By Luke Maguire, a Year 13 student from Omagh CBS who is on work experience with Gaelic Life

This year is an unprecedented one for Gaelic football and especially Tyrone. As a new era of Tyrone football starts with Malachy O’Rourke now managing the Red Hand County, he will have to contend with the new rules which were implemented this year.

Two games into this season’s Allianz Football League Division One and Tyrone have had a mixed bag of results.

In the first match Tyrone fought well to win a tight Ulster Derby clash, at Healy Park, between their rivals Derry 2-13 to 1-9. However in the second match they were defeated well by another ulster rival, this time Armagh. In this game at the Athletic Grounds, a new rule was in full bloom, with four two-pointers a piece for the two teams being scored.

Now Tyrone is facing a new challenge this Sunday, when they will face Mayo in Castlebar. Mayo has got off to a poor start and they are currently sitting bottom of Division 1 with no wins from two.

This was not helped by Mayo’s heavy defeat at the hands of Galway in their last match. Kevin McStay will now look to get Mayo rallied around to play Tyrone in a game that already feels crucial to the success of Mayo’s league season. With both teams looking to bounce back from heavy defeats to provincial rivals it sets up a tasty fixture between the two.

As many may remember it is a rematch of the 2021 All-Ireland final in which Tyrone prevailed in a 2-14 to 0-15 victory over Mayo.
That All-Ireland final victory came in the first year of Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher’s tenure as joint managers of Tyrone, a feat which Malachy O’Rourke may look to replicate this season.

There is no reason they can’t with a large squad of superb players, not to mention the two sons of Peter Canavan, Darragh and Ruairi, who will be soon returning after their fantastic club football campaign with Errigal Ciaran in which they reached the final of the All-Ireland senior club football final where they were beaten by Cuala from Dublin.

In the match they both picked up injuries but they will both be looking to bounce back and bolster the attack of Tyrone.

Both team have players who have went to the very top level of Gaelic football so this should make for an interesting match which is very be hard to call. It is in Castlebar with throw in at 1.45 PM, the match is also available to watch on TG4.