Derry legend and current Armagh coach Conleith Gilligan is like any other person who currently works in Gaelic football right now, and is constantly thinking about the new rules.
The Football Rules Committee have successfully seen there proposals pass through Special Congress and they will be implemented as early as January 2025.
With no pre-season tournaments in place, the first week of the National League will be where we see these enhancements in action for the first time.
Of course there was an inter-provincial tournament last October where the rules were trialled, but it wasn't in a 'do or die' game, whereas there is a lot riding on league games.
Gilligan has played at the highest level for Derry and his club Ballinderry, but since retiring, has thrown himself into the world of coaching and managing.
The flying forward was under Mickey Moran when Kilcoo won the All-Ireland club title back in 2022, and then managed the team himself the following year, guiding them to a county championship and Ulster final.
Now a manager at Edendork in Tyrone, the Ballinderry native also joined Kieran McGeeney's backroom team last year, and it proved to be a successful move as they went on to win the All-Ireland.
Regardless of what went before though, Gilligan told The Puke Football Podcast that it is a clean slate for every county now, as teams try to adapt to the changes.
Former Derry star and current Armagh Coagh Conleith Gilligan joined me on the show this week as we discussed:
- The rise, fall, and rise again of Ballinderry ⤴️
- What makes this group of Kilcoo players so special 🔥
- The new rules, and why he is excited to coach them 🧠 pic.twitter.com/apNfh5wwbh— Lee Costello (@PukeFootballPod) December 6, 2024
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READ HERE: Third Inter-county Team Makes Change To McKeever As Armagh Brand Grows In GAA Circles
“Even before the inter-provincials, when it looked like these rules were coming in, we sort of knew then (to prepare mentally), because there didn’t seem to really be any doubt that they were coming in.
“It is exciting in many ways, because everything that went before is out the window, and it doesn’t matter what you did last year, how well you did last year, because the world has changed so profoundly that it is a blank sheet.
“Everybody is at the same level, and I suppose everybody is looking to see how they can make the new rules suit their players, and their team.
“Armagh will be no different to Donegal, Dublin or Kerry, in that you are looking to see how it works, because it won’t necessarily be the same as it was last year, so there is something very exciting about that.”
Armagh's first game under the new rules will be against Galway in the opening weekend of the National League, the very team that they beat in the All-Ireland final last summer.
Every team will be seeing this as an opportunity to make some headway early on, so whoever adapts quickest, might find themselves in a prosperous situation early in the year.
You can listen to the whole interview with Conleith Gilligan on The Puke Football Podcast for free right here: The Puke Interview: Conleith Gilligan
