‘I’d like a bit more physicality allowed but you don’t want to turn the game into a freetaking competition’
DUBLIN’S Hannah Tyrrell has said that ladies football must not be allowed to descend into a “freetaking” competition.
Last Sunday’s AllIreland senior final in which Meath beat Kerry to complete the two-in-arow was criticised as a spectacle due to the officiating around physical contact which, by rule, cannot be deliberate in the ladies game.
Cavan’s Maggie Farrelly refereed the game and awarded 38 frees over the 60 minutes, some of them against the player in possession as they sought to break an attempted tackle.
Meath’s Vikki Wall (inset) was penalised early on in that regard and harshly sin-binned later in the game.
Changed
Tyrrell said: “I think the game has changed over the last couple of years and I find that a lot more teams are in the gym and a lot stronger than maybe they were in previous years.
“The biggest problem players have and why they get frustrated is not even the rules that are being applied, it is the consistency of how they are being applied.
“One referee might let a lot of contact and physicality go and another ref will barely let any and that can be quite frustrating for players.
“Maybe in the semifinal, they play in a hugely physical, free-flowing game and in the final they realise they can’t play like that and they are getting called for fouls.
“I would like to see a bit more physicality allowed into it.
“I am not saying full on tackling or rugby tackling or anything like that but a little more freeflowing games is what I would like to see because that is where you see the best players excel and do well.
“You don’t want to turn it into a free-taking competition.”
Tyrrell believes the rule around no deliberate contact should be binned.
“There’s such fine margins in the game sometimes.
“It can be quite a difficult one to get right on the day. It usually takes a few minutes for players to figure out what the ref is calling and isn’t calling on the day so you can kind of get up to speed and know what physicality you are and aren’t allowed for that particular referee.
“I would like to see the rules changed slightly, to just allow a little bit more of a free-flowing game.”
Wall and Meath teammate Orlagh Lally are among the players leading the exodus to the AFLW and Tyrrell, who intends to play on for Dublin next year, says she doesn’t begrudge them the opportunity having made a similar call earlier in her career.
“I did something very similar with joining the Irish rugby sevens team back in 2014.
“It was very hard for me to leave the Dubs at the time but it was an opportunity to potentially play for my country, potentially play in the Olympics and world cups and travel the world.
“The dream was always to come back and play for Dublin one day and thankfully I was able to achieve that and maybe these AFLW players will be able to come back and play for their respective counties one day.”
Agenda
Given her own broad sporting background, the 31-year-old would appear to be tailor-made for the AFLW but it’s not on Tyrrell’s agenda just now.
“I’ve had a couple of teams interested, I suppose, and contacting me and wondering would I be willing to give it a go or chat to clubs and stuff like that but, for me, I’m just not in that mindset or position to go over right now.
“I’ve a fairly steady and good life over here and I’m not permanent in my job as a teacher yet and stuff like that, so not on the cards for me right now.
“Maybe if I was a couple of years younger the decision might have been easier because it seems like a great life over there and an opportunity to go off and play professional but no, not for me right now.”