Recommended
Analysing the analysts. Including a donkey derby, classic Cyril Farrell and some limp wristedness from Tony Davis.
1. Ger Loughnane
Ger Loughnane loves the game of hurling and it really comes across in his analysis. He's not afraid to say it was a terrible game though and his statement that he enjoyed attending a donkey derby more than the Kilkenny/Dublin game was probably the highlight of the weekend's GAA analysis. Two appearances for him this weekend put him at number 1 in the rankings.
2. Liam Sheedy
The rain was bucketing down on top of Liam Sheedy and Ger Loughnane in Portlaoise and it was a disappointing Dublin performance but it didn't stop them making some great points about the game. I could listen to Loughnane and Sheedy talk about hurling all day long. Plus the look on Liam Sheedy's face when Ger Loughnane mentions the donkey derby alone earns him the number 2 spot.
3. Joe Brolly
Joe Brolly is the Eamon Dunphy of RTE's GAA coverage. He loves offering the contrarian point of view. You can never say that he doesn't have an opinion though and while I rarely agree with him, I will always be listening for he has to say. I'm not sure how he thought it wasn't a deliberate stamp by the Down player of Karl O'Connell though.
4. Cyril Farrell
Cyril Farrell talks so fast that it's often hard to decipher what point he is trying to make. Still though, a good hurlin' man and anyone who talks that fast must stumble across a decent piece of analysis every now and then.
5. Pat Spillane
Spillane never sounds like he's happy, a pure curmudgeon. RTE's football coverage lacks an analyst who coveys a real sense of enthusiasm for the game, like Ger Loughnane does for hurling. That said, once you ignore his numerous tirades against hand passing Spillane makes some good points. It's just hard to listen to him sometimes though.
6. Colm O'Rourke
Hindsight is a great thing and thankfully I've got it in spades for doing these rankings. Colm O'Rourke got his assessment of the Down/Monaghan game very wrong. Also, if you're one of RTE's premier football analysts surely you've got to know where a team finished in Division 1 of the National Football League.
7. Michael Duignan & 8. Eddie Brennan
The least that you expect from an analyst is that they have an opinion. Neither Duignan or Brennan offered this on The Sunday Game.
9.Tony Davis
RTE billed the appearance of Tony Davis and Joe Brolly together on The Sunday Game as a rematch. If it was then Brolly won by unanimous decision. Never once did Davis offer a strong opinion against what Brolly was saying. Most inexplicable was letting Brolly away with saying that a Down player did not stamp on a Monaghan player. Davis certainly disagreed but didn't seem to have the conviction to challenge him.
