Group losers - loss of round-robin format a miscalculation

RTÉ News​

5 hours ago

So that's it after three years, so long, good luck? Well I don't recall anyone saying good luck as the All-Ireland group stages came to an end – possibly forever – on Sunday, but it was another phrase that ultimately saw it taken out behind the shed.
That phrase, of course, was 'lack of jeopardy', attributed to the format in various media circles, social media and from the GAA top brass itself - "The championship should have jeopardy, it should be more of a blunt instrument," President Jarlath Burns said on RTÉ Radio 1 last June.
From the 2026 season, a new qualifier-style system will be in place with an incredible 92.8% of delegates at February's GAA Congress supporting the change.
With such a whopping mandate, it seemed plain sailing lay ahead, but then this year's group stages, with the new rules adding a more exciting tone, left us wondering if maybe we had it all after all.
The central pillar regarding the lack of jeopardy is that 24 games eliminate just four teams and wouldn't it be better to have the top two go through?
A fair criticism on paper but if it was two through, the weekend's action would have had two dead-rubbers, Clare against Louth and Roscommon against Cork. It had to be three, and with a home preliminary quarter-final draw the reward for finishing second instead of third, there's still a mighty fine carrot on offer as the counties in the draw this morning found out.
The 'Super 8s' ran for just two years of its proposed three-year trial and just 2,356 showed up for the 2019 Round 3 meeting of Cork and Roscommon with both sides already eliminated.
Roscommon also entered the final round the year before with nothing to play for while Kildare (2018) and Meath (2019) also knew that feeling. Their combined losing margin was 34 points.
Next criticism? shadow-boxing. Lose a game, even two, and you could still be alive.
Again on the surface a fair point – not helped by the first-ever round-robin game being Mayo's win in Kerry in 2023 that more resembled a GOAL challenge match than an All-Ireland encounter.
Then there was Derry last year. Comfortably beaten in Galway and then hammered by Armagh, but a win over Westmeath in Newry meant they advanced.
And take Cavan in recent weeks. They conceded 0-31 to Tyrone on Sunday on the back of letting Donegal in for 3-26, but here they are in the All-Ireland knock-out stages.
Fact is, no system is ever going to be perfect and anomalies will occur. Next season's qualifier system is going to see some absolute hum-dingers but there'll be duds aplenty too.
The group format, despite a couple of flaws, worked.
Group winners beat preliminary quarter-final winners on six out of the eight occasions at the quarter-final stage. The two All-Ireland champions over its run, Dublin and Armagh, had topped their group. Performing well in the round-robin generally enhanced your chance of success, something that became clearer after the initial bedding in period.
It also brought us the one ingredient that every GAA fan wants – drama. More than enough.
Take Group 2 in the inaugural year where the entire thing came down to a pair of last-kick frees.
In Carrick-on-Shannon, Galway's Shane Walsh missed his meaning Armagh, who came close to elimination, took top spot at the Tribe's expense.
It was even more nerve-shredding in Cavan where Westmeath's John Heslin stood over a free to beat Tyrone. Land it and the Red Hands were out. The ball sailed high and to the right post. In or out? The umpires hesitated before deciding it was wide and Dessie Dolan's side were dumped instead.
In Group 1, the uncertainty of what was going on elsewhere obviously muddied minds with Mayo's Aidan O'Shea opting against clipping over a late free against Cork that would have secured a home preliminary quarter-final as he lobbed it into the box instead.
They would pull out a preliminary quarter-final win over Galway the next day out, but Dublin swatted them aside in the last eight. Some paths are stonier than others.
Armagh, shock, were at the heart of the drama last year too as they scored a late point against Galway to earn a draw to top the group. It was such a boon that some of their players were chatting to fans on the pitch afterwards about how much the win meant, forgetting they hadn't actually won.
Most dramatically of all, on Sunday past Mayo were still in the championship with 21 seconds remaining as Fergal Boland kicked over an equaliser against Donegal. They were still alive when the hooter sounded too, but Ciarán Moore snagged a breaking ball, ran through and pointed to dump them out and put Cavan through.
There will be no reversal coming in the months ahead, it'll be the new format for next year at least.
The group system wasn't perfect, no system ever is, but we'll miss it when it's gone. Hopefully we'll see it back in play in the coming years.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-finals, Limerick v Dublin and Galway v Tipperary, on Saturday from 3.30pm. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.15pm.
Watch the Tailteann Cup semi-finals, Wicklow v Limerick and Fermanagh v Kildare, on Sunday from 1.30pm. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm.