Conor McManus: Offensive mark should be used in the Championship

Given he scored from two of them on Sunday, Conor McManus is unsurprisingly in favour of the offensive mark rule.

But he is mystified that it and the other experimental rules are applying only to the Allianz League and not the Championship.

The Monaghan forward also stressed how the rule can work for the defender as his team-mate Darren Hughes, another International Rules veteran, proved when catching a long delivery early in the win over Dublin.

“I think it probably would help the game. You have to bear in mind it’s also a defensive mark so it’s in a defender’s interest to attack it and try and win it as well. I think it would be a good rule if it stayed, but the powers-that-be make those decisions.”

Monaghan showed a real willingness to utilise the new rule in the second half but McManus pointed out they were compelled to as they chased the game.

“It makes life a wee bit easier at times, I suppose. We probably tried to force it a wee bit in the first half with some of the possession we had, and it probably cost us and we ended up going behind early in the first half. But credit to the boys in the first half, they really dug in and got us back into the game. We composed ourselves in the middle of that game when it probably could have got away from us and we dug out a win.”

Young Stephen O’Hanlon came on with McManus as a double-substitution early in the second half and electrified the game, involved with McManus in setting up the second goal after he scored the first.

“A great way for Stevie to introduce himself to the stage. There’s been plenty of expectations and talk about Stevie, he’s been flying it in the senior league this last number of years and it’s great to see him in.

“No better man in that position to slide it away and put us back into the game.”