McGuinness: New-look 'relentless' football is like 'playing a version of hurling'

Jim McGuinness has said the new rules in Gaelic football could make the game like “a version of hurling” but is disappointed that additional substitutes have not been included in the reform.

The Donegal manager said their early experiences are that things are much faster and that games will seldom settle and said much more will be asked of the players, with outings very frequent and the actual games themselves played at a higher pace.

The new rules come into effect for the opening weekend of the Allianz National Football League the weekend after next, with Donegal starting Division 1 away to Kerry at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

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“We’ve noticed already that it’s a completely different game,” he said. “At this is the middle of winter. When you get into the dry sod and competitive championship matches, there is literally no hiding place.

“They could be doing maybe 30%, 35%, even 40% more than we are doing. It’s more intensive running. And there's nowhere to hide - the kick-out, the transition, the turnover - and it’s going to be very hard to defend under fatigue. I don’t know if five subs will be enough.

“We got a document that was sent out prior to the rules coming through. One of the pages at the end was talking about six subs but I don’t know if that ever came up and I would’ve thought that would’ve been one of the first ones. I’m very surprised the GPA didn’t have their finger on the pulse there, from the player welfare point of view. You’re going to see now in the next few weeks. It’s heavy going. It’s going to be week-to-week and you’re going to need depth.

“Games never really settle. Will it settle by the end of the league? Or, maybe, the game is just gonna be relentless. We're playing a version of hurling and that could be the case as well that could very well be the case. There are two-pointers, far more transitional football and defending against fewer players, with smarts of trying to break down 15. You’d expect the scoring to go way up. It’s going to very very exciting and very fast.”