TYRONE boss Malachy O’Rourke insists he has no plans to rush his Errigal Ciaran contingent back into county action after their All-Ireland exploits.
Despite a spirited second half fightback, the Ulster champions came up short against Dublin kingpins Cuala a week before the National League got under way - and unsurprisingly there was no Errigal representation in the Red Hand panel for Saturday night’s Division One victory over Derry.
Last year several of O’Rourke’s Glen side were fast-tracked back into action with the Oak Leaf squad, Conor Glass, Ciaran McFaul and Ethan Doherty all starting against Kerry in Tralee just six days after lifting the Andy Merrigan Cup.
Both Darragh and Ruairi Canavan suffered concussion against Cuala, ruling them out of the first two rounds of the League as a result of the GAA’s concussion protocol.
The fact the Errigal players have been operating exclusively under the old rules is a further consideration, with O’Rourke in no rush for their return.
“Yeah, we definitely want to give them a bit of a break - that couple of points tonight helps in that you aren’t rushing them back in.
“It is a matter of sitting down with the lads… they are obviously disappointed after last week. They’ve had a tough year and they’ve been playing all year.
“You could get short-term gain out of it, but long-term pain. We’ll be chatting with them and seeing how they feel and, hopefully, get them integrated back over the next couple of weeks.
“We have a panel there that we want to get a look at as well. We’ll be delighted when the boys do come back in and they’ve been playing different rules as well.
“It is just a matter of getting them in and getting them up to speed with the new rules and playing and training with the rest of the lads.”
Given O’Rourke’s role on the Football Review Committee headed up by Jim Gavin, and his familiarity with the rule enhancements that have just come in, Tyrone appeared further down the line than Derry at this stage.
Following the opening weekend of the League games a host of questions and quirks have emerged surrounding the new rules, with Oak Leaf boss Paddy claiming “the 12th man is killing the game” in the wake of Saturday night’s opener - referring to the overload created by goalkeepers like Niall Morgan.
O’Rourke, though, feels the true worth of the rule enhancements will reveal itself as the year “As the year goes on, there is definitely more space for forwards to operate in.
“Now, teams will still get back and defend their own goals, but they can only take 11 outfield players back, so I think it will open up that way. When you’re coming out with the ball, you’ll always have that option in front of you, which wasn’t always the case last year.
“Probably the one is the kick-out – if a team puts a big press on you, it’s very hard to get momentum in a game sometimes because it’s just a 50-50 ball. That is a big change, but it creates more one v one contests, and that’s what people want as well.
“Through time it will be tweaked and we will see what’s working and what’s not.”
Next up for the Red Hands is All-Ireland champions Armagh at the Athletic Grounds on Saturday night – and O’Rourke is anticipating a big response from Kieran McGeeney’s men after an opening loss to Galway.
“It is often the way that the team who gets beaten has a real focus during the week to try and get the points the next week.
“It will be a really tough game down in Armagh.”
