Supporters could be charged less for Cork club games without county stars

Cork GAA Coaching Officer Ronan Dwane has refuted the idea that a radical championship plan is ‘thin end of wedge’.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner GAA podcast, Dwane said the Cork county board has been encouraged by the level of engagement with the three proposals outlined this week for future Cork county championship structures.

The most revolutionary option is the proposal that teams would play two of five round-robin games without their Cork inter-county players. Dwane confirmed the players ineligible for club action would be the 26 named on the Cork matchday panel.

And while he accepted there will be some resistance to the proposal from people who fear it is the first step to clubs doing without their county stars on an ongoing basis, he insists that will not happen in Cork.

“That could be a fear for people, but categorically, from a Cork county board point of view, that will not happen.

“Secondly, the inter-county season ends in hurling on the 18th of August and football the 1st of September. The inter-county calendar has been condensed and there is no appetite for it to go back out, judging by Congress last year. Club games will be played in August and September after the inter-county season has finished.

“I know people make the comparison to rugby, that clubs have lost their players to Munster and whatever. But their seasons run parallel whereas there is only these two games that are being played in that inter-county window.

"It is a big ask for clubs to follow having to play without inter-country players, nobody likes the idea of having to do it. But

we hear it all the time, the frustration of the club player. How do you fill the gap between April and August/September?

“There is only one way to do it, to play club games without the 26 nominated (county) players, with the caveat that they are for half points.”

Dwane also accepted there could be a price reduction for championship matches not featuring county stars.

“That’s a fair point. And it can be looked at at the executive of the county board or the CCC who run the competitions.

“There is going to be extra games, five games, so revenue will probably be up. So I couldn't see why you couldn’t have a reduction in price for those games when the inter-county players are not there.”