Divisional sides aren't doing Cork hurling any favours when it comes to Munster
dam Murphy of Imokilly scores his side's only goal despite the best efforts of Eoghan Murphy of Sarsfields. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
As a blow-in to Cork, I had never come across the idea of a divisional or college team getting to take part in a county championship before moving here.
I’ve been here now for five years, and while I can see the merits of it wholeheartedly in some respects, I’m not sure sending the county runners up to Munster is the recipe for success in the county.
Imokilly beat Sars in the county premier senior hurling final last weekend, in what was a deserved win – coming from six points down a half time to shooting ten points with no response during the second half of the game.
The concept of Imokilly, and any divisional Cork team, is generally a positive one it gets buy-in from players and their clubs. It gives guys who wouldn’t get the chance to compete for a senior county title the opportunity to do so. They also play down the divisions with their own clubs, but have somehow managed to buy into the machine that is Imokilly and also put their time and energy into it.
I suppose in some respects it’s like club players being selected for county, it’s a privilege and something they want to put their time and effort into. And, this year, it’s proved to be a hugely successful model once again with them coming out on top in Cork.
Where the concept of allowing divisions to compete at club level falls down is the progression to the Munster championship. Imokilly not being able to progress further into the Munster CLUB championship means that beaten finalists Sars will now have to move on as Cork’s representatives in the competition.
They’ve four weeks to prepare to meet the winners of the Clare championship, so hopefully the disappointment at losing last Sunday can be put behind them.
I wrote last week about the machine that is Loughmore Castleiney in Tipperary following their victory in the Tipperary county senior hurling championship, and haven’t they just gone and won the Tipperary senior football championship now too.
By my calculations, 10 of the starting 15 were the same in both games.
Incredible stuff. Now they go into the Munster championship in both codes.
Meanwhile, on Friday and Saturday evenings we got to see the new proposed rule changes in gaelic football for the first time.
The interprovincial games saw seven new rules trialed which will be voted on by GAA congress ahead of the 2025 season.
Some of the rules made a difference, some I’m not so sure about. A one v one throw in doesn’t really make much impact. Sure it’s likely to stop the some of the significant amount of fouling that goes on at the start of each half, but of the rules trialed, it’s not as impactful as others.
Longer kick-outs, less recycling the ball back to the goalkeeper and a solo-and-go option for frees are some of the much more positive potential rule changes.
Kick-outs have to go past the new large arc at 40m, which will lead to a pacier game which will, hopefully, allow team develop attacks easier.
I think the rules which say a keeper can "only receive a pass from a teammate if they are inside the opposition half, or if they and the player passing the ball are inside their large rectangle" will really encourage more positive, forward-moving play.
It will stop the slow, recycling-style play many teams have adopted in recent years, which can be very hard to watch - as will the solo-and-go option for a player who has been fouled as opposed to stopping up play to take a free.
To stop the massively defensive nature of football, each team must keep three outfield players in each half of the field.
The jury is still out on the points changes, four for a goal, two for a point outside the new 40m arc, and one for a point as was always the case.
Let’s wait and see how many new rules make it through congress, but it looks like a step in the right direction for football.
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