“It would just be a dummy game really.”
Former Mayo defender Lee Keegan has admitted that he has one major concern when looking at the landscape of this Allianz National League campaign.
The Westport native would have enjoyed seeing Mayo get a big victory over Kerry last week, and they have showed some great signs of promise in their opening games.
Another Connacht team is taking all of the headlines though as Roscommon continue to march onwards, taking Division One by storm.
The Rossies have beat everyone put in front of them, and with these two teams leading the pack at the moment, it could be very likely that they meet in the League final.
However, the two same teams are set to play in the opening round of the championship just a week later, so Keegan fears that this could become a dead duck.
In his column for RTE, he wrote: ‘If we do wind up with a Mayo-Roscommon league final – seven days before they collide in the championship in Castlebar (9 April) – it would just be a dummy game really.”
“A complete dead rubber of a league final. I think Colm Boyle nailed it when he said it’s a league that nobody wants to win. That’s the sad reality of it.’
“It’s the clear consensus among all the managers that their priority is safety,’ he continued.
“Once that’s assured, they aren’t especially concerned about the league and thoughts turn to championship coming fast down the tracks.
“Maybe if there was a three-week gap between the league and championship, players might be more minded to go full-tilt at a league final.
“Would such a gap have big ramifications for the club season? I don’t think so.”
Related links:
- Lee Keegan reveals who the toughest person he ever had to mark was
- Mayo demonstrate the full force of McStayball in blinding performance against Kerry
- Lee Keegan: The ultimate quiz of a Mayo GAA legend
