Messages

I would agree with wobbler in calling for a return to league positions deciding championship placings, relegation playoffs are brutal and league positions are probably a truer reflection of how championships should be made up rather than the one up / one down system currently in place.

Most people's top 4 sides have made it to the semi's in both SFC & IFC and should be 4 good games. For the SFC, I would predict a Kilcoo v Clonduff final. IFC - would fancy a Rostrevor v Annaclone final. The fitness of Finn McElroy is one to keep an eye on - Longstone will need him playing to come through that one.

Cahair O'Kane has posted the clip Galbally have complained about on social media. They have a right to be annoyed by that. Its a shocking bit of refereeing albeit Conroy has likely been let down there by his linesman. Probably be thrown out but good to see a bad call like that get the spotlight shone on it.

Link here for those who haven't seen: https://x.com/CahairOKane1/status/2096689308648276235?s=20

There's a conversation to be had on the GAA's decision to put the biggest game of the football championship on free to air for sheer exposure, but I don't get people expecting the best games to be on RTE and for GAA+ to be some kind of spill-over service for the best of the rest games.

For GAA+ to be a success, they need big games to sell the service and to cover its costs. We can see GAA+ have high production values - they're not just throwing out 1-2 camera productions with commentary. Its a quality production with multiple cameras, on-site presentation, production teams etc. which comes at a heavy cost - and €95 for 40 games is very decent IMO.

RTE still bring over ~35 live games per season. There's no right for the best games to be free-to-air. And GAA+ couldn't bring us 40 additional games per season if it did.

Looking a bit of guidance from posters who have had a hand in developing club gyms.

My club are looking at a development project involving installing a steel-fab shed on club grounds, and fitting it out with a full spec gym.

Any advice on the following:
- Recommendations for steel manufacturers who specialise in these kind of builds (around Ulster preferably)
- Recommendations for Gym fit-out providers for small community gym
- Approx costs of the different stages of development
- Any aspects you'd do differently if doing it over again

Thanks.

Marvelous work from Donegal here: https://x.com/ONeills1918/status/1996550195916558834?s=20

Really like the shift to dark green.

We have been using MFC for club leisurewear for 8 odd years now, and the quality is excellent apart from items with zips - we've had constant complaints. Some sizing inconsistencies too but their client & customer service has been first class in dealing with these both issues.

O'Neills is best for playing jerseys but their account management / customer service is very below par.

I have noticed for years that when O'Neills bring out a new design (jerseys or leisurewear), the competitors tend to copy the designs rather than create out their own ranges. Maybe comes down to internal resources with O'Neills having a dedicated design team.

Random one - but will we ever see a return to long sleeve jerseys?

What are your go-to GAA Podcasts?

Keen to see if there any out there that aren't known. Have listened to a few throughout the season:

The GAA Social - always like the Sunday night recap & the Tuesday interviews are guest-dependant. Plenty of comments above on Niblock's interviewing style I would agree with - as a host your meant to let a conversation flow, but I find he hijacks too many conversations and tries to dig into every small detail for some deeper meaning. Seems a nice fella and is very knowledgeable, but people listen for Oisin as a legend of the game + the guest's stories. I much prefer his studio presenting to his podcast-hosting.

The Football Pod - always a good listen, 3 lads have a very good flow to the conversation.

Indo Sport / Indo GAA- I read a lot of people giving off about Philly McMahon as a pundit, but I think they just can't shake his 'villain' persona as a player. His contributions are top class on the Monday podcast, and well assisted with Conan Doherty, Conor McKeon and Joe Molloy.

The Tomas O'Se weekly interviews on Thursdays with Joe Molloy are probably my favourite of all, always on the money and good conversation.

I've also listened to the Dick Clerkin / Pat Spillane episodes on Indo GAA, and have found them very enjoyable.

I think yesterday's chaotic dialogue can be more blamed on Dion's constant quest for 'balance' and dislike for SF/Gerry Adams than Joe wanting the last word, as it often is.

I like Dion and think he's an interesting guy, but his constant balancing of everything is enraging - not every discussion needs this. Joe recently called him out on this during a discussion the Gaza genocide, where I think he started talking about Hamas' role in it all. Everyone condemns the 7 Oct attack, there's no need to bring it up for balance when condemning Israel's genocide of Gaza.

Dion also needs to be more concise, he often rambles when making his point.

Yesterday, Joe spoke about the underlying sectarianism within BBC, giving examples.. Dion's response 'they've also done lots of good journalism over the years' as a caveat to Joe's point...

And I was glad to see this doing the rounds on social media after, where his distain for SF/ Gerry Adams shone through...

https://x.com/freestateirl/status/1930720327220564139

[2-point arc]

Even as someone who loved the old version of football, it is only now the new rules are in-place that I appreciate how much better the game is for it.

The key improvements for me have been:

2-point arc: IMO, the art of long range point scoring is the #1 skill spectators want to see when watching a game. The pushback on this rule has surprised me - the reward of the 2-pointer has removed the shackles of 'high percentages shots only' we used to see and has led to more shots & scores, particularly from positions on the pitch you wouldn't have dreamed of seeing under the old rules. I like that they tweaked a 45 only equaling one point, and would still like to see the loophole of a keeper getting a fingertip on a 2point shot being removed. 

3 up / 4 back: Mass defenses was a blight on the game as a spectacle. New structure is geared towards aiding the traditional elements of the game. There's no doubt its favoring attacking play - more space for forwards to take a man on / shoot, and defenders have to get back to actual man to man defending.

Stop clock: I like the principle of the ref. stopping the watch - particularly for teams trying to cynically run the clock down at end of games / during black cards. Hooter adds enormous drama to final plays, and it also takes the pressure off referees. Logistically, the GAA have a lot of work to do in implementing this for all intercounty games and its slightly farcical non-TV games have different parameters to televised games within the same championship. Only a runner for county games and not club obviously.

Solo & go has been great for the flow of the game & respect to referees seems to be improving as a result of the dissent rules.

I'm conflicted on the Kickout. High fielding and aerial duels are one of the most impressive skills in our game and is something we lost for a while. But is the middle of the field becoming too condensed now and leading to too many AFL-style scrums? If the KO went back to the way it was, there's jeopardy in popping it out to the corner back as the GK is no longer in play. It would create more space for the GK to place the ball in space rather than on top of a crowd. You'll still get plenty of aerial contests without the scrums. There seems to be a trend of it being easier to win the opposition kickout than your own, which is where the lack of control is frustrating for teams.

The 50m penalty for obstruction after a mark needs reviewed - the player in possession is getting too much protection IMO and when the player in possession intentionally runs into the closest opposition player, the referee should penalize this more.

I think we've almost got the rules right - credit to the FRC here.

Completely agree with everything.

Me too, I'd just add my pet bugbear on the getting rid of all 2 pt frees and we're laughing!

While there's still flaws with it, I think the two-point free has to stay as the team in the lead could just tactically foul outside the arc if frees were only worth one. The FRC know its not perfect and have rightly reduced the value of scoring a 45 to one. I don't know how we avoid that situation if only scores from play are worth 2!

[2-point arc]

Even as someone who loved the old version of football, it is only now the new rules are in-place that I appreciate how much better the game is for it.

The key improvements for me have been:

2-point arc: IMO, the art of long range point scoring is the #1 skill spectators want to see when watching a game. The pushback on this rule has surprised me - the reward of the 2-pointer has removed the shackles of 'high percentages shots only' we used to see and has led to more shots & scores, particularly from positions on the pitch you wouldn't have dreamed of seeing under the old rules. I like that they tweaked a 45 only equaling one point, and would still like to see the loophole of a keeper getting a fingertip on a 2point shot being removed. 

3 up / 4 back: Mass defenses was a blight on the game as a spectacle. New structure is geared towards aiding the traditional elements of the game. There's no doubt its favoring attacking play - more space for forwards to take a man on / shoot, and defenders have to get back to actual man to man defending.

Stop clock: I like the principle of the ref. stopping the watch - particularly for teams trying to cynically run the clock down at end of games / during black cards. Hooter adds enormous drama to final plays, and it also takes the pressure off referees. Logistically, the GAA have a lot of work to do in implementing this for all intercounty games and its slightly farcical non-TV games have different parameters to televised games within the same championship. Only a runner for county games and not club obviously.

Solo & go has been great for the flow of the game & respect to referees seems to be improving as a result of the dissent rules.

I'm conflicted on the Kickout. High fielding and aerial duels are one of the most impressive skills in our game and is something we lost for a while. But is the middle of the field becoming too condensed now and leading to too many AFL-style scrums? If the KO went back to the way it was, there's jeopardy in popping it out to the corner back as the GK is no longer in play. It would create more space for the GK to place the ball in space rather than on top of a crowd. You'll still get plenty of aerial contests without the scrums. There seems to be a trend of it being easier to win the opposition kickout than your own, which is where the lack of control is frustrating for teams.

The 50m penalty for obstruction after a mark needs reviewed - the player in possession is getting too much protection IMO and when the player in possession intentionally runs into the closest opposition player, the referee should penalize this more.

I think we've almost got the rules right - credit to the FRC here.

Have to say I enjoy the pod - funny enough I agree with Joe on almost everything except when he starts talking about GAA itself.

His views on the genocide in Gaza, western 'democracy', British & Irish politics and the troubles are almost always bang on the money, well researched and I enjoy the dialogue except when Joe enters barrister-mode - not letting Dion finish his sentence.

Conversely, once he starts talking about the problem with outside managers in the GAA, or pining for a version of gaelic football long-gone, I begin to tune out.

On a recent episode, Joe and Dion spoke about an article which focused on the growing disconnect between club members/ players and the intercounty game - does anyone have a link to this?

The 'how many steps?!' police on social media, as I see written under nearly every goal or point that goes up on Twitter/Facebook.

[National League:]

The GAA seems to feel the game itself was broken...thus all the rule changes.  I would have said the biggest problem with the inter-county championship is the lack of competitiveness.  One need only look at the Leinster and Munster championships.  Then look at the boost in interest that came with Dublin losing a game this year.

How does one fix this problem?  The best I can come up with is giving the weaker counties more exposure.  In Munster the best athletes will play football in Kerry, while the best in the other five counties will play hurling.  Obviously that means Kerry dominance.

In the other provinces, the weaker counties basically get ignore.  Why would young athletes choose Gaelic football in those counties?  Put them on tv!  Maybe it creates interest, which will mean better teams to challenge the big counties.

What does the GAA do?  Creates a tier two championship.  Thus 16 counties don't even get a game in the All Irelands  How's that help those counties?  Seems the GAA was only interested in creating its own version of the Champions League.  Thus the strong get stronger.

At least if a weaker county, like Clare, can qualify for the final sixteen they'll get exposure.  Right?  Were any of Clare's games televised last year?  I notice their game against Down is skipped, along with Cavan's first game.  Naturally Kerry and Dublin are prime time Saturday coverage.

Yes I know the GAA have bigger fish to fry.  Like abolishing defensive football so the game is exciting enough for the fans who were getting bored.

I think when looking at the current format in terms of competitiveness, we've got 2/3 right:

- National League: everyone playing against other counties at their level, every team aiming for a realistic target of promotion/ survival.

- Provincials: Imbalanced competitions really, covered up by the unpredictable Ulster SFC (even at that, there was only 4 close games this year) + the odd entertaining game from other provinces (Cork/Kerry, Dubs/Meath, Louth/Meath, Connacht Final). For Div 3/4 teams, their goal is obviously to get to a final/ win it, but the odds are stacked against those teams. I think the only game in this year's provincial championship where a 2025 Div 3/4 team beat a 2025 Div 1/2 team was Kildare beating Westmeath. Its an archaic format at this stage and if it must be kept, I believe would be best used at the start of the season as a warm-up to league & championship, which should be connected in terms of seeding.

- Championship - two tiers is perfect IMO. It's not about creating a super league version of Championship for the strongest teams as suggested above, but setting a format where teams are in a competition they have a realistic chance of winning/ competing. Counties have to be realistic of where they are at and shouldn't see being the Tailteann Cup as being treated 'second class'.

There are a lot of other challenges, most notably the GAA competing with other sports from February - May and how they promote can successfully market the intercounty season in this window. I also still talk to people who don't understand the current format, particularly casual fans, so there's work to be done there.

On the above point of exposure via broadcasting games - I don't think your solely suggesting this, but simply having more of your county's games on TV will not make it more attractive for players, so many more factors to it of course. The GAA are bringing us more live games than ever before, but they have to pick games that are an appealing draw which will either get ratings/ drive subscriptions to make it worth spending the production costs on.

Separate point, but I would like to see GAA+ showing every championship game in full to watch after the final whistle, as every game is getting filmed anyway, even it is comes with stripped back production compared to RTE / BBC / GAA+ standards.

Croke Park makes sense for many reasons:

- Vast majority of players would prefer a game in Croke Park over any other ground in the country.
- You will get more Fermanagh/Wexford supporters to the game than if it was standalone as they're also getting to see Dublin/Armagh after, particularly young fans.
- The game wouldn't be getting streamed on GAA+ if it was a standalone game elsewhere realistically.

I don't see it in anyway patronizing as suggested to be the first game on before a massive game. This is a great opportunity for raising the profile of a group stage game for these teams.