Mayo GAA club championship draw allows the dreaming to commence
by Caoimhín Rowland
It came on Ash Wednesday, but players, supporters and management at club level in Mayo will have to wait a lot longer than 40 days and 40 nights until the white hot heat of championship roars into life.
The old Kinder Egg containers have gone - presumably Con Moynihan took them with him as he departed his role in the CCC - while Michael Diskin pulled off a successful premier outing in his new position.
He signed off with a very important point: for clubs to identify slots for Friday evening games, a much sought-after idea by supporters and players. But as he noted quite rightly, our referees need to be protected.
It will be a year of change for all, but the burden the FRC has placed upon referees is almost unquantifiable. David Gough complained no referee had been given a handbook, just attempting to decipher the rules from the media and the odd meeting with other bemused officials.
An unacceptable scenario, as with a whole raft of new legislation and more to be tinkered with, there will certainly be many aggrieved on the sideline. But as Diskin stressed, patience is a virtue.
The first games under the new rules have taken place for some B teams in the counties. Referees have reportedly been spotted with an extra official helping them along the line.
A fund for our officials from the county board to mic up referees should be explored. What is the point in introducing rules primarily to speed up the game with ‘solo and go for it’ only to become halted for a referee to take time to deliberate with another official?
That time, totally being wasted as supporters will view it, may cause more problems. But again, have some patience - the decision will come, though it does appear to be counterintuitive to have the sport delayed for consultation when speed is the new name of the game.
The FRC has mooted a change to the ‘3 back at all times’ rule, making it more lax and allowing a player to wander a metre over without such a severe penalty. Similarly, a two-pointer chance for such an infraction will also be foregone.
Thankfully, there is also a change to the rules to prevent goalkeepers piling forward. That will come as a blessing for the purists, long haranguing their TVs and lambasting pursuant shot-stoppers in opposition halves.
Still, it will be tough for all to adjust to the rules, especially after the latest update upon FRC rulings. It's a strange time to jig up the rulebook mid-season; again, it will cause a great deal of angst from supporters and players. Even coaches have noted the difficulty in explaining to Under 12s to stay back and not follow the ball.
But what is becoming clear at adult level is the apparent joy and pleasure players have expressed. The game is quicker, there is a lot more of an attacking emphasis, and many forwards who may have considered hanging up their boots - similar to Michael Murphy - have stuck around, turning back the years, delighted with no longer having to track their younger marker all the way up the field.
Back to the county championship, and expectedly, the draw has thrown out some great clashes with top names and local rivalries fiercely to the fore.
That is unless you are poor Northern Gaels in the junior championship draw, where of the six north Mayo clubs - Killala, Ardagh, Bonniconlon, Ballycroy and Ballycastle - all stuck together like two dogs in heat, leaving the poor aforementioned amalgam out in the cold in Group 2, with long treks to Tourmakeady, Kiltimagh and Kilmovee ahead for the up-and-coming outfit.
They will hope to meet their neighbors at a later stage, you can be sure.
A championship which Cill Chomáin won after years of heartache and a replay, Bonniconlon, recently demoted Kiltimagh, and Northern Gaels will be the ones to watch. Achill, with back-to-back junior B titles, could also be a solid dark horse punt.
At intermediate, it's a cliché but it truly is anyone's. My own club, Lahardane MacHales, face Ardnaree in Bofeenaun in the opening round, a tricky encounter to be followed by stickier challenges against Ballinrobe and Castlebar Mitchels B. Kilmeena, Burrishoole, Cill Chomain and The Neale will have nothing between any of them, while Moy Davitts meet Louisburgh yet again.
Last year's finalist, with a solid age profile on their side, will have to be the likeliest to follow Crossmolina Deel Rovers into the Connacht Gold senior championship.
In senior, it was of course the Ballina Stephenites and Crossmolina pairing that drew most gasps in the Dr. Mickey Loftus room.
Deel Rovers are now where they belong and with a solid contingent of talented youngsters emerging, it would be foolish to state they can't escape Group 1 and make a serious tilt toward the Moclair Cup.
Plenty of national interest will be involved when Westport take on Knockmore. The Parish of the Backs are reported to have Joe Brolly involved in their backroom team, with the Lough Conn men keen to topple their bitter rivals Ballina Stephenites off their throne and prevent their vaunted three-in-a-row quest.