TIPPERARY selector TJ Ryan has called for a two-week break between every Championship game.
The Premier start their Munster SHC campaign against Limerick on Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds and travel to Waterford just six days later.
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Liam Cahill’s men looked on as the Treaty came from nine points down to stun Clare 3-15 to 1-18 and the Déise beat Cork 2-25 to 1-25 at the weekend.
The Clonoulty-Rossmore clubman says the quick turnaround is unfair because teams will almost certainly lose players to injury.
He said: “We have a very short turnaround to the Waterford game. I believe there should be two weeks between every game.
“Playing Limerick on a Sunday and then having to go to Walsh Park the following Saturday, you know there’s five or six players going to pick up knocks and they mightn’t be available the weekend after.
“When we played Limerick in Thurles last year, we had three players who couldn’t play the weekend after.
“Jake Morris was one of them, Gearóid O’Connor got injured and couldn’t play against Waterford.
“So you’re carrying injuries from one game to the other and you won’t be 100 per cent. A fairer system would be a two-week break between every game.”
Limerick’s bench turned the game against Clare. Donnacha Ó Daláigh fired 1-1 and Seán Finn replaced Mike Casey at the back early on.
And Ryan admits Tipp’s squad depth will be vital as they face two away games in less than a week.
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He said: “Definitely. You have cover for players who are injured, you have to have it.
“Like, you’re going to have cover for the backs, the centre-fields, the forwards, all over the field because you never know who can get injured in any game.
“You have to have cover now and that’s it. You can get injured in training. You can’t hold back.
“My belief is you go hammer and tongs at it. You take the good, the bad and the ugly.
“Hopefully, someday it’ll turn good for you. I don’t believe in holding off any team in any game because it’s not the right mentality.
“You’re not sending out the right vibes to players. You’re going out to win and that’s it. And that’s what Limerick have.”
Ryan knows stopping John Kiely’s men in their own backyard is a huge task after their amazing comeback to gun down the Banner in Ennis.
He said: “Limerick are winning every match and that winning mentality, you can’t get better experience than that.
“They’re just so used to playing this system they play. It’s unbelievable the way they carry the ball out of defence. It’s just to break it down is the thing. Nobody has come up with the formula yet.
“Two things I see in Limerick — they’re a good hurling team and are a big, strong, physical team. It’s a huge advantage.
“They have a system going and they never change.
“They just play the same system. No matter who they’re playing, they never change it. They always seem to come out on top at the end.”
