The provincial championships could be the pre season competitions and the two groups seeded based on them.
So as not to devalue completely maybe the provincial winners could be given some sort of addition to the seeding like a couple of extra points before a game is played or they donât have to play the next highest seeds or something.
There is a fairly consistent Waterford crowd in Ennis every two years. Small but decent sorts.
Iâm not actually advocating for that structure, Iâm just saying thatâs what the âfairestâ equivalent structure would be.
In that structure, I think you would reduce the league significantly (not sure how youâd do that exactly) and play provincial competitions between the end of league & start of Championship proper.
Which has its own flaws for sure.
The reality is the round robin system has revitalised the Munster Championship massively; thatâs primarily to do with jeopardy. Outside of finals (and even some of them had poorish crowds), Munster had definitely lost some of its lustre in the 2004-2017 period because people knew it wasnât knockout.
And even though not every game is knockout now, there is the illusion of every game matters, particularly at the start. Limerick went to Ennis this year under real pressure⌠it turned out very differently but it felt like a must-win.
I would keep the Championship the way it is to be honest. It has its imperfections, for sure.
But the choice are either continue as it is, moved to the system I outlined above or else ditch the round robins completely and go back to the 2004-2017 system. Which would allow for additional spacing between games but reduces the number of games teams play, which was something that had been asked for originally.
Liam Mc B for the 6 (or 5) who donât progress to Liam Mc.
Great post.
Iâm open to correction here but I think the other game which has seen a few poor attendances (under 20k) is Tipp vs Clare in Semple, last weekend being an exception where they got 33k. Thereâs another fairly obvious metric which runs through these which is low combined population of counties + big stadium.
And then of course sometimes you end up with final day drama and sometimes you donât. Itâs unusual now Limerick have two home games against teams who are already effectively out. Hopefully the strange bright orb in the sky convinces a few more to come out next Sunday.
Martin Brehenys top 50 lists: a list. Ideal Autumn reading.
Could Waterford try concentrating on football for a few years and see could they get out of Munster that way?
I went down to the match in Ennis a few weeks ago and in 2024 as well. Itâs definitely my new favourite match day trip. I was down in Ennis as well on business last week. Ennis is a fine town and Cusack Park a terrific venue for a match with a full house.
I believe Donal OâRourke has departed from Peter Queallyâs backroom team after less than 9 months.
I was hearing he wasnât enjoying it so not surprised if he has departed
Iâm hearing rumblings of a delegation of players meeting with County Board Executive Officers for an end of year chat.
Do they want Davy back?
Bring back Derek
Drâs Noel Connors and Seamus Hickey would be the dream ticket
Shane Sullivan gone too. Had a cut at Darragh Lyons and a few of the lads from the West while under the influence of the drink. Had no alternative but to leave the set up after that.
Hope he did not have a cut at our cousins
Why would they bother playing? Be beat 30 points.
They were all gone up to Kingfisher in St Anneâs Park.
