At half-time during Dublin’s demolition of Longford in the Leinster SFC quarter-final, RTÉ analyst Colm O’Rourke described the Leinster championship in its present guise as an "absolute joke".
The Dubs’ dominance in the province doesn’t look like ending any time soon and O’Rourke added “anybody that would argue that there's any point in having these ongoing games in a Leinster championship or a Munster championship are entirely naive.”
If the provincial structure as currently exists was to be discontinued, the former Meath legend would not be lamenting its loss.
He continued “If somebody did away with the provincial championship in the morning, I would say ‘halleluiah’ because nothing has stopped the promotion of football in most counties more than the provincial championships.
"The amounts of money that are spent on teams preparing for championships in every province, but mainly in Leinster, is an absolute waste of money.
As to how the Longfords of this world would benefit, O’Rourke, not surprisingly, is advocating a second-tier competition.
“Longford need to play in a competition at their own level in a championship that runs through the summer where they can get plenty of games and against opposition of their own level.
"Such a competition should be run in exactly the same way that championship football is run in any county - senior, intermediate and junior."
