Thumbs up for the four-point goal, but little enthusiasm beyond for GAA experiment

Three games into the third-level league campaign with Dublin City University (DCU) and Ethan Dunne gives a shrug of the shoulders regarding the trial rules.

“I do really like the four-point goal but the rest of them, I’m kind of not pushing them forward and I’m also not hating them,” said the Dublin midfielder.

His latest experience of playing under the suite of experimental rules drawn up by Kevin McStay’s Expert Advisory Group came on Wednesday evening, when DCU beat University of Galway 2-18 to 0-10.

Sigerson Cup hopefuls DCU also hosted Galway opposition in Glasnevin the previous week, beating ATU Galway by 3-24 to 4-8 on that occasion.

In that round two game, DCU’s handpass to kickpass ratio was just 1.5 to 1, a significant reduction from the figures outlined by McStay, who said it had been “ranging from 3.8 to 5.3 handpasses to one kickpass, depending on what competition you’re analysing”.

DCU took the three handpass limit in their stride again on Wednesday and, as in the previous round, went the entire hour without incurring a single breach.

Midfielder Dunne, who started two league games for Dublin this year and made two championship appearances, said he isn’t overly keen on retaining the handpass limit long-term.

“We’ve been practising it in training and we seem to have grasped it quite early on, so we are used to it now but I just don’t think I see the need for it,” he said.

He leant the other way regarding the backcourt rule, pointing to how it allows teams to press up hard on the opposition in the middle third. But, again, it wasn’t something that particularly energised him. There were no instances of backcourt violations in Wednesday evening’s game, which was refereed by Carlow’s Lar Murphy.

The four-point goal is something that Dunne genuinely likes though, and would be interested in retaining.

“It adds a bit of value and I think it’s good, it just kind of adds a bit of excitement,” said the Skerries man.

“It doesn’t feel much different, the game generally, but I do really like that four-point goal and the impact it can have. You saw it last week against ATU Galway, they got a run of goals and then with about 10 minutes to go it was 3-17 to 4-7 or something like that and all of a sudden it’s down to nearly a single score, five or six points only in it. So I can see the potential in that for some serious excitement in games.”

As part of the trials, fisted points aren’t permitted, though Leitrim’s Jack Kelly, one of DCU’s most prominent forwards so far in the competition, attempted a fisted score late in the first half as he attacked the goal at an acute angle on the right. A free out was awarded and Kelly immediately realised his error.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen [that] happen in the three games we’ve played,” said Dunne. “It was force of habit, the point was there to be taken, under normal rules, so the instinct kicked in. That new rule, it just gets you thinking and it will become a subconscious thing in time, if the rule stays in.”

A pattern of players using handpasses to negotiate the higher-risk (or higher-opportunity) situations around the field has materialised – like when a defender is boxed in at the back and trying to escape a group of players, or when a forward is attempting to work a move to break through a defensive line.

“That’s it,” said Dunne. “And if there is a six- or a seven-yard kickpass there, you’ll give it because it just kind of gets it out of the way per se because, yeah, you’re trying to save them [handpasses] for tight areas.”

DCU goalkeeper Mike Tansley, who played for Kerry earlier this year, impressed again from the tee and got 12 of his 14 kick-outs away successfully. Despite the opportunity to go short inside the arc, he only did so twice.