Last week two of Cork's most decorated footballers took time out from busy family life to drop into Pairc Uí Rinn see how the current crop of Rebels.
The pair, Rena Buckley and Bríd Stack, who boast 11 All-Ireland medals each from their football playing days – Buckley has seven more camogie titles – were as keen to cast an eye over the new playing rules that have been introduced for the league and Higher Education colleges competitions.
Six of the dozen will mirror the "rule enhancements" introduced to the men’s game by the GAA’s Football Review Committee this season – the kickout mark, the two-point scoring arc, the requirement to keep three players in the opposition half, solo and go, and frees being brought forward for tactical fouling or sideline dissent.
The other six are specific to the women’s game, including some related to the tackle and increasing physicality.
Similar to the men’s game, the general consensus was that women’s football was becoming an increasingly difficult spectacle. Bríd Stack left the game, a narrow one-point win for the Rebels in Division 1, utterly enthused.
"We could not get over the speed of the game," she told RTÉ Sport at the LGFA launch of the 'For the love of our sport' campaign. "It had been hard watching the games the last few years, the speed that the women’s game was known for was gone.
"For it to be back, it has breathed new life back into the game. It was such an enjoyable experience. "Our game had gone stagnant, no doubt about it.
"The news rules, from what I have seen, have transformed ladies football, just like the new rules injected new life into the men’s game.
"It has revolutionised the game."
Division 2 high-flyers Cavan have backed up promotion with four wins and a draw as they gear up for the Ulster championship.
Vice-captain Aishling Sheridan (pictured above), who first joined the senior panel in 2013 and enjoyed a stint in the AFLW before returning home in 2024, believes the solo-and-go and three-up rule in particular have been "game changers", though players and officials alike are still familiarising themselves with the enhancements.
Last weekend Cavan coughed up two handy points to Monaghan by failing to maintain the three-up, which could have proven costly on another day. There will be a certain bedding in period, but the outlook is far sunnier for 2026.
"Last year, some of the games were so defensive, the opposition at times could have 14 players behind the ball," Sheridan says.
"Teams are going to line out whatever way they want, but it made it such a hard game to play and watch. These rules have allowed for such a faster-paced game."
The increased physicality has been widely received. Previously, a player could only tackle when the ball was out from the body, while there is more leeway in using hands to prevent a collision.
It also eliminates the gamesmanship that allowed players engineer frees with the charging rule.
"Referees are very clear in how they will officiate the game and allow that bit of physicality," Sheridan adds.
"If two people are going for the ball, there isn’t that indecisiveness and wondering who will get the free."
At the end of the league, a full review will take place and proposed motions will be put to Special Congress to bring the rules in for all competitions.
"If you improve the product, the crowds will come," says Stack, firmly of the opinion that the injection of energy from the rules will do wonders for the game.
Sheridan agrees. A recent trip to Tipperary saw a growing number of supporters make the lengthy journey. Their home matches are building up increased support.
"The rules have been really, really positive, there is a really good flow now to matches," she says. "Long may it continue."
