You’d go far to find a more passionate advocate of Gaelic Football’s new rules than Frank Dawson.
In recent weeks, scores of inter-county managers have given their take on the various tweaks and changes from the FRC and it has been a fairly mixed bag.
However, Dawson, who is part of Paul McCartan's coaching team with the Down U20s, is adamant that the new rules has led to a much better game for fans, players and coaches.
“As a coach, I'm getting a huge amount of enjoyment as I'm trying to interpret the new rules and what they mean for my team,” said Dawson.
“After all this time it's now providing me with a fresh impetus in terms of how I coach and what I coach. So I think the rules have been great.
“I love the rules. I think everything they've tried to do has been brilliant. I have a good perspective of how they've been implemented and what they're trying to do and I find no fault with it.
“I'm now looking at games that are much, much better to watch and that was the aim of the FRC at the outset. To produce the best game - I think they've done that. I've been surprised at how well players have adopted."
Down begin their U20 campaign against the defending Ulster and All-Ireland champions Tyrone tonight in Burren (7.30pm) with further tweaks to the rules brought in just last week.
Dawson will also be involved with Bryansford as part of Jim Magorrian’s management team with the Down club season set to start next weekend.
There is a concern that some of the new rules will be difficult to enforce at club level, although Dawson believes attitudes will soon change and admits he has toned down his own behaviour along the line.
“I know it's a fear that club referees will not manage it. My take on it is that the punishments are so severe that managers will police it,” said Dawson.
“Because what manager or coach is going to select the player who costs them 50 metres, a 20-metre free for things that they should know?
“Not handing the ball back. . . I’ve heard people say that punishment is too severe, but to me, it stomps it out.
“One thing I’ve found out, I would have interacted with referees quite a lot. . . put it that way! I’ve got better over the last five years, but I’m even better now - I can’t talk to the referees. It leads to a score. I think that’s a positive thing and could help with recruiting referees as they’ll not get the same level of abuse.”
While Down have quite a young crop of U20 players this year, the mantra remains the same - promote as many to the senior ranks in the coming years as possible.
“It's always a priority with this age group - how many players can we pass on? We need the senior production line to keep moving,” added Dawson.
“It's a very connected set-up from senior managers - The under-20 managers and the minor managers.
“We're very connected in terms of the identification of players and the development of players. And we're all working towards the same goal. I was first involved with Conor (Laverty) three years ago and I've seen the development of players who are now starters on the senior team.
“So you can see that progress. He is very open that way - if you're good enough and you suit him, he picks you. He's talked to the under-20 players and he lets them know the pathway and that's a very positive thing. It's a very good thing for Down football.”
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