2016 GAA Hurling Championship Fixtures

[Angus]

LEINSTER SHC

Wexford and Dublin will meet for the right to face provincial and All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in the semi-finals.
The winners of the Qualifier Group of Offaly, Westmeath, Carlow and Kerry are up against Galway, while the Qualifier Group runners-up play Laois.

MUNSTER SHC

Waterford take on Clare in the semi-finals, while Limerick will meet the winners of the quarter-final pairing of Cork and reigning champions Tipperary in the other semi-final.

[AZOffaly]

It's ironic that winning the Leinster qualifier group would give you a harder task than finishing second. No disrespect to Laois, who are the reason we are in that group to begin with!! If it came down to a last game in the round Robin, Offaly v Westmeath say, to decide the winner of the group, it might be like a slow bicycle race as neither team will want to play Galway ahead of Laois.

[From the Bunker]

Kerry in their first year in the Leinster Hurling Championship, get two home fixtures when Galway, going into their eighth year in the province have yet to host a championship match. What is going on here?

[johnneycool]

Kerry in their first year in the Leinster Hurling Championship, get two home fixtures when Galway, going into their eighth year in the province have yet to host a championship match. What is going on here?

That's just the round robin stages, not the Leinster championship proper, plus its only Westmeath and Carlow travelling to Tralee, not one of the big guns!

[keep her low this half]

I know it is how the championship is structured and it has been this way for sometime but surely it is nonsense that Kerry play in the Leinster championship so they do not "dilute" the Munster championship. Absolute nonsense, time for an open draw.

[johnneycool]

I know it is how the championship is structured and it has been this way for sometime but surely it is nonsense that Kerry play in the Leinster championship so they do not "dilute" the Munster championship. Absolute nonsense, time for an open draw.

That 'Leinster championship' you talk off is in name only, its a preliminary tournament to gain access to the Leinster championship proper, it'll be well under way before the GAA actually launch the championship proper with live coverage. You won't even know the games are on or played unless you go looking for the results.

I'd like to see a tiered open draw with teams playing for the right to play the better teams (based on league placings), i.e. Div4 teams play out with two going on to play Div3 teams, with say 4 teams going on to play the Div2 teams and the winners going on to play the Div1 teams, quarter finals, semis and so on.

Will a Div4 or Div3 team get far, no, but they'll potentially gain a bit of momentum to take into a game with a team at a higher level and at least compete with the potential for the odd shock, and so on and so forth.
Currently if a team has a good run, al la Kerry, its the year later before they get a crack at the better teams, that momentum is easily lost and they end up taking a trouncing and everyone wondering whats the point.

But it won't happen as the Munster and Leinster championships are cash cows for both provincial councils and TBH, brings a bit of excitement to the championship earlier than August. They could maybe be played off whilst Div4/Div3 are doing their thing with their placings having an impact on seedings for the Div1/Div2 draws!!

Very vague concepts!!!