The first full weekend of Allianz League action raised a number of talking points, some old, some new.
We saw arguments about officiating, one of the main managers left fuming and some shock performances leading to a couple of upsets.
But after the dust settled, here are six of the things we noticed from the weekend.
Refereeing
How often does the League start with endless bellyaching from managers about referees and rules only for it all to bed down after a few weeks, to such a degree that it’s barely even a talking point come Championship? Most years? Every year, even?
We expect that as players and referees become more accustomed to the changes that they will become less of a talking point. The refs won’t always get it right, but wasn’t it ever thus?
Division Three Bun Fight
Mercifully, the Tailteann Cup will not form part of this summer’s action and whatever your feelings about the a tiered system in inter-county football, not even the most ardent proponent could logically argue that splitting the country in two lots of 16 makes any sense.
There clearly is not a seismic gulf between a rump of 20-odd counties either side of that divisor.
Two provincial champions, Cavan and Tipperary, find themselves in Division Three and their losses to Fermanagh and Limerick respectively last weekend suggest that they’re in good company.
John Kiely's 'simulation' outburst
“There were some clear examples of simulation there today, a couple were very embarrassing,” said Limerick boss Kiely of opposition Galway players on Sunday.
“None of us want to see that brought in as part of our game.”
It’s unusual, if not unprecedented, for a hurling manager to call another team out for simulation. On reflection, Kiely may conclude that he should have kept those views, however sincerely held they might be, to himself.
Hurling's entertainment value
Puckout, shot. Puckout, shot. Puckout, shot. Yawn.
This trend hardly just emerged over the last two weekends, but goalmouth action is at an all-time low.
Dublin hit the 30-point mark against Laois for the second time in as many meetings with Donal Burke contributing 0-18 to go with his 1-16 last October. Fair play to him, but it’s more a reflection on the properties of the modern sliotar that these scores are now achievable.
Green Fields, a digital sports technology company, has established that the sliotar's polyurethane core can be adjusted, without changing its weight, to either increase or decrease how far the ball travels by up to 10 yards, as the core largely dictates how it bounces on impact.
Changing the make-up of the ball to stop it travelling so far should be of much greater urgency than some of the other meddling that has been going on of late.
Forcing puckouts to go beyond the 45 would likely enhance the game as a spectacle also.
Kerry's statement of intent
There’s no getting away from Galway’s inertia, and Padraic Joyce’s side were desperately poor in Tralee on Saturday, but that’s not to say that inflicting a 22-point beating on them was a fait accompli for Kerry, who deserve much credit for how they went about their business.
Unflinching at the back, dominant at midfield and devastating up front, it was quite the statement in their first outing since the devastating loss to Cork last November.
Next Sunday against Dublin will tell us a lot more, however.
Water breaks
If they weren’t introduced in the Premier League when it restarted last June, would it have even dawned on the GAA to have water breaks?
They have proven to be momentum breakers for teams in the ascendency and, increasingly, it appears as though very little water is being consumed as team management bark out instructions and even produce tactics boards in some cases.
Water breaks need to go. Now.
.jpg?w=600)
