Is head-to-head a fair tie-breaker?

IN ALL FAIRNESS

So much for “empty August” according to those who believe there is no Gaelic Games outside of the inter-county scene.

The fine weather of the past month has led to bumper attendances around the country, particularly here in Tipperary where the afterglow of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship victory still lingers and will shorten the impending winter considerably.

In fact, it would be an interesting project for the GAA to conduct a survey of attendances on two weekends in August when most club championships in hurling and football are up and running around the country, and get the cumulative attendances in each county. My guess is that it would get into six-digits, bigger than the capacity of Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day.

We all like more of a good thing and the inter-county championship is that, but any attempt to extend that season, already eight months long from December to July (there are rumours of the return of the pre-season competitions which were shelved in 2025) will only end up hurting the clubs and taking time away from them in the already stretched calendar.

It cannot be forgotten that any extended inter-county season will have to be paid for in terms of additional costs on county boards in terms of team preparation. One of the important generators of funding on an annual basis for counties is gate receipts from club games so if you extend the inter-county season and shorten the club season, your expenses will increase but income will decrease.

Then, on an enjoyment level, hasn’t it been great to go to games over the last month in good weather when there is a comfort factor for players, mentors and supporters. It is also just reward for the club player who has been biding their time in the first half of the year, playing league games, and preparing for their time to shine when the conditions are good and the evenings are still long.

Yes, conditions will be softer come October and November when county finals are played but that has always been the case, with the hunt for October underway in earnest with some clubs already out of the reckoning, but still have considerable battles to save their graded status.

On the face of it, when the GAA adopted a rule a few years ago for the head-to-head result to determine a tie-break between two teams in a group format, it appeared a common sense decision as the result should matter. Previous to that, score difference would have been the deciding factor.

In the final round of group games in the upcoming hurling and football championships, there will be a number of dead-rubber matches, primarily because the head-to-head rule has already predetermined the outcome of a group, including Lorrha v Loughmore/Castleiney and Holycross/Ballycahill v Clonoulty/Rossmore in the senior hurling championship.

If the head-to-head rule wasn’t in place and it was still score difference, both of these games would still have much at stake with Lorrha and Clonoulty/Rossmore in a position to extricate themselves from bottom spots in the group, while Loughmore and Holycross would still have to secure top spot and direct passage to the quarter finals.

While I have a vested interest in one of the teams impacted, it would also serve the competitive element of games better if all matches in the final round had something at stake. While it would appear like Loughmore, Holycross and indeed Moycarkey/Borris are in a great position with quarter final berths already secured, they are, however, in a position where they don’t have a game of consequence for five weeks until the quarter finals, and that is a time where a team can lose their edge.

Moycarkey’s situation is also deeply impactful on three other clubs as while they don’t have anything to play for against Borris-Ileigh, the maroons do in terms of progressing to the next stage, possibly at the expense of Kilruane MacDonaghs and Roscrea.

Now, I don’t for a minute expect that the clubs who have nothing to play for in their final group games will be nothing but committed in their approach, however, the same edge won’t be there so is it fair then to charge admission in to see those dead-rubber games where the result is largely immaterial?

The club championship window is short enough for clubs without reducing the number of games that matter so anything that could be done to make as many games as possible truly competitive should be taken. In a group format, the results of all four games should matter, not just one head-to-head game which ends up being decisive. That one game could have had one club missing a key player whereas he might have been available in the other two. Anything that helps make a competitive more competitive than it is should be considered.