Ciarán Whelan feels that the new two-point rule in Gaelic football has been embraced more by the underdogs in the early stages of the provincial championships.
Cork fought back from seven down before half-time and were only beaten by Kerry after extra-time in a thrilling Munster semi-final, in which they scored five times from outside the 40-metre arc, compared to just once for the winners.
Donegal were eight clear in the second half of their Ulster SFC quarter-final victory over Monaghan but only won by two as the hosts won the two-point battle 5-3.
"The whole weekend was probably about the underdog, even though the underdog didn't really come out in any of the matches," former Dublin start Whelan told the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"The two-pointers definitely benefited the underdog. Brian O'Driscoll’s two boomers in the first half kept Cork hanging in there.
"That was a trend over the weekend. The underdogs were saying 'If we get a two-point shot, let’s take it on’ and it’s something that the bigger teams are going to start looking at.
"Monaghan pushed out on Donegal and were reducing the two-point opportunity a lot of the time.
"If you’re willing to sit on the arc and give a team control in that ‘dead space’ outside the 45m line, you do run the risk of being picked off, particularly if there’s a bit of a wind.
"The bigger teams are going to start pushing out and trying to exert pressure so you’re not getting an opportunity to set up the two-pointer.
"Monaghan possibly overdid it into the wind when the two-pointer wasn't on at times but it's a massive part of the game now.
"Donegal and Kerry are probably the two teams with the best shooters in the country but they’re not doing it at the present time.
"But they absolutely have to start bringing it into their game because otherwise they can be caught.
"Look at Down [who recovered a late seven-point deficit against Fermanagh], smash and grab in the last 10 minutes, off two-pointers and a couple of goals."
"There were some huge decisions in this game - including two red cards that were not red cards."
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 20, 2025
There was drama and controversy galore in the latest chapter of the Cork-v-Kerry Munster SFC saga.#RTEgaa
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Kerry forced extra-time thanks to a goal from Sean O'Shea scored after he had taken considerably more than the allowed four steps, but Whelan feels that in general, that is a rule referees are actually getting stricter on.
"Cork will feel aggrieved over the Seanie O'Shea ten steps, but watching the games, you could see that referees are trying to clamp down on the steps," he said.
"Because of the new rules, and the advantage of being in a one-on-one, they are trying to favour the defender.
"But there’s massive inconsistency still in it. It’s difficult.
"It has been a problem in our game for years where people get away with six or seven steps."
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