TYRONE boss Malachy O’Rourke says teams will start to look more closely at the physical profile of their players and what new skill sets are required under the new rules.
Old habits died hard for the Red Hands in a nightmare first half against Armagh last Saturday night with their hosts racing into an unassailable 1-14 to 0-3 lead.
Tyrone made so many unforced errors and contributed to Armagh racking up a big score in the first 35 minutes.
“The boys are getting used to it,” said O’Rourke.
“Throughout their careers they’ve been used to working the ball as closely as possible to get a score. Suddenly that doesn’t always be the best case, especially with the wind in the second half.
“Some of the time the better option was to take a shot from outside [the 40m arc, for two points]. It’s another thing we have to look at, especially when you’re playing with a strong wind.”
O’Rourke praised his players for “not hiding” in the second half and they did well to get within seven points of their rivals by the end.
With the short kick-out all the rage under the old rules, there has been less emphasis on having two 6ft plus midfielders. But now with the new rules creating more aerial duels from kick-outs, height has become a key feature again.
“From game to game you’re looking at what’s working for other teams, you’re looking at the profile of the players you have and you’re trying to set up according to that,” O’Rourke said.
“You’re looking at what players adapt best to the new rules. But there’s no doubt you learn from each match. It’s different as well between winter-time and summer football. As the year goes on and the pitches get a wee bit harder things will change as well.”
O’Rourke was a member of the Football Review Committee [FRC] that drew up the new rule enhancements to make the game more appealing.
Now, as an inter-county manager, the Derrylin man says the success or otherwise of the new rules would always manifest in “pressure-tested” situations.
“The remit was to make it a more exciting game to play and watch,” he said, “but the only thing is it’s not until you see them pressure-tested that you actually find out what works and what won’t work, unintended consequences, so they have to be given a chance.
“Some are working really well, there are other ones I mightn’t be sure about it.”
He could understand Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney’s dissatisfaction with teams being awarded with two points from a free outside the 40m arc but acknowledged a negative consequence if two points weren’t on offer in those circumstances.
“It possibly is [too harsh] but I suppose if it wasn’t two points for a free it might work another way. At least now if someone fouls you out there, if it wasn’t two points they’d foul you all the time if it was only a point.
“The idea of it was it wouldn’t encourage fouling. You could argue both ways and time will tell, but it is a harsh punishment.”
In Tyrone’s opening Division One win over Derry the previous week, Paddy Tally bemoaned the 12-v-11 scenario – where the defending team is effectively outnumbered unless they opt for the “nuclear option” and push their goalkeeper out to equalise the extra man.
Niall Morgan in the Tyrone goal was uncontainable against Derry.
On Saturday night, Tyrone were on the receiving end of the 12-v-11 through the sheer effectiveness of Armagh keeper Ethan Rafferty and how he pushed up to create an extra player in the Orchard attack.
“There are probably different ways in stopping it [12-v-11],” O’Rourke suggested.
“One of the ways is the nuclear option and pushing your goalkeeper out as well and it’ll leave 12 v 12… It’s maybe just getting your defence more organised that when the goalkeeper’s coming up, you shift across to a certain side. There is no scientific answer to it, but I suppose it’s seeing what works in certain games and working at it in training.”