Last weekend saw a thrilling finish to the Fitzgibbon Cup final. It looked like NUI Galway were home and hosed, certain to be crowned champions. Until the sending off.
For a while now, I have been a very strong advocate of at least examining the possibility of having video assistance for referees.
Some people don't like the sound of it, but just bear with me. It is very easy for us all to start giving out about linesman Sean Cleere and the wrong decision to send off Cian Lynch, which has since been rescinded.
We all had the luxury in seeing replays and slow-mos. Cleere made a split-second decision on what obviously to his eyes looked like a strike or an attempted strike. He had to make a judgement call.
I'm not backing Cleere up here. Trust me, if anyone was to have a beef with him it would be me. He sent me off a number of years ago in a league game, wrongly.
It was months before our paths crossed paths again and he came over and apologised to me. His umpire made the decision for him and it was only later he found out it was wrong, so he knows only all too well what it's like to have to trust your officials.
And that’s what referee Fergal Horgan did, he trusted Sean Cleere. They all have to. Referees have only two eyes like us all. They have to try keep an eye on 30 lads, while staying up with the play. Trusting the officials that are with you is very important. Some may struggle to accept this, but referees are humans too. And again like us all, they make mistakes.
With all the technology that’s out there these days, why can't they have a bit of support? When I saw the incident live, I thought it didn’t look good. And within one replay, I knew what the decision should have been.
The fourth officials, rather than trying to be like security guards on the sideline and annoying managers, would be better suited sitting behind a TV monitor and coming to the referee's assistance if required.
I know for certain it's not as straightforward as I am making it out to be, but I do believe if you got five or six former players, managers and referees etc around a table for a few hours you would come up with something solid.
Maybe after looking at all angles they might decide video technology is not a runner - but at least look into it. Because, over the years, and in the years going forward, bad judgement, split-second decisions are going to cost teams, and have cost teams the chance of winning an All-Ireland, or winning a provincial title, or just staying in the Championship.
You need only look to last week - NUI Galway would be Fitzgibbon Cup champions if that was the case. We don’t want it slowing up our game, we don’t want the referee having to communicate with the TV official every few minutes, and that’s why it deserves to be thrashed out between a group of informed people to see if it is feasible.
Because something will happen again along the line and there really is too much at stake. If nothing else, it’s a healthy debate, and while there are pros and cons, for me, if there is something out there to help the referees, and to help the players who work and train so hard, why not tap into it?
The big game this weekend sees an unbeaten Cork travel down to the Gaelic Grounds to take on Limerick. I often like to put myself into the shoes of the manager and see what their potential mindset would be. For Kieran Kingston, he is surely thinking that while Limerick haven’t hit top gear this year, let's keep it that way.
Over the last few years, Limerick seem to have the measure of Cork. Kingston and his players need to know mentally that they can take on Limerick and beat them. If they do, this would be a huge advantage for them coming into the Championship.
I really do expect Cork to bring a huge challenge, and treat this game every bit as if it was a Championship game.
From John Kiely's point of view, I'm sure he will be happy to have had last weekend off. More time to get to work, get Fitzgibbon players back, and get a big panel to go to war with over the next number of weeks.
Peter Casey and Barry Murphy are long-term injuries and have a few months ahead of them yet, Gearóid Hegarty will be suspended, but Mike Casey is back in the swing of things, so in terms of bodies, they seem healthy enough.
Kiely is likely to put out a fairly strong team again this weekend, and Limerick will want to put in a big performance at the weekend and get a win on the board.
Dublin travel to Thurles to take on Tipperary. Dublin have done well so far this year, and they will see where they stand after this Saturday.
Colm Bonnar has been left with no choice but to put in new lads and find the best positions for them. It's his first year in charge, and that can be difficult when you are starting out with a lot of new faces also.
Dublin, on the other hand, have had Mattie Kenny now for a number of years, and have something of a settled team. I think Dublin will be coming down the road with only victory on their minds, and if they do, it sets them up nicely going forward.
The other big game this weekend sees Darragh Egan's Wexford travel to Salthill. Both teams who have played two games each, and won two, while both have beaten the All-Ireland champions.
Galway were quite impressive against Limerick, and the fact they have home advantage here, with some players back after the Fitzgibbon series, should be enough for them.
In saying that, Wexford will want to put down a marker straight away before these teams meet in the Championship.
I don’t expect to see any shadow boxing, just both teams going blow to blow, and leaving a psychological mark with the opposition for when they meet in two months.
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