Sigerson is players' favourite but pre-season competitions can go

Colm O'Rourke watched his side pile on goals again but it was his comments afterwards that really set tongues wagging.

After so many years in the media, he's properly experiencing the hardships of management.

The Meath manager really let loose on the scheduling of the Sigerson Cup, labelling it a "disgrace" and "the ultimate in player abuse".

I can understand the frustration of losing a couple of his forwards through injuries, particularly with Division 2 being such a high pressure environment this year.

But from a player perspective, the Sigerson Cup is a fun competition.

I say that... my own experience of Sigerson was non-existent - I was a touch too wild in those days. But I saw first-hand the enjoyment the Mayo lads got from it.

Players approach it with a sense of freedom and abandon that can sometimes be absent from the demanding and highly pressured county football environment.

It's more heads-up football, with less preoccupation with defensive structures and granular detail. You saw that reflected in the scorelines in the Sigerson this year, goals galore, extra-time and penalties in a couple of the games.

It's essentially inter-county standard. There's also the intrigue and novelty of playing with lads across county boundaries, getting to know them, building up relationships with them. You can pick up plenty of nuggets from watching guys in other counties, often unconsciously.

Soon enough, you get back to kicking lumps out of them in league and championship.

Obviously, you run the risk of injuries, as you do in any competition. It cost us with Mayo last year.

Tommy Conroy was made vice-captain at the start of last season, had two inter-county seasons under his belt and was primed for a big year.

He was tearing it up for NUIG,