“I think the GAA should tidy that up” – O’Connor calls for GAA rule-change after Kerry-Derry clash

Niall McIntyre

And yet the place was only half-full.

Kerry manager Jack O’Connor found it hard, given the noise of the crowd, to get crucial messages into his players during their narrow All-Ireland semi-final victory over Derry on Sunday.

The reigning champions were up against it in the dying stages of the game, two points down with ten minutes to go, and that led to a raucous atmosphere, despite there being a paltry crowd of just 43, 192 at the game.

The Maor Foirne role previously allowed teams to use a ‘runner’ to give instructions onto the pitch but that was done away with in 2021, as certain counties abused the role by taking up space on the pitch during games.

But O’Connor found it hard to get messages into the Kerry players on Sunday, particularly in those closing stages, and that’s why he feels something must be done.

“You can’t get a word in out there,” he said.

“It’s a desperate situation trying to get messages in, you’re wasting your time.

“Then you’ve linesmen yahooing at you if you put a toe over the line, you know. It’s something that has to be tidied up long-term because that can’t go on.

“Jesus, you should be able to get a message on to the field. I mean, Christ, you’re helpless. If you’re trying to make a switch it’s very very difficult, and then you have to try to think of other clandestine plans to get messages in, you know.

“I think the GAA should tidy that up [and allow] a certain amount of incursions on to the field in each each half.

“Two or three per half, surely to God they can allow that. It’s not fair with the effort that’s being put in nowadays. In front of that crowd you can’t hear someone from here to the door.

“Coaches should be able to get messages in, and I know it was abused in the past but allow three to four per half, that wouldn’t be any stain on the game.”

The message O’Connor wanted to get into his team at that stage, as they trailed late on, was for them to attack the Derry kick-out.

“It was to put heat on the kick-out.

“We had to put heat on the kick-out. We had to win a couple of his kick-outs, that was the only way we were going to get momentum because if Derry got it off short you won’t see that ball again for three, four minutes so that’s what we’re trying to do, make it a contest,” he said.

“Remember that one that went out high over the midfield and Tadhg Morley won it, I felt at that stage the tide was starting to turn. And hats off to Jason McGahan and Arthur Fitzgerald, I thought we finished the game stronger,” he added.

“I was worried until McQuillan blew the whistle,” continued O’Connor.

“I was worried at plenty of stages during that game. Jesus, there was times we went down the field near the end and all we needed to do was kill the ball and you felt the referee might blow.

“There was a ball knocked into the goalie, there was another one that someone tried to pass across that was intercepted, and you’re saying ‘Jesus will you just kick it wide at least then you could regroup, the last thing you want to do with Derry is give them a counter-attack score.”

Old rivals are up next. O’Connor knows that they mean business.

“They’ve brought back the cavalry; they’ve even brought back Pat Gilroy. They didn’t bring those fellas back for the craic.”

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