Lar Corbett says GAA club players are 'left in limbo'
Wednesday 24 October 2018 10:21, UK
Lar Corbett lamented the plight of club players in Tipperary, and suggested the GAA will soon lose ground to other sports.
The narrative of the 2018 summer was that hurling was the winner, as the greatest championship in living memory was played out. With the elite game in a healthy state flourishing under the new championship format, praise has been heaped on the small ball from all quarters.
However, the new structures have further disrupted the club calendars, and many are of the opinion that something needs to change. Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has spoken out about the ill-health of the club game given the narrow space it has to play, while Corbett stressed how the club player is "left in limbo".
"The club scene in Tipperary at the minute, it's too strong of a word to say it's a joke but it's not working," said the former Hurler of the Year.
"There's weeks and weeks go by where there are no games. And it's very, very hard to keep the club-man interested. It's okay for the likes of me, retired, going back to the club, delighted to be training at 37 years of age. But for the new guy coming, the fella who is 18, 19 years of age, there is no proper platform for him to express himself at club level, for the inter-county manager to say, "yeah, he's a guy for the future."
Corbett went on to suggest there is no incentive for players to stick around with their club for the summer.
He said: "The whole summer, there's no game. So we had Ronan Maher this year, when Tipp got beaten, he went to America. I think he missed one, I don't think he missed an important game.
"It's gas. In America, Ronan Maher was playing every week! That's the way it should be for club players in Tipperary, you should be playing every second week. We had probably one of the best summers of all time - we had no matches. So you're training away. It's not fair on club players."
The 2010 All-Ireland final hat-trick hero lamented the position many find themselves in, and warns the GAA could lose ground to other sports if nothing is changed.
He said: "This year, Tipp played for four weeks. That was grand. That means they have no senior inter-county championship matches for 48 weeks. So for 48 weeks, you can sit around, play with the club. And see the following year. So there is no chance, if you are ambitious.
"Just say you want to play club hurling, be a club player. There is no place for you to play.
"Two of Clonoulty's top players decided not to play with Clonoulty this year halfway through the year because there was no matches. Now Clonoulty still went and won it. But I'm saying you're going to see a lot of lads drop off. Because they are wondering what are they going to do for the whole summer.
The Thurles Sarsfields club-man knows he was in a fortunate position throughout his career as he hurled intercounty, but sees the other side now.
"I was lucky enough, I went into Tipp then at 19," he said. "Then we were training, the league matches were coming. Like when you're playing with Tipp, you know your six league matches in a row. You know week in, week out when you're playing. It's all set up. The club players are in limbo. I'm only seeing this now coming back. There's lads in limbo, they actually don't know what to do.
"Hurling is the not the main focus. When a match starts then you're playing five weeks in a row. But you could play two weeks in a row and you could be gone for the year. It's not working, that's one thing for sure. It's definitely not working."
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