Change to penalty rule to head list of proposals made by Sheedy group

The Hurling 2020 Committee are not expected to call for wholesale changes to the playing rules of hurling.

The Liam Sheedy-led group will meet next Monday and have a busy month ahead of them as they hope to have proposals ready for late November ahead of Congress in Cavan next February.

A recommendation to change the penalty rule as it currently stands will be among the motions. In his analysis of the All-Ireland final replay on The Sunday Game at the weekend, Sheedy highlighted just two goals have been scored from 10 penalties in this year’s championship.

“People were saying why he [Seamus Callanan] didn’t go for the goal. The reality is since those two penalties (Pa Horgan and Joe Canning) have been scored there have been eight penalties in senior hurling championship and none of them have been scored. So what Seamie Callanan did was he went with percentage.”

As 2015 is a playing rules year, counties are permitted to put forward to that effect with a couple already known to have drafted motions calling for one-on-one penalties.

The committee are also giving consideration to altering the number of steps a player is permitted to run with the ball. It currently stands at four, although any proposed change would have to tie in with the advantage rule, a form of which is likely to be introduced to hurling.

It had been reported in August that the committee were considering increasing the number of steps. However, there are some members who believe they should be reduced from four.

Sheedy’s group have met with the majority of stakeholders and there doesn’t appear to be a huge appetite to alter competition structures as they stand. However, it is likely the group will put together pilot schemes for a couple of developing counties before operating them in others, if they are successful.

The committee are hoping to meet with All-Ireland finalists Kilkenny and Tipperary to obtain their opinions before they sit down to form a consensus on ideas. The response to the online survey has been described as “excellent.”