Whelan: extra games taking their toll on Ulster teams
June 05, 2024
Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton celebrates. ©INPHO/James Crombie.
Ciaran Whelan thinks the elongated All-Ireland SFC series is taking its toll on Ulster teams.
The former Dublin midfielder believes the new round-robin system is only adding to the demands being placed on teams who were previously involved in an ultra-competitive Ulster SFC.
"It's that imbalance that we talk about," Whelan said on the RTÉ GAA Podcast in the wake of Donegal’s surprise loss to Cork.
"If Donegal were to be in a preliminary quarter-final, it’s another game for them – it's a preliminary game, quarter-final, semi-final on top of all the games they have played in the Ulster championship and the energy that has gone in up in the Ulster championship.
"Look at Derry and the injuries they’ve picked up and you look at Armagh picking up the injuries, they’ve a lot of miles on the clock already this year while Dublin and Kerry have just been able to tip away."
"It is a massive downside for the Ulster teams. You’re coming out of that system into a round-robin before you get to a preliminary quarter-final and you have to go three weekends in-a-row.”
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