'I'd just love more games,' said Richie Hogan in an interview on Second Captains on Tuesday.
It was not the first time that the Kilkenny man had expressed such a desire. Two years ago, speaking on Newstalk's Off The Ball, Hogan had suggested the introduction of two groups stages for the hurling championship.
It was remarkably similar to the format which the GAA has since proposed for a three-year trial basis starting with next year's Championship. 2018 will see the Munster and Leinster Hurling Championships run off in group stages rather than the traditional straight knockout format.
On Second Captains yesterday, Hogan admitted that his enthusiasm for change expressed in that Off The Ball interview may have been fueled by some celebrations in which he was taking part in that evening. Kilkenny had just beaten Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final the previous day and the players had let their hair down with the final four weeks away.
That was a phone call I got the day after the All-Ireland semi-final; I can't remember who it was for. I got a phone call at six or seven o'clock on a Monday evening and I had at least seven or eight pints and a couple of vodkas in me. I remember I was on the street in Kilkenny and I was roaring down the phone about this, that and the other and lads were looking at me. I woke the following morning [thinking], 'Oh jeez, What am I after saying?' I'll be turning off my phone from now on, so don't try and ring me.
Hogan again reiterated his frustration with the current system which sees some teams facing lengthy waits for games at the height of the summer.
I was just basing it on 2013 and 2014. I think we played seven games and eight games, respectively, in the Championship. We got knocked in the quarter-final one year and we won the other year. Then we played in 2015 and won the All-Ireland after four games. We had a three-month break in the middle of that year, that's incredible when you think about. You have enough time to take a break, go and get fat and get fit again. It just didn't make sense to me.
Though, the seven-time All-Ireland winner did admit he has some scepticism about the new format.
I would always be doubting things that come out and would be thinking about it sceptically enough. When the new Munster and Leinster format came out, I thought, 'Yeah, this looks pretty good.' Then I saw Cork playing Tipperary in the first round of the Championship and it was such an incredible game with passion and the atmosphere was incredible.
I just thought, if that was just the first round of a group of league games in Munster, would it have been as good? If it's going to be to the detriment of the game, I wouldn't be in favour of it but hopefully, it won't be.
To me the answer to it is to start pumping money into the likes of Offaly, the likes of Antrim, the likes of Laois and other counties who have big traditions of hurling; not just [those] who've never been good. I'm not saying you disregard them but these are counties who really want to put the effort in.
If you got 12 or 13 teams who have a chance of winning an All-Ireland or certainly a chance of winning a provincial Championship, then it becomes incredible enjoyable.
Picture credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE
