field at all times and the goalkeeper must come back from each kick-out either to take it or stay inside the rectangle.
It was stated that to put the ball on the ground after conceding a free will be considered a delay as the ball has not been handed over and therefore a 50m advancement of the free will incur with an option for the team to attempt a two-point free if the ball has been brought forward inside the 40m arc.
Other clarifications include advantage from the new advanced mark inside the 20m line being deemed over if a shot has been saved. In such a case, the ball will be brought back for a free to the attacking team from where the catch was made.
Although goalkeepers can only receive the ball past the halfway line and when they are in the large rectangle from a pass inside the same area after the previous play was made by an opponent, they can continue to act as defenders out of possession and attempt to regain the ball.
While a player taking receipt of an advanced mark can be tackled immediately, one who chooses a solo and go option between the 20m lines by toe-tapping the ball to himself can’t be tackled for four metres. He does not require the permission of the referee to take the quick free but must move forward or sideways with the ball and not backwards otherwise the free must be taken from where it was won.
One inter-county coach who logged on believes accidental infringements are not considered under the three-v-three and delay rules. “I’m worried about the penalties for indiscipline as in the implementation of referees,” he said. “Like, if one of your forwards crosses the halfway line – shouldn’t the accidental be distinguished from the intentional? If it’s intentional, it’s a 20-metre free against you.
“Also, not handing the ball back and bringing the ball forward 50m if you don’t do that. I get what they are trying to do but I’d hate to see it cost any team if they weren’t intentional breaches.”