Counties get to consider alternative league plan

Carlow and Westmeath’s proposal to be included in a 14-team National Hurling League Division 1 next year has been circulated to counties.

On Tuesday, GAA president Liam O’Neill indicated the Michael Burns’ 12-team top flight, backed by theManagement Committee, would be the only format being voted on by Central Council next month. However, following a meeting with hurling counties outside of the designated dozen on Tuesday evening, the joint Carlow/Westmeath alternative plan was emailed yesterday morning.

The two Leinster counties have suggested they be included among the third seeds with Offaly, Wexford, Antrim and Laois.

The 14 teams would be divided into two groups of seven, comprising two top seeds, two second seeds and three third seeds.

The proposal follows a similar system to the Burns’ structure. Each team would play each county in their section, a total of six games, as well as two teams of their own grade from the opposite section.

The top two in each section qualify for the league semi-finals while the bottom county in each section would face one another in a relegation play-off. Each team would be guaranteed four home games as well as four away.

The Carlow-Westmeath proposal offers each of the 14 teams one more round game than the Burns blueprint.

There is a difficulty in another round of fixtures being accommodated but the two Leinster counties suggest one of the set of fixtures be played midweek.

In their document, they expressed their disappointment with not only the nature of the Burns’ format but the language used.

“The latest proposal, put before Central Council last Saturday, October 12, stated that one of the disadvantages of the proposal with eight teams in 1A and six teams in 1B was that Wexford and Offaly ‘were condemned to play against lower opposition’ (a very poor choice of words), although both Carlow and Westmeath have held their own and in one case beaten them over the last few seasons.”

They stress they want to compete against the counties that like them are also entered to play in next year’s All-Ireland championship. The Burns blueprint sees 12 teams making up Division 1 based on this year’s Division 1A and 1B standings.

As the first four finishers in Division 1A, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Galway and Waterford would be first seeds with Clare, Cork, Limerick and Dublin deemed second seeds.

The finalised version confirms the cross-section games shall be played no later than round four so as to avoid repeat fixtures in consecutive weeks or a short space of time as the semi-finals andrelegation play-off are also cross-section fixtures. If teams finish on the same amount of points, they will be separated by the outcome of their head-to-head game. If that was a draw or where more than two teams have finished on the same points total, the county with the worst points total from their section will lose out. Failing that, it will come down to score difference and then highest total score.

Should it get the go-ahead, the draw will be made after the vote at the Central Council meeting on November 16. A new draw will be made each year.

For 2015, counties will be seeded on the basis of their section total, not the points accrued from the cross-section games.

A structure for non-Division 1 teams including Carlow and Westmeath, submitted by the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) and approved by Central Council last December, was also distributed. That would see Westmeath, Carlow, Kerry, Derry, London and Kildare make up Division 2A with the top two teams after five rounds playing in a final to see who gains promotion to Division 1 in 2015.

The worst-placed side after the round games would be relegated.

Division 2B (Wicklow, Meath, Down, Mayo, Armagh and Fingal) and Division 3A (Donegal, Louth, Fermanagh, Longford, Roscommon and Monaghan) would run similarly with the top two in Division 3B (Tyrone, Sligo, Warwickshire and Leitrim) facing one another for promotion.

Should a 12-county Division 1 be adopted for next year, that lower division structure will come into operation for 2014. However, were the Carlow-Westmeath proposal approved, the CCCC will be asked to put together an alternative format for the 22 non-Division 1 teams for next season.

That prospect is a concerning one for the national fixtures planning committee who hope to be able to draft the master fixtures for 2014 as soon as possible after next month’s Central Council meeting.