New hurling format adopted

darbyo · September 29, 2007, 09:03:45 PM

Congress today adopted the proposed changes to the hurling championship, can't see it making much of a difference TBH.

orangeman · September 30, 2007, 10:21:21 AM

What are the changes ?

orangeman · September 30, 2007, 10:37:15 PM

How can you make Galway and Antrim play off each year ? That's ridiculous - no incentive there for Antrim.

darbyo · September 30, 2007, 11:26:37 PM

Basically Gal play Antrim every year, loser plays loser of Mun 1st rd game winner plays loser of Leinster 1st rd game. Also round robin has been removed in favour of straight knock out. Until they get rid of the Mun championship the system will never be acceptable.

Bogball XV · October 01, 2007, 12:20:41 AM

it's really, really shite - where do they come up with this crap from? Why not make the winners of Ulster play in the Leinster and make Galway play there too - or more realistically get rid of the provincial system altogether - but seriously, this new system is total shite.

Punxsutawney Fergal · October 01, 2007, 09:13:19 AM

The new format is complete and utter nonsense! Smacks of the GAA being seen to do something when really they are doing nothing! Antrim and Galway should have been incuded in a rest of Ireland championship with Leinster. Plus per my reading what happens to one Leinster team?

Leinster have 6 teams, 1 will be a first round loser playing Galway, 2 will be semi final losers going into phase 3 - that's 3 teams! am I missing something?

Onlooker · October 01, 2007, 11:00:06 AM

The idea of Galway playing Antrim in the 1st Round every year is a complete nonsense and proves to me that this "new format" will not last very long, probably just 1 year. That is a good point about the 6 teams in the Leinster Championship. Westmeath are playing in the Leinster Championship, but they are not playing in the Liam McCarthy Cup, therefore they will not be in the draw with Antrim and Galway if they lose their Quarter Final game in Leinster. What will happen if they win their Quarter Final match and reach the Semi Final is another matter and one that was not addressed by the delegates last Saturday. You would then have 2 other losing Quarter Finalists from Leinster for the draw with Antrim, Galway and the losing Munster Quarter Finalists. As I say, this format is a stop gap measure.

ziggysego · October 01, 2007, 01:09:09 PM

Sounds like a bit of a disaster this new format and somewhat unfair.

tayto · October 01, 2007, 02:52:30 PM

Quote from: orangeman on September 30, 2007, 10:37:15 PM
How can you make Galway and Antrim play off each year ? That's ridiculous - no incentive there for Antrim.

dont worry, i have a feeling this will be for oe year only and we'll change again ...

From the Bunker · October 01, 2007, 11:10:32 PM

As i said b4

..........Provincial winners gained no advantage over Provincal losers as to progression in AI competition.
..........The Semple gate affair, handled terribly. Amateur players deserve better.
..........Cork could have won an AI having lost two games.
..........Kilkenny have not played a Munster team.
.........Waterford played 5 championship games this year yet only met two teams.
.........No one outside of the Big 8 made the breakthrough.
.........Limerick are in the final having played no one outside of Munster.
.........Wexford got to a semi-final and distorted their standing.
.........League games proved to be a mess with Laois, Dublin, Antrim and Offaly getting hidings.
........The doubling up of replays of quarterfinals with Semifinals to get 45 euro for tickets where often the other game was the other code.

Kilkenny and Cork win AIs. We have 4/6 others who can pretend. And we have 24 others who are just so far off of the mark it is not funny. The Ring and Rickard Cups have tried to address the problem in weaker counties but this has been nearly impossible to grade and the finals just end up one sided. Yes we got some good games but, there seemed to be a case of rearranging the deck chairs to the Championship. You lose here you go into a league Basis, it just seems to be about giving you chances and chances to qualify for the quarters. then again when you have a championship with 8 teams i suppose you have to do that. So much for it being called an "ALL" Ireland title.

Provincial champioship is holding back a successful format. If GAA is so caught up with Provincial format, why is there not provincial Ring/Rickard titles? (Would be a handy Munster Hurling title for Kerry!)

tayto · October 02, 2007, 12:51:16 PM

Quote from: From the Bunker on October 01, 2007, 11:10:32 PM
Kilkenny and Cork win AIs. We have 4/6 others who can pretend. And we have 24 others who are just so far off of the mark it is not funny. The Ring and Rickard Cups have tried to address the problem in weaker counties but this has been nearly impossible to grade and the finals just end up one sided. Yes we got some good games but, there seemed to be a case of rearranging the deck chairs to the Championship. You lose here you go into a league Basis, it just seems to be about giving you chances and chances to qualify for the quarters. then again when you have a championship with 8 teams i suppose you have to do that. So much for it being called an "ALL" Ireland title.

No offense from the bunker but god i hate the way people say that about the hurling all the time. Just becasue the top tier are the only ones capable of winning the thing dosent mean the others arent competing for it through promotion and slow and steady development. How many teams have a hope of winning the Rugby World Cup? or the Soccer version for that matter? That dosent mean countires don't compete, even if they haven't a snowballs chance of qualification, never mind winning the thing.

I just don't follow your Ring + Rackard provincial championship argument, are you being funny or trying to make a point?

I used to be for it but i'm starting to think an open draw isnt just going to solve everything and getting rid of Munster is a huge risk. I'd be much more in favor of the combined CUL [connacht-ulster-leinster] championship and retaining the Munster championship. Kilkenny cant maintain their current standard for ever and when they do finally slip a bit and other counties close the gap somewhat then you'd have two very competitive championships.

The problem with the open draw is you lose Munster which, whatever about the quality of some of the teams at the moment is very competitive+entertaining and despite not getting much of an advantage for winning it teams were still giving it everything and the public are flocking to see the games.

aswell as the CUL championship coming from Kilkenny Cats, Someone mentioned the idea that you link final league position to the championship by having the lower placed counties have to play in the preliim rounds of the Munster or Leisnter championships, and have higher placed counties get home advantage for the first round matches. Linking the league to the championship even in a small way might help boost the NHL.

I also read somewhere else someone suggest ditching the play offs from the league, thus freeing up time for ALL counties to have games on those weekends and then allowing for the 9 team NHL. Why have a league that only runs for five weekends and then have a 1/4 final, 1/2 final and final, it's a bit of a joke.

Pull Hard Hes No Relation · October 02, 2007, 05:28:09 PM

Just when we thought it wasn't possible for the powers that be to make an even greater "balls up" than ever they produce the new hurling championship format, what a joke.

To be honest can't see this lasting any more than a year and think it was more a knee jerk reaction to Cork almost beating Waterford having been beaten twice themselves earlier in the year and then Limerick beating Waterford after losing to them in the Munster Final.

Clearly the old structure had its faults but often the q-finals provided some of the best matches of the year and it was great to have double headers in Croker. With the new structure the winner of the Leinster Championship goes straight to the semi final so Kilkenny once again have a massive advantage over the Munster counties who will have beat the cr*p out of each other by that stage.

You have the prospect of Cork and Waterford meeting in the first round in Munster and the loser of that playing Galway while the losing finalist of the Leinster championship gets through to an All Ireland q final and Kilkenny waltz into the semis - not exactly a fair system but then again Ned Quinn the head of the HDC is a Kilkenny man.

I beleive part of the thinking behind this is to hand such a "raw deal" to the likes of Galway that they jump at the chance to enter Leinster in 2009 and we will then have a Leinster/connaught/Ulster championship and a Munster championship like Tayto says - this is the way forward as I reckon that by 2010 the Dubs if they keep everyone together will be knocking at the door for a Leinster victory and I don't think the potenial lift that will provide for hurling should be lost in the scramble to create an Open Draw.

From the Bunker · October 02, 2007, 10:30:09 PM

Quote from: tayto on October 02, 2007, 12:51:16 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on October 01, 2007, 11:10:32 PM
Kilkenny and Cork win AIs. We have 4/6 others who can pretend. And we have 24 others who are just so far off of the mark it is not funny. The Ring and Rickard Cups have tried to address the problem in weaker counties but this has been nearly impossible to grade and the finals just end up one sided. Yes we got some good games but, there seemed to be a case of rearranging the deck chairs to the Championship. You lose here you go into a league Basis, it just seems to be about giving you chances and chances to qualify for the quarters. then again when you have a championship with 8 teams i suppose you have to do that. So much for it being called an "ALL" Ireland title.

No offense from the bunker but god i hate the way people say that about the hurling all the time. Just becasue the top tier are the only ones capable of winning the thing dosent mean the others arent competing for it through promotion and slow and steady development. How many teams have a hope of winning the Rugby World Cup? or the Soccer version for that matter? That dosent mean countires don't compete, even if they haven't a snowballs chance of qualification, never mind winning the thing.

I just don't follow your Ring + Rackard provincial championship argument, are you being funny or trying to make a point?

Not really messing about Ring/Rackard Provincial Championships. The women football do it, and do it successfully, it creates local rivalry and a provincial title to be won. I agree with you on Munster and CUL competitions.

Guillem2 · October 03, 2007, 07:48:43 AM

The new proposals will do nothing for Antrim or Galway but they do free up Sundays for club hurling. That's what the committee were asked to do AFAIK as well as removing the chance for a county to lose twice and still win the All Ireland. I agree that this will only last a year. Galway & Antrim will be squealing like stuck pigs this time next year.

tayto · October 03, 2007, 10:42:38 AM

Agree, part of me thinks they're trying to piss off Antrim and Galway enough to entice them into a CUL championship in the next year or two. Then again self serving interests in Leinster are against it to!

What about the current league, it makes no sense to me to have a league of five games then have a quater final, semi final and a final. Why not let everyone have eight games and be done with the play offs.

The Antrim proposals were far better imo.