The winding qualifier route produces few survivors

Sixteen counties have tumbled into the lottery drum that it is the first round of All-Ireland qualifiers and the records show that very few manage to find their feet in any meaningful way again.

It’s 10 years since the National Leagues adopted the linear format of divisions one through to four and only nine sides have managed to navigate their way through the entire length of the back-door route as far as an All-Ireland quarter-final in that time.

Less than one per year, in other words.