ARMAGH manager Kieran McGeeney says the physicality of Ulster teams is unfairly depicted by certain sections of the media and claims Donegal are nowhere near the most physical team in the country.
The Orchard county will go toe-to-toe with Rory Gallagher’s side in next weekend’s mouth-watering Ulster SFC quarter-final at the Athletic Grounds and despite the Tir Conaill men’s fierce reputation for out-muscling and intimidating their opponents, McGeeney says Dublin, Kerry and even Mayo possess much more imposing players and hit harder than the reigning Ulster champions.
Speaking at an early morning press conference in the Canal Court Hotel, McGeeney said:
“I would put Kerry and Dublin way above them in terms of physical contact.
“I think the physicality is seen more in Ulster than in other provinces. You [the media] look at it a different way but from a playing point of view, I can categorically state they [Donegal] are not even in the same ball park.
“In terms of actual physicality, you are talking about bigger men and harder hitters. In fairness, Mayo have stepped up too in the last couple of years in terms of the size of the men they have and the way they hit.”
According to the All-Ireland winning captain, physicality and hard hits must remain part of Gaelic football and rule changes – particularly surrounding the tackle – are needed to add more entertainment to our games.
“I actually think the way the Mayo-Kerry [All-Ireland semi-final] game was played last year… all games should be played like that but no one else referees a game like that.
“We are not allowed to play like that. There were rows in that game, bibs torn up, fellas thrown over signs. There were all sorts of things and not a dickey-bird [was said in the media].
“It was great football; in fact it was the best game of the year. The doctor got pushed over in our game [against Donegal] and it should not have happened but the Maor Fóirne bib got ripped [in the Kerry-Mayo game] and it is just looked at in a different way.
“Hurling is played like that and in fairness to hurling, the players get up and get on with it.
“People will say 'Ah he wants thuggery or he wants this and that' and it's not that. I've always felt people have to understand what kind of game they want to see.”
When McGeeney tapped his shoulder to demonstrate how easy it is to buy a free in the modern game, he continued:
“That is now a foul in Gaelic football so basically it comes down to whatever type of game the referee wants it to be. In hurling, the referee just doesn't give them the free whereas if we lie down holding onto somebody's arm, we get it straight away.
“We don't have the rules to play the game the way we want to see it played.
“I mean, I do feel for them [referees] even though they mightn't agree with that because I do be shouting at them but it is very hard to implement rules that nobody wants to see.
“They would say themselves, 'Sure if I blew every foul I saw there'd be a free every 10 or 15 seconds'. But then we need to change the rules.”
During his trophy-laden Orchard county career, McGeeney quickly realised that referees weren’t as whistle happy when elite southern opposition was involved. For this reason, he enjoyed playing down south more than the Ulster derbies.
He believes that practice is still ongoing.
“When I say that [about physicality], people think that I am being derogatory and I’m not. I am being the opposite and that is why I always enjoyed playing against those teams [Dublin and Kerry] because I think you were allowed to play that way.
“I definitely think they are refereed differently but people get mixed up between physicality and dirt.”
