Meath's Colm O'Rourke believes that returning to a more traditional style of Gaelic football may not be possible, but he believes that there is still room for long kicking in the game, as long as it is used in the right way.
This comes after last weekend's All-Ireland quarter-final matches at Croke Park. Kerry v Tyrone, Mayo v Dublin, Monaghan v Armagh, and Derry v Cork highlighted the old and new age of Gaelic football.
Critics have slammed the teams' urgency and unwillingness to play football at the highest level. O'Rourke, who is preparing his Meath side for next Saturday's Tailteann Cup final against Down, was asked if the game would go back to its roots. O'Rourke responded, "No, I don't see any turning back."
However, the Meath boss gave special praise to the likes of Kerry and Dublin for their willingness to still utilise long kicks.
He cited an example from the recent match between Dublin and Mayo, where Dublin scored their first goal through a long high ball.
"Like the two most successful counties, Kerry and Dublin, I'd always find it enjoyable to go and watch their style of play. The winners generally dictate the style, and the Dublin style for six years when they were winning All Irelands was something I admired. They didn't mind kicking it.
GAA on 📺 this weekend
Football
Saturday
Meath vs Down - 1.00 (GAAGO)
Cork vs Kerry - 3.00 (GAAGO)
Kildare vs Dublin - 5.00 (GAAGO)
Tyrone vs Armagh - 7.00 (RTÉ)Sunday
Mayo vs Louth - 2.00 (RTÉ)
Roscommon vs Sligo - 3.00 (GAAGO)
Donegal vs Derry - 4.00 (RTÉ)Hurling… pic.twitter.com/BvXWdanPfQ
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"Look at the first goal they got against Mayo - a long high ball in, (Colm) Basquel catches it, turns his man, bangs it into the net. Kerry were doing plenty of kicking of the ball last week, too, so I was quite surprised by the likes of Armagh, who were using that tactic quite a lot in previous games," he went onto to further say.
O'Rourke also expressed his surprise at teams like Armagh, who had previously used the long-kicking tactic effectively but seemed to move away from it in the quarter-finals.
"I was in Clones one day, the throw-in was caught and, bang, into the net. I think Rory Grugan caught it and put it in the net. Like, why would Armagh go away from that when it was paying dividends?. They got three goals against Down in the Ulster semi-final kicking the ball in high. So teams who have been kicking the ball a good bit - I know you can't just kick it in all the time - it still has been profitable for quite a few counties," added O'Rourke.
Down will play Meath in the Tailteann Cup final at 3pm next Saturday.
