I was listening to the up roar about the Wicklow champions being forced to play 2 games in 24 hours. The Wicklow county board seemed to blame the delay on facilitating dual players in previous rounds.

Now for what it is worth here is my opinion!

Hurling and Football competitions should be run separately. It is hard enough to fit all games into the calendar without trying to ensure there is no clashes between different codes. By all means facilitate each other where it is practical and straight forward but the integrity of one competition should not be put at risk to facilitate dual players.

Remember dual players are the minority. Great if they can be facilitated but not at all cost.

Mayonman (Galway) - Posts: 1826 - 31/10/2018 12:26:20    2148854

The onus has to be on the county board to facilitate its clubs/players in meaningful competition. Clubs/players are not governed by two separate sporting bodies they are one and the same body. If the county board cannot organise competitions to accommodate the games they are responsible for then the problem is the county board. Time for a change of personnel who are better organised and with people who have a better understanding of the county boards responsibilities.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4895 - 31/10/2018 13:12:36    2148861

In a county like Wexford they are not the minority.
What needs to happen is that club fixtures, and discipline, are taken out of co board (and thus clubs) hands and managed centrally.
That way, the GAA calls the shots, not the county manager.

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 31/10/2018 13:57:39    2148873

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2034 - 31/10/2018 14:09:44    2148879

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 31/10/2018 16:11:31    2148906

Mayonman (Galway) - Posts: 1826 - 01/11/2018 10:38:41    2148993

tipp11 (Tipperary) - Posts: 353 - 01/11/2018 11:48:39    2149019

Do Kilmacud Crokes players have to choose hurling or football?

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 01/11/2018 16:29:03    2149123

tipp11 (Tipperary) - Posts: 353 - 02/11/2018 10:28:04    2149229

Most GAA Players do not try to play both hurling and football at a serious level. There are some places as in wexford and offaly where they do and there are exceptions everywhere.

Dual players should be facilitated but over facilitating them has a price which is paid by mainly county players who do not have a recovery period in the year and club players with a disjointed calender.

Obvious fair solution would be to expect dual players to play 2 games occasionally in a week but not 2 days in a row. And Clubs could facilitate them by a policy of players choosing which first team they prioritise and in the other code play on lower/recreational team and maybe sub on 1st team. Club will be rewarded long term for putting player welfare 1st. There should be better loyalty, Longevitity of player participation, and less injury problems at business end of championship.
Which is more important to your club ,The Players, or the hangers on who want every match won.

Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 518 - 02/11/2018 11:09:58    2149240

In Wexford there are 12 teams in senior in both hurling and football.

6 teams are both senior hurling and senior football with largely the same players plating both. Fethard, St Anne's, Shelmaliers, Glynn, Rapps/Stars, St Martin's. 3 of these clubs made the semi finals of both hurling and football.

2 more senior hurling clubs are intermediate football - Ferns and Gorey.

1 is Junior - Oylegate

3 are hurling only clubs - Harriers, Rathnure and Oulart.

There has to be room for both. This business of expecting club players to choose is not fair, and any county board who does that should consider themselves incompetent.

890202 (Wexford) - Posts: 1278 - 02/11/2018 12:09:43    2149251