Further Gaelic football rule changes possible before 2026
Other changes, such as preventing a team retreating into their own half once they've crossed the halfway line, could still become rules in Gaelic football in the future.
Some of the biggest changes this year have seen the introduction of the two-point arc 40 metres from goal, keeping players in the opposition half at all times, and banning back passes to goalkeepers.
But Gavin, who became the first manager to guide a team to five senior All-Ireland titles in 2019 with Dublin, says that the FRC's work isn't done yet.
"It is possible," Gavin said when asked by The Sunday Game host Joanne Cantwell whether new rules could be brought in. "Nothing is agreed until it's agreed - they're temporary rules."
More from Jim Gavin with some fascinating updates on the rule changes
📺 https://t.co/XbYhQNQZZl
📱 https://t.co/t5qjLbkAf8
📻 https://t.co/2SRRKdgjzu pic.twitter.com/LrvddVoOcz
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025
And Gavin went on to say that a sandbox game on Wednesday, involving Dublin clubs Round Towers and Fingallians, will see some potential new rules being tried.
"It's at 7:30 in Abbotstown, to look at more... at feedback we're getting through surveys. The four-point goal, if a team crosses the halfway line, they can't go back.
"Look at Louth in the Leinster final against Meath. They brought the ball back into their own half and there was some suggestion that it might encourage teams to push out if they know they can't go back into their own half.
"I don't want to have people concerned that there's going to be radical change. Our job, as the FRC, is to do as much research as we can in the time that we're given.
"We have to produce a report for Central Council in early September. We're going to be writing it in a couple of weeks times so we're at the very final stages now."
Jim Gavin joins us with some praise for the FRC changes and a grilling from our panel
📺 https://t.co/XbYhQNQZZl
📱 https://t.co/t5qjLbkAf8
📻 https://t.co/2SRRKdgjzu pic.twitter.com/bQVvhLm1p1
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025
And while the FRC will be wound up shortly, Gavin says he would like to see the GAA be able to make tweaks, where they're needed, without having to set up another rules review group like the one he has been chairperson of.
"Only every five years the clubs can propose changes to the rules," he pointed out.
"In those five years, the standing committee on playing rules... As we've seen when kickout mark was introduced, that was introduced in that gap.
"Our belief is that the standing committee on playing rules needs to agile enough. If they see that the game needs to change, not to wait for another FRC to come around in 2035, to make changes as necessary."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Jack O'Connor says he ‘won't keep people hanging on' with decision on Kerry future after nearly quitting last year
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor admits he wasn't far off 'packing it up' last year having found himself in a 'lonely place to be' after the Kingdom's All-Ireland semi-final loss to Armagh. Speaking at the Clayton Hotel in the southside of Dublin city the morning after masterminding Kerry's 39th All-Ireland win and his fifth as manager, the 64-year-old says it took some cajoling from the players to convince him to 'hang in there' during a 'very tough' off-season though he admitted he's 'glad' he did.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Joe O'Connor: 'The positive was that I had a year to work on my physique and work on my sprinting'
There are few silver linings to cruciate injuries but in Joe O'Connor's case his 2022 setback gave him chances to build up his physique and improve his speed. O'Connor had been on the periphery of the Kerry team when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament for Austin Stacks in September of the year. The time away to build up his power was huge. 'The positive was that I had a year to work on my physique and work on my sprinting and stuff like that. I probably wouldn't be able to if I was just playing game after game. 'That's what I tried to do with the S&Cs and the physios. Try and get work on so I can come back in way better shape. I probably did come back in better shape.' So when the Kerry management asked him to take and give more hits in 2024, O'Connor was ready and able. For the second season in a row, he was an ever-present this year. 'They kind of asked me for that role to be physical and just to get tackles around the middle and then Cian O'Neill came in this year and kind of went after my attacking game and tried to really test me that way and try to make me a better player, which helped me a lot with my confidence and just take it game-by-game, really.' O'Connor was All-Ireland winning captain in 2022 but this latest victory feels more whole having played a substitute's role back then. 'It was a tricky enough year probably being captain and getting token minutes and getting probably five or six minutes off the bench and it was just a weird enough position for me, but I wasn't happy with that and I wanted to break in, and I just felt like I wouldn't stop until I would be a starter.' Then came the cruciate tear, which presented more of a mental hurdle. 'I was 23 or 24 when I did it, so I wasn't getting games at the time and a lot of doubts creeping in, will I ever get in and all that, so I had to deal with that and just keep ploughing on.' Despite a superb individual season, middle third players like O'Connor came in for heat following the final All-Ireland SFC group game loss to Meath. 'It probably was a bit over-the-top the criticism but we had to use that as fuel as well. It probably gave us a kick in the right direction. We've obviously been called plenty of things like a soft team and a one-man team. Players hear that as well. We try to use that as fuel to prove people wrong.' The new rules have meant more longer kick-outs and O'Connor thrives on those aerial duels. 'Last year you might get one or two a game where it's pumped out or it's just getting clipped out to the corner and it was hard enough to get into the game, whereas now two or three minutes in, there's one coming right on top of you, so it just makes it way easier for the middle eight to get into the game where you're just attacking the ball and, just trying to get hands on ball and loads of opportunities to contest, so it's much better for us.' The move to wing-forward was to become a longer kick-out option for Shane Ryan, says O'Connor. 'Probably just needed a few big long kick-out options like with the rules so, that's what the management want and they just said they'd push me out to the wing, towards the end of the league and see how it worked out just to try it and I thought it worked well.' O'Connor's 70th minute goal was the cherry and his first since SFC matchday one, the Munster semi-final against Cork. 'I actually was getting a good few goal chances and I had to work on it because in the Tyrone game I was ballooning them over the bar and stuff, so actually worked in it for the last few weeks and chatting a good bit to the 'keepers and stuff. 'But rush of blood really, I just had a pop, but no it was class feeling like into the Hill and just the way the game was probably over at that stage as well, it was very special like and the crowd was lifting.'
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork's strong bench will play a key role in All-Ireland Camogie final
Their bench. An unrivalled bench. It's always about the Cork bench. A late injury to Clodagh Finn meant the named corner-forward played no part in Cork's All-Ireland camogie semi-final. Promoted to the first team this year off the back of a crucial All-Ireland final cameo last August, Finn went into the Waterford game sitting second in their scorers chart with a 4-7 total. The vastly experienced and returning-from-injury Katrina Mackey slotted in and Finn's absence was not felt. Mackey returned with four from play. Management has a call to make. Persist with eight-time All-Star Mackey or hand Finn her first senior final start. It could well prove that both get the nod, with another starting forward from last Saturday dropping out. Whoever loses out in the final selection, Galway won't be overjoyed at seeing them sprint into action at some point in the second half of the decider. All-Ireland winning corner-back Meabh Murphy was another returning from injury at UPMC Nowlan Park and saw the last few minutes of action. The likelihood is the Ballinora defender will be held on Sunday week, meaning Cork have an exceptionally strong defensive option ready to go should the need arise. Options. They have so many options. Finn, Sorcha McCartan, and Meabh Cahalane were massive when introduced in last year's final against Galway. The former pair were responsible for Cork's final three points. Three was the winning margin. In the All-Ireland semi-final the year previously, again against great rivals Galway, Cliona Healy, Laura Hayes, Orla Cronin, Ashling Thompson, and Orlaith Cahalane were rolled off the bench and had a direct hand in each of Cork's nine second-half points. Orlaith Mullins struck 1-2 off the bench to wrap up victory on Saturday and yet that haul offers no guarantee of promotion for their latest dance with the Tribeswomen. Cliona Healy, similarly, is a more than useful card to be able to play at the opportune moment. 'It is not an easy panel to break into, there are girls breathing down your neck for positions,' Mullins said on Saturday. Captain Meabh Cahalane emphasised the total lack of fuss when one of the first-team regulars is unable to fulfil their usual role. 'Meabh Murphy is back from injury, she wasn't starting today, but she came in and played her part, Orlaith Mullins too. Clodagh Finn, unfortunately, had an injury, but others stepped up. 'Injuries and people missing, it is just next person up. That is the ethos of the group, it doesn't matter who is on the pitch at any stage. We back anyone. That is the strength of our squad at the moment, and it is great to see,' said Cahalane. Question marks surround the strength of Galway's bench. No sub among the scorers on Saturday gone or last year's final. No question marks surround Cork's potential for further bench impact on the biggest day.
