GAA hurling great lashes poor scheduling with one SHC game on this weekend
Dónal Óg Cusack has questioned whether the GAA are trying to smother hurling as he criticised the condensed scheduling of the championship.
The former Cork great is unhappy with the lop-sided nature of the hurling calendar at such a vital time of the year in terms of exposure.
After a glut of fixtures over the opening three rounds of the Munster and Leinster championships, the only game taking place this weekend is the Munster clash between Waterford and Limerick at Walsh Park on Saturday evening.
The game won't be broadcast live on TV but will be shown on the GAA's streaming service, GAA+. "I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, the season is too short and the schedule makes little sense," Cusack told RTÉ.
"There aren't many games in the whole season, yet we had five games in each of the first two weekends and then just one game this weekend.
"Play it on a Saturday and then you have to pay the GAA cash to view it on their channel. Are we trying to promote hurling or smother it?
"There's no Joe McDonagh Cup action. Surely it would be a weekend to showcase this because it could do with some help. It's the eighth staging of the competition. The idea is a good one, but the teams who reach that level desperately need support from Croke Park if they're to push on.
"Reaching this level should release funds and personnel for those involved. Of the six teams competing this year, Kildare are in the competition for the third time.
"Everybody else has been present for five or six years, outside of Kerry, who've been a permanent fixture for all eight seasons. The Joe McDonagh is looking more like a destination than part of a journey. Hurling needs oxygen and it needs a breakout success."
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