David Clifford urges GAA chiefs to stop tinkering with rules after Kerry's All-Ireland glory

The Irish Sun

6 hours ago

Clifford, top scorer with a stunning 8-62, says he 'enjoyed it a lot more' this time as the Kingdom mastered Gaelic football's revamped rulebook
TOO MUCH David Clifford urges GAA chiefs to stop tinkering with rules after Kerry's All-Ireland glory
THE new rules that have revamped Gaelic football helped to make David Clifford's second All-Ireland SFC triumph even more enjoyable than the first.
But with the Football Review Committee considering further changes, the talismanic Kerry forward reckons it is time to leave well enough alone.
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David Clifford scooped the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for July
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The Kerry icon wants GAA brass to stop adjusting the rule in Gaelic Football
Clifford thrived under the rule changes this year as the Kingdom regained the Sam Maguire.
The victory over Donegal in last month's final delivered another Celtic Cross for the 26-year-old, who claimed his first in 2022.
He said: "I think the first one was probably a lot of relief because you hadn't won one. This one, personally I enjoyed it a lot more. There was a lot more joy and a lot more fun associated with it."
With 8-62 to his credit, Clifford finished atop the Championship scoring charts with a 33-point buffer separating him from team-mate Seán O'Shea in second.
His tally was boosted by no fewer than FOURTEEN two-pointers.
Addressing the role played by the rules, he continued: "Obviously it made a massive difference.
"The way the game had gone in the last few years, it became hard to get space and there wasn't many kick-pass plays and there wasn't many fast plays, so it was hard.
"You were trying to kind of pick your way around it and at the time maybe you didn't realise how hard it was. But when you see the new game now, it's made a huge difference."
The roll of honour will forever show that Kerry were the first team to master the game since it underwent a significant overhaul ahead of the 2025 season.
Clifford added: "The three-up and the fact that you can have bodies in the top half of the pitch when you turn over a ball, that you're able to kick-pass, we would have felt that would have suited us.
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"Obviously every team kind of adapts and it ends up suiting a lot of different teams. But we thought the way they were written up would have suited us alright."
Further amendments to the rule book could still be made as the FRC recently put a couple more to the test in a trial game between Dublin clubs Round Towers and Fingallians.
Players were unable to bring the ball back into their own half once it had crossed the halfway mark.
The four-point goal, which Clifford admits to being 'not sure' about, was also given another spin after being scrapped from the agenda last winter.
But the five-time All-Star said: "I think we might be better off leaving them alone with all the changes after last year. No, I'm happy with the way it is, to be honest."
A third Footballer of Year award in four seasons looks likely for Clifford, who enhanced his status as an all-time great with a string of superb performances while also claiming National League and Munster SFC medals in 2025.
The secondary school teacher, who made his senior debut just a few days removed from his 19th birthday, said: "I suppose if I'm to look back from here, it's been a very fast eight years with Kerry.
"Jesus, yeah, it doesn't seem like I've been playing senior for that long. I still feel 21 or 22, but it's not the case anymore.
'Like, you want to be winning All-Irelands and you'd love to win it every year.
"But I suppose you're kind of realising that's not the case and you kind of understand how hard they are to win so you kind of cherish the ones we've won a bit more maybe."
While being tightly marked by Brendan McCole, Clifford spent just 43 seconds in possession during this year's All-Ireland final. Yet it is a mark of his magic that he still managed to rack up 0-9.
He explained: "You might have only eight or nine possessions in the final and in another game you could have 30 possessions. It just depends what kind of comes in front of you.
"I'm delighted if I can keep wide and let the rest of the boys do damage. I'm delighted with that. At this stage, it's just about winning as a team.
"The individual stuff now doesn't really matter much. It's about winning as a team. That's kind of all that matters to me now."
KINGDOM FAME
As a bona fide superstar, Clifford has grown accustomed to being mobbed by young supporters in the aftermath of games, particularly with his club Fossa and divisional outfit East Kerry.
On life in the limelight, he said: "It can be hard at times. Let's say after a loss, maybe with Fossa or whatever and kids still want their photo, to try and remove yourself from the loss and understand that the kids just want their photo or whatever.
"You kind of get used to it. I'm not perfect with it in one sense. Sometimes you're just not in the form for meeting people or taking photos or whatever. But I try, if I can, to help them out.
'I was a young person meeting Kerry players not that long ago, so I kind of understand what it brings to them.'