Mayo defender Sam Callinan says he is looking forward to seeing how the new rules will change football.
Callinan was speaking as he part of the Sigerson Cup set-up at UCD, where he helped them reach the final last year, only to come up just short against Ulster University.
While the colleges' competition is the final time we see the current rules in place, the Mayo man has been getting used to the new rules with his county, as the National League will mark the introduction of the changes by the Football Review Committee.
Having been involved in a challenge match with Mayo at the weekend, where the rules were in place, the Ballina Stephenites defender is interested in how they will improve the game.
"In fairness to our management, from the day they were ratified, we've been implementing those walk-throughs and training sessions," he said at the launch of the Electric Ireland Higher Education Sigerson Cup.
"Sometimes it's at the cost of a hard running session. We do a hard session on the Tuesday and then a tactical workshop at the weekend.
"We're doing a lot of work, and a lot of it is player-based. There are far better footballing minds than myself among the player base who have really good ideas and are innovative about how things could play out.
"It's a lot of discussion going back and forth at the moment, and it's showing in the training. There are different drills and modifications, and we're seeing what could happen here and there.
"But it is hard. In the heat of the league, we'll see how things really play out then."
As a defender, Callinan is most interested in the three-v-three rule, which requires each team to keep three outfield players in the opposition half at all times.
"From what I'm seeing, the main difference is there is a lot more kick-passing; there's a lot more space to kick-pass. Especially when you're coming out of defence, there are options open in the middle.
"The games played in January have been high-scoring games, which is uncharacteristic for this time of year.
"If nothing else, it is a lot more open, and I anticipate it being a lot more fast-paced."
Mayo will get their Allianz Football League campaign underway at the end of the month away to Dublin, with several experienced players not available for 2025.
Cillian O'Connor, Padraig O'Hora, and Rob Hennelly are just some of the names missing for Mayo this season.
For Mayo, 2024 was a season of near misses, with their championship ending on penalties to Derry in the preliminary quarter-final.
A late surge from Galway crushed their hopes of a Connacht title, while a late equaliser from Dublin denied them a quarter-final spot.
While Callinan may be young, he feels now is the time to step up and make his experience with Mayo count, in what he views as an open championship ahead.
"It was a kick of a ball against Galway, we drew with Dublin, and if things had gone our way against Derry, who knows what could have happened.
"While we didn't perform in the last few minutes of those games, we are there or thereabouts, and that's where we're drawing a lot of our hope and optimism from this year. We believe we can compete, and maybe with a few tweaks, we'll be right there in the mix.
"It's a theme across the country that there's a changing of the guard. Look at Dublin—a lot of the stalwarts are stepping away now.
"With the implementation of the new rules, it's as wide open as ever. A few of the new lads that have joined our panel this year are really fantastic players.
"We're looking to build a really good, young core and make that step up to really compete over the next few years. I don't think there's any reason why we can't."