We’ll pass on that: Managers’ thoughts on the new three-pass limit

The new hand-pass proposal will require 60% support at Congress to become a rule. Already over 50% of inter-county managers are against it, with many yet to give an opinion.

Below are 10 of the dissenters, while Colm Collins, Rory Gallagher, Damien McElwain, Lenny Harbinson, Wayne Kierans, Jack Cooney, and Paul McDonald have also expressed concern about the limit of three consecutive hand-passes.

Kevin Walsh (Galway):

“A lot of these changes are being introduced to try and improve the game as a spectacle, but I believe they will have the opposite effect.

I think some of the proposed rule changes are being introduced because a small handful of pundits are in control of how the game is perceived.

"They have an undue influence on how a game is perceived by the public and also how games are officiated by referees.”

James Horan (Mayo):

“Let’s see how they are. I wouldn’t be a fan of them. I think they’re a little bit crazy, to be honest.

"I don’t know what we’re trying to do to referees. How they’re going to be refereed, I just don’t know. You’ve seen it in a lot of the games already, where they’ve been used — they’re going to be a struggle.”

Mickey Harte (Tyrone):

“I don’t see them affecting the game positively the way the people bringing them in think they will do.

There’s a potential to clog things up even more and lend itself to more defensive football.

"I don’t see them making things any better.”

Malachy O’Rourke (Monaghan):

“I don’t like the fist-pass rule. In the attacking half of the field when faced with a defensive set-up you’re able to use intricate fist passes to penetrate that, whereas now, heading towards a packed defence, you’re going to end up kicking it away or kicking it back.”

Declan Bonner (Donegal):

It’s such a waste of time. It’s crazy.

"I don’t know how 10 men can sit around a table and decide the three handpasses rule.”

Kieran McGeeney (Armagh):

“What we’re focusing in on now is the hand-pass, it’s the whole focus for everybody across the game.

"It’s only one of the five changes, but the focus is on it because that’s what everybody says is ruining the game.

"It was ruining the game in the 70s, the 50s and the 30s but sure, we just like to tinker.”

Paddy Tally (Down):

“I don’t know whether it’s the right rule to change — it’s one aspect that I wouldn’t be changing, it takes away the flow.

You can understand it if you want to move the ball quicker from defence to attack, but I think once you go inside the 45, the hand-passes should be let run at that stage.

John Sugrue (Laois):

“I think it’s very difficult for referees, even just the hand-passing rule.

"We had five hand-passes at one stage and there was no free blown.

"I’m not being critical of the referee, but there’s an awful lot of information inside there that referees have to try to process.”

Turlough O’Brien (Carlow):

“I don’t think it’s a better spectacle when the ball is being kicked away like that.

"No-one wants to see that.

I don’t think it’s going to add anything to it, when teams are at full strength and more competitive, it will be even worse.

John Evans (Wicklow):

“What’s happening is guys are just kicking the ball three or four yards, they are kicking it five and seven yards just for the sake of restarting it and it slows down the game considerably, there’s no question about that.”