Qualifiers’ fading intrigue shows it’s time for a Top 16

We felt a little sorry for Ciaran Whelan and Darren Frehill yesterday morning.

There they were, the best and brightest emerging pundit and presenter in Gaelic Games, doing their best to muster enthusiasm about the first-round football qualifier draw, but they were struggling. Whelan has been one of the most strident and articulate voices calling for competition reform, while the stilted nature of Frehill’s exuberance was exposed when he blurted out, “The tie of the round has to be Derry versus Sligo.”

That’s right: the Division Two champions at home to a side lucky to avoid relegation from Division Three and beaten by London.