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

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.

This was a constant theme. After the Mayo league defeat, O’Rourke suggested midfielder Brian Kennedy was being “mauled around the middle of the field.” The team captain laughs at the memory of it.

“All midfielders are the same now,” Kennedy said, speaking at the launch of the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup. “After that new rule, 90% of kickouts were going out long. It was more of a fight for possession. There were some tackles that were borderline enough not but, swings and roundabouts.

“It works both ways. Whenever it is an opposition kickout, I’m at it as well. It’s not all doom and gloom. Look it is definitely an increase on previous years when we saw a lot of short kickouts. It is a good change in my books.” 

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.

It was an issue that came to the fore in their All-Ireland exit. Against Kerry, Tyrone retained just 47% of long kickouts. That combined with some wastefulness in attack, contributed to a six-point defeat.

“A year of positives and negatives,” was how Kennedy summarised 2025. “We showed well in a few games, but ultimately let ourselves down in the semi-final against Kerry and that is the one we will try to rectify this year.” 

 hat was unmistakable was the sense of optimism around the county after three All-Ireland Under-20 titles in four years. A host of those exciting prospects have filtered into the senior side. It bodes well for the long-term future.

At the same time, Kennedy is keen to stress it is about the now. He has been part of the team for eight years. They want to make the most of what they have.

“Those young lads come in full of confidence. They have been there, done that. It can only be beneficial to the group. It is up to us older guys to bring them in and allow them to push us on as well, they have shown serious maturity for their age. It is exciting to see.

“Time slips on rightly when you are with a county team. You want to make the most out of every year that you are there. It is good to see that new crop come in and push it on again. It can only be beneficial for Tyrone.”