Club players get a raw deal

WITH the Club Players’ Association in a public face-off with the GAA over a better fixtures calendar, Conal Keaney agrees that the club player gets a raw deal. ‘There’s definitely a balance needed. At intercounty, you need more games and the round-robin gives more games. People want to see the best teams play. But it’s very hard for a club to keep a team going.

‘I had a sample of it for one year and I don’t think you’d be able to keep it going. They’re training nearly already, going to play one or two games in April, in the space of a week, then doing nothing again until September. Then play it all off, football and hurling Championship, in the space of three or four weeks. It’s mental.

‘You’re missing out on the whole summer, the best time to play hurling. You might play one or two league games, that’s it.’