Micheal Bannigan: It will be interesting to see keepers becoming marked men

Monaghan captain Micheal Bannigan says only time will tell if goalkeepers like Rory Beggan continue to be as influential in open play.

Football’s rules have been tweaked again to prevent teams using their ‘keepers to create 12 v 11 overloads in the opposition half.

The change was recommended by the Football Review Committee and while goalkeepers will still be permitted to leave their own half, teams will have to keep four defenders back.

Some teams may feel that an outfield player carries more of an attacking threat than a ‘keeper and may revoke their ‘keeper’s licence to roam.

In Monaghan’s case, any curtailing of Beggan would impact on a huge strength of the team with the former NFL hopeful one of the GAA’s most recognisable sweeper ‘keepers.

Speaking at a media event ahead of Sunday’s crucial Allianz NFL Division Two showdown with Meath, Bannigan said he’s unsure how the rule will affect the likes of Beggan and Armagh’s Ethan Rafferty.

“It’ll be interesting to see if they will come forward and how effective they’ll be if there’s somebody marking them,” said Bannigan.

“I’m not sure how effective it will be if it’s 11 v 11 and if you’re marked by a direct opponent at all times. Because they (goalkeepers) are not used to that.

“The likes of Ethan Rafferty would be the one exception because he’s an outfielder by trade most of the time. But I don’t know, the new rule was only announced last week.

“There’s a lot of ways to look at it. There’s a lot of wee things you could do about it but I suppose you probably won’t fully know until you see the games, see what other teams do.

“Someone probably has an idea to do something that could be a wee bit off the wall and everyone will go, ‘Oh, we could do that too’. You probably won’t know until you see it.”

Bannigan said it’s not ideal having a significant rule changed just days before a competitive game.

“If they had voted on it last week and you then had all this week of training, it would have been ideal,” he said.

“But it’s just probably a wee bit messy, the way it is.”

Monaghan, Sunday’s opponents Meath, and Roscommon, are all locked on eight points with two games left in Division Twp.

Bannigan rejected the suggestion that Monaghan, relegated last year after 10 seasons in Division One, must get back to the top flight immediately.

The last two All-Ireland winners, Armagh and Dublin, both lifted Sam after spending spring in the second tier.

“I do think it’s important to get out of it but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t,” said Bannigan.

“The big thing is that if you lose a couple of games, get a couple of injuries maybe, you could very easily find yourself in the Tailteann Cup and that’s obviously not where you want to be.

“Division One guarantees you Sam Maguire football, I think that’s probably the biggest thing about being in Division One and obviously you’re getting the bonus of playing the top teams as well.”