NEW Monaghan selector Andy Moran has backed goalkeeper Rory Beggan to rise to the challenge of the new rules – and insists the chance to work with the Scotstown stopper was “a big part” of his decision to link up with the Farney County.
The Mayo legend was named as part of Gabriel Bannigan’s management team last month, after a three-year stint in charge of Leitrim came to an end in July.
And he embarks on a new chapter at a time when a host of proposed rule changes - devised following a lengthy consultative process led by the chairman of the GAA’s Football Review Committee, Dublin’s six-time All-Ireland winning manager Jim Gavin - throw up further challenges to contend with.
Those rules will be trialled in a series of interprovincial games at Croke Park on October 18 and 19, with one in particular carrying the potential to have a huge bearing on one of Monaghan’s biggest assets.
Beggan – who will be in championship semi-final action for Scotstown against Inniskeen this weekend - has become one of the top exponents of the ‘fly goalkeeper’ role in recent years.
However, Gavin and his committee have come up with a proposal where outfield players will only be permitted to pass to the ‘keeper if they are both inside the large rectangle, or if the goalkeeper has advanced beyond their own 65-metre line.
Tyrone’s Niall Morgan has already spoken of his concern at limiting the impact of goalkeepers joining play, but Moran feels the best will continue to evolve, whatever is thrown their way.
“When we were in Leitrim we adapted Nevin O’Donnell to come into goals for us, and he was excellent - it made a huge difference to our team in terms of what Nevin could give us taking the ball out from the back.
“When I was still manager there at the end of the season, Nevin was going to a lot of the trial games, so I’d a lot of conversations with him… I still think there’s ways and means around it.
“If they left the pass back, but you could put it inside the 13-yard box, sure there’s no-one better than Rory Beggan picking that ball up and spotting a pass 40 or 50 yards away.
“You saw Morgan’s pass to Darragh Canavan in the League [against Monaghan], so these guys are smart enough to adapt, and then the range of kicking Rory has off the tee… I just think it’s going to be huge.
“You asked me ‘why Monaghan?’ – well, Rory was a really big part of that. Watching him against Galway [in this year’s All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final], I think he was 100 per cent off the tee, at a windy, rainy Pearse Stadium. I can tell you, I played there a lot of times, and that’s a hard thing to do.
“I would say these guys will enjoy the challenge of it and I think you’ll find, at the end, they’ll still be the best ‘keepers.”
Another man Moran hopes to get the chance to work with is Conor McManus.
The 36-year-old – ruled out of Clontibret’s last four clash with Ballybay on Saturday due to a hand injury - has yet to make a definitive decision on his inter-county career, with many expecting the curtain to come down following emotional scenes in Salthill back in June.
McManus and Moran were among the best forwards in the country when their playing days overlapped, and the 2017 Footballer of the Year feels McManus is still something special.
“The only thing me and Conor have in common is that the both of us played wing-back for a small time!
“Like, I had no thought process of going to Monaghan when they played Galway in the summer, but I remember saying to somebody ‘I could only dream of being able to do what Conor McManus can with a ball’.
“We were very different players; I was more a ball winner, winning on the twist, going at your man, and see can I bring others into play. Whereas Conor is probably more like a Cillian O’Connor-type figure, a finisher… that famous point he kicked against Tyrone from the sideline, I’d have probably landed that on the 21.
“He’s everything you’d love to be as a forward, great body shape in terms of size, athletic, got a bit of speed and can kick off both legs. Incredible player. I’d just love to get the opportunity to work with him now over the next 12 months if it’s possible.”
