The recently-formed Gaelic Players Association (GPA) are likely to welcome the new championship proposals announced last week by the Football Development Committee (FDC).
Derry's Fergal McCusker, one of the founders of the association, which will be formally constituted by the new year, said yesterday that he felt the proposals would "fully satisfy" the call for reform which was one the GPA's two central planks - along with injury insurance - at their preliminary meetings.
"It was very hard to find a solution which would satisfy everyone," he said, "accommodating the provincial councils as well as everyone else. What they've come up with is quite radical. Any players I've spoken to are in favour of it."
McCusker, an All-Ireland medal winner in 1993, also had interesting points to make about the much-discussed clash between club and county if the new system were to be implemented. "I think county players in the past have been wrapped up in cotton wool a bit. Rugby players (even before they went professional) played for their club one week and their country the next. It's the whole point of having a panel. If you get injured, someone else steps into your place.
"The way it's been operating, you have a situation where 15 guys playing with the county are holding the rest of the clubs to ransom. The GAA will also have to use other nights for matches. Floodlights are the key to this. Who says you have to play matches at three o'clock on a Sunday afternoon? A lot of people now want to spend Sundays with their family.
"There are some difficulties with this. I was talking to Dermot McCabe (the Cavan footballer) the other day and he said that midweek matches are hard for counties who have a lot of players working in Dublin - and I agree with that but it's still an area which has to be looked at.
"I know there's a lot of people in the GAA knocking change - `if it's not broke, don't fix it' sort of thing - and people with their own wee kingdom to protect who will lose power if this goes through. There's also people and all they see is the drama of a one-off championship match - not the months of preparation that goes into it.
"They'd laugh at you in the Premiership in England if you told them you put in all that work for one match. Think about it. This is crazy, what are we doing here?"
McCusker says that meetings are being held around the country to expand the initial membership base of the GPA beyond Ulster. Last week there was a meeting in Mallow for players from Cork, Kerry and Clare. Last night a meeting was organised for Dublin. So far the response has been positive.
The next step will be for the county representatives to return to their province with names of players intending to join and their £40 subscriptions. With the structures in place, it will be possible to elect officers at various levels.
Meanwhile, the Eircell awards for the All-Ireland finals were presented in Croke Park yesterday and Cork's Brian Corcoran received the hurling presentation. Likely to pick up virtually all the Hurler of the Year accolades, Corcoran had an excellent All-Ireland final. Last year he received the Eircell award for May after Cork's National League success and he now becomes the first player to win two awards.
His football equivalent is Meath's right corner back, Mark O'Reilly who had a fine season, culminating in an excellent display in the All-Ireland final defeat of Cork.
The women's awards also went to All-Ireland winners, both of whom were first-time champions. Deirdre Hughes was Tipperary's star forward in the surprise win over Kilkenny and scored four points on the day. Mayo's Christine Heffernan wins the football award for an authoritative display in her county's equally unexpected win over holders Waterford. Heffernan also kicked four points from frees - the margin by which Mayo won.
