GALWAY defender Johnny McGrath is braced for battle even more under football’s new rules.
The Tribes ace emerged as one of the best man-markers in the game last season when he bagged an All-Star at corner-back.
The Caherlistrane man, 22, was nominated for Young Footballer of the year in Galway’s All-Ireland final run as they fell short in the showpiece against Armagh.
But the rule changes have introduced a new dynamic for defenders and forwards alike, as the new 3v3 rule aims to create more one on one contests.
The new law means each team must have three players in each half at all times.
McGrath had a gruelling battle with Donegal ace Conor O’Donnell in Sunday’s 0-21 to 0-14 NFL Division 1 win in howling wind at Pearse Stadium.
Galway’s forwards ran riot and scored SEVEN two-pointers from outside the arc to soar 0-14 to 0-0 ahead in the first half with the gale-force breeze.
Shane Walsh starred with FOUR orange flags and fired 0-11, but McGrath says the new dynamic revives the ancient art of defending too.
He said: “I like it, it’s good. It’s a different battle to what we’ve been doing for the last few years. There were definitely a lot more bodies there previously.
“It’s a different way of marking lads, I’m enjoying it. You get to go one-on-one with the best forwards in the country. You win some, you lose some, but I’m enjoying it at the minute anyway.
“It did take a bit of getting used to. You’re definitely not getting as many touches. You’re limited enough in that regard. You have to save your energy.
“Those lads are going to be waiting up, ready to pounce if the ball is turned over.
“If you’re up and down the pitch and the legs are heavy, you’re not going to come out on the right side of that one-on-one battle when the ball does get up.
“You have to kind of pick your battles, pick your moments to go. You need to stay fresh and be ready to defend.”
Galway led Sunday’s clash 0-17 to 0-1 at the interval as they made hay in a hurricane.
Donegal were left with a mountain to climb as the Tribes managed the second half to perfection, despite Matthew Tierney’s red card on the stroke of half time.
Galway blew a 1-10 to 0-4 half time lead against Derry a week beforehand, as the Oak Leaf surged back into the game to draw 0-16 to 1-13.
McGrath took harsh lessons from their Celtic Park trip into Sunday’s win, which sent them top of Division 1 after four games.
He hailed their hitmen for killing the game, and hopes for more of the same when Tyrone visit Tuam this Sunday.
TOP FORM
He said: “The forwards were brilliant. They kicked a lot of twos in the first half and gave us a nice buffer. We just had to learn our lesson from last week in Derry in holding onto a lead.
“I think we did that well this week, we definitely learned our lesson. Just the way the games have been going recently, the second half seems to be – I won’t say more important – but it seems to be very influential in games.
“It was the same for Dublin against Kerry and ourselves against Derry. If you can get going early in the second half, it’s tough to pull that momentum back.
“We paid the price last week, but we got on top this week. We knew we had to put up a big score before half-time and we did that and were able to hold onto it then.
“That was some breeze, I haven’t seen a breeze like that in Salthill for a long time.
“We’re only halfway through the league now. You learn something new every day. In every game there will be something new and we’ll just have to keep progressing as it goes on.”
