Championship format is the big issue at Congress
THE GAA’s annual Congress takes place next weekend in Croke Park with several key proposals on the agenda.
There is also the selection of a new president elect who will take over the reins from Aogan O Fearghail in 2018.
There are five candidates for the presidency: John Horan from Dublin, Frank Burke from Galway, Sean Walsh from Kerry, Robert Frost from Clare and Martin Skelly from Longdord.
I’ve met several of the candidates down through the years, but on talking to him at a recent pitch opening, I was very impressed with former Leinster Council chairman John Horan. He appeared to have an excellent grasp of the key issues that are currently impacting our games and I got the impression that he is a ‘doer’ rather than a ‘talker’. Party politics, however, will ultimately dictate who gets the job.
Paraic Duffy’s proposals to revamp the All-Ireland football championship will drive most of the weekend debate.
The proposal takes the form of three motions, each to be voted upon separately, and crucially one is not dependent on the success or otherwise of another.
One of the motions is to play extra time in all championship matches that finish level after normal-time, excluding provincial and All-Ireland finals. This creates the prospect of all senior championship games being finished on the day, erase the uncertainty of replay dates and help ease the fixture congestion at club level.
However, it will mean less windfall income from replays which may prevent it from passing.
The second motion is to bring forward the All-Ireland finals from their traditional first and third Sunday in September to the end of August, again freeing up more time for club championship fixtures.
The final piece of Paraic Duffy’s proposal would dramatically alter the football competition. He has proposed a round robin format to replace the current quarter-finals. This would involve two groups of four counties with the top two from each group then progressing to the semi finals. It has been proposed that this system be introduced for a three year trial basis.
While I welcome the first two pieces of the new proposal, I disagree with the final piece of the jigsaw. The proposed ‘Super 8’ competition is directed solely at the successful counties who reach the business end of the championship.
It does absolutely nothing to address the needs of the weaker counties, many of whom are on their knees at the moment.
It will marginalise the weaker counties and widen the gap even further between the haves and have nots. Ironically, a format like this would actually be a lot more beneficial to the weaker counties at the beginning of the championship. LOUTH travel to Tullamore on Sunday to take on Offaly in round three of the National League. Colin Kelly’s side go into the game with full points from their first two games but the home side will be no pushovers.
They boast a tremendous home record in recent years which saw them go unbeaten in the league for the past three seasons. Rhode’s Niall McNamee has been on an extended winter break and has not taken part in either of Offaly’s first two league fixtures but he is rumoured to be back for this weekend.
If we can reproduce something like the performances in Navan or Portlaoise then we should maintain our 100% record but if we’re not on our game then McNamee’s presence could tip the balance in the home side’s favour.
The Under 21s are also on the road this week in Wicklow on Wednesday night where they should progress to the next round without too much trouble. THERE was a great sporting documentary on RTE last week featuring the exploits of Dundalk racing car driver Tommy Byrne.
‘Crash and Burn’ told the story of Tommy’s four-year meteoric rise from banged up local races to the dizzy heights of Formula 1.
Tommy came within fingertips of the very pinnacle of motor sport only to see it all fade away. Never one to play by the rules or keep his thoughts to himself, Tommy’s abrasive attitude tended to rub the sponsors up the wrong way.
Team owners recognised his obvious talents but were reluctant to give him the chance he deserved in fear of sponsors backlash.
The ‘so close yet so far’ story was hugely entertaining and showed just how gifted and special Byrne was. He could very easily have been the most famous Louth sports person of all time. DUSTIN Johnson win at the Genesis Open boosted Sideline Bet’s early season form and added €180 to our charity total. This week we go for Down to end their dreadful run of form with victory over Meath in Newry on Saturday evening at 5/2.