Town End Column: Reactionary GAA have head in the sand once again

Last Sunday in Thurles was one of the biggest and brightest occasions in the historied stadium in some time with Clare and Offaly supporters descending on Semple Stadium with both counties eyeing up titles in both grades in over 25 years; or in Offaly’s case, their first ever.

The colour and sense of optimism brought from the Faithful supporters in particular was something I haven’t experienced in quite some time at a hurling game at any grade and it speaks volumes about the hope and excitement that this new crop of Offaly underage players are giving to their county.

Offaly were looking for their first All-Ireland crown at the U20/U21 grade ever and pre-match in the Old Stand in Thurles I had a conversation with an Offaly supporter in front of me - which was cut off mid conversation as the roar of the Offaly crowd nearly deafened me when the team ran out of the tunnel before taking a seat for the team photo.

I asked him who was left back in Offaly to mind all the houses given the ridiculous crowd which had made the journey south to Thurles, and we then started to talk about some of the players who have lit up the Leinster championship in the likes of Adam Screeney, who has the hopes of an entire county firmly placed on his shoulders despite his diminutive stature.

Conversations like that take place all over the country to varying degrees where the next big player coming through the ranks is always a hot topic and Offaly are a county who have been starved of success and have put in big efforts in recent years to get back dining at the top table, and only now is it beginning to paid dividends.

The case in point here, is all it takes is one player for a county to get belief back that they can produce the calibre of players to compete with the more established teams, and in Adam Screeney, Offaly certainly have that, but what unfolded during the first half of Sunday’s game left a bad taste in the mouth as the recent spate of high challenges continue to go unpunished.

Head high challenges and concussion have become the unfortunate norm in the game in recent years, and in recent months it has become far more prominent in what is becoming a worrying trend of players receiving high knocks to the head.

Cormac Egan was withdrawn from the U20 final on Sunday after an awful head high shoulder from Cork’s Shane Kingston when the Offaly dual star was put through on goal by Adam Screeney, and the hit was as glaring a red card as you will see; especially given the coverage that has been given to these challenges in recent weeks and months.

The GAA were vocal after the recent senior provincial clashes that they would clamp down on the perpetrators of these hits, but we continue to see them happening all too often and what we now have is an association which is not doing enough to enforce a duty of care for players which is raising the profile of the game.

Head injuries are no joke. From a Tipperary viewpoint we need only look at Cathal Barrett’s head injury against Limerick to see how frightening it can be for these players in the aftermath of these hits to try and recall the incident.

To my mind, the GAA has always been a reactionary organisation rather than a proactive one and my fear would be that they will continue to wait until a very serious injury occurs to a high profile player before the appropriate action is taken to cut out these high hits from the game.

You could pick out dozens of examples of high hits in any championship game this year, and that is largely due to the way the game is officiated and it has led to an increase in contact which means a higher chance of these clashes and challenges occurring.

I have sympathy for the players and not for one moment am I suggesting that any player goes out to intentionally inflict a bad joult to any opposing player, but they know that if they want to try and turn over possession - in the modern game - they have to tackle with power and intent.

Never before has the rules of the game been so vague and varied in its interpretation. The steps rule is more often than not flouted by referees, while the advent of the modern ‘handpass’ means that the ball is moving out of contact quicker than ever, so defending players have to be so physical to try and dispossess and disturb the possession, because the rules are being ignored for the sake of ‘letting the game flow’.

I’ve said it here in a previous column before that the rules of the game are there to help the game flourish, but they are also there to protect players and these games of ours have to operate within the rules to keep players safe as these head hits are becoming far too commonplace.

Just look at the journey that head injuries have taken in rugby over the last ten years. An increase in lawsuits and cases of ex players bringing suits against various rugby unions around the world has led to an incredible clamp down on head high collisions. A zero tolerance approach has been taken and the players know the consequences if they connect with the head - intentional or not.

I read a study a few months ago about the effects of concussion which was undertaken by Cambridge University and scientists found that 45% of people who receive a knock to the head show brain injury symptoms six months later.

It found that even mild concussion can cause long-lasting effects to the brain and this has shown symptoms of depression, cognitive impairment, headaches and fatigue in people who have suffered such injuries.

We all want to see physicality in hurling and there is no doubt that it adds to the spectacle and intrigue, and the way the game is being played now is giving punters the buzz and excitement of a gladiatorial proportions, but at what cost are we willing to pay for this to continue.

These head hits are unsustainable and for the GAA and referees to be so blasé in the way they are dealing with these hits sends out the wrong message to players, and young players in particular who are watching on and thinking this is what has to be done to compete and win at any level.

It’s very simple for me. Player welfare comes before the entertainment value of the game and with the current officiating and the way the game is played, nothing is going to change until these hits are punished adequately, and we need a leadership group in the GAA to start making the welfare of its players paramount above all else.

The rugby approach is obviously an extreme example as the attrition and collisions in the game are far higher, but we are still expecting too much of amateur players to be subjected to this kind of punishment and risk for what could be long term damage to them off the field.

Players like Adam Screeney and Cormac Egan need to be protected not just for their own personal safety, but to protect the game of hurling long term because without the players, we have nothing.