WHEN Niall Morgan pops up with the head rest behind him, it’s usually worth a click.
The Edendork man is fast-becoming the Harry Redknapp of the GAA, such is the iconography of the in-car interview. As Louis Walsh might say, he’s really made it his own.
But where ‘Arry would twitch and blink and blether, creaking of the cogs audible at a push as he sized up the impending arrival of Nico Kranjcar, Morgan is not in the business of bluff.
Back in September, following the departure of Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher, Morgan was asked who should replace the All-Ireland winning management duo in the Tyrone hot seat. This is usually when hair starts getting ruffled, gazes go out the window and carefully chosen words are kept to a minimum.
Instead the two-time All Star, speaking to Off The Ball, stared straight down the lens before issuing as blatant a ‘go and get him’ plea to a county board as you will ever see, wholeheartedly endorsing their pursuit of Malachy O’Rourke.
Within a matter of weeks, the Red Hands had their man.
And Morgan was back in the car on Wednesday, discussing the goalkeeper’s role under the new rules amid speculation the returning Michael Murphy could wear the number one jersey with Donegal.
“Shaun Patton is the best kicker of the ball in Ireland, in terms of his accuracy and distance,” he said, modestly overlooking his own claim to that title.
“If he’s hitting the kick-outs, and Michael Murphy’s wearing the goalkeeper jersey, Michael Murphy has to stand inside the six yard box, so you’re losing your target man for the kick-outs.
“Or else Michael Murphy has to hit the kick-outs, in that case Shaun Patton becomes one of the outfield players.”
The debate around the possibility of goalkeepers creating a 12 v 11 overload in the opposition half has amped up as the new rules prepare for their big reveal – but there’s plenty more. After years of tossing the ball aside, or standing almost on top of it to prevent frees being taken, the requirement to ‘promptly and respectfully’ hand the ball back to an opponent is grinding the gears of players and managers everywhere.
And then there are the unintended consequences.
The penalty that moves the ball forward 50 metres when a player or team official shows dissent towards the referee opens the door to potential manipulation.
During one recent challenge match, Antrim players were left scratching their heads when an opposition player discreetly put on his best Belfast brogue to dole out a bit of abuse within earshot of the referee.
The result was the ball being brought forward, and the stunned Saffrons being penalised - so as well as getting to grips with the new rules, managers might also need to start working on accents from around the country.
This is a unique period in GAA history, and its significance is reflected in an unprecedented level of public discourse – even at a time when there are no competitive games.
That’s why, with each conversation that flares up, it becomes more apparent what a huge own goal it was to put pre-season competitions on the long finger – this year of all years. Particularly in Ulster, home of reigning All-Ireland champions Armagh, the longing has never been so great.
Taking in the tail end of club championships, or Sigerson Cup games played under the old rules, feels a bit like watching in black and white with technicolour just around the corner.
People want to know, want to understand, want to see with their own eyes and make their own judgement.
Instead there is an almost Covid-level frenzy; the absence of pre-season competitions creating a vacuum in the calendar that is driving supporters to search out streams of charity games, or scrabbling around for details from hastily-arranged challenge games.
It’s crazy - and for what? Because if the aim was to lighten the load on inter-county players, it clearly hasn’t worked as, despite the season start date of December 7, anecdotal evidence suggested many counties were back well before that.
“If even a fraction of the reports of inter-county collective training sessions taking place in November are true, then the December 7 date was flouted high and wide across the country,” wrote Ulster GAA secretary Brian McAvoy in his annual report
“Did the GPA say or do during this time to call this out? I’m not sure if they did or said anything. It seems as if they were true to their word and had ‘zero contact’ with their members on the issue during this time.
“It seems as if the argument of abandoning the pre-season competitions in order to save inter-county footballers from collective training in November was a fallacy.”
Even in the midst of a cold snap, most are cramming in as many challenge games as possible to try and get up to speed with the new rules, with Sigerson squad members left wondering whether they are coming or going as both horses are straddled.
For those who are already sick of reading and hearing about rules and their ramifications; strap yourselves in, or pull the blinds down, because there won’t be a week between now and the end of the year when they don’t fall under the microscope to some degree.
Opinions will form, and change, then change again. Work-arounds will be discussed, analysed then put into practice, and cuteness - like the boys with their mock-Belfast accents – will always have a part to play.
Because only when the serious stuff starts will the full picture start to emerge. After all the talking, the step into the unknown nears; it could be bad, it might just be brilliant. It will be exciting to find out.
