03/10/2012 09:29:41
Real Kerry Fan
I see as part of his contract he is banned from playing hurling. The only association that continues a ban for playing other sports.

He's a pro athlete and will be aiming towards a fully pro contract and he will risk injury in playing hurling(or any other sport like hockey which he is also very good at). He isnt guaranteed to make it in rugby and always has the chance to go back playing hurling after the 3 year academy contract is up.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 03/10/2012 10:28:26    1276976

ormondbannerman
County: Clare


no if someone directly responds just looking to argue everything you say there is more then just a discussion its stirring.
what sports team in ireland would you class as fitter then dublin or donegal over the last two years?
not if you grew up playing gaa and aspired to be an inter county footballer and then when another sport lures you by money that to me is not what he aspired to be in the first place its changing because of money.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/10/2012 11:12:49    1277008

if other sports ban players from playing gaa then the gaa should look into having it in a gaa contract that you are banned from aussie rules trials while you are a member of a gaa club

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/10/2012 11:15:32    1277011

hill16. I agree. The GAA now are acting as fitness trainers for rugby. Also our money poured into stadia so the irfu can walk into them.

Real Kerry Fan (None) - Posts: 2957 - 03/10/2012 11:23:37    1277021

true real kerry fan,i am amazed by the amount of people who find it hard to believe that somebody would rather play a sport they love over a sport just for money.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/10/2012 11:33:48    1277031

That's exactly what I was trying to say ffgg, hill16 is either miss understanding what I'm saying or twisting my words, not sure which. But anyway let me clarify, I think modern gaa players are every bit as well conditioned and talented as any other professional sports person, particularly in similar fields (such as football or rugby etc etc), but you can't take away from the fact that if they lose their jobs or are in financial trouble then the gaa is basically useless to them, it won't pay the bills, simple as. Now of course some lads go for the lure of money but it's very easy for us to sit and judge them because most of us aren't good enough to even be in their dilemma and who's to say that if you got a big offer while playing for Dublin you wouldn't take hill16. I would say that playing for my county would be the ultimate honour and I would never go play Aussie rules because I have 0 interest in going to Australia (too many Irish twats down there), but if was good enough to go pro I'd play any bloody sport that would bring in the dollars, football, darts, lawn bowls, anything!

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 03/10/2012 11:36:04    1277032

hteam

fair enough i may have taken you up wrong my apologies.
on your question about an offer to me i guarantee you if i was asked to play for dublin or given a contract like wayne rooney to play for man utd i wouldnt have to think about it to be honest i would play for dublin in a heartbeat its the way i am i find more enjoyment in dublin football then in any other sport thats why i have grown up playing supporting and been involved in the gaa.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/10/2012 11:50:29    1277040

Read the story on mainpage HS. Headline! Choose rugby over SOCCER? No mention of soccer in the quote he makes.?

Real Kerry Fan (None) - Posts: 2957 - 03/10/2012 13:58:33    1277173

hill the reason i reply so much is we usually have a major difference in opinion as is the case here....i regard gaa teams like donegal as fit as anybody in ireland lately but not all gaa teams...sweetnam seems to be from more of a rugby background so you could not call it money and the ban on other sports is in all pro contracts i would imagine

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 03/10/2012 15:13:04    1277262

No worries hill16, there's nothing wrong with turning down professional contracts to play gaa either, if that what makes many players happy then there's no reason to quit the gaa.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 03/10/2012 18:03:33    1277452

I admire your love of GAA hill, would have to ask if you working or still in education. Also of course pro sportsmen are fitter than GAA players- they spent the day training while GAA players are in work

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4655 - 03/10/2012 19:01:38    1277490

03/10/2012 11:12:49
hill16no1man
ormondbannerman
no if someone directly responds just looking to argue everything you say there is more then just a discussion its stirring.
what sports team in ireland would you class as fitter then dublin or donegal over the last two years?
not if you grew up playing gaa and aspired to be an inter county footballer and then when another sport lures you by money that to me is not what he aspired to be in the first place its changing because of money.

Sometimes if someone directly responds to your point they are stirring but not in the majority of cases. In this case he is not.
The provincial pro rugby sides i would class as fitter and most certainly leinster. Sweetnam played rugby all through underage so he hasnt been lured by money. Anyway he is only on an academy contract so wont be exactly rolling in the cash.
hill16no1man
if other sports ban players from playing gaa then the gaa should look into having it in a gaa contract that you are banned from aussie rules trials while you are a member of a gaa club
Only people on full pro contracts or academy contracts are not allowed play other sports. the gaa is amatuer so stopping someone who is a member of a GAA club from taking aussie rules trials cant be allowed. As stopping a GAA club member from taking aussie rules trails could most definately break freedom of work laws from the EU

03/10/2012 11:23:37
Real Kerry Fan
hill16. I agree. The GAA now are acting as fitness trainers for rugby. Also our money poured into stadia so the irfu can walk into them.
How is "The GAA" acting as fitness trainers for rugby". Thats bryan cullans(one person amongst many thousands of GAA members) job and has nothing to do with the GAA in any form at all

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 03/10/2012 21:18:18    1277572

id find it questionable that irish rugby teams are as fit as the top gaa sides but i wouldnt be that suprised if they were due to professionalism....i base this off gaelic football being a very fast sport compared to rugby although not as physically intense for obvious reasons...i dont know how you can measure this stuff to be honest so its a bit of a nonsense argument

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 03/10/2012 21:48:06    1277593

and good point on the academy salary ormond this my issue also with the kilkenny argument...afl rookies barely make much money at all so its hardly money thats such a decisive factor

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 03/10/2012 21:52:51    1277598

03/10/2012 21:48:06
ffgg
id find it questionable that irish rugby teams are as fit as the top gaa sides but i wouldnt be that suprised if they were due to professionalism....i base this off gaelic football being a very fast sport compared to rugby although not as physically intense for obvious reasons...i dont know how you can measure this stuff to be honest so its a bit of a nonsense argument

The pro's are easily as fit and fitter in most cases than amatuer gaelic football player
It is a nonsense argument and its nonsense to think its questionable that irish rugby teams are as fit as top gaa sides

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 03/10/2012 21:54:57    1277602

There is press over this case as Sweetman was an Inter-County player, but remember the opposite is happening as well, rugby players giving up rugby for the GAA but they would not be as high profile so publicity is zero.

Also the days of lads playing one code are long gone and many players of all sports play other sports in the off season etc.

As to the fitness, always hard to compare the fitness levels between sports. Rugby they are physically stonger as the game demands, the GAA lads focus more on stamina as the game is more free flowing. Also remember training is not about fitness only but technical aspects of a game, pre-planned moves or tactics etc and here a Pro in any sport has to be ahead of the game.

witnof (Dublin) - Posts: 1604 - 04/10/2012 08:05:41    1277613

ffgg
County: Longford
Posts: 882

1277262
hill the reason i reply so much is we usually have a major difference in opinion as is the case here....i regard gaa teams like donegal as fit as anybody in ireland lately but not all gaa teams...sweetnam seems to be from more of a rugby background so you could not call it money and the ban on other sports is in all pro contracts i would imagine

yes thats fine but you attack me for having my opinion just becuase you dont agree with it,i dont agree with alot of peoples opinions but i dont keep at them trying to change their mind.donegal dublin,kildare,cork,mayo,kerry are certainly all as fit as any pro teams.
i have said several times if he chose rugby as preferred sport for the right reason i have no problem with that.
yes and whati ask is the gaa as an equal sport to look into something simliar on stopping players being poached from our sport,we used to have aban in the gaa you know.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/10/2012 09:38:51    1277645

Htaem
County: Meath
Posts: 3801

1277452
No worries hill16, there's nothing wrong with turning down professional contracts to play gaa either, if that what makes many players happy then there's no reason to quit the gaa.

thank you htaem.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/10/2012 09:39:29    1277646

bad.monkey
County: USA
Posts: 3140

1277490
I admire your love of GAA hill, would have to ask if you working or still in education. Also of course pro sportsmen are fitter than GAA players- they spent the day training while GAA players are in work

thank you.i was in education and am now working as personal trainer and fitness class instructor.i disagree that just becuase you dont work means you have to be fitter becuase you have all day so that same method would apply to unemployed people as they have all day to train or people in prison as they can use the gym all day.
its not about how much time during the day you train its about what type of training you do and the effort you put in,its the intensity you train at and the type of training you do that develops fitness both aerobic and an-aerobic and the recovery period which includes getting on board the right food after you train which is more important then the time you spend at it.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/10/2012 09:47:17    1277649

ormondbannerman
County: Clare
Posts: 2900

1277572
03/10/2012 11:12:49
hill16no1man
ormondbannerman
no if someone directly responds just looking to argue everything you say there is more then just a discussion its stirring.
what sports team in ireland would you class as fitter then dublin or donegal over the last two years?
not if you grew up playing gaa and aspired to be an inter county footballer and then when another sport lures you by money that to me is not what he aspired to be in the first place its changing because of money.

Sometimes if someone directly responds to your point they are stirring but not in the majority of cases. In this case he is not.
The provincial pro rugby sides i would class as fitter and most certainly leinster. Sweetnam played rugby all through underage so he hasnt been lured by money. Anyway he is only on an academy contract so wont be exactly rolling in the cash.
hill16no1man
if other sports ban players from playing gaa then the gaa should look into having it in a gaa contract that you are banned from aussie rules trials while you are a member of a gaa club
Only people on full pro contracts or academy contracts are not allowed play other sports. the gaa is amatuer so stopping someone who is a member of a GAA club from taking aussie rules trials cant be allowed. As stopping a GAA club member from taking aussie rules trails could most definately break freedom of work laws from the EU

i disagree fitness is defined in all round fitness and while provincial rugby sides are ahead in an-aerobic fitness the inter county gaa sides would be miles ahead in aerobic fitness.which is what both sports are supposed to be atheltic games,rugby has gone away from the athletic game in the last 12 years or so to become alot slower and only certain positions now need a high level of aerobic fitness.
yes and at inter county level in gaa something simliar could be brought in that if a player is going to be tapped up by other sports the county boards must be accomadated for this.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/10/2012 09:56:34    1277656