Gaelic football ‘mark’ from kick-out set for Congress debate

A kick-out variation of the mark in Gaelic football is set to come up before Congress in January.

Following a recommendation by the GAA’s standing playing rules committee which was discussed at Saturday’s Central Council meeting, it will be proposed to delegates that a player cleanly fielding a kick-out that goes beyond the 45 metre line and not past the opponents’ 45 may either choose to take a mark or signal that he wishes to play on.

In International Rules at present, all restarts must go beyond the 45 metre line although a mark can be made by cleanly catching a ball that has been kicked from the hands or off the ground by another player no less than 15 metres away. However, short kick-outs would still be permissible in Gaelic football.

The playing rules committee are also recommending that substitutions be made official stoppages in both football and hurling. As of now, teams particularly in Gaelic football have used substitutes to waste time in the latter stages of games.

A final decision on whether the GAA will go ahead and vote on a new All-Ireland senior football championship structure will be made at January’s Central Council meeting. Although the idea was discussed at Saturday’s gathering, it was decided not to go ahead with recommending any of the 18 proposals that were circulated to counties.

However, on the basis of Saturday’s debate there isn’t much appetite for the introduction of a two-tier All-Ireland series. Fifteen of the 18 proposals call for the competition to be split in two, the majority of them after the conclusion of the provincial championships. There was general agreement, though, that the provinces would remain intact.

Meanwhile, Anthony Cunningham’s future as Galway manager will become clearer this evening when a special meeting of the county board is convened. Although players on the 2015 panel have reiterated their opposition to Cunningham remaining in the position, some board officials have privately predicted the St Thomas man will remain in charge for the coming season.

Elsewhere, the Australian International Rules team will fly to Ireland later today ahead of Saturday’s test in Croke Park without having played a warm-up game after they decided the pitch for the scheduled game against a US-Irish selection in New York was unplayable.