The year after the year before can be tough.
Dr. Crokes joined a long list of All-Ireland club football winners to have failed to make it out of their province the year after winning the All-Ireland when they lost to Nemo Rangers in the Munster final on Sunday.
St. Vincent’s are the only side to in the last five years to have completed the feat. The Dublin side lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup in March 2014, and then went on to raise the Leinster crown seven months later.
All of the other All-Ireland club football champions in the last five years have failed to make it out of their provinces.
- St. Brigid’s, Roscommon – 2012/2013 All-Ireland club champions. Beaten by Castlebar Mitchels in 2013 Connacht final.
- Corofin, Galway – 2014/2015 All-Ireland club champions. Beaten by Cstlebar Mitchels in 2015 Connacht final.
- Ballyboden St. Enda’s – 2015/2016 All-Ireland club champions. Beaten by Oliver Plunketts in Dublin first round.
- Dr. Crokes – 2016/2017 All-Ireland club champions. Beaten by Nemo Rangers in 2017 Munster final.
It’s hardly surprising, either.
Take Dr. Crokes. The Kerry side reached their Everest in winning the All-Ireland club football Championship last March. They defeated Slaughtneil on the day.
It was all of the players first ever All-Ireland club medal to win. They had come through tough tests in their county, in their province and in the semi-final and final of the competition.
When they raised the trophy, there must have been so much jubilation, so much joy and so much relief felt by the Kerry side.
They were then probably straight back in action in the league competitions in Kerry a week or two later. The county Championship was only a month or two off its opening rounds as well.
How would a team gain motivation for these clashes? A team’s preparation for the following year’s competition is obviously going to take a hit after playing all the way up to March.
They’ve been training for 15/16 months without stopping. They’re going to need a break physically, but think of the mental demands being placed on them, too.
After scaling such heights, it can be tough to motivate oneself to go back to the bottom and attempt to climb back up again.
Some teams have done it, but the majority struggle.
It all serves to highlight that having the club finals in March is of no benefit to anyone. It just keeps teams and players training for months on end without a break.
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