Peter Creedon has doubts about ‘mark’ impact
Creedon has also confirmed the long-term absences of midfielder Brendan Quigley and defender Mark Timmons ahead of the new campaign — with both players expected to miss large chunks of the season through injury.
Former AFL player Quigley is dealing with a troublesome osteitis pubis injury while Timmons has undergone double hip surgery.
Creedon suspects that Timmons won’t return until the championship but Quigley could be fit by March.
Corner-back Damien O’Connor will also miss the early rounds of the League with a dead leg but there is some positive news on forward Paul Kingston, who is back in training after recovering from a knee injury.
But Laois, who open their Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup campaign next Sunday against DIT in Crettyard, will be without college-tied players Evan O’Carroll, Eoin Buggy, Trevor Collins and Eoin Lowry.
The weekend fixture will hand Creedon and his players their first competitive taste of the new ‘mark’ rule.
And Creedon predicted: “I don’t think teams are going to vary away from short kick-outs and will continue to retain primary possession.
“They might be afraid to go long in case they lose out because if you do, you’re maybe coughing up a score.”
Creedon also confirmed he will be running the rule over some new and previous fringe players during the early stages of the campaign.
James Kelly is a young star who looks set to get his chance, along with the likes of Brian Daly, Sean Ramsbottom and Cormac Murphy.
Creedon said: “There’s six or seven of them and we won’t be afraid to throw them in.”
