Gaelic football struggling as a spectacle? The Sky Sports GAA team examine the Ulster final and potential rule changes

Derry's win over Donegal in the 2022 Ulster SFC final was a momentous one for the Oak Leaf County, ending 24 years of hurt in the province.

However, the contest was widely criticised for its lack of aesthetics, as the two sides' tactical approaches resulted in a stalemate for long periods.

There has been intense debate since the Clones decider.

"We knew there was going to be a lot of subplots in it. I didn't go into the game wondering if I was going to be entertained. I just saw a product in front of me. Saw a game, saw a tactical battle, saw match-ups," explained former Down star Martin Clarke, who was on commentary duty for the match.

"At times, I thought it was enthralling. Such an arm-wrestle. The atmosphere was simply brilliant.

"I was just commenting on what I could see, there were so many things happening. I could see off the ball, what was happening on the ball. The opportunities that potentially I could see players just didn't want to go there at times. There was a lot of caution. But I understood that, because the players didn't want to lose the ball. It's quite simple.

"Right until that 92nd minute when Michael Murphy had a 14-metre free kick, if it had hit the net, Donegal win, there was tension, there was drama, and for Derry to get over the line. It was a close, tight, tactical, full-blooded affair. And I enjoyed it."

Peter Canavan was in agreement.

"I do understand some of the criticism," said the former Tyrone star.

"But..when it came to the end of the game, I was looking forward to extra time. There were so many things going on in terms of subplots, the tactical side of it, what one team was doing and how it was counteracted by the other. There were lots of aspects of that game which were fascinating.

"I found it intriguing. Maybe when you're there, you do get caught up in the sense of occasion. There was a brilliant atmosphere in Clones, it was an Ulster final, the crowd and all the rest.

"Prior to the game, I was critical of Tyrone and Monaghan for playing Derry in a way that suited Derry. Donegal went out and they had to mirror the way Derry were playing. It was the fact that Donegal just lacked that wee bit of ambition when they were going forward. They weren't incisive, and they could have been so much more creative. But absolutely, I'd be telling a lie if I wasn't intrigued by what I witnessed."

Jim McGuinness was of a differing opinion, and said that viewers at home had the opposite experience.

"People that were at it had a different perspective to people that weren't at it," the former Donegal boss argued.

"People that weren't at it and watched it found it a very tough watch. And people that were at it were sucked into what could happen next.

"Personally I found it tough, because you have the manager's hat on you...You know what Donegal could have been doing in terms of breaking down the Derry defence. It was very tactical, we knew what Derry were going to do. They got the numbers back, everybody sitting in. Donegal spent the whole time trying to work a way to get through that.

"I do feel that Donegal had to mirror them, but if they had more tactical flexibility going forward, and more energy, they could have got over the line."

Do the rules need to adapt?

Sky Sports commentator Paul Earley sat on the Football Review Committee in 2012, and flagged that the number of hand-passes could be an issue of concern.

"I watched [the Ulster final]. I really enjoyed it as an intriguing contest. But I was disappointed with the quality of play and the lack of ambition at times from both teams," he stated.

"But equally I could understand it, particularly from Derry having not been there for a number of years. One of the issues is that the game is in a good shape if we see games like we saw last year, when we saw Monaghan and Armagh play in Newry. An outstanding game. Maybe it was a little bit open. But we saw great kicking, great catching, great scores. All of that. So we know that the game can be played like that, if the players and coaches have the ambition to play like that.

"However, I think one of the challenges is the proliferation of hand-passing has been an issue for a number of years. When we did the football analysis back in 2012, the average was running at two and a half hand-passes to one kick-pass. And at the time, we recommended to the GAA that if it increased, they should be doing something about it.

"In a number of [recent] games, it increased to four and a half to one, five to one. That's the piece that's causing a lot of people difficulty.

"The issue is that with the improvement in coaching the last 10-20 years, players are better, they're more conditioned, they're fitter, they're more skilled than they ever were. It's more difficult to get the ball off players.

"Back in 2012, the general public in a survey said they wanted to see more high catching, more long-range points, more kicking. And what we tried to do at the time was recommend some rules which would promote those skills, and see more of those in the game.

"Unfortunately, it has gone the other way. That's a challenge. I'm not sure what the solution is. That lateral hand-passing around the middle, that inability to move the ball is an issue."

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