Conroy shows value of long-range shooting prowess as Galway defeat Kildare
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A strong Galway performance didn't come as much of a surprise in this Newbridge challenge but it was an eye-opening evening on the new rules front.
Six two-point scores from Galway - four of which came from the boot of Footballer of the Year Paul Conroy - showed just how good life can be for teams that embrace the new 40m arc.
Conroy actually struck three points that would have qualified as two-pointers in last July's All-Ireland final loss to Armagh.
He went one better here, despite only coming on in the second-half, while Cillian O Curraoin and Matthew Tierney, who struck 1-4 in all, also poached a point from distance each.
Take those six Galway scores from distance out of it and it would have been just a one-point win for the westerners with Kildare failing to score anything from outside the 40m arc.
Referee David Gough was stringent in his application of the new guidelines and punished Galway for breaching the 3/3 rule on three occasions in the first-half alone, resulting in tap over points for Alex Beirne.
Another feature of the game was that with goalkeepers going long with many of their kick-outs, retaining possession is much more difficult. Expect plenty of scores from turnovers on kick-outs in 2025.
On the personnel front there was plenty to discuss too in what was both teams' first game of the season.
New Kildare manager Brian Flanagan's first lineup contained five players - Harry O'Neill, James McGrath, Callum Bolton, Colm Dalton and Ryan Sinkey - that lined out for him in the 2023 All-Ireland U-20 final win over Sligo.
He included plenty of experience too with Mick O'Grady and Brian Byrne next to O'Neill in the full-back line and Kevin Feely partnering Bolton at midfield.
Brian McLoughlin is back in the Kildare squad for 2025 and started at wing-forward while David Hyland, the former Lilies captain, was the first player brought on after missing the 2024 season.
Beirne was Kildare's chief scorer initially, grabbing six of their eight first-half points.
Three of those were simple tapovers in front of the goals on the 20m line as Gough consistently punished Galway for not adhering to the 3/3 rule.
There were gasps from the crowd at times as they struggled to get to grips with the new rules which had a huge impact on the game.
Both goalkeepers went long with the majority of their kick-outs, resulting in a number of scores from turnovers. Sinkey, for example, struck the game's opening point for Kildare after a Galway long kick-out was won by Kildare.
On another occasion, Beirne was penalised for overcarrying but proceeded to kick the ball wide anyhow, resulting in Galway's free being brought up 50 metres under the new dissent guideline.
Early in the second-half, a Daniel Flaherty point from Galway came when a free was similarly brought up 50 metres as the ball was not properly handed over.
The scores were tied at half-time, 1-5 to 0-8, with Tierney striking Galway's goal in the 26th minute after a turnover on a Kildare kick-out.
Galway moved decisively clear in the third quarter, Conroy and Tierney both nailing two pointers either side of a Tomo Culhane goal.
The goal came from a long ball down the right into space that may have not been available in the blanket defence era.
Galway continued to punish Kildare with long-range scores in the closing quarter as both teams unloaded their benches.
Paul Conroy 0-8 (4 2pt scores), Matthew Tierney 1-4 (1 2pt free), Tomo Culhane 1-0, Cillian O Curraoin 0-3 (2pt free, 1 pt free), Cillian McDaid 0-1, Daniel Flaherty 0-1, Colm Costello 0-1.
Alex Beirne 0-9 (0-5 frees), Kevin Feely 0-3 (0-1f), Jimmy Hyland 0-2, Ryan Sinkey 0-1, Callum Bolton 0-1, Brian McLoughlin 0-1.
C Flaherty; S Fitzgerald, C Hernon, D Flaherty; K Molloy, J Daly, S Kelly; C Darcy, C McDaid; F O Laoi, S O'Neill, J McLoughlin; M Thompson, M Tierney, C O Curraoin.
T Culhane, L Silke, J McGrath, C Sweeney, P Conroy, S Mulkerrin, L O Conghaile, C Costello, S McGlinchey, J O'Neill.
D Cordonnier; H O'Neill, M O'Grady, B Byrne; R Houlihan, J McGrath, K Flynn; K Feely, C Bolton; B McLoughlin, A Beirne, C Dalton; R Sinkey, D Flynn, N Kelly.
D Hyland, C Barker, D Mangan, C Hagney, T Gill, T Archbold.
D Gough (Kildare).