KERRY’S SHANE RYAN says the new Gaelic football rules have been “challenging” as a goalkeeper, but he is embracing them.
The Kingdom face Donegal in Sunday’s All-Ireland senior football final, the first played under the rule enhancements introduced by the Football Review Committee ahead of the 2025 season.
“It’s been a huge change,” says Kerry shot-stopper Ryan.
“The first thing that comes to my head is that teams used to drop off your kick out, maybe 30/40% of the time you were guaranteed possession. There is no team dropping off a kick out, no team at any stage. All your kick outs now, there is some element of pressure on them.
“Second thing then obviously, the [40m] arc has condensed the space. So your ability to break momentum in the game is a little bit more challenging now, because it’s harder to get a guaranteed possession.
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“And as always, a ‘keeper is so reliant on what’s outside him. He’s only as good as the options that are given to him. Obviously, the ‘keeper has to execute the kick, has to make the right decision on where the ball is going, but it’s proving a challenge. And I think every team in the country has struggled in different parts of the year with their kick out.
“I suppose if I’m putting my goalkeeper hat on, you’re relinquishing control a bit more than you’d like, but putting my GAA hat on, as a supporter, it adds great excitement to the game and it adds a chaotic nature to the game, which as we can see, the fans are loving. They’re turning out in their droves to watch those games. So it’s definitely challenging but I suppose it’s adding to the entertainment to the game as well.”
Elaborating on the differences amidst faster restarts and limited back passes, Ryan continues:
“I think for all the teams in the country, and particularly all the goalkeepers in the country, we probably have to reframe our mentality around how we analyse ourselves.
“A (kick out) percentage last year, like 65/70%. You probably would have been happy with that last year. This year you would bite a fella’s hand off for it. So it’s taken a while, and it’s still a work in progress among people analysing GAA, coaches, players to kind of reframe how we’re thinking about the kick out aspect of it.
“It’s certainly something that’s challenging, but it’s enjoyable. It’s enjoyable trying to break down teams, and it’s enjoyable for the supporters as well, which we can see throughout the year.”
Ryan, who plays outfield for his club Rathmore, makes some other interesting points about goalkeeping in general, and the mental side of the game.
“I think sometimes ‘keepers get too much credit on kick out stats and get too much probably criticism on the other side of things when they don’t go well,” he says.
Ryan celebrates Kerry's All-Ireland quarter-final win over Armagh. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“I suppose the nature of the position, you are going to make mistakes. And the longer I’ve played at the top level, I’ve kind of tried to accept that they’re just gonna happen. Obviously, you don’t want them to happen, particularly in an All-Ireland stage, but they’re going to.
“It’s always a measure of a fella, how he reacts from mistakes rather than the mistakes themselves, and that’s kinda how I try to perceive them. Because if you go out there fearing a mistake, you’re never gonna express yourself. You’re never gonna perform to your maximum.
“And that goes for all positions in the field, but I suppose when you’re playing in goal, you drop a high ball. 90% of the time it’s in the back of the net or it’s over the bar. If I’m playing full forward for my club and I drop a ball, no one gives it a second thought. So it’s trying to compartmentalise those individual errors and just trying to react positively to them.”
Ryan has never specialised in goal for Rathmore, with whom he won Kerry, Munster and All-Ireland intermediate championships in 2022. His journey between the posts started with Killarney Celtic, where he played soccer until the age of 13 before Gaelic football took over.
The 29-year-old was a goalkeeper for Kerry underage squads, and was drafted into the senior panel in 2019. Three years later, he was the All-Star shot-stopper, and an All-Ireland winner.
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Jack and David have decided that this state of affairs will not do. At all.
Now targetting a second Celtic Cross on Sunday, Ryan credits his soccer roots through his rise.
“I got a lot of the basics in terms of footwork, being vocal, being a presence in the box. Soccer would be far ahead of GAA there in terms of goalkeeper coaching from the youth stage. Now GAA is getting better. Definitely getting better.
“But I learned a lot of basics there that probably became second nature to me to maybe (instead of) goalkeepers who just played GAA and didn’t get that coaching. It might have took them a bit longer to develop. And they are something that I still rely on, those basics.”
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'It's challenging but it’s adding to the entertainment' - Goalkeeper view on new rules
KERRY’S SHANE RYAN says the new Gaelic football rules have been “challenging” as a goalkeeper, but he is embracing them.
The Kingdom face Donegal in Sunday’s All-Ireland senior football final, the first played under the rule enhancements introduced by the Football Review Committee ahead of the 2025 season.
“It’s been a huge change,” says Kerry shot-stopper Ryan.
“The first thing that comes to my head is that teams used to drop off your kick out, maybe 30/40% of the time you were guaranteed possession. There is no team dropping off a kick out, no team at any stage. All your kick outs now, there is some element of pressure on them.
“Second thing then obviously, the [40m] arc has condensed the space. So your ability to break momentum in the game is a little bit more challenging now, because it’s harder to get a guaranteed possession.
“And as always, a ‘keeper is so reliant on what’s outside him. He’s only as good as the options that are given to him. Obviously, the ‘keeper has to execute the kick, has to make the right decision on where the ball is going, but it’s proving a challenge. And I think every team in the country has struggled in different parts of the year with their kick out.
“I suppose if I’m putting my goalkeeper hat on, you’re relinquishing control a bit more than you’d like, but putting my GAA hat on, as a supporter, it adds great excitement to the game and it adds a chaotic nature to the game, which as we can see, the fans are loving. They’re turning out in their droves to watch those games. So it’s definitely challenging but I suppose it’s adding to the entertainment to the game as well.”
Elaborating on the differences amidst faster restarts and limited back passes, Ryan continues:
“I think for all the teams in the country, and particularly all the goalkeepers in the country, we probably have to reframe our mentality around how we analyse ourselves.
“A (kick out) percentage last year, like 65/70%. You probably would have been happy with that last year. This year you would bite a fella’s hand off for it. So it’s taken a while, and it’s still a work in progress among people analysing GAA, coaches, players to kind of reframe how we’re thinking about the kick out aspect of it.
“It’s certainly something that’s challenging, but it’s enjoyable. It’s enjoyable trying to break down teams, and it’s enjoyable for the supporters as well, which we can see throughout the year.”
Ryan, who plays outfield for his club Rathmore, makes some other interesting points about goalkeeping in general, and the mental side of the game.
“I think sometimes ‘keepers get too much credit on kick out stats and get too much probably criticism on the other side of things when they don’t go well,” he says.
“I suppose the nature of the position, you are going to make mistakes. And the longer I’ve played at the top level, I’ve kind of tried to accept that they’re just gonna happen. Obviously, you don’t want them to happen, particularly in an All-Ireland stage, but they’re going to.
“It’s always a measure of a fella, how he reacts from mistakes rather than the mistakes themselves, and that’s kinda how I try to perceive them. Because if you go out there fearing a mistake, you’re never gonna express yourself. You’re never gonna perform to your maximum.
“And that goes for all positions in the field, but I suppose when you’re playing in goal, you drop a high ball. 90% of the time it’s in the back of the net or it’s over the bar. If I’m playing full forward for my club and I drop a ball, no one gives it a second thought. So it’s trying to compartmentalise those individual errors and just trying to react positively to them.”
Ryan has never specialised in goal for Rathmore, with whom he won Kerry, Munster and All-Ireland intermediate championships in 2022. His journey between the posts started with Killarney Celtic, where he played soccer until the age of 13 before Gaelic football took over.
The 29-year-old was a goalkeeper for Kerry underage squads, and was drafted into the senior panel in 2019. Three years later, he was the All-Star shot-stopper, and an All-Ireland winner.
Now targetting a second Celtic Cross on Sunday, Ryan credits his soccer roots through his rise.
“I got a lot of the basics in terms of footwork, being vocal, being a presence in the box. Soccer would be far ahead of GAA there in terms of goalkeeper coaching from the youth stage. Now GAA is getting better. Definitely getting better.
“But I learned a lot of basics there that probably became second nature to me to maybe (instead of) goalkeepers who just played GAA and didn’t get that coaching. It might have took them a bit longer to develop. And they are something that I still rely on, those basics.”
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GAA Gaelic Football Interview Kerry Shane Ryan