GAA: Eight observations from the opening round of the Gaelic football league

Here are eight observations from the opening round of the Gaelic football league.

Conor Geaney in action against Kevin Flahive in the McGrath Cup final.

The split season has been a service for intercounty Gaelic football. Across the country there was palpable giddiness at its long-awaited return. A game that is often derided during the season is longed for after a drought.

That is not to say there isn’t a widespread interest in club GAA. The All-Ireland final between Glen and St Brigid’s received the stage and audience it deserves earlier this month, attracting an average viewership of 263,500. All of the diehard lifers who went from watching that game into Saturday night’s opening round of the Allianz League were treated to three successive spectacles.