National Hurling League 2023 Discussion

It's just trendy to batter it but it has always been the secondary tournament. People are acting like it's a new phenomenon that "needs fixing"

Just enjoy it for what it is. I certainly did today.

Incorrect.

As delighted as I am with the home game I really think they should just give it to the top team next year and save the messing around.

Gonna be good craic round north Limerick that night with the rugby on at 17:15 in Thomond Park.

By rival show do you mean a hurling show ?

Because a rival GAA show would be more blatantly football.

"blatantly said they werent going to bother with the hurling as they've decided the football is more important"

Did they actually say something to that effect ?

Funnily enough I'd say Pat Ryan and Liam Cahill are happy enough to have away semi finals, probably see the trips to Gaelic Grounds and Nowlan Park as good character testers, I remember James O'Donoghue and Paddy Andrews saying on the Football Pod on Off the Ball that their managers used to love away games in the league to the likes of Mayo and Tyrone for that reason.

Well, she wasn't wrong.

Hurling "experts" have been telling us for a while now, and especially after Waterford's post-league collapse last year, that it's not worth going all out in the league, going well in the league will do more harm than good, that the championship is all that matters. Pundits/columnists repeatedly saying the league has no cut to it, that it's become a series of competitive challenge matches. The structure itself basically made the final round meaningless apart from the Kilkenny/Waterford game, and both those sides have been in poor enough form. And the league itself has been of a poor quality in general this year and has had air of pessimism floating over it (especially with regard to the rampant cheating that is the throw replacing the hand pass, and the over-elaboration of the possession game it allows).

So if it's a choice of the above, or football matches that actually matter and may have an impact on the rest of the year, the obvious choice for a broadcaster is to go with the games that matter than the ones that don't.

If hurling wants more league games shown, then the league needs to matter. If it doesn't, then there's no use in complaining about it.

Whats all this old man shouting at clouds "become" talk that I keep hearing.

Always was not become.

The hurling league has no jeopardy. The GAA could reduce the hurling ticket prices to €10 and play football Division 2 matches on hurling weekends so that there are competitive games for RTÉ and TG4 to broadcast.

The one thing the leagues usually have brought is league status. The current format has removed the status of hurling counties being Division 1. The Munster Leagues don't need relegated but the national traditionally has that as it's strength.

Any other sport and the league would be a closed shop with no relegation such is the gulf in class.

It's like thinking relegating one of the top 5 from the 6 Nations would help.

Division 1A for 1 to 6 is a fair level. Brackets of 6 seems to suit hurling.

The 3 lower ranked of the top 9 and the next best 3 is a fair level. Clare, Dublin, Wexford, Antrim, Laois and Westmeath.

There is a big battle in football to retain Division 1 status. Hurling previously had a good battle to retain Division 1A status. The 1A relegation final the last time was ridiculous though. The team finishing 6th should be automatically relegated.

Your comment is fair but the league's edge has been about retaining status. Winning the league is a bonus. The majority of people would struggle to list off the last 10 league winners.

Couldn't agree more.

Hurling had nothing on the line last week. RTÉ were very fair.

So her comment was wrong but all the pundits get to rip the absolute sht out of the competition and that's fine.

Let's not forget you agree with her don't you.

The kids thing needs to stop. Even worse the adults running on annoying players need to stop. They are queueing up with 10 mins to go to take part in this game.

It was grand but it's become this this to be done "to be seen". They invaded the pitch while a Kerry league match was still on to get at Clifford. The Kildare footballers were trying to warm up in a mosh pit last week in Limerick at the double header. In Galway they were running on during the game robbing stuff from behind the goals.