Cian O'Neill: Narrative became loaded around Kerry keeping the ball

Kerry closed out the first-half of the All-Ireland final by holding the ball for nearly two minutes before David Clifford's two-pointer. The rules have since changed.

FOCUSED MEN: Kerry manager Jack O’Connor and coach Cian O’Neill on the sideline during the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final win over Armagh. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Cian O'Neill reckons a 'loaded' narrative developed around how Kerry closed out the first half of the All-Ireland final, memorably holding the ball for nearly two minutes before David Clifford's two-pointer.

Ultimately, Kerry coach O'Neill has questioned, 'what were we supposed to do' differently?

Under the regulations that pertained for the final, play continued beyond the sounding of the hooter until the ball went wide, over the sideline or a score registered.

So when Donegal's Daire O Baoill sent an errant delivery towards Michael Murphy, which Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan claimed with 33 minutes and 15 seconds on the clock, the Munster champions knew exactly what to do.

They subsequently made 15 hand passes in a row, slowing the game down to a pedestrian pace just outside Donegal's defensive screen as the clock ticked down, followed by a Paudie Clifford kick-pass, followed by five more hand passes which eventually freed David Clifford, 18 seconds after the hooter had sounded, to kick a two-pointer that prompted half-time.

On RTÉ TV commentary during that period of Kerry possession, it was noted that coach O'Neill "has his hand up in the air as if to say, 'let's hang onto the ball and see if we can get the last score of the first-half'".

Central Council has since changed the hooter rule, implementing the recommendation of the Football Review Committee that games now stop for half-time and full-time as soon as the hooter sounds.

"There's probably a lot of debate around when the previous rule came in, why it wasn't this (current) rule because this is what the ladies game always was," said O'Neill. "But to be fair, they trialled it, they discussed it and the decision was made to change it to what we have now. I don't think anyone can have an argument with that process.

"I think there's been a lot of talk about the last two minutes of the first half (of the All-Ireland final) this year. I think the narrative was kind of loaded because, you know, what were we supposed to do, in terms of holding onto the ball?

"We finished with an unbelievable score from David. But, like, it's not our responsibility to dictate how high a team should press against us. That was probably a narrative that perhaps drove this. Maybe it didn't. But no matter what the rules are, and Jack O'Connor is always clear about this, we'll play to the rules and we'll try to develop our gameplan as best we can."

Clifford's wasn't the only significant Championship score registered after the hooter had sounded last summer. The FRC noted that across 23 matches that operated the clock/hooter system, 14 scores materialised after the half-time hooter with a further seven after the full-time siren.

O'Neill was on the sideline in Newbridge last Saturday evening as Kerry's development squad beat Kildare 1-18 to 0-19 in a challenge match. 

Kerry, leading by two points with time almost up, held onto the ball until the hooter sounded. If last summer's rules had been in place, and Kildare had won back the ball late on, they could potentially have kicked a two-pointer to level the game long after the hooter had sounded.

"I have to say, for that group of players who are still working really hard trying to break into the squad, to have the ball with 70 seconds left and to know that they just needed to keep it, I thought that was brilliant to see, how they could adapt to it so quickly," said O'Neill. "They never would have come up against that before so I was delighted with the way they managed it at the end."

Kerry kicked five two-pointers in all in July's 10-point All-Ireland final defeat of Donegal, fully exploiting Donegal's at times deep-lying defence. Former Kildare boss O'Neill, renowned as one of the GAA's shrewdest coaches from his time with teams at the top level of football and hurling, is certain that there is more innovation to come in year two of the new rules.

"Oh I think there's a lot more to come, I really do," he predicted. "I think last year was a test ground almost, or as Jim (Gavin) calls it, a sandbox season, whereby you were trying to learn your way through the League. Then the rules shifted towards the end of the League, then you kind of had to tweak a couple of things in the Championship.

"I think it will be a very interesting off-season for teams, managers, coaches, players, all trying to figure out what is the best game plan that suits them. And that's the important bit, instead of teams trying to figure out what was Kerry's gameplan, or what was Donegal's gameplan, or what was Kildare's gameplan and copying that. I think that will probably be the best learning for everyone - what game suits us and the players we have? Rather than trying to copy and paste what someone else is doing."