Orange warning: Which counties aren't kicking enough two-pointers?

With goals down and two-pointers on the rise, GAA stats reveal who’s adapting — and who’s falling behind

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Umpire Colm Smith waves the orange flag for a two-pointer during the Munster semi-final between Cork and Kerry. File picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

We look forward to their data on hurling but the GAA’s new, much-welcome games intelligence unit told us last month that goals in Gaelic football are down under the new rules from two per game to 1.8.

That is hardly breaking news when there is a third tier of scoring worth slightly less available from open quarters further out the field. Nor might it surprise people that of the four counties who qualified automatically for the All-Ireland quarter-finals, two of them are the highest two-point accumulators this year – Monaghan (53) and Meath (48).