Former Tipperary star Shane McGrath is now observing a game that has changed, where hurling is now played by supremely fit athletes amid the rarity of 50:50 contests.
It wasn't that long ago that McGrath was lining out for the Premier as part of the side that won an All-Ireland in 2010. He subsequently played in the 2011 and 2014 finals.
And in reflecting on that epic drawn decider with Kilkenny some 12 years ago, the difference between then and now is brought into sharp focus, with McGrath, speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast, saying: "I was involved in the 2014 final and after eight or nine minutes I was at the peak of my fitness. I was absolutely wrecked tired and I thought this game can't get any faster. Ten minutes in, you're looking up at the clock and it's just bang, bang, bang."
It has got faster, with the Ballinahinch clubman, commenting on the state of the game today, adding: "It was never played faster, never played by athletes in such condition as we have had in the last few years.
"I look at the final that went to extra-time two years ago (Clare-Cork) and the pace of that game. And then I look back at the some of the games from last year; it has gone to another level now. The game is being played faster now by stronger and faster athletes."
What else has changed?
Well, to put it quite crudely, defenders are no longer aiming for the opposition 45 or full-back line when clearing. There is a much more thought out way of using the ball now.
McGrath summed it up, when saying: "The execution rate of ball to hand is gone through the roof because the game is played zonally now."
And because of that, he continued: "When do you ever see and I'm a coach myself, a corner-back get the ball on the 21 and leather it down the field? Would you see it? Would you see Seán O'Donoghue do it? They are not doing it. You must get it now to a delivery zone and when you get it to that delivery zone, usually the 45-yard line, you are playing a percentage ball into the forwards, you are carrying the ball.
"If you see a ball going in, it's far and few between that it's 50:50 any more. So you're kind of losing the excitement in the breaking ball that we used to see so much of.
'Would Joe Deane make the Cork team now? Would Cha Fitz be midfield for Kilkenny now?'@Shaneytweet laments inter-county hurling becoming a game for 6'2" athletes
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) March 2, 2026
🎧Latest episode of the RTÉ GAA Podcast https://t.co/oiNaecRZ42 pic.twitter.com/VG5Ub21207
"Teams are set up to give in a 70-30 ball the whole time. They get to that zone and are either carrying it or playing it around in triangles, and then giving a quality ball in. It's rare enough now you're getting a 6 v 6 inside the 45 with a 50:50 ball coming in. So the breaking ball, and where is it going has gone out of the game."
The former Tipp midfielder went on to say that he along with the likes of "a Joe Deane, Cha Fitzpatrick or Kevin Broderick" would find it difficult to operate within hurling's new modus operandi, before reiterating that "it's now a game played by supremely fit athletes who are 6'2" or 6'3", and "unless you're a certain type of athlete it's much harder now to play the game just based on your skillset.
"The game is played differently now."
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Galway v Kilkenny in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
