Michael Murphy hails success of new rules and says it'll get better with time

Donegal legend Michael Murphy said that the Football Review Committee is happy with how the inter-provincial series matches played out on Friday evening in Croke Park. 

The seven enhancements were displayed on Friday night for the first time as the four provinces played off in an attempt to improve the game of Gaelic football to become a faster, more open, and attacking game. 

The 2012 All-Ireland winner spoke after the match to the press in Croke Park alongside the head of the FRC Jim Gavin and expressed their satisfaction towards the new rules, citing that it will take time for it to fully come into effect. 

Looking at certain areas of the new enhancements, Murphy and Gavin were happy with the increase in kick passing, long-range scores, high fielding, goals and one-to-one contests and creativity. 

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Focusing on the two-point rule, Murphy said that it is an essential part of the new game because without that bonus threat, teams will revert to a default setting, even with just 11 players defending. 

"If you don't have that scoring zone, those 11 defenders just going to sag in, close up the 'D' and shore it up whereas when there is that scoring arc, those 11 defenders have to try and press out,” Murphy said. 

“There was definitely an increase in shots taken, not all of them got over the bar, a lot of them dropped short." 

But the former Donegal player is sure that in time teams across the country will adapt to better tackling and methods of defence but the secondary rules, designed to be more punitive around tactical fouls and delaying, will be prohibitive. 

"Week on week this will get better and for something like tackling I have no doubt they will work that out," he said. 

"They will try to prod and probe and stretch and find the way to push the percentages in their favour but with those secondary rules around bringing the ball forward 50 metres, it's risky."