Éamonn Fitzmaurice is hopeful that the proposed adjustments to the new rules which were so well received this year will be given the go ahead at Congress and, if so, the Kerry great is predicting "the inter-county game next season should be some spectacle".
The Football Review Committee's most notable suggestion involves two-point scores. In the FRC's final report, the rules body proposed an alteration whereby goalkeepers could no longer prevent a two-point score by touching the ball as it travelled over the crossbar.
Fitzmaurice, in conversation with RTÉ Sport's Marty Morrissey, suggested the rules themselves have, in a manner, worked out even greater than the sum of their parts.
"What's worked is that the combination of the rules working together have freed up the game a bit and have made it less predictable. A bit harder to control possibly at times," Fitzmaurice said.
A forgettable 2024 All-Ireland final is largely seen as the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to redrawing the football rulebook. Fitzmaurice feels the new rules have at least in part returned football to the unpredictable game of chance we all know and love.
"It's given us styles back again," the former Al-Ireland-winning Kerry boss said. "Previously, particularly the 2024 season, football was a game that most teams played the one style, and they had to play that way based on the way the opposition were playing.
"We saw variations in styles again last season. None more so in the All-Ireland final. We're always saying styles make fights. And I think that was a big positive this season."
Given the fact that the FRC are seen as the group who saved football, it seems unlikely that any proposals coming from Fitzmaurice and Co will be rebuffed. Still, Congress has seen in the past long-shot odds overturned when the votes are taken.
" We are optimistic, but this time last year, any of the rookies and the newbies in this committee, like myself, were warned that you never take anything for granted going into Congress votes," the former Kerry manager explained.
"It's like preparing for a match where we're happy with the way the preparations have gone, but the match is on tomorrow now, and we have to see the way the delegates will vote and ultimately they'll make the final decision."
"There's a couple of minor tweaks. There are 19 recommendations as part of our final report. Some of those are very important, but we felt we had a season to robustly test rules and we hadn't tested some of those proposals - even though they're interesting and they would add to the game."
