While there have been some excellent games so far in this year's GAA championship season, there is also a sense that the action has yet to really take off in the Gaelic football competitions.
Much of that is down to the current championship structure.
The introduction of round robins in the All-Ireland series has certainly lessened the importance of provincial competitions for some counties, many of which are assured of their place in that stage of the competition before a ball is kicked in the championship on the back of their league position.
As a result, some are concerned by the GAA action we are seeing at this stage of the year.
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GAA: Tyrone legends questions teams' treatment of provincials
With some big games still to come in the All-Ireland series, you can understand why some teams are pacing themselves in the provincials championships. That is especially true for the likes of Dublin and Kerry, who tend to win those competitions at a canter most seasons.
However, it has also seen some teams fail to meet expectations at provincial level in each of the last two summers.
Speaking on The Sunday Game, Tyrone legend Enda McGinley said that this was something that the GAA may have to look at moving forward.
Enda McGinley believes that it's still difficult to judge just where teams are at the moment due to them building towards different goals and trying to peak at just the right time. #TheSundayGame pic.twitter.com/5Xb8ICjHWX
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 21, 2024
We’re in the second season of this. Two seasons in a row the Division 1 champions, Mayo last year and Derry this year, out in the first round of the championship.
Other teams then are declaring in the middle of the year that they weren’t going full out.
I think a lot of big teams will target this group stage and for the likes of Kerry and Jack O’Connor, this is about getting the rustiness out of the system. When David Clifford’s a wee bit off form, you know there a lot more in that Kerry tank.
It’s the timing of the year and the knock-on effect in the meaningfulness of these other competitions, with Donegal and Tyrone being out in a week's time in that Ulster Championship match.
The meaningfulness for these competitions is [unclear] with some teams really pushing hard and other teams resting and timing their runs.
We’re still learning a lot about this new calendar.
The provincial competitions are certainly making the GAA calendar more difficult to formulate. If they were moved from their current slot, you would have a clean run from the league into the All-Ireland series.
Some have suggested that they should be moved to before the league, essentially replacing the existing pre-season competitions.
You imagine that this would be an option that the GAA will consider moving forward.
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