Offaly Senior Championships  A Sharks eye view.

If you're on this website, chances are that like Lone Shark, youre hoping that the day when Offaly senior football and hurling teams challenge for major honours again. While a Leinster title is within the realms of possibility in both codes, no-one wants to see the day when we descend to the level of our neighbours in aspiring to such a middling achievement. By every measure  titles won, All-Stars awarded, and within the corridors of Croke Park administration Offaly is a true heavyweight of the association, and our place at the top table is under threat if we dont make a return to serious competitiveness very soon.

Trite though it is to say that underage development is the obvious channel through which to focus our primary efforts, it will forever be harsh to judge our future prospects by the success rate of our young teams. From a senior perspective, what you want from a good minor team is 4 or 5 players with the potential to go on and make county seniors. The All Ireland titles however tend to be won by the sides with 15 competent or better players, which is not always the best indicator of future progression. Invariably counties with a large playing base have a huge advantage with respect to fielding a generally talented fifteen, but this need not mean that they produce a better senior. Indeed some would suggest that the good players that we would look to in the future could be better served by having a lot of responsibility thrust upon them from a young age. In 2002 Offaly minors travelled to Louth for a first round Leinster championship match  Niall MacNamee was at the time a starter for Rhode and head and shoulders the on-field leader of the side. Surely its not unreasonable to suggest that he developed more as a footballer in trying to carry a relatively weak side than he would have if playing in the corner for a Kerry or Galway minor team flush with players of a similar standard. What is beyond question however is that most of his development has been as a result of a fine underage setup in Rhode, and indeed playing senior for his club at a young age and learning about the adult game early in his career.

A similar case could be made for James Coughlan, one of the few positives to be taken from Offalys championship campaign of 2004. Although not having had the same ostentatious progression through the teenage ranks, his ability to take responsibility on the field has come from having spent two years being expected to do the same for Doon. All this tells us that above all, it is our club system we must look to to hothouse the Faithful stars of the future, and if underage success comes as a by-product, then all well and good.

And so to the key focus of this analysis: how to best play the Offaly senior championship for the maximum benefit of all concerned  both the county and the club player. Lone Shark does not share the view that these aims are mutually exclusive. A truly thriving club championship with enthusiasm for playing at all levels will focus attention all over the county, and also ensure that our key players get a full summer of playing competitively in good summer conditions in front of passionate crowds, which is exactly the environment we need our players conditioned for. For some years now Offaly has operated the Weaker Group format within a 14 team championship, which while it has some merits, still contains several glaring problems. Lone Shark intends to take a thorough look at these pros and cons, and consider some possible alternatives that may or may not lead to improved county players going forward.

One thing is very noticeable about our championship  no one else plays it quite like we do. The corollary to this is that since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or system has been basically without any external praise. Limerick and Clare hurling both operate a B championship system where supposedly weaker teams can qualify for the knockout stages, but they do make it much tougher for weaker teams to do so. On a very basic level  in Limerick 8 teams play B with only one reaching a quarter final at the end of it. In Clare likewise, 8 teams play B seeking 2 quarter final places  and in both of these counties the quarter final is against one of the top performing clubs in the county, as there is no bye for A group winners. As a contrast to this, we give 2 quarter final spots to either four hurling sides or six football sides, and give the C group team the added bonus of avoiding a group winner and instead meeting an opponent who in many cases is playing the quarter final on the back of a loss. (Obvious example this year being St. Brigids who got to take on a Doon side whose last match was a 27 point hiding at the hands of Rhode, albeit as a result of many missing front line players) A C team, particularly in football, gets to rack up wins against sides whose senior ambitions do not extend beyond avoiding relegation, and gather momentum leaving them in a good position when August rolls around. Compare Edenderry 2004, who would have needed two wins against Gracefield, Shamrocks and Clara to reach the knockout stages, with Edenderry 2005. Assuming no miracle improvements from Bracknagh or Daingean, they will need two wins against Ballycumber, Erin Rovers and Shannonbridge. This hardly constitutes an equally tough challenge, notwithstanding any improvement/decline in the standard of the Reds in 2005. Lone Shark can accept that from group C an automatic semi final spot is not a possibility, and this is a fair point in favour of trying to stay in the elite 8. However if relegation were a real threat, then clubs might start to be a little more wary of dropping to group C. Lone Shark does not accept that relegation is remotely possible for either Edenderry or Ballycumber next year  our artificially large championship sees to that. With a twelve team senior championship, this could be corrected.

This however leads to Lone Sharks second criticism of the current format  our Group C system leads to teams doggedly hanging on to senior status when clearly they have no chance of winning either Dowling or Robbins cups. Bracknagh, Daingean, and Killavilla this year all started in theory aiming to win an Offaly senior championship, and Lone Shark noted that when Paddy Powers released their odds at the start of the year, all of these teams were 100/1 or bigger. In no other county in Ireland was any team that kind of price to win a senior championship of 16 teams or less, because in no other county in Ireland would teams so far off the pace be allowed into senior. However these teams trundle on regardless, not feeling outclassed  because our system shelters them. Bracknagh were beaten by 8 points by Ferbane this year  an open draw could see them in with a trio like Clara, Rhode, and Gracefield  all varying amounts better than Ferbane on this years form. Bracknagh losing every game by double figure amounts would be highly plausible, if not downright likely. This would give them a true picture of where they lie, and encourage the players to compete at their natural level  i.e. intermediate. As for how Killavilla would perform in a group with Coolderry, Birr and K/K, well. This kind of system does nothing for these clubs, who end up in all practicality gearing their year around one or two big basement battles which will decide their fate. It does nothing either for the clubs that play them with their eyes on bigger prizes, as they invariably tell a management team little more than a good challenge match.

Lone Shark would like to make one more negative observation. In theory the group system allows a second chance in that teams can recover from one bad match and go on and put a championship campaign together  however in practice this is not always the case. Hurlings group A this year pitted Coolderry, Rynaghs, Skenach, Kinnitty and Lusmagh in together. Based on the form as you would have read it coming into the year, Coolderry were always likely to qualify and top the group  as they did. Kinnitty and Lusmagh were likely to struggle and bring up the rear, as they did, though both sides put in some encouraging performances, Kinnitty in particular improving as the year went on. So on paper at least, Rynaghs vs Ballyskenach had the potential to be a knockout match to decide second spot  and the game was duly played on the 3rd of April. The Tipp border outfit won by three points, and at that point needed just to avoid any catastrophes to guarantee themselves knockout hurling. That they got drawn into a playoff was down to their abysmal performance against Lusmagh, which even the most optimistic Lusmagh follower will say was a complete shock. The point is this  despite in theory having the chance to recover, on the 4th of April Rynaghs found themselves needing both a huge slip up from Ballyskenach and a result against Coolderry to qualify for the knockouts  i.e. possibly out of the running already. Lone Shark accepts that straight knockout is not necessarily a bad thing by nature, but our system allows for group matches that are knockout in all but name. A fixture list placing such a match three days the warm side of March hardly invites confidence. For the football fans out there, a similar argument could be made with respect to the Doon vs Ballycumber clash played in Pairc Rachra in May. Once Jimmy Coughlan rattled the twines with only a few minutes remaining, Ballycumber needed a miracle against Rhode to stay alive. Lone Shark would certainly contend that this system needs alteration.

However sitting on the sidelines complaining is easy  so what do we do? Not wanting to throw the baby out with the bathwater, there are several good aspects to our system that would be best kept:

every player is guaranteed at least three championship matches, with at least two competitive ones.

Games generally are played regularly throughout the summer, which is no mean achievement for a county with two serious intercounty sides and a dual tradition.

Unlike in some of our neighbouring counties, respect for the club championships here is huge, and we tend not to lose young players to the US on a large scale.

In addition to the above, Lone Shark would look to incorporate the following aspects into any system:

Only those with a realistic chance of winning their championship should enter. This would suggest at the moment about 12 teams in each championship. This would have the added benefit of an extra layer of competitiveness to the intermediate division, where at the moment several county footballers play their club football. (McManus, Evans, Mulhall, not to mention Mulhare and Rafferty for Rynaghs who someday may feature in county sides once again)

Meaningful games the whole way through where possible. Both elite groups in this years football championship had final games where both teams commitment was diluted, to say the least.

In as far as is possible, there should be tangible benefits for winning games. This years Group C in the football saw the winners with a Clara/Rhode path to a county final, while the runners up would have had to play Doon and Gracefield. Luck of the draw is all it was, but where possible that should be minimised.

More home and away games. Neutral venues is a commendable idea, but home advantage is barely a factor in Gaelic Games, and it would encourage more people to come out and watch, and increase community awareness.

At this point the issue of divisional/regional sides invariably rears its head. The proliferation of amalgamated sides at minor and U-21 level has brought this issue to the discussion table at senior level. The pros and cons would be as follows:

Pros:
(1) Good players at junior clubs get to play at a higher level and thus improve their game more:
(2) The overall senior standard is improved.
(3) Players with intercounty potential at weak clubs are much more likely to be noticed by senior management.
(4) A divisional football side in South Offaly or a hurling side in East Offaly would give players a chance to train and play at a meaningful level and learn the game. As things stand a teenager in Rhode with a liking for hurling but also a competitive drive and wish to better himself does not have the option of doing so with like minded people  he will be surrounded by those doing it to keep fit for the football. As a result he too will stick to football because why be the only one putting in the effort?

Cons:
(1) Could lead to fixture congestion as for example a Kinnitty footballer now has senior football as well as junior C football and senior hurling on his schedule.
(2) Could inhibit the progress of some junior clubs through the ranks as some of their players may devote more energies to the divisional team. Would Doon still have emerged if Vinny Claffey was spending more time training with West Offaly footballers than Doon?
(3) Such a team winning a county title could cause resentment, particularly if depriving a success starved club.
(4) Teams mightnt push for Junior titles if they felt it would render them ineligible for the divisional side and the players were concerned about their chances of a county senior medal.

All things considered, Lone Shark would like to see it introduced on a experimental basis. Hurling could see one North West Offaly team (including Ballycumber, Erin Rovers, Doon, Shannonbridge etc.), and one East Offaly outfit, while Football could have South Offaly (hurling area) and Mid Offaly, incorporating loosely Mountbolus over as far as Brackagh, obviously not including Walsh Island or any other senior or intermediate clubs in the area.

With two clubs from each code being relegated, or three relegated and one promoted, this leaves us back at 14 clubs. Lone shark will now run through the 2005 Offaly senior championship, as he would envisage. The system is loosely based around the Meath senior football format. A lot of games are played, but as things stand a group C football side plays five group matches. This format would see each club play six, and so would lead to a situation where the fixtures committee would have to be fairly efficient, and start playing games early, and always look to run off games where possible.

The one final criteria is this  fans love local derbies, so rather than draw the groups, Lone Shark would split them east/west so as to maximise local interest. This leaves us with the championship groups as follows:

West: Ferbane, Clara, Shannonbridge, Ballycumber, Erin Rovers, Doon, South Offaly

East: Edenderry, Shamrocks, Tullamore, Rhode, St, Brigids, Gracefield, Mid Offaly

The fixtures would be as follows in each group:

Week 1: 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, 5 vs 6
Week 2: 3 vs 1, 4 vs 2, 7 vs 5
Week 3: 1 vs 4, 2 vs 6, 7 vs 3
Week 4: 5 vs 1, 2 vs 7, 6 vs 3
Week 1: 1 vs 7, 5 vs 2, 4 vs 6
Week 1: 6 vs 1, 3 vs 5, 7 vs 4
Week 7: 2 vs 3, 4 vs 5, 6 vs 7

Each team plays all 6 group opponents once, with 3 games home and 3 away. For the sake of illustration, well say both groups finish as they were named  so the final tables are as follows:

West	W	L	Pts	East	W	L	Pts
Ferbane	6	0	12	Edenderry	6	0	12
Clara	5	1	10	Shamrocks	5	1	10
Shannonbridge	4	2	8	Tullamore	4	2	8
Ballycumber	3	3	6	Rhode	3	3	6
Erin Rovers	2	4	4	St. Brigids	2	4	4
Doon	1	5	2	Gracefield	1	5	2
South Offaly	0	6	0	Mid Offaly	0	6	0

We then proceed to quarter finals, with again home advantage being determined by highest group placing. The bottom two in each group go into relegation playoffs, with again 6th place teams having home advantage over 7th place teams. The upshot of all this is that every side should in theory be better off than the team below them, so all wins are rewarded. This gives us four quarter finals (home team first) of:

Ferbane vs Rhode
Shamrocks vs Shannonbridge
Clara vs Tullamore
Edenderry vs Ballycumber.

From there on its plain sailing. Barring a disaster, in this set up all sides should be playing for something right up to the end. There are more local derbies, home games for spectators to enjoy, and a system which rewards consistent play throughout the campaign but still ensures the ability to recover from an early setback.

Lone Shark understands that no system will be perfect, but the future of Offaly GAA rests in how we run our local championship, and how that championship prepares our players for the greater tests that lie ahead in the county scene. We all do our county a dis-service by idly criticising, or complaining when the luck of the draw goes against our own club, without actively seeking out ways to improve it. Here at uibhfhaili.com we like to ask what can we do to make things better  how can we improve the lot of the Offaly GAA follower and the fortunes of our county teams? The love of the GAA in our county runs too deep to allow ourselves to think any other way. This is one possible way forward. Lone Shark looks forward to seeing you on the journey...