Scrap the league final or give table-toppers just rewards

Here we are now again at the knockout stages of the league. Teams involved are the three who came out of Munster in 2023 and the other was in the All-Ireland final. So in that regard the best from last year are still the best so far this year.

I think we can all agree we have had a much more meaningful league this year thus far, with some keenly contested battles as a result of the real threat of relegation. This will continue next year, with two teams being relegated out of the top seven so that should keep that competitive factor in the games. There will also be no semi-finals next year, which for me makes total sense as it will allow an extra weeks' grace for managers to get championship-ready. The final will remain but I would ask why?

Take this weekend’s games: should the two favourites in the form of Limerick and Clare win their respective semis then the league final will see them challenge each other for a national title. However, with the same fixture due to take place two weeks later the challenge could be loose at best. Neither would want to give away too much before the big show in championship and nobody can blame them for this.

Should Tipperary and Kilkenny come out on top I think it would make for a more honest and open league final as neither will face each other again unless in the All-Ireland series, so no need to hold back there really. Tipp will be the last team to puck a ball in the Liam MacCarthy and Kilkenny’s first game is against Antrim so that window for recovery is good for both those teams. So from a neutral viewpoint we all want a Kilkenny and Tipp win this weekend...

I think the winner of the league should be just that: the top team at the end of the group league games, no semis, no final.