Are we not entertained?
As we press pause on the Allianz Hurling League for a week after three rounds of games, we can say that in terms of excitement, competitiveness and quality, it has been a very good start to the season.
Galway defeating Kilkenny in Nowlan Park was a ding-dong affair. Carlow drew with an Offaly side that have blitzed all-round them since that game before the Barrowsiders turned over Waterford.
Limerick and Cork laid down small markers in Páirc Uí Chaoimh while Tipperary and the Treaty men served up a cracking game at the weekend. And all before we even reach Valentine's Day.
The structure of the league has helped create this, coupled with the fact we had no pre-season league competitions to contend with. There is real jeopardy at the bottom end of tables.
Teams need to avoid relegation because they want to stay in the top tier for the better quality games, but also from a financial viewpoint. County boards are acutely aware that if their team goes down, so too will the gate returns. You won’t sell 30,000 tickets for Cork v Westmeath like you do for Cork v Limerick.
By the by, I’m not relegating the Rebels now I’m just using it as an example. Cork people stay calm, ye are on the way back to the top.
Some of the individual brilliance has been super to watch. We will be watching Sean Kenneally’s goal against Limerick on Sunday as one the goals of the year when TG4 showcase the best of the best on Christmas Day as we try to sleep off the dinner. Do not underestimate the skill it took to meet the sliotar that well in mid air and finish it to the internal side net of the Limerick goal.
With this being such a results-driven industry, many teams and managers are feeling the pressure of perhaps getting guys back quicker than had been anticipated.
This is probably most evident in Galway right now where there were 11 changes in personnel from day one in Salthill to the following fixture in Nowlan Park. Many of those bodies featured again on Saturday night versus Clare.
Giving youth and new guys a go is what the league is for, but you do need the experienced head in each line to keep things calm when the push comes on.
If you look at the spine of the Galway team with Fintan Burke at 3, Gavin Lee at 6, Tom Monahan and Cianán Fahy at midfield, Tiernan Kileen at 11 and Conor Whelan at 14, I don’t see that changing too much unless it is forced and add in Pauric Mannion, his brother Cathal, Conor Cooney and Daithí Burke to those lines and Galway will have, as they always do, a very good outfit on paper.
They just need to transfer that to grass this year. Patience is key in Galway and I have no doubt there was no panic within the dressing room walls after the heavy opening-day defeat to Tipperary.
They have steadied the ship in terms of performances and points on the board so, but where to for All-Ireland champions Clare right now?
Without a win from two games isn’t cause for sleepless nights for Brian Lohan as he tests a wider panel, but their failure to take a shot on goal so far is something you suspect the management team will be looking to address.
Next up is a struggling Wexford and with some more of their familiar names likely to return to action – the Banner are without 10 players who will be there or thereabouts for championship selection - I expect them to send out a message.
All in all, it has been a mighty start to this league campaign. I feel it will continue to deliver and that there will be spots in finals or relegation still up for debate come the last two rounds.
Most of the excitement is likely to centre around 1B. Offaly and Carlow are doing the best to disrupt the more widely held view that Dublin and Waterford would coast into the final
On a side note, player of the league after three rounds has to be Kilkenny forward Mossy Keoghan. I look forward to revisiting this assessment before the final to see if the Tullaroan man has maintained his brilliant form.
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Watch Kerry v Dublin in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 7.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
