Should be a cracking day of sport. Canāt wait.
Thanks for destroying the gaa
https://twitter.com/BrianJAFlannery/status/1773770384325697595?t=XluNUQNkNeFMgaxTM0Uy4w&s=19
Lads being pulled from Schools matches is an absolute scandal.
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Football management did similar with Nemo players as well, no?
I think so yeah.
There was an impasse for a week i think as Nemo were going to pull players from Cork.
Its happening everywhere though.
And that extra year is even more critical now with the S&C demands at senior intercounty.
Our game has suffered greatly with this decision to change the u21 grade. The number of top young hurlers now getting championship starts is at an all-time low.
Last year how many u21s were āstartersā for the top counties in championship?
CiarĆ”n Joyce, Adam Hogan and Mark Fitzgerald are the only three that come to mind. CON I wonāt count as a fully fit Limerick saw him on the bench - of course he would start for every other team but the point is still alarming.
Never before have those figures been so low. Moving the YHOTY out to u22 is evident that the selection Committee actually struggled to identify a good number of consistent u21 performers.
The likes of Paddy OāDonovan, MĆcheĆ”l Mullins, Keith Smyth, Darragh Stakelum and many more really need the extra year of playing with their own peers to develop. Those guys are still so young in the grand scheme of things.
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And thatās again a huge
Advantage to the counties with a bigger pick
Lads seem to forget World cups and euros have always clashed with Championship games.
I remember the 98 and 02 World cup finals clashing with the Munster final. Both Munster finals were sell outs and well remembered. Ireland/Spain in 02 clashed with the Munster football final. Tipp footballers beat Laois in 10 while Germany hammered England. Dozens of other examples Iām sure as well.
GAA people will go to matches and not be too bothered about Ukraine vs Austria in somr Euro last 16 game.
15 Likes
Sure itās the gaa who are bothered. They are fixing an all Ireland semi final for 3 o clock on a Saturday so not to clash with the soccer.
Itās humiliating for them.
Totally agree. Itās ridiclious.
How much of that is due to the change in age and how much is due to the change in the game of hurling? Lads used to be able go straight from minor to senior, relying on their pace, touch and wrists. You can forget about all that these days.
1 Like
Every two years this will be a problem for the gaa. Basically righting off Ireland hurling q/fs and semi finals because of the ridiculous microwave box of a season theyāve created.
RTE would have significant input into the throw-in time for that AI hurling semi final on the Saturday.
Itās ludicrous but no doubt they, as rights holders, donāt want a later start time as it would clash with whatever soccer match is on later that afternoon/evening.
The GAA should have told them to fuck off.
Agree with that. In the days before S+C a good minor could play senior very quickly. Not any more as they would get blown out of it. S+C programmes are now allowing players play well into their 30s not like in the past when lads were finished at 30/31. Its the same at club level.
The era of lads getting SIC debuts in their mid 20s like Cathal Malone is going to be more commonplace.
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Itās both. My point is that the age change has had a double detrimental affect on players due to this physical demand now.
Yes but the difference was they werenāt microwave championships played off as a box ticking exercise. The GAA still had August and September all to itself.
Unless thereās a change in the scheduling the 2026 All-Ireland hurling final will clash with the World Cup final. Thatās insanity.
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Its like Rubby now in that sense.
The attendances will way down. Itās the gaa costing themselves money here.
The audience on Rte shouldnāt be impacted too much Iād imagine or at least Rte wonāt lose much the gaa will lose plenty on ticket sales.
In 22 Iām nearly sure the hurling 1/4 finals were on early on a Saturday and they might as well not have been played.
Itās rare that you see a 19 year old play senior club hurling now never mind intercounty. Addressing how games are refereed is a much more urgent problem to look at than whether underage finishes at u-20 or u-21.
Look at the good club teams winning counties in either code these days. They might have 1/2 players under 20. Fairly sure Thomasās had no one. Olg def didnt. Fitzgerald was all Ballygunner had. I know McLaughlin was 18. Donāt know the rest of the Cushendall lads.