Lar Corbett has seen the situation from both sides. He has been a club player with Thurles Sarsfields for 21 years, he was also a decorated inter-county hurler.
Since retiring from the inter-county game in 2015, the two-time All-Ireland winner has seen clearly the raw deal which the club player gets.
"The one question I keep asking inter-county managers is for a club player - 18 or 19-years-of-age - how do they make the county panel? At the minute, it's not possible," Corbett said at a Sports Direct Clubhouse Live event at Glen Rovers in Cork on Thursday evening.
Say a position comes up with Tipperary and they are looking for someone, where can they show their case? They can't be seen. There might be the odd college game played in January or February where the ground wouldn't suit them.
At the moment, you're asking club players to wait around all year and then play four matches in four weeks. If they lose two of those in a row, they are gone. That is totally unfair.
Ronan Maher, my own club mate, we got beat last year, so he went to America. He was playing week in, week out in New York. He was going out for a few pints on the Sunday night. They're getting in right in New York but we can't see to get it right here.
A small bit of structure for the club player, give them a small bit of respect because that is what we deserve as club players.
The tide will turn when the lads aren't coming to the field. The rugby crowd are taking them, the soccer crowd are taking them. Then we might say, 'Lads, we've been getting it wrong'. When that tide turns, you won't get lads back that quick. We have them now, hold onto them and give them their day.
Former Waterford manager Derek McGrath was also in attendance at the event. McGrath played with De La Salle for 20 years. He also managed the club for two seasons before taking the Deise job in 2013.
McGrath outlined his vision for a better calendar which would ensure club players do not spend the year waiting around to play games.
"I'm probably not going to be popular for saying this but I just think what players need at club level is certainty as to when they are playing," said McGrath.
"When I was De La Salle manager, we would have had two pre-seasons. We had a pre-season from February to April, played out two rounds of club games. We played again when Waterford exited the championship.
"I would be of the opinion that the club player should not be coming back training until after Patrick's Day and that the [club] championship should start then at the end of July. It should run as a separate calendar.
"The inter-county calendar would start at the end of March. Run for that four or five weeks with the league, two weeks of a break, inter-county championship and then the club championship.
"I think the club player will be able to say, 'I can go on a holiday. I'm not back until the end of March. I have January, February to do a bit of living.'
"I wouldn't have the county player coming back until January as opposed to being back in October.
"If a county player goes all the way with the club, the only time he will get off is January and early February, six weeks, but it's probably more than anything."
Picture credit: Sportsfile
