Darren Hughes urges GAA to alter championship calendar

Monaghan’s Darren Hughes has called for the GAA to “start from scratch” when it comes to revamping their championship structures.

Director general Páraic Duffy’s proposal for a revamped football championship, which would see a group format introduced at the quarter-final stage, is set to go before Congress next month.

While Hughes expressed mixed emotions over Duffy’s plans, the Monaghan forward insisted the current calendar must be altered in some way.

“I’m all for change,” said the Monaghan forward at the launch of eir Sports Allianz National League coverage. “I just think the GAA calendar needs [to be] wiped. Start from scratch.

“It would have to be a bad scenario for me to be against it [Duffy’s proposal]. I’d definitely be all for change because if the current [football championship] template was put down in front of anyone, and went to Congress to be passed, it wouldn’t get through a county board meeting because it would just be thrown out straight away.

“The calendar needs to be scrapped and looked at from scratch again,” added Hughes, who sees pros and cons to the proposals. The Scotstown clubman cited the proposed introduction of a two-group quarter-final structure as being a “Catch 22” suggestion.

“Just thinking off hand, there are two sides to it. You lose one game and you have a second chance, but say if you were in Tipperary’s shoes the last day you win one [quarter-final] game and you have to win another one to get to that All-Ireland semi-final so it’s the balancing act of it.

“It’s probably guaranteeing the top four teams will be in the All-Ireland semi-final,” said Hughes, who admitted Duffy’s proposed format would most likely make it more difficult for his own county to make it to the last four of the championship.

“Probably, yeah,” he said. “You put a lot of work into that one game, and the reward is an All-Ireland semi-final. I suppose, by rights, the best four teams should be in it. But every team goes in every season on the off chance that there’s one surprise.

“It’s a Catch 22. There’s pros and cons,” added Hughes, who expects Monaghan team-mate Dessie Mone to be out for between eight to 10 weeks after picking up a suspected broken wrist in their McKenna Cup loss to Derry last weekend.

The Farneys’ National League campaign throws in against Mayo on Saturday week — in what will be one of three live games screened simultaneously by eir Sports in what is a first for an Irish broadcaster — while Mone also looks likely to miss most of Monaghan’s divisional campaign.

“There is a bit of swelling on it, we would be hoping for the best case scenario, but it is going to be an eight week job I’d imagine. I think he has another scan [today], but nothing is confirmed yet,” said Hughes, who is confident Monaghan can withstand the recent retirements of veterans Paul Finlay and Dick Clerkin.

“They will be big losses, but them boys can’t hang about forever. They felt it was the right time to go, we feel that the young players have the potential to come through.

“Obviously they aren’t going to turn it on overnight by being the next Paul Finlay in the next match, but it is about nurturing them boys in, about getting them experience and game time,” added the Monaghan forward.