There's been plenty of talk and debate over the last week or so regarding inter-county training sessions and the GPA's (Gaelic Players Association) call that all sessions should be covered by travel expenses.
Last week the GAA confirmed that it will cover up to four collective sessions for player expenses (mileage) but anything in addition to this will fall on each individual county.
Former All-Ireland winning goalkeeper with Kilkenny Michael Walsh believes four training's a week is more than enough; "I'd definitely be a players man but I do see the point where this training has gone way over than what it should be and I think that training should be no more than four times a week no matter what level you are at, that's my absolute stand. The players should be looked after now don't get me wrong and they should definitely be paid their dues, they don't want to be at a loss and that's absolutely important but I do think that the whole thing of training six and seven times a week is wrong".
Walsh also gave his reaction to the on field action on Sunday afternoon as Waterford and Kilkenny sealed their places in next weekend's Allianz NHL semi-finals. Kilkenny overcame the Déise by six points in Nowlan Park, 2-21 to 0-21 and topped the group; "It was an interesting enough game, I thought the 1st-half was very competitive - I felt that Waterford started really well, they were 8 points to 4 up and they missed two guilt edge goal chances. Kilkenny then came very strong and the goal from Cillian Buckley was a huge turning point in the game, well finished by him but I think Waterford will be disappointed. From there on I think Kilkenny were more or less the better team, they were in the ascendancy from there right to the finish". The KCLR analyst says Waterford will still have a big say this year; "Waterford started with a good few players missing, more players left the field as the game went on, I think from a Waterford point of view it's no harm, it's a little bit of a wake up call to say look we still have a lot of work to do and I'm sure that Liam Cahill will be drumming that home".
Waterford will face South-East rivals Wexford in the last four, while Kilkenny will travel to Pairc Uí Chaoimh to face Cork. Two interesting semis in store next weekend, we'll have live coverage of Waterford Vs. Wexford on WLR thanks to George Corbett Skoda. You can hear more from Michael Walsh on this evening's "On The Ball" here on WLR from 6:10pm as we look back on another busy weekend of action.
