Tadhg Kennelly: Lack of championship matches damaging GAA

Tadhg Kennelly is convinced Gaelic football will lose out further to rival sports if they don’t increase the number of championship matches.

With the competition’s structure currently under review, the former Kerry and Sydney Swans player doesn’t believe the All-Ireland SFC in its current form best serves the promotional needs of the game. Kennelly, a coach with the visiting Australian International Rules squad, also claims there has been a lack of meaningful championship matches.

“The championship needs to change and that discussion has been happening for five or six years,” said Kennelly. “They say the stronger get stronger but the weaker get stronger too if it is more appealing to play for your county and you’re going to get five or six championship games a year. If you’re stuck in a weaker county at the moment, you lose two games and you’re gone.

“You want to make it more appealing as a game too because in Gaelic football this year, there were probably two or three games that were appealing.

“You’re competing against the Premier League and the Rugby World Cup in terms of marketing and it’s being taken away from us. Four games a year that are appealing — is that enough in a competitive market and sport is getting more competitive for the dollar and the euro?

“You’re always fighting for that TV air space and we in the GAA go almost from September to April without TV air space. If that continues, well then you’re just giving free space to other sports. We need something in the paper every day, exposure for the game.”

Kennelly believes the GAA’s Sky Sports deal could see the British broadcasters dictate the scheduling and framing of matches. Already it appears Dublin’s 2016 Leinster SFC opener and a potential Mayo-Galway Connacht semi-final will be shown live by Sky.

“People want more and TV rights are running AFL. The GAA are starting to do that now. You sign your Sky Sports deal and you’re opening up yourself to a can of worms as far as who starts controlling the fixture and the games.”

As the GAA hope to attract a 40,000 crowd for Saturday’s test at Croke Park, Kennelly has described the Australian party “as the dream team”. Yesterday, Derry’s Hawthorn-signed Conor Glass and Meath teenager Conor Nash, who the AFL champions are also monitoring, trained with the squad under the supervision of the Melbourne club and Australia coach Alastair Clarkson.

There will be a record number of Irish players playing Australian Rules next season but Kennelly is glad to see there has been no adverse reaction in the GAA to their flight Down Under. “I think there’s an acceptance because you look at other sports and there’s a record number of rugby players who have played GAA. There’s a record number of soccer players who have played GAA. The small trickle coming out to AFL, it’s always going to be there because the games are similar.”

Kennelly revealed he is likely to again line out for Listowel Emmets, managed by his brother Noel, in the upcoming North Kerry championship. He predicts fellow ex-Sydney Swans player Tommy Walsh will “rip it apart” next season and rejects the theory Irish players have returned from AFL to GAA poorer for the experience. “Tell me Colm Begley’s not a better player, tell me Michael Quinn’s not a better player. Tell me Brendan Murphy’s not a better player after three years with Sydney Swans. Players come back from preparing in an elite environment and that helps them.”