Try as they might, Offaly hurlers couldn't avoid a fourth successive defeat in the Leinster Championship at Parnell Park.
Kevin Martin's side suffered a 17-point defeat to Dublin and will ply their trade next season in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
In his RTÉ Sport column last week, former Kilkenny hurler Richie Power said it would be a big setback for development within the Faithful County should they fall through the trap door, while former All-Ireland winner with Wexford Tony Dempsey believes it would be better for the game if there was no relegation and Leinster became a six-team round-robin format.
It has again drawn into focus the new Championship structure, with the bottom team in Munster safe in the knowledge that Kerry are not going to make the McDonagh Cup final.
What has gathered fewer soundbites and column inches is the opportunity that awaits the winner of the second-tier competition.
Westmeath booked their place in the decider with their fourth win on the bounce in the McDonagh, Antrim being their latest victims.
Manager Michael Ryan says his team are "doing fine", and a win in the final will see Westmeath dining at the top table next year, something he feels has been an afterthought in the post-mortem of Offaly's latest disappointment.
"I have huge respect for Offaly hurling," he told RTÉ Sport. "I know Kevin, he's a really good guy. It is disappointing for Offaly, but what about the other counties that are trying to get up?
"Unfortunately it is a dog-eat-dog situation and we have to try and look after ourselves."
Now in his fourth season in charge of the Midlanders, the Waterford native has welcomed the fact the GAA has decided to radically alter the structure of the Championship.
"The concept is good," but there is one major flaw in the structure he says.
"To play four games in a row is absolutely savage and bordering on ridiculous. If you get an injury now, you could miss the entire Championship. That can't be right.
"A week or two would make a big difference. Players should never have to play three weeks in a row."
Passion for the small ball game courses throught the 62-year-old. Ryan makes the five-hour round trip from Waterford at least twice a week and is involved in the club scene in his native county, but feels that the enjoyment for the game is being sapped out of his players with the heightened demands.
"Most inter-county players don't enjoy the game anymore. The amount of training and preparation that goes into it is beyond belief. Training five nights a week in some cases and most teams haven't a hope of winning the All-Ireland. The fun is gone out of the game, for the most part.
"It's such a sacrifice now. I know Brian Cody wouldn't agree with me, but it is. Players are putting their lives on hold. The clubs are dying on their feet, and I'm amazed no-one has seen through this.
"I would love to see a survey done, where players answered honestly whether they enjoy the game anymore."
Ryan and his management team are acutely aware of this trend and have taken their own measures to address potential disillusionment.
"I'd like to think we have found a better balance. I can't speak for the players, but we have a bit of craic, and are serious when we have to be.
"We send them back to their clubs whenever there is an opportunity to do so, let them play league games with their clubs. At least it is a different scenario. They come back refreshed."
Last year Westmeath came through the Leinster qualifier group before bowing out to Offaly in the provincial quarter-final. It has been a contrasting year for the two counties, though Ryan admits that the system isn't fair on a struggling Leinster team.
This year, Westmeath are primed to benefit from Offaly's relegation, but can he see the GAA addressing the scenario where Munster and Leinster is a similar playing field?
"The only way it will be reviewed is if one of the big guns drop out. Then you could see the review happening pretty quickly."
Follow the Championship action this weekend with dedicated hurling and football live blogs on RTÉ.ie/sport and the News Now app, exclusive national commentary on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch Tipperary v Clare in Munster SHC and Dublin v Longford in Leinster SFC live on RTÉ2 from 1.30pm Sunday.
