TAKE FIVE: Some motions up for debate today

MOTION 7

No joint captains to be allowed for post-match trophy presentations, with only individual from a team allowed to be the recipient. A motion that says what it does on the tin and at inter-county level one that is likely to have its biggest impact on both Kerry and Kilkenny, whose archaic system of choosing captains often leads to two men lifting the cup.

MOTION 12

All-Ireland finals to be played on or before the 29th Sunday in the year, while provincial championship are not allowed to proceed until third Sunday in May. The most significant aspect to this debate is that there had been done, but in passing this — ensuring the inter-county season ends by the middle of July — the infrastructure is in place to activate a split season. That would resolve the biggest single issue that has dominated the GAA news agenda in modern times –– the club-versus-county battle. The lack of debate is down to the fact that when it was employed in an emergency situation last year it proved to be an unqualified success.

MOTION 13

The maximum number of clubs allowed to compete in an adult intermediate and senior county senior championship to be set at 16. If passed, it will be operational from 2023. This is an attempt by the GAA centrally to put some order and uniformity on how counties run their club championships and while it has logic on its side, it will almost certainly be met with resistance for those who believe that local government, as in county boards, know best.

MOTION 25

Where a team commences a game with a minimum of 13 players the game can be played in full and the result stand. Under current rule, irrespective of the result, if a team was not in a position to furnish a referee with a 15-man team list before the end the game would have to be forfeited. This is a rule aimed at lower club grades where numbers can be an issue and should be warmly received. And perhaps even more so by the ageing club official, who in the past had to sacrifice his Sunday shoes and dignity to stand in the corner to legitimise a result.

MOTION 28

A player who sustains a suspected head injury, if instructed by the referee, shall temporarily leave the field of play for further assessment before the player’s fitness to return is determined and can be replaced by a temporary substitute. In short, this amounts to best practice when dealing with suspected concussions — a development that is also now being embraced by professional soccer.