New rule change fails to leave its mark on managers

Managers were largely unimpressed by the mark after its opening weekend as a permanent rule in inter-county football.

Many were of the mind that it will have little or no effect in the game with Roscommon boss Kevin McStay dismissing it as a “nothing event” and DCU’s Niall Moyna referring to it as “a bit of a pain in the ass for teams”.

“I really can’t see what it’s about,” said McStay. “Anyone who got a mark today played on. Maybe if you were seven points up with five minutes to go, you could slow things down but it will be very hard to get marks at this level. Maybe I’m wrong but we’re not coaching it at the moment.”

Tipperary manager Liam Kearns’ thinking was along the same lines as McStay’s: “We certainly didn’t use it and I didn’t think they (opponents Kerry) used it much either.

“It didn’t interfere much with the game and unless you were told it was in, you wouldn’t have known it was (being enforced). It didn’t have any bearing on the game.”

Clare manager Colm Collins doesn’t see it as providing notable benefit to the game: “I’ve watched it (the mark) at colleges level and I’ve found that it has a minimum influence on the game. Players rarely look for it and I think they missed out something. I think that the mark should only be for the high-catch.

“I don’t see any merit on somebody catching the ball into their chest just because it’s 45 metres. It’s not going to change the game in any dramatic way.”

As well as there being reports of teething problems in officiating the mark in the Cavan-Tyrone McKenna Cup game, there were some issues in Tipperary’s McGrath Cup defeat to Kerry in Tralee. Jack O’Connor, who was taking charge of the U21s-filled home team, remarked: “I think the referee may have forgotten it once or twice. I don’t think it is going to make a huge difference. Long gone are the days when the goalkeeper puts boot to ball and sends it 60 yards into the middle of the field. Most kick-outs are placed so it is not a huge factor.

“Anything that protects a bit of good fielding is to be welcomed. The kick-outs have been defined by Stephen Cluxton over the last 10 years. He’s had more effect on kick-outs than any mark ever will.”

Tyrone’s Mickey Harte’s stance against the mark is well known and he referred to the consternation it created in Kingspan Breffni Park. “There’s a lot of confusion about when does the player have to signal that he’s taking a mark and when he doesn’t have to take. There was one of those occasions today where the player made a gesture, which was illegal, and that’s why the ref threw the ball up but then again that’s all part of the whole confusion. It’s something I feel we don’t need and I feel that the refs don’t need it either but we will just have to live with it for now.”

Donegal U21 manager Declan Bonner believed it’s not “going to make any huge difference”, while Moyna, who saw DCU go down to Dublin in Parnell Park, also wrote off its potential significance. “We don’t even discuss it. It’s going to make absolutely no difference. Funnily, I thought about it walking out after and I said to myself, ‘maybe when the pitches get dry and the games get tighter and the margins become much smaller, maybe the mark will become an issue’ but I don’t think so at the moment. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass for teams.”

In Saturday’s O’Byrne Cup clash between Kildare and Longford, there were no marks. Lilywhites manager Cian O’Neill isn’t placing too much emphasis on the new rule although he accepts it could be used to shut out games.

“It’s not a priority at the moment because we have too many other things that are priorities. But we do reference it and we do discuss it in training. I think we’re fortunate insofar as we have some good fielders in our team so against a team we can dominate in the air, it will play into our strengths if we need it.”

However Cavan manager Mattie McGleenan was one of the few voices extolling the mark.

“I’ve no issue with it. It’s a good enough idea, we had a couple of catches got one in the first half and played on. It’s in, it’s a rule and we have to get on with it. I think it’s class.”