The days of a slow full back line are quickly fading away.
The way the game has gone, all our players are now fast, are fit and are well physically conditioned. A corner back was in the past, often seen as a spot where a slower member of the team might play.
Those days are long gone.
All our corner backs nowadays are as fast as the corner forwards they are marking.
It’s fairly hard to believe then, and quite frustrating that many of our corner backs are coached to sit behind their opponents and just track them.
Philly McMahon does the opposite. He always tries to be in front of his man, so much so, that at times he’s just facing his man.
A corner back should have the self belief to contest for the bloody thing with their corner forward, to get out in front of him. They shouldn’t be content to play the role of a spoiler, when they have the ability to win the ball and do so much more for their team.
The GAA Hour Show Host Colm Parkinson took issue with many full back lines inhibitions within themselves, and pinpointed Galway’s trio of Declan Kyne, Eoghan Kerin and David Wynne as examples of this trend.
Galway don’t play a full time sweeper, which means that there is often space left in front of these lads and their opposition full forward line.
Many full back lines are afraid to push up, for fear that a high ball might come in over their heads and cause troubles, but the likelihood of that happening, with the modern running game that many teams play isn’t very high.
Parkinson believes Kevin Walsh will have to employ a sweeper in front of the trio on Saturday evening against Donegal, particularly with the scoring threat of Patrick McBrearty.
“All your full back line have to do, if there’s a huge space in front of them is mark from the front. It’s like Dublin, a player looks up and all he sees is Johnny Cooper five yards ahead of his man and there’s no option for you anyways because you have to carry it. If There’s a huge gap, you’re full back line should be marking from the front so you can’t drive it over their heads.”
“If he’s running to the side, you just cut the angle. Move right or move left… Is Kevin Walsh coaching his men to do it?
“They’re not being coached… This always confused me when I was playing with Laois. If our full back line had a huge space in front of them, they used to complain about it. If I was in the full forward line and there was space, my man would mark me from the front and then I was complaining.
Former Armagh corner forward, speaking from experience claims that he hated when his opposing corner backs did this.
“That’s a valid point there from a corner backs point of view. How many corner backs in the current day actually do that? Play using their head and mark from the front when there is so much space. There’s not too many.
“They’re still trying to be niggly and having contact with you when they’d have more affect on their man when they’re standing in front of him and not letting him run out in front.
You can listen to the full back line debate here from 33″30′.
