Midfield piggery and how to 'break the siege'
RTÉ GAA analyst Enda McGinley says using possession wisely to take the sting out of a game is key when momentum turns against a team on their own kickout.
Round 3 of the Allianz Football League saw a return to the wild swings in momentum that were a feature of last year's first league campaign under the new rules.
With a gale behind them, Galway reeled in a 12-point deficit in the final 23 minutes to snatch an improbable draw in Tralee on Saturday evening. The following day, Armagh demolished the Roscommon kickout in the closing stages as they almost overhauled a massive deficit, again with the backing of the wind.
After the game, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney, a long-time sceptic around aspects of the new rules, claimed there was "no skill" involved in the new kickout battle. He unflatteringly described the middle third tussle for the ball as "pure piggery".
Three-time All-Ireland winner McGinley - who managed Errigal Ciarán to last year's All-Ireland club final - agrees there is an unavoidable element of chance created by the new kickout regulations, regardless of what plans coaches devise to secure more possession.
However, McGinley believes that makes it all the more important that teams use possession wisely when they do get it, citing mistakes made by Armagh during that famous third quarter barrage from Kerry in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final.
"If I'm looking at video and trying to pick out reasons why teams are losing kickouts, the first thing is that there are key areas around break ball, where you want your players in place to pick it up," McGinley said on RTÉ GAA podcast.
"But sometimes you can have players in the right positions and the ball just goes the other way.
"You have to assume if you get 10 kickouts and your players are always putting themselves in the right place, then you're bound to get your hands on [at least] 40% [of possession] even if you're a wee bit unlucky.
"During that famous Armagh collapse against Kerry on the kickout in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final, two or three times within that 15 minute spell, Armagh got hands on ball and got it up the pitch.
Kieran McGeeney said there was "no skill" involved in current kickout battle
"This is where we talk about game management. If you've lost two, three, four kickouts and then you get hands on ball and break the siege - you have to maintain that possession. You have to get a foothold in the game and stop the other team's momentum by building your own period of momentum.
"In that All-Ireland quarter-final, Armagh coughed up possession and gave the ball back."
When teams are being overwhelmed in the middle third battle, they might seek to devise alternative strategies or shorter options to get their hands on possession.
But McGinley cautions against being overly clever in those scenarios.
"The momentum is with the attacking team going to break that ball back in. Your midfielders are going to fetch it, their midfielders are going to smash it back in. And the ball is travelling back towards your own goal and your defenders might be turning.
"The only benefit you have is have calls, or signals, or trying to load dice and put it on top of your favourite players.
"But fancy calls, fancy moves are rarely very dependable. Especially when the wheels are coming off the wagon when you need them most.
"A plan that's not working is nearly worse than no plan at all, where players just dig in. Just put it in and we'll go fight for this.
"It's such a change in mindset from the era when teams were saying we should be winning 80%, 90% of kickouts.
"Now the top teams, with top goalkeepers, top coaches are saying it's just piggery out there. Just get it out and you have to fight for it out there.
"But you will, if you keep putting your body in the line and keep getting the right position, you will get hands on ball. But it is key what you do to break the momentum.
"What we're seeing at the moment is teams are still trying to force things. When that, of all times, is not the time to do that."
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