It all comes down to this really, if steps was enforced then the defender could actually defend. This would mean only the most blatant offences would be black cards like the cork one last week.
In Tipp v Clare, Tipp seemed to be fouling 30-45 yards out before a goal chance was on. None of them were penalties but definitely lucky to avoid a second yellow.
Would agree with that, steps is the biggest plague at all levels of the sport.
I get that itâs really hard to ref, there are so many other things that starting to count steps isnât even natural until a player starts to hesitate. And players take the absolute piss out of that.
I donât know what else can really be done other than a directive to refs to really clamp down on it and make it a focus.
Itâs shambolic that a back can defend really well for 7 or 8 steps at which point youâd expect a player to have to play the ball on the hurley but they just keep going and eventually win a free because you now have no other option.
Wasnât there a game a a few years ago when Clare were punished agin Tipp i think in Limerick with a penalty and some lad showed afterwards an aerial view highlighting the Tipp forward was nearer the Ennis road than the Clare goal
Yes, right on the sideline and Jake Morris was in the process of rising the ball - he didnât even have clean possession.
It was lazy tackle and at best a soft yellow but James Owen thought otherwise.
Mark Rodgers had a very soft penalty/black card awarded against him in last years league final - thankfully Eoin Cody fluffed the penalty so nothing was made of it.
James Owens is probably why we got fucked around with that penalty Fanning saved and the penalty Reid got last year. A blight on the world. Worse again, weâd have to endure the cunt during the club championship.
Players opting out is a huge problem. Donât see too many returning into the set up thatâs there. Waterford winning only game in the U20/21 championship since beating Galway in the 2016 All Ireland Final, and that a wooden spoon decider against Limerick in 2024, tells a tale too.
Waterford made 14 All Ireland semi finals in the 23 years between 1998-2021. Only Kilkenny made more in that period. In the 23 seasons prior to 1998, outside of beating Kerry, Waterford won just 4 championship matches in 23 seasons. They are rapidly slipping back to those levels again, with apathy all round a large part of the problem.
John Mullane article in the independent yesterday I hope doesnt sum up the views of Waterford people
John wants the GAA to come with a calender and structure that keeps Waterford hurling into July, he is almost advocating for scrapping the provincal structure
What John is saying is âpoor us in Munster and we wish were in Leinster as it is handierâ
No where does John state that Wateford need to up their efforts around hurling in the County to get to the standard that is in Munster. If the attitude reflected in his article is reflective of the attitude in the County, well Waterford are finished as a hurling county.