Transfers change could benefit ‘weaker’ counties

TIER ONE hurling counties will be able to avail of the new transfer system approved by Congress if they can persuade Central Council that they should be designated as ‘weaker’ counties.

The new rule allows players to ‘declare for the county of birth of a parent or play for the county of residence’ as long as they are not competing in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship. The motion allows counties to field five such players and the hope is that it will provide a boost to tier two and three counties.

It may also prove useful to the likes of Laois especially, who are considered too weak for the top tier but too strong for the middle one.

“If you start looking at the small print, a county in Tier One has the right to go to Central Council to ask that it be given designated county status,” explained Louth’s JJ Murphy, who brought the motion to Congress. “Laois stick out like a sore thumb because the borders of Laois take in Tipperary, Kilkenny and Offaly.

“The problem with Laois teams, I have often thought, is that they always appear to have four or five players not up to the standard. It’s shortage of numbers, shortage of clubs. Eventually the good Laois lads get tired and they lose the match.”

In order for a player to transfer, the consent of his own county is required and he may not switch back to the county of his birth once the switch has been made.

The motion was passed last weekend thanks in no small part to Cork’s Frank Murphy and Kilkenny’s Ned Quinn, and JJ Murphy envisages Kerry and Carlow being two of the main beneficiaries should they decide to utilise the new system..

“I know down at Congress they were all talking about a couple of counties in particular. The expectation is that, if — and this is only an ‘if’ — the likes of Kerry and Carlow decide to use this, they will probably be the two counties to shoot up.

“It would be because those two counties are very close in a geographical sense to counties with a huge number of intercounty-type players. They were very easy to identify.”

GAA President Nickey Brennan said yesterday that he supported the system in principal but would monitor the practicalities of it closely before deciding on its worth.

Aligning fixtures for players playing their club hurling in one county and their inter-county hurling for another may prove particularly difficult, Brennan added, but JJ Murphy believes the GAA have the nous to make it work.

“There are very good, experienced people in the GAA and they will come to grips with this and it will become second nature to them in no space of time.”