Earley hoping suspension is reduced

GAELIC GAMES:KILDARE'S DERMOT Earley went before the Central Hearings Committee last night seeking, at the very least, a reduction in the eight-week suspension arising from an incident with Meath's Nigel Crawford in last Sunday's National League encounter.

Earley and team-mate Ronan Sweeney were both shown straight red cards by Cavan referee Joe McQuillan in the last two minutes of the game, with his subsequent report to the Central Competitions Control Committee leading to a suspension that rules the veteran midfielder out of the opening Leinster championship match against Offaly on May 24th.

Earley, who has a clean disciplinary record, was adjudged to have struck Crawford with his head. The result of the CHC is expected later today with a reduction in the suspension seeing him available for what may be his final championship campaign.

The straight red card does not see him automatically suspended from the Offaly match as it is a different competition.

The Kildare management were incensed by the decision as the dismissal certainly contributed to Meath drawing the match and ensuring Kildare did not gain promotion to Division One. Instead, Monaghan and Cork go up and will contest the Division Two final in Croke Park on April 26th.

“I feel both players were unjustly sent off,” said Kildare selector/trainer Paul Grimley.

“Particularly Ronan Sweeney as he was the one with the bloodied nose. That said, it didn’t have a huge bearing on the result as we needed to win by eight points to be promoted.

“We just didn’t see the justification. It wasn’t an overly heated game; it was a derby match. Both teams were already in championship mode.”

Grimley and second-year Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney’s relationship harks back to their native Armagh; Grimley being Joe Kernan’s lieutenant when they won the All-Ireland in 2002 and McGeeney the team captain.

Having also trained Cavan, Grimley was quick to join McGeeney’s tentative steps into management last season. It proved an instant success, despite the provincial defeat to Wicklow, as the Lilywhites made the All-Ireland quarter-final.

“We are delighted with progress to date,” said Grimley.

“After defeat to Wicklow last year we bottomed out. That helped us take a long look at ourselves as after reaching the bottom every bit of building was progress.

“We sat down this season and looked at our coaching methods. The new rules forced us to be more attack minded.”

Grimley readily admits he is from the Armagh school of football thought, where power and the physicality has long been fused with attacking football.

“Both Kieran and myself are used to a certain style of play but we realised we needed to blend two identities together to make it work in Kildare. They have their way of playing football as well and we didn’t want to disrupt that.”

That said, like many high-profile intercounty managers this season, Grimley is staunchly opposed to the new sanctions trialled since January as much for the manner they were introduced as the effect on football.

“People like to watch hard, fair sport but the physicality has gone out of Gaelic football recently. I feel that the GAA public are losing out.

“Referees seem more soccer-minded recently, which is a shame, but the real problem lies in the tackle.

“Gaelic football needs a clearly defined tackle, like rugby or Aussie Rules. That is what they should be looking at. At the moment the only clearly defined tackle is the block and that’s used maybe five times in a game.

“Instead, they wouldn’t allow collective training in November and December, send us a DVD and the teams are out for the first Sunday in January for the O’Byrne Cup without having practised these sanctions because we weren’t allowed to train. What did they expect?

“I sympathise with the referees but the way we are going every couple of years new rules will come out. They will just start to contradict themselves.”