Meath's Colm O’Rourke has lambasted the Leinster senior football championship, calling it a "shambles."
Meath played Dublin in the quarterfinals of their provincial championship on Sunday, and to nobody's surprise, Dublin won by a heavy margin once again.
Dessie Farrell's Dublin applied a 16-point beating to their Leinster rivals. Officially, Dublin awaits Dublin in the semi-final, but the Dubs are odds-on to win their 14th title in a row this year. They've also won 18 of the last 19 titles in the Leinster format.
O'Rourke, who saw his team lose heavily on Sunday, slammed the format, where Dublin are out-and-out winners every year, but also admitted that wasn't the fault of the All-Ireland champions.
“The Leinster Championship is a shambles, but that’s not Dublin’s fault,” said straight-talking O’Rourke.
“I suppose it’s the fault of teams like Meath who haven’t been competitive for a long, long time."
O'Rourke also believes that the Leinster Championship should come before the Allianz Football League.
Cormac Costello of Dublin shoots to score his side's first goal from a penalty during the Leinster GAA Senior Football Championship Semi-Final match between Dublin and Meath at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile via Getty Images) )“To me, anyway, the obvious thing is that the Leinster Championship should be played before the League."
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that teams in the league are waiting, waiting, waiting and don’t know what competition they are going to be playing in or when they will be playing.
“If the provincial championships were over, everyone would know exactly before they start the league, particularly those teams in the second and third divisions, what they had to do to ensure they play in the Sam Maguire.
“It’s very unsatisfactory, the present system.”
However, O'Rourke, who was obviously hurt by the manner of Meath's 3-19 to 0-12 defeat on Sunday, has also admitted he admires Dublin for overcoming the negative Gaelic football teams that have found their way into the game he loves.
"They have helped save Gaelic football from the negativity of other teams so I have nothing but the highest admiration for them. I just wish we could beat them occasionally!"
Dublin's game against Offaly will take place in Croke Park on Sunday, April 28th. It will throw in at 4 pm.
