The last couple of weeks have been very interesting from a hurling viewpoint with the club championship reaching its final stage and the commencement of the national hurling leagues, but both of these have been completely overshadowed by the introduction of the so called new rules. By Tomas Mulcahy. I will discuss the club championship final on St. Patrick's Day and also the early form shown by teams in the national league later on in the column, but first let's concentrate on the big issue effecting hurling and why these rules should be amended immediately. Rules Changes The first thing that strikes me is - what is the problem with hurling as it has been played up to now? Secondly, if there is to be change, it is important that everybody is consulted and a unified approach is adopted from the outset. Change can always be difficult to attain and satisfying everybody is near impossible, but implementing change because of the way Gaelic Football is played does not make sense. This baffles me as to why the powers that be had to tinker with the rules of hurling when there are a lot more worrying issues in the small ball game that are not being addressed. Let's be clear on this, hurling is a contact sport and if you try and eliminate this by rule changes then the game will die on its feet. We must remember that not one manager or player has yet had a good word to say about these changes and judging by the number of yellow cards issued over the last fortnight - for very petty incidents - one has to wonder how many players would be left on the field if these rules are carried forward into the cauldron of championship hurling. You could count in one hand the amount of unsavoury incidents in hurling over the last three years or so compared to football and it is important that these issues are dealt with immediately. If there is dangerous play such as giving an opponent the butt of the hurley into the ribs or tapping a player's elbow while he is on a solo run, these players should be penalised by red rather than yellow cards, because as it stands under the new rules a team is still not penalised for this type of tactic as this player can be replaced by another one. I feel also that the sin bin got the axe too quickly without giving it the proper amount of time to be judged. Maybe the proper punishment would be if the player was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes rather than a issue red card, unless the foul is very blatant. If I had an option for change there are two areas I would have looked at and those are in relation to verbal abuse of referees and the amount of points awarded for a goal. Verbal abuse aimed at referees is something which is creeping into our game at an alarming pace at club and intercounty level and I feel very strongly that this should be tackled immediately by giving a player ten minutes in sin bin as punishment. You just have to look at rugby and the difference in attitude is obvious. You never see a rugby player remonstrate with a referee over a decision which has gone against him. We need to set an example on this at the top level in GAA before it becomes a much bigger problem. Only then will things improve at underage levels. Awarding two points for a sideline ball is welcomed as it places more emphasis on the skill and art of the game of hurling and throughout the country there are not too many players who can perfect this skill. Ger Farragher from Galway is the first player I have seen to raise the red flag in the league campaign this year and it will be interesting to see will there be many more. This leads me onto the second change I would make and that is awarding four points for a goal scored. For me we are not seeing enough of these in the modern game of hurling and in some instances when goal chances are there for the taking, players are happy to tap the sliothar over the bar as they will not take that extra step into the square for fear of getting a belt. Goals should be part and parcel of hurling and the more you see in a game, the more the excitement there is. The St Patrick's Day club final If you do not make it as an intercounty player, for me the next best thing is to play with your club on All-Ireland final day in Croke Park. I never got the opportunity and it is one thing I will always regret because as a club player you represent the parish or village you hail from and the sense of satisfaction is immense for supporters and players alike. Athenry have plenty of experience on the big stage and this will stand to them on final day but if the Cloonan brothers are absent, this will have a big bearing on the outcome. James Stephens are emerging from the wilderness with a mix of experience and youth , and as always any Kilkenny team in a final is always hard to beat, be it schools, club or intercounty. Watch out for the traditional names here - a Larkin and a fast emerging young Cody - both are ones to watch. There is a huge incentive for the teams, both of whom play a very fast and open brand of hurling, and hopefully the game will be a cracker. My vote goes to James Stephens. National Hurling Leagues I know it is early stages in the campaign so far this year but if you are a neutral hurling fan then you must be worried of the non appearance of emerging teams to threaten the stronghold of the Cork, Waterford and Kilkenny, even with new rules in play. The biggest talking point has been the performances of Limerick in their two games to date and if there were two teams who I would like to see win an All-Ireland it would be Waterford or Limerick, but unfortunately for Limerick I cannot see that happening this year. If you look back to the article I wrote in October about Limerick, I said that for them to be successful there had to be unity between the football and hurling camps in order to get every available player back in a hurling jersey. They simply cannot compete without their best players. I believe they have one of the most professional set ups available with top quality fitness personnel and back room staff. Thanks to JP McManus there is no shortage of cash for top class facilities but that alone will not bring success. Limerick need their best players available to them and if they want to play football also that should not be a problem. You build a team around your best players and this establishes leaders. Only then will the players unite into a team rather than a group of individuals. The TEAM ethos is: Together Everyone Achieves More. A lot of hard work is still needed but rather than putting their heads down, they must keep positive because if they don't we will all suffer. Hurling needs Limerick. Tweet

Most Read Stories