Gaelic football rule changes mean preseason competitions need to return
There is no value in being lions in winter, sheep in summer. Just ask Derry, who won the McKenna Cup in 2024. It felt like the 150th time that Mickey Harte won it...
At a club function nearly a decade ago, the then Dublin manager Jim Gavin was asked to reflect on 2015.
It had been an incredibly successful year for the Dubs, finishing with four trophies in their locker. And, when he was pressed for a highlight, Gavin talked up what winning the O'Byrne Cup meant to him, the management team and the players.
You can be sure that there were a few raised eyebrows in the audience. Gavin might try and argue that winning the O'Byrne Cup gave Dublin the platform to go on to win the League, Leinster title and All-Ireland in 2015.
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But only the most gullible would swallow that.
There was a strong argument to be made for the abolition of the preseason competitions.
Often, the games were little more than glorified training sessions - which made many question why the GAA charged admission into them.
The gate receipts from the O'Byrne, McKenna Cups etc did go to a players' hardship fund, which is laudable. But this money should have been found elsewhere.
The bottom line is that nobody - despite what Gavin will tell you - wants to be Kings of January.
There is no value in being lions in winter, sheep in summer. Just ask Derry, who won the McKenna Cup in 2024. It felt like the 150th time that Mickey Harte won it...
Armagh played their Under-20s in that McKenna Cup, with their first team playing challenge matches instead. Think the season ended up working out alright for them.
A decision was made to bin the preseason competitions from next year on, and that was the right call.
It WAS the right call, it isn't now. The almost certain introduction of the new rules means this decision should be revisited.
The League has never been more important. It dictates whether some counties play in the All-Ireland series or the Tailteann Cup.
To many counties, climbing the divisions is an even bigger priority than what they do in the summer.
So to land them with a changed sport with no chance to bed in with the new rules is wrong.
Fair play to Cavan for taking the initiative. They have tabled a motion to next Saturday's Central Council meeting requesting to reverse the decision to eliminate all pre-season tournaments.
The preseason competitions have had their day but, in unique circumstances, they deserve a brief stay of execution.
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