After two seasons of use, it is clear that the new GAA rules adopted in Gaelic football have made a huge difference to the sport as a spectacle.
Gaelic football had previously become a difficult sport to watch, with negative and slow play a common sight at all levels. That has now been largely stamped out of the game.
The new version of the sport is higher scoring, more attacking, and better to watch. In saying that, we could see further GAA rules to improve the game even further.
Colm O’Rourke suggests removal of GAA pitch marking
While Jim Gavin’s Football Review Committee is no longer in operation, more changes to the rules of the sport remain on the table. Kevin McStay is the new of a new Gaelic football Expert Advisory Group which will continue to monitor the sport.
New additions to the rules such as shot clocks and limiting the handpass have been suggested by some, but Colm O’Rourke wants to see a more obscure change made.
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Writing in the Irish Independent, the Meath legend suggested that the markings on a GAA pitch should be altered by removing the small arc.
Another annoyance to me is the small arc. Get rid of it. Its only function in football is for penalties and causes rows at the two edges of the arc.
Whoever designed it a lifetime ago was trying to do the right thing and has not been put under critical scrutiny since.
Maybe they need it for hurling but if all players were outside the big arc and it was kicker against ‘keeper then it would be a better spectacle.
This is not something we have seen suggested elsewhere, but it is certainly an interesting idea.
Should the small arc be removed from GAA pitches?
The small arc is used in Gaelic football as an exclusion zone for penalties, with all players apart from the taker and the opposition goalkeeper forced to remain outside of that area.
O’Rourke clearly feels that this is not a relevant enough part of the sport that it should remain in place indefinitely. His suggestion that players could instead stand outside the two-point arc would make for an interesting spectacle, although it would grant the penalty taker an even bigger advantage when it came to reacting to potential rebounds.
It is more relevant in hurling, where players must remain outside the small arc for puck outs.
It remains to be seen if the idea will catch on with Kevin McStay and co.