The halfway point of the league has been reached. So far we know, that Limerick are very good and the rest are trying to catch up. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.
From watching games at home as a supporter and then lucky enough to be at them for radio purposes, one thing has stood out to me: that is the individual brilliance of some of the performances this early in the year.
Should these performances be forgotten once the Championship kicks into gear or should there be some weight put on them in terms of All-Star selection later in the year?
Team wins and everyone wins, I wholeheartedly agree with this, but the recognition of individual brilliance is also a great honour to get and in GAA terms the greatest example of this is making the All-Star XV.
The committee do a great job picking these teams. Every year there will always be a position or two up for debate but all in all the team selected is the best team of the year.
And I know they do take the league performances into consideration somewhat but the honours are mainly bestowed on the teams reaching the championship semi-finals and finals as the greatest weight is put on these games.
Unless your team is reaching the business end of the year, your chances of recognition is small, except where individual performances are off the scale in earlier rounds.
So my idea is this – a points system for All-Star selection in hurling.
A selection committee of 12 people could be set up, two attending each game, scoring the players live on the day and comparing scores to ensure there is fairness in the points system. The bigger the game, the higher the points on offer.
Championship is a different animal and so should be weighted differently in terms of the points up for grabs. So for league games the points max is five; league semi-finals is six, and seven for the league final. Championship round-robin games are a seven-point cap; quarter-finals are worth eight, nine for the semi-finals and the All-Ireland final garners 10 points.
Why do this? I feel the Donal Burkes, Conal Cunnings, Aidan McCarthys, Killian Doyles or Jason Fordes may not get the spotlight of an All-Ireland semi-final or final this year in which to shine, but with the performances these guys are currently putting in in averaging 12 points a game, shouldn't these count somewhat towards the highest individual honour?
I’m not in favour of a league All-Stars team as that’s as useful as a handbrake in a canoe and would get the same level of interest. They still may not win an All-Star but at least it is recognition for these brilliant performances and it makes everything more transparent to who exactly performed the best throughout the whole year and not over a few games.
Points are tallied up at the year end and those with the highest points in their respective areas of the field are the best players on the team of the year.
This is not a new phenomenon where the league is taken heavily into account when selecting All-Stars. In the 70s, 80s and 90s, how you performed in the league counted massively towards selection.
Outside of my own county of Tipperary, the name Pat McLoughney would be a relatively unknown but this man has two All-Stars. To earn these two awards he had fantastic league campaigns with Tipp in 1979 and 1980 and only played two championship games such was the knockout nature at the time, but he was rewarded for playing consistently brilliant in the spring.
In 1994, John Leahy had the unique achievement of making the All-Star team without playing a championship game due to injury but again had such an outstanding league campaign that he was selected. Understandably now there are much more championship opportunities for players to impress but still the league should be taken into account and rewarded as such with points.
This would affect the mindset of players and how they approach the game. An example would be a player standing at the corner flag and going for a score because they need a few points towards that All-Star that week – no chance of that happening.
Teams are driven to do what is always best for the team to win and for the player in the best position to get the ball. If they are taking on these crazy shots or going for the Hail Mary, over the shoulder shot, they’ll be called out on it in video analysis that week and if it continues they won’t be long getting the curly finger and watching the game from the sidelines rather than in the thick of the action.
I also feel that the player who sets out their stall at the start of the year and has 'win an All-Star' at the top of that list are more often than not the players who don’t get within an ass's roar of getting recognition because they’re thinking about themselves and not the group and just won’t perform as a result.
The year is young. All-Stars are but a ray of light in the far-off distance but the performances being put in now should be remembered the closer we get to that light.
So what I’m saying is this points system would in no way effect a player’s mindset: they are driven, they are focused on doing their best for the team, working themselves into the ground for the greater good and the bonus is the individual recognition. I understand the players when interviewed after these events saying: "It’s all about the team, these things don’t really matter" – when you are still in that bubble that is the correct mindset to have but you know what, winning an All-Star for yourself, your family, your club is an absolutely fantastic thing to do in your career.
To be able to bring that award back to someone in your parish, young or old, and let them hold it and for that moment be an All-Star themselves, is a special thing to do.
Liam MacCarthy is, of course, the one you want to show them the most but showing them that someone from the road where they live, or club they are from can do that and instil a belief in them or sense of pride in saying "I played a part in that you know", well that’s just magic too and may drive someone on and give them the encouragement to think, 'maybe I can do that someday if I work hard'.
The year is young. All-Stars are but a ray of light in the far-off distance but the performances being put in now should be remembered the closer we get to that light.
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
