'It works both ways: midfielders learning to live with kickout mauls

A curious concern for Tyrone was their continued struggles on the long kickout (beyond the 65m line). In a ranking of every team in the Sam Maguire series retention on long kickouts, three semi-finalists were comfortably in the top half. Tyrone finished in the bottom three.

LONG KICK OUTS: Armagh goalkeeper Blaine Hughes kicks the ball out to restart play. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The rule creator suddenly became a challenger. At first, Malachy O’Rourke was a member of the Football Review Committee. He became a critic of them as Tyrone manager. One in particular was irking him.

“I am not a big fan of the kickout having to go outside the arc all the time, it is leading to an awful lot of holding and scraps for possession,” he said last March.