Ciaran Whelan has described the ponderous play and handpassing which was prevalent in last Saturday night’s Allianz Football League Division 3 final as ‘concerning’.

Down defeated Wexford after extra-time at Croke Park, but it wasn’t easy on the eye as both teams adopted a patient approach that saw large numbers of players packed into the full forward line.

“That’s the evolvement of the coaches, and if teams are winning, they’ll do that. That’s the kind of trend you’re looking at, but it was a very slow game. It was all slow attacks. As a spectacle, if more teams adapt to do that, it’s concerning,” the former Dublin midfielder said on RTÉ’s Allianz League Sunday.

“Down obviously have a very distinct tactic to get Murdock, Havern and Guinness on the outside, but there were eight players inside the 21-yard line.

“It was a lot of slow attacks, and you’d be a little bit concerned that more teams will start to do it.

“We started with maybe one or two going in to occupy defenders, create space around the arc. But this is becoming quite deliberate now, it’s looking more like a bigger version of basketball.

“Everybody is in, and you’ve got your key shooters around the arc.”

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