Should the value of a goal be increased to four points?

An umpire reaches for a green flag as Séamus Flanagan of Limerick celebrates scoring a goal in the 42nd minute during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Final against Tipperary. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Dublin CEO John Costello believes that the GAA should increase the value of a goal to four points on a trial basis - in both codes.

The debate has gathered pace in hurling circles given the huge point tallies of recent championship seasons, but Costello believes that football could also benefit from such a rule change.

"In his report to annual convention, he wrote: This year signified an historic milestone for the GAA. This particular 125th anniversary celebrates the year (1896) when a goal scored in hurling or football was deemed to be worth three points, a value that has remained in place ever since.

"The original rule-makers had ordained that one goal would eclipse any number of points; in 1892 the goal was revalued at five points, and this was reduced further just four years later.

"For the most part, a majority of GAA stakeholders have either professed themselves happy with this arrangement or simply never thought to question it. But that is slowly starting to change, and for perfectly understandable reasons. 

"Back in the days of Mackey and Ring, and even DJ and the Dooley’s, inter-county hurling teams weren’t racking up 30-plus points. More than likely 20 would be a struggle.

"All that has changed. Now, the all-conquering Limerick hurlers are obvious trailblazers when it comes to outrageous point tallies. To be clear, this is not meant as a slight in any way on them as they are a marvellous team - we are just using them as an example as the leading county of recent seasons ….… but even if you exclude their goal tallies, they averaged over 28 points per SHC contest in 2020 and 27 points in the summer just gone.

"Here’s the crux: they only scored two goals in five championship games last year, perhaps partly because raising white flags was a more reliable route to victory. They revealed a greater lust for goals this season (eight in four SHC games) but it still begs the question: what if we increased the value of a goal once more? Would it encourage more teams to gamble if they knew it was worth, say, four points?

"The aim is simple - primarily to encourage attacking play and then perhaps, as a by-product, to increase entertainment levels. And that’s precisely what goals inject into a hurling point-fest - and equally a game of football.

"The only trouble, in recent years, is that the adrenaline rush of a goal can sometimes evaporate in a matter of minutes, as your opponent responds with a necklace of quickfire points. This can be especially frustrating in a hurling game dominated by multiple frees from all manner of distances, even beyond 100 metres.

" "We are seeing glorified free-taking competitions,” complained former Kilkenny defender Jackie Tyrrell back in May, after a rush of early league games, dominated by high free counts and complaints about refereeing interpretations of the tackle.

"But what if the goal was worth even more? Anthony Daly, our former Dublin hurling manager, is one who believes the concept should be at least trialled. Speaking on RTÉ in September, the Clare man offered an unusual caveat but one that might prove too unwieldy. He suggested that a team’s first goal would still equal three points with all subsequent ones valued at four, designed to encourage the hunt for more.

"But his basic premise – that we do something that “gets the stadium rocking” – is certainly worth exploring. Arguably in both codes, but more especially in hurling