Dual clubs could suffer from new Offaly championship structures

The joy of democracy as the cornerstone of the GAA is that whatever else can be said of most of the decisions taken, they tend to carry plenty of moral weight, if only to stand against the tide of inevitable criticism. Many would argue that the current state of the nation is an argument against democracy, as it manifests itself on this island anyway, however for the GAA, 125 years into a proud history, the democratic structure has stood the test of time. The format for the 2010 adult GAA championships in Offaly was revealed this week, having been approved by the clubs on Tuesday night. As with all systems where issues such as club v county, dual players and burnout are integral, there are plenty of potential obstacles lying in wait, obstacles which will no doubt ensure that the democratic integrity of this new structure will be sorely needed as a bulwark. The decision taken is that next year, the senior, intermediate and junior championships in both football and hurling will involve two groups of six, with the top four teams in each group playing off in quarter finals, while the bottom two teams in each group will contest relegation semi-finals. It will no longer be possible for any team to finish fifth or sixth and remain in the championship, as Tullamore hurlers did this year. Groups will also be seeded, so that one of the two finalists from the previous year will be in each group, as will one of each of the losing semi-finalists, while the losing quarter finalists will also be split between the groups. On the face of it, there is a lot to like about this new system. The removal of the safety net where everyone stays involved should give more championship impetus to the games, particularly in the early stages, while it also places hurling and football on an equal footing. The simple aspect of more games overall will be a pleasure for supporters of the games, and indeed many players, while the retention of the quarter finals ensures that there will still be at least seven big knockout fixtures in each championship at the end of the year. Opposed to this, there is the hugely increased pressure that will now be placed on dual clubs, as well as the greatly increased likelihood of fixture congestion if any one of the county teams should go on a good run. The lack of any incentive to progress up the group table once a place in the top four has been secured is also a huge issue, and this could lead to several dead rubbers in the closing stages. Worse still, the structure could create games where only one of the two teams involved has anything to play for, leading to real damage to the integrity of the competitions. With this in mind, it is hugely disappointing that the clubs didn't take the one final step of making an automatic semi-final spot available for group winners and leaving the team in fourth place eliminated, but safe from relegation. This would have created a genuine incentive for winning every game, and reduced the risk that a strong club competes to the full of their ability early on before perhaps losing matches late on that are of no consequence to them, but perhaps have huge implications for third party clubs (see the Wexford example below). Of course clubs will always do their best to win, but taking a hypothetical situation for example - say a strong dual club comes into the final round of the football championship group stages with three or four wins, and their quarter final slot secured. They have several players injured, while their hurlers have been playing championship for several weeks in a row and are exhausted. They now have three options (a) play their injured men and risk further harm (b) promote several players from their second team, thus robbing an intermediate/junior team of many of their best players, or (c) simply concede a walkover, thus risking no injuries, resting their dual players and allowing their second team to prepare as normal. It goes without saying that option C is by far the best option for the club - even though it would greatly harm the integrity of the championship and will lead to huge uproar when it happens, as it inevitably will. Of course there can always be situations where teams have nothing to play for, however it behoves a county board to do their best to minimise the chances of such games occurring - and this system most certainly does not do that. This decision is also a clear statement by the majority of Offaly clubs that dual players are not welcome. Clubs such as Tullamore, Shamrocks, Ferbane/Belmont who try to treat two sports equally will be severely handicapped while several other clubs may find their "second" sport being even more marginalised than previously, however yet again, democracy means that the clubs have no right to be wrong. Expect this debate to rage heatedly next summer. However the summer is a long way away and plenty of good winter action is on the agenda for this weekend. Most Offaly GAA supporters will make the relatively short trip to Tullamore, where Clara play Rathvilly in the Leinster club championship quarter-final. After two excellent wins from behind, Clara will be hoping to play a good consistent hour of football this Sunday, and if they do that, there is no reason why they can't secure their spot in the last four. Rathvilly are a much improved team since former Sydney Swan Brendan Murphy came back into their team, and they will certainly give Clara plenty to think about in the midfield diamond area. They are a powerful team with plenty of physical strength, and the craft of JJ Smith combined with the pace of Danny Molloy works very well together in the full forward line, but realistically, if Clara match their performances from the previous two matches, they should have enough to edge the result. It's safe to assume that very few neutrals will make the trek down to Glynn to see Walsh Island play Glynn-Barntown in the Leinster Intermediate championship quarter final, but those that do travel could be in for an intriguing fixture. Glynn-Barntown would be much better known as a hurling club and reached a SHC semi-final in Wexford this year, but they also have a football tradition and have gained momentum as the season progressed this year. They've dodged more than a few bullets up to this stage, nowhere more than in the group stage of the Wexford IFC, where things very much fell their way on the final day. Architects of the current Offaly championship would do well to note that there were more than a few grumbles in the Naomh Eanna club after what happened. Naomh Eanna and Glynn-Barntown had drawn already, while Naomh Eanna lost to Maudlinstown by a point. However in the last round, Maudlinstown had nothing to play for with top spot secured, so Glynn-Barntown duly beat them by twelve points to qualify over Naomh Eanna on scoring difference. A comeback from ten points down got them through a Wexford quarter-final, but since then they've gone from strength to strength and their win over Clonaslee St Manman's was a big surprise in the previous round of the Leinster competition. A huge proportion of their scores come from the free taking of Mark Fanning, so if Walsh Island can limit the amount of frees conceded, they could give themselves every chance here. The rampaging runs of Willie Cowman from left wing back will also have to be well marshalled, but the Islanders have plenty of weapons of their own and if they can perhaps take advantage of an ageing Glynn-Barntown midfield, they could set up a decent run in what is a very wide open championship.