OFFALY MANAGER KEVIN Martin has voiced his concern at the introduction of the round robin format in the provincial hurling championships.
For the first time this year, Munster and Leinster will contain group stages with the top two teams advancing to the provincial finals. They will be joined by the third-placed side in the knock-out stages of the All-Ireland series, along with the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists.
Offaly have their bye in the final round of the fixtures in Leinster, meaning they’ll play on four consecutive weekends in a bid to retain their status in the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
“To be honest, I think it’s a bit mad,” Martin said at the launch of the Leinster SHC this week.
“Possibly, they should have had two rounds, a break of a week, then another two rounds, because players are going to get injured. My thing about it is, if a player tore a hamstring in the first round, they are gone for the next three. It’s a tough one but it is what it is and we’re going to have to face into it.”
Richie Power wrote in his RTE column earlier this week that the system was brought in as a “knee-jerk reaction to the introduction of the Super 8s”, and Martin is inclined to agree with him.
“A knee-jerk reaction is the proper word for it,” he said. “It’s going to generate more revenue, there’s no doubt about it. The games are going to be intense but if things don’t go right for teams as regards injuries it’ll be the team with the biggest, strongest panel that’s going to come out at the end of it.
“We are the minnows of our championship, it’s going to be hard on us if we do pick up a lot of injuries. Fingers crossed (we don’t).”
Tullamore clubman Martin believes there will be a tweak to the format next season, to give all teams a bye-week during the middle of the round robin phase.
“If a lad gets a serious enough injury in the first game, he’s after training all year to play maybe one game and miss the rest so I think it’s going to be changed for next year,” he added.
Despite the extra number of games, Kilkenny manager Brian Cody believes the quality of the fare won’t be diluted this summer.
“If it’s championship it can’t be diluted,” said Cody. “Once it’s a Leinster championship match it’s anything but a dilution.
“I’m not going to start discussing the pros and cons of whether it’s the right format or not. It’s the format that is uppermost in our minds now so we are just going to get on with that preparation.”
