League Learnings: The evolution of the goalkeeper's job continues

Eight observations from the opening rounds of the National Football League.

Roscommon goalkeeper Conor Carroll punches a ball away despite the challenge from Damien Comer of Galway. Picture: Ray Ryan/Sportsfile

The opening exchanges of the National League has been a mixed bag with several great games, a few duds and many defined by experimental systems, missing personal and in some cases a healthy dose of good luck.

Two rounds, 32 fixtures, an encouraging average of 30.5 points per game. (2022’s 36.9 average in the football championship was the third highest on record.) They are the basic numbers. Amidst so much incoherence it can be difficult to extract any more definitive takeaways but even still some figures stand out. Here are eight random observations from the fare witnessed so far.