RTÉ GAA analysts Lee Keegan and Éamonn Fitzmaurice have defended the ever-growing use of fly goalkeepers after another weekend where the number 1 jersey was in the spotlight.
On Saturday, Fermanagh goalkeeper Ross Bogue was caught in no man's land at a critical juncture of their game with Donegal’s Daire Ó Baoill inflicting maximum punishment with a neat 45-metre finish to the unprotected net.
It was a more positive showing from Tyrone’s Niall Morgan on Sunday in their one-point loss to Galway in Omagh.
In the opening moments, he made a dart right into full-forward in search of a pass that never came, and the Edendork man would go on to have a massive influence on proceedings throughout with a rasper of a drive at goal just skimming the crossbar later in the first half.
"A lot of the keepers are outfield players for their club. That’s the way teams are setting up at the moment," former Mayo star Keegan said on the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"It is a full risk-reward; I think sometimes when you do suffer it’s such a hot topic or a hot discussion, but I would be more inclined to look at how Niall Morgan is playing the keeper role and how well he does it, from my point of view anyway."
It was an opinion shared by Fitzmaurice, who co-commentated on RTÉ’s coverage of Kerry's narrow win over Mayo in Tralee on Saturday.
"What Colm Reape does, I like that," he said of the Mayo goalkeeper.
"The last night now in the first half, you couldn't see it on the camera, I tried to highlight it once where David Clifford was one on one inside and there was a lot of space in front of him.
"Kerry were about to launch a counter-attack and Colm Reape played as a sweeper directly in front of David Clifford. He took away that initial dangerous kick that could have been put inside and the Kerry lads kind of rotated outside then and when the danger was gone Colm Reape went back into goals.
"He did it a bit last year as well and I just think it’s a good innovation; he’s still close to home if he needs to get back in goals but he just takes away that initial kick.
"Niall Morgan does that as well at times. He burst out and got one in the corner-back position yesterday as well.
"I’m still for it."
Focusing on Morgan, Fitzmaurice was full of praise for his "outstanding" display despite the Red Hands coming out on the wrong side of the result against the Tribe County.
"I thought Niall Morgan was outstanding for Tyrone.
"Look, we’ve always admired him and he’s a good goalkeeper but his general play and everything he is doing from saving, the kick-outs...the point he got in the first half when he drove through the middle, I think he was half thinking of a goal."
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