THE GAA HAVE moved to change the Super 8s system for 2020 after criticism of the quarter-final round-robin structure over the past two seasons.

Luke Connolly hits the net for Cork against Tyrone in the Super 8s in July. Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

The decisions were taken at the GAA’s Central Council meeting over the weekend.

A new scheduling system will see Round 1 games remain with a format of the four provincial champions taking on the teams that came through the qualifiers just like what occurred this summer.

The change will be in Round 2 when the winners of the Round 1 matches play each other while the losers of the Round 1 matches also face each other. This could prevent a scenario like the dead rubber clashes between Dublin against Tyrone and Cork against Roscommon that transpired on the August Bank Holiday weekend this year.

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Roscommon’s Cathal Cregg and Philip McMahon of Dublin after their Super 8s games this year. Source: James Crombie/INPHO

In relation to the round of games that are scheduled for Croke Park, the GAA’s CCCC may now have the power to fix those games for alternative venues where they deem appropriate. This change would require the approval of a full GAA Congress and it will go forward as a motion to Congress 2020 next February.

The Croke Park matches have come under the spotlight in recent seasons with criticism surrounding Dublin getting to play two matches at the venue. Their Croke Park round ties came against Donegal in 2018 and Roscommon in 2019 while they also had a home game in those seasons.

The suitability of the stadium for certain pairings has also been brought into question with low attendances for those clashes.

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Source: The42 Rugby Weekly/SoundCloud