Jim Gavin’s Gaelic football committee will ‘establish a blueprint for the next 25 years’ – Jarlath Burns

The first ‘sandbox game’ to road-test a suite of potential rule changes was held in Mullingar on Saturday, with FRC member (and RTÉ pundit) Éamonn Fitzmaurice giving some initial feedback on the live Sunday Game show yesterday.

Among the potential rule tweaks that could emerge as genuine proposals are four points for a goal, two points for shots converted from play outside a new 40-metre arc, keeping three players from both sides inside the 65m line, and a ‘solo and go’ free, where the fouled player can play on.

“I thought it was a really, really good interview,” Burns said of Fitzmaurice’s contribution, before stressing: “There’s no secrets here, we’re making it very clear as we go along, exactly how we’re doing it.

“These are not proposals. These are emerging themes that came out of the massive consultation that we had. Proposals won’t come until later in the year.”

The overall intention, the president outlined, was to “find space for forwards to do what they do best, which is to score. Having said that, we had some outstanding matches yesterday.

“There are some people who think we don’t need to make any changes; I’m not one of them. But there’s one thing for sure: this committee is one of the best groups we have ever put together in the GAA, and they are led by an absolutely outstanding person, Jim Gavin.

“What I have found, going around the country, is that there is incredible confidence in what they are doing,” he added. “I think they are going to establish a blueprint for this game for the next 25 years.”