Football Review Committee eye two points for long-range points and hooter introduction 

The Jim Gavin-chaired body are also considering a rule which would compel teams to retain a minimum of three players per team in each half of the field at all times.

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor, second from right, watches on while Football Review Committee chairperson Jim Gavin, centre, third from left, and Football Review Committee member Colm Collins observe the Munster football final. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Doubling the reward for long-range points, retaining a minimum of three players per team in each half of the field at all times and the clock/hooter are among the leading considerations for the Football Review Committee (FRC).

The Jim Gavin-chaired body are currently meeting with provincial councils where they have been putting forward some of their thoughts and seeking feedback about how the game can be improved.

Among their ideas is awarding two points for a kick between the posts from beyond or on an arc that would be drawn approximately a quarter of the way out the field, possibly replacing the current “D”, which at its furthest point from goal is 33 metres.

Considered one of the great skills of Gaelic football, by incentivising long-range point-taking it is hoped it would also lend to the defending team pushing up and subscribing less to the blanket defence.

Dublin’s seven-time All-Ireland SFC-winning forward Paul Mannion last week gave his support for changing the scoring system and distinguishing between short and long-range points.

“I think you could leave the game exactly as it is right now and just change the reward for scores and I think that would have an amazing impact on the game,” he told Off the Ball. 

“If it was like four or five points for a goal and two or three points for a score from outside the 45(m line) or change the 45 to 40.” 

Mannion continued: “Fans would love to see it. That will open up a whole new world in tactics then because you can’t sit back, the whole lot, and allow a team kick for two or three points from 40 yards so you have to push out.

“Something like that without changing anything else would actually open up a whole new dimension and dynamic to the game and force teams to really think about it because now the risk-reward system feels broken, not the game itself.” 

Insisting teams keep at least three players in a certain part of the field was proposed by FRC member and former Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice in his Irish Examiner column last June.

“Firstly, three players and their markers have to stay inside the 65m line at all times,” he wrote. “Rotate the three if you wish but a team can only defend with a maximum of 11 outfield players.

“If a team gets a man sent off or black-carded, they can withdraw one of the front three to help defensively. By having to keep three up, space will be created for the attacking team, by removing at least six bodies from that area.

“Also, when a defending team wins the ball back it will make it possible to kick in the counter-attack, providing us with more kicking and more end-to-end football. If one of the three players leaves that zone the sanction is a 20m free in front of the goals.” 

Gavin is a firm supporter of the clock/hooter motion, which was brought forward by Wexford club Clonard to Congress in 2010 where it was passed only for it to be shot down by Central Council due to costs.

It was endorsed by delegates a second time in 2012 but it again failed to be implemented as a trial run identified concerns such as “negative possession” in killing the clock.

"I think it's a fantastic initiative,” said Gavin of the clock/hooter nine years ago. “It would add more excitement to the game, so it's a little bit baffling why it hasn't taken place. I don't know the logistical issues but they seem pretty straightforward to me.” In meetings with the provinces, Gavin has used the expression “sandbox testing”. 

FRC proposed rule changes passed by Special Congress in December will be trialled for the 2025 season but are subject to a mid-season review, likely in early March over halfway through the Allianz Leagues, where they could be removed or amended if possible, in the event there is strong opposition.

Increasing the number of substitutes from five to six has also been floated. For the six-season period (2014-19) that the black card was an automatic replacement before it became a 10-minute sin-bin offence, teams were permitted to make six personnel switches.

The disbandment of the much-maligned advanced mark is also on the table. Introduced in 2020, the awarding of a free to a player, forward or defender, who has caught the ball cleanly inside the 45m line from a kick pass outside it that is 20m or more in length, whether vertically or diagonally, has been roundly criticised as adding little or nothing to the game.

While allowing the direct pick-up off the ground, like the clock/hooter that has long featured in ladies football, has also been suggested in meetings. For several years, Mick O’Dwyer has called for the change, believing it would speed up the game and contribute to less fouls.

Jettisoning the fisted point, increasing the minimum length of the kick-out from 13m and banning passing the ball to goalkeepers have also been mentioned from the floor.