“Yeah I was blowing hard myself at the end of it.”
Roscommon boss Davy Burke oversaw his side’s thrilling NFL Division 2 win over Down at Dr Hyde Park on Sunday.
The Rossies won by a score of 3-20 to 1-21 to kick off their league campaign, and Burke was full of praise for the game’s new rules (you can read an explainer here), which made for an exhilarating and free-flowing match.
He said:
“Yeah, I was blowing hard myself at the end of it.
“It’s frantic and it’s absolutely chaotic but I’d be very positive about the new rules and the new game.
“I think we’re en route to a brilliant product. I think there’s a few things I’d probably tweak, but I’d be very, very optimistic.
While he was disappointed after the loss, Down boss Conor Laverty echoed Burke’s views.
He said: “I actually felt both teams embraced the rules well today. Listen, it’s going to take time for players, management and particularly referees to get used to this.
“There’s an awful lot going on. There’s an awful lot of opinions. People maybe don’t understand the rules and there is shouting coming from one side to another side but listen we just have to be patient.
“We’ll probably all have to be realistic and say that Gaelic football definitely needed a tweak.
“Maybe there’s an awful lot at the one time and pre-season competitions would have helped maybe iron a wee bit more of it out instead of trying to iron them out on the first day of the league.
“But I think everybody just has to embrace it now and be patient with them and give this a real go.”
