The All-Ireland final was no classic, but new rules meant a big improvement on 2024

Irish Times

2 days ago

The 2024 All-Ireland football final between
Armagh
and
Galway
marked a moment in history. The Orchard County won just their second Sam Maguire Cup, their first for over 20 years, but it will likely be remembered for even more significant reasons.
As long as the
Football Review Committee's
(FRC) proposals are ratified by
GAA
congress later this year, then Armagh-Galway will be the final intercounty game played without the FRC's rule changes that have breathed life back into football this year. The game itself is something of a time capsule – a tense, dreary game, with all the hallmarks of a sport that needed a speedy redraft.
This year's final was hardly a classic itself as
Kerry
blew away
Donegal
with an early assault that the Ulster champions never recovered from. But a deeper analysis of both of these game shows that there are major signs of improvement in the wider footballing context.
For starters, there was a nearly 20 per cent reduction in handpassing in 2025 compared to the previous final. With Galway particularly intent on playing through the hands, the 2024 final saw 593 fist passes, compared to 485 in this year's edition. Highlighting hand-passing's negative impact on games, over two-thirds of those passes went either sideways or backwards in both finals.
READ MORE
Kerry's last play of the first half came in for some criticism from neutrals after the final this year. The Kingdom held possession for over two minutes, waiting for the hooter to sound before
David Clifford
blasted a two-pointer over the bar to end the opening period. Although that possession seemed to last forever because of the lack of action, Galway actually kept the ball for longer on two separate occasions in their loss to Armagh.
Those long stretches of idle possession would have been high on the list of priorities for the FRC, and things largely seem to have improved this year. The average length of time that possession was held in the final fell by nearly a quarter from last year – from 45 seconds to 34 – although this was down to an increase in shooting and more direct play rather than turnovers and tackling.
One huge difference between the two games was in shooting. The contrast is stark – there were 45 shots in the 2024 final, but this was eclipsed by the total of 68 shots this year, an increase of 51 per cent. There was also a massive increase in the number of scores, from 25 to 41, so in this regard, the FRC changes have absolutely added more excitement to the game.
There were far more shots in the 2025 final than in the previous year's game, with Kerry in particular targeting two-pointers. Graphic: Paul Scott
Kerry managed five two-pointers, targeting the extra point with 14 total attempts, whereas Donegal failed to do likewise, scoring zero from three attempts. All of these came in the second half as they were chasing the game. While other rules have certainly helped create more scoring chances, the introduction of the two-point arc has been critical in the return of long-range scores.
One odd detail from the 2024 final is that Paul Conroy likely would have won Galway the All-Ireland if the arc had been established by then, with the midfielder scoring three from the required distance. However, these were the only such scores, and only three more were attempted, while there were 17 shots from 40 metres or more in the 2025 edition.
There were far less long-distance shots in the 2024 final, where Galway's Paul Conroy was a clear outlier. Graphic: Paul Scott
Disappointingly, there was only the slightest increase in turnovers in the tackle, up one from last year to 11. The number of blocks was doubled from two to four, as was the number of turnovers in one-on-one situations, but these are very marginal gains. Traditionalists will also have been disappointed with the amount of kickpassing in this year's final. There was slightly less kickpassing than in the 2024 final, and the number of foot passes that travelled forward more than 30 yards fell from by three to nine.
Kickouts were radically altered by the new rules, with short restarts having to travel beyond the 40-metre arc. This meant that there were massive changes in kickout strategy between the two finals. In 2024, 29 total kickouts went short to a player under little or no pressure – that number fell to just five in 2025.
At the other end of the spectrum, 29 kickouts went long this year, over four times more than in the Armagh-Galway final, creating entertaining scraps for possession in midfield. This was crucial, as Kerry's determination to win the breaking ball on kickouts was the platform that their victory was built on.
Galway's Paul Conroy and Oisin Conaty of Armagh. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Meanwhile, high fielding doubled from last year, with eight clean catches coming from these kickouts. Joe O'Connor, in particular, gave an exhibition of a skill we have not seen enough of in recent years.
Overall, despite the 2025 final not being the most thrilling game we've seen this year, it shows that even an average game under the new rules can be an improvement on last year. While some skills of the game like kickpassing and tackling remained disappointingly minor aspects of the final, there were still significant gains in areas that add entertainment for fans, like shooting and high fielding.
There are further changes that could be voted in at GAA congress, but after the best championship in years, there's plenty of reason for delegates to stick to the current rules, and not twist one more time. Regardless, it's almost guaranteed that Armagh's victory over Galway will be the final intercounty game played without some FRC changes. It's certainly a good reminder of why we needed these changes to begin with.