It's time to embrace video refs in hurling
So last week, it was discussed at length the head-high hits or challenges that were occurring in hurling games at inter-county level.
Plenty of discussion on how dangerous some of these hits were along with warnings on what could happen to someone as a result of these impacts.
And then what happened?
A load of lads got sent off the following weekend, with the majority to do with - surprise surprise - head-high challenges.
Some reds were merited, some were harsh. And the most stone-cold and blatant of them only resulted in a yellow in the Gaelic Grounds last Saturday night.
As regards the harsh reds, for me, I think the correct calls were made and the important point is that players really need to learn not to put themselves in a position where the ref has to make that call.
We don't want to see the game going the way of players faking injury, and as Tommy Walsh said this week, the pride in years gone by came in hopping back up onto your feet regardless of how the body was feeling, just to say to the opposition, 'Is that all you've got?'
But regardless of whether a player made contact or not, if the intent is there, then the ref has a call to make. And while it may seem harsh, it will be the right call to show a red.
Conor Cooney was let off with a yellow - though he was later sent off - for his initial hit on Mike Casey
In life, everything is fine until something happens. I see it everyday of my life in school, we simply have to err on the side of caution with the pupils, no matter how much they may dislike it at times but that is our duty of care to those children.
It's a similar scenario with refs, they have a duty of care to protect these players and sometimes the decisions they make will not sit well to those involved but these are the calls that must be made.
Now some will say, 'ah sure this has be going on for years, sure look what happened to the lads when there was no helmets!'
But in reality, I think helmets have nearly made it more tempting for players to put in these big hits, with the mindset being that the helmet will protect them.
Secondly, the physical capabilities of the modern inter-county player is on a completely different level to that even 15 years ago. There have always been physically strong players in our games but if I compare and contrast in terms of numbers, you will se the difference in terms of the power behind these hits in comparison to before.
When I was involved at inter-county level I was never the big dog in the gym but would have done fine. I think the highest weight for a one rep max in the bench press was around 90kg in our group.
It increased as my time came to an end, but let’s ballpark it here at 2010, fast forward 15 years and 90 kg would be the warm-up set for most inter-county players, with it going up to 130 or 140kg. That’s like lifting a whole other person.
Now add into that what they are squatting and the speed increase due to proper running techniques and this impact has increased considerably.
If they continue and someone is met at the wrong point we will be looking at a broken neck - or even worse - during a prime time game with a huge TV audience, and what kind of message will that send out to parents of children?
Look at what is happening in the rugby world right now as a result of these massive hits. Parents genuinely afraid to let their child even take up rugby.
If you or I got a hit from an international rugby player of the type that causes a HIA (head injury assessment), you could ask most medical people and they will say it would most likely kill you.
The man in the TV truck should have a role to play - provided he's not watching Netflix
As I said, everything is fine until something happens and I have no doubt this will be the main topic of debate this week and in the weeks to come with the referees board, head-high challenges and how we need to stamp it out.
With our game being the fastest in the world played on grass, there are going to be mistakes, missed hits or incorrect cards handed out by our referees. How can they be helped?
Consultations with linesmen and umpires, still might not be enough as they, like the ref, are all working off real-time information with the naked eye..
The answer here is simple. Technology, in the form of a TV ref, sitting in a truck who has access to repays at every angle, right there at their fingertips.
These are the people who can ensure the correct call can be made, who can contact the ref to say I think we need to have a look again at that yellow, it might be need to be upgraded to red.
They can help take that pressure off the ref and stop people like me giving out about an incorrect call that was made and ruined someone’s day, month or year.
The effort and time being put in by everyone is just massive so why not use this technology to make sure everyone is getting the fairest shot at this?
Some will say it will slow the whole thing down. Not necessarily.
The TV ref would not be needed for every single call and should not be asked to intervene in every play. But stress that his main duty be to protect the players and assist the ref in that - without taking over from the ref.
More often than not, referees get the big calls right, but with the game never as quick or as strong, I think need to offer officials every tool we can to help control these games.
Another argument against it might be along the lines of, 'will we have to use this in the club championship too?'
And the answer to that is simply, no. Is VAR used in every soccer league? No. Is the technology we see at international rugby or professional club rugby used in every league in rugby? No.
So why should this need to be rolled out for the North Junior A Hurling championship when Ballinahinch take to the field? It shouldn’t. Players wouldn’t expect it to be. Let’s be honest here too, the physical condition of club players is nowhere near that of an inter-county player. The game is nowhere near as quick and so, on the whole, the ref can make the big calls that need to be made. They're not always right but that’s human.
Sean Stack flashing one of his four red cards in Nowlan Park last weekend
We have embraced technology for so many things in the GAA and whilst at the start there is often scepticism, it has enabled us to watch our games through streaming services, buy tickets, make calls on wides, monitor our heart rates, GPS systems.
I think we need to embrace it and take the leap to start harnessing this technology to help our officials and our players alike. I would rather wait 30 seconds for a call to be made then see someone’s entire year ruined in the wrong, whether that be a player or a ref. Most importantly, it could be useful in helping to protect players.
If they want to trial it out I would like to let them know that we in the aforementioned Junior North Tipp championship are willing and happy to be the guinea pigs.
Although the man in the van could end up watching something on Netflix rather than our game.
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