Ban on fisted points among new Gaelic football rules to be trialled

Changes could be on the way

The nine changes for trial in the Ryan Cup have been proposed by the Gaelic football's Expert Advisory Group.

Among these, the main ones are a ban on fisted points unless the ball is in flight, a cap of three consecutive handpasses, a modified kickout requiring the ball to travel just 13 metres rather than beyond the 40m arc, a four-point goal, and a backcourt rule under which a team cannot play the ball back across their own halfway line.

Meanwhile, a number of more minor tweaks include increasing the number of substitutes from five to six, a 50-metre advancement if a mark is impeded, extending the 40m arc to the end-line, and aligning all 50-metre advanced frees to the 13m line rather than the 20m line.

'Polishing' the Football Review Committee's work

The EAG is chaired by former Roscommon and Mayo manager Kevin McStay and was installed on the recommendation of the Football Review Committee in their final report in 2025, charged with monitoring trends within the game following the sweeping rule changes launched in late 2024.

McStay said on Friday that the group's work was concerned with "polishing" and "tweaking" the work undertaken by the Football Review Committee.

The other members of the EAG are David Coldrick, John Tobin, Conor McManus, Maurice Fitzgerald, Pat Doherty, Seamus Kenny and Johnny Bradley.

It lands in a summer of GAA argument, from how county boards handle their grounds and codes to a busy managerial market that saw Mike Solan set for the Offaly job.