Cody not keen on proposed new rules

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, that’s the message from Brian Cody to the GAA authorities, as yet another raft of experimental rules are proposed for the upcoming National Hurling League.

Speaking yesterday in Madrid, where the hurling All-Stars were on an extended stopover en route to their final destination of Buenos Aires, the record-setting Kilkenny manager wasn’t at all impressed with the new proposals. “I don’t think we needed any change. Not being able to throw the ball forward – it’s going to be difficult to police that, that’s the style a lot of free-takers prefer, step forward into the free. The square ball is the most interesting one, that’s going to take away the controversy about whether a forward was or was not in the square before the ball. The backs are going to have to be a lot more vigilant in policing the square area as regards forwards lurking around there.”

Might bring back some of the old-style shemozzles in and around the kitchen? “Maybe – one time a forward could be in there but the back was able to keep him out physically, now he won’t have that advantage, being able to drive his man out of the square. I don’t have a problem with (trying) it, but a lot of the time I think people are changing things just for the sake of changing. I don’t think the game needs anything; look at the two major competitions this year, the league final and the All-Ireland final, two outstanding games – why would you want to change anything when it can be played like that? Change wouldn’t be on my agenda, to be honest.”

From Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy, however, also on this trip as manager of the 2009 selection (Cody will manage the 2008 All-Stars), a different perspective. “I don’t think that it’s any harm to keep on tweaking. That’s all we have to do, just a few minor tweaks, like we had last year. It’s always good to see if there are ways of improving the game; it keeps on getting faster and if there are small facets that could make a difference to the overall game, it’s good to try it – if it’s not working, change it, and if it does work, keep it.” One of the changes that was tried a few years ago did appeal to Sheedy, and though it was subsequently rejected, it would be on his wishlist were he given carte blanche himself: “I liked the idea of the two points for the sideline cut, I think that is an art that some players have taken to a new level. It’s a specialist thing and it has been perfected. I thought that was a great idea when it was in – it kept teams on their toes. If you were leading a game by a point with a minute to go, you did not want the ball going over the line because you could end up losing the game.”

On the effort to stop players from stealing a few yards for penalties, an art that has been perfected by Tipperary’s own Eoin Kelly (another on this trip), Sheedy had no problem, as long as the ball can now be taken back a few yards, thus allowing a player step into the shot: “I think it’s worth looking at but in terms of movement, you probably have a much stronger shot moving forward. If you now can’t move forward it is a completely new technique, it’s completely different in terms of the momentum that you get going forward. If you lose that, and have to stand up to take the free, it will be a significant change, but if you go out as far as you like as long as you don’t come inside the 21 when the strike occurs, then that makes it business as usual – it will be interesting to see how that one goes.”