The art of man marking is in danger of disappearing

Are there good tacklers still playing senior inter-county football? Of course, but it has become increasingly difficult to spot them, due to the game’s obsession with metrics. 

Team turnovers bond the group these days. Not so long ago, it was mano-a-mano at the back, take your forward and mark him. If you had a good day, you kept him scoreless or limited him to a point or two.

A bad day meant being moved to a different position or given the curly finger. Now with an over- reliance on blanket defending, good individual defending is harder to spot, much less credit. But good technique should always merit mention.