Who’s your favourite?
Ever since it went on air on 1979, The Sunday Game has been a fixture in the lives of GAA fans.
In recent years, the likes of Sky, TV3 and others have come onto the scene with new and welcome approaches to broadcast analysis of our native games, but The Sunday Game remains the go-to programme for Gaelic football and hurling fans.
It is not without its faults, of course.
Its detractors would claim, amongst other things, that weaker counties barely get any coverage; that sometimes soundbites seem more important than actual analysis.
And that, in recent years, it has become a fashion show as much as anything else.
That said, while we might not agree with everything that is said, the enduring popularity of the programme suggests that we’re still hanging on every word.
In an exercise that will likely prove as controversial as the show itself often is, we’ve power ranked the pundits from both the big and the small game that can currently be seen on The Sunday Game Live and the highlights show.
We’ve narrowed it down to ten and in the inevitable event that there is disagreement with our selections, feel free to let us know on Facebook or Twitter or email Editorial@JOE.ie.
10. Pat Spillane
Oh Christ. Spillane only in tenth place? I can see the riots starting already…
The reason for Pat’s relatively lowly position is his absolute unwillingness to adapt to the changing face of ‘modern day football,’ a phrase which leaves his lips at least once every broadcast.
Pat will never pass up an opportunity to lament the influx of coaches and tactics into Gaelic Football these days and while he might be right, he could do with changing the record once in a while.
Clip via RTÉ
That’s not to say he’s not still entertaining, but sometimes the winning and losing of a match comes down to more minute factors than the bare details Pat never fails to mention: the number of scores, the number of scores from play and the number of scoring forwards.
9. Cyril Farrell
The one thing that often separates the hurling analysts from their football counterparts is their boundless enthusiasm for the small ball game and nobody, with the possible exception of Anthony Daly, illustrates that more than the former All-Ireland winning Galway manager.
Detailed analysis is arguably not Farrell’s forte, but that’s not to belittle his sharp hurling mind, while his now legendary turn of phrase, including snippets such as ‘wristy hurlers’ and ‘like nuts to a monkey’, never fails to amuse.
8. Aaron Kernan
In time, the Armagh man might progress further up this list as he’s already showing the insight that made him one of the cleverest footballers of the modern era.
Kernan’s appeal, like a number of recently retired ex-players, is that he’s not going to criticise the tendencies of the modern game for the sake of it.
He’s been there and as a result, is able to offer an explanation as to how and why various tactics are implemented rather than go off on a rant just for the sake of it.
Thanks to Peader @ O'Cathalain Menswear for supplying my #Benetti suit for @TheSundayGame. Quality range. pic.twitter.com/0JuG5rHDyD
— Aaron Kernan (@AaronKernan) August 8, 2016
Very promising signs so far and no doubt plenty more to come.
7. Ger Loughnane
Though the hurling pundits tend to be far less damning of the game than their football counterparts, Loughnane is the most likely to play the role of the villain and get hurling fans all hot under the collar with his often inflammatory views.
Galway, Kilkenny and his native Clare have all felt Loughnane’s wrath in the recent past, but Ger playing the Mr. Hyde role in a panel mostly made of Dr. Jekyll’s helps to spice things up every now and again.
Also, the fact that he was responsible for one of our all-time favourite Sunday Game moments helped his case no end.
Clip via Paul Cahill
6. Henry Shefflin
There was evidence that Shefflin – a national treasure, let’s not forget – shied away from the more difficult side of punditry in his opening campaign, but there’s also been evidence of a little more whip-cracking this season.
Shefflin has had a go at the Clare and Waterford hurlers in the last couple of months and is one of the loudest voices of dissent when it comes to the new direction the small ball game seems to be taking this season.
Room for improvement, but he’s getting better.
Clip via RTÉ Sport
5. Joe Brolly
Arguably no figure in the history of the GAA has had the capacity to generate debate like the Derry man and for that reason alone, he was always going to be a shoo-in on this list.
Clip via RTÉ
Sure, he sometimes seems to cause controversy for controversy’s sake and often has a habit of twisting an argument to suit his narrative, but he can also be very perceptive and enlightening when the mood takes him.
Besides, The Sunday Game wouldn’t be The Sunday Game without Joe, right?
4. Eddie Brennan
The line that ‘Kilkenny don’t do tactics’ has often been trotted out as a tired myth, but if there’s an element of truth to it, it’s because the Cats’ dressing room has always been host to some of the sharpest hurling minds around.
Brennan, arguably even more than Henry Shefflin, has demonstrated just that in his time on The Sunday Game so far and he can be, not in a disparaging way, as ruthless in his analysis as he was to the opposition in his peak.
Eddie Brennan says Waterford didn't trust themselves in the last 10 minutes #KKvWAT https://t.co/6zBO1S6Hz6
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 7, 2016
Always provided a good foil for Donal Óg Cusack before the Corkman’s departure and, as seems mandatory for the more recent batch of Sunday Game pundits, he looks the part too.
3. Tomás Ó’Sé
O’Sé’s notoriously reclusive reputation as a player led to doubts as to whether he’d ever enter the world of punditry, yet he has taken to it like duck to water so far.
Like Kernan, Ó’Sé’s experience of the modern game shines through in his analysis and, in this observer’s opinion at least, he alerts the viewers to events that happened in a game that might not have been clearly evident to the naked eye.
Clip via RTÉ Sport
As well as that, you can see the bit of a rogue in him and get the sense that the legendary knack for storytelling possessed by his late uncle Páidí has certainly been passed on.
2. Anthony Daly
The phrase ‘like a kid at Christmas’ is probably overused in the general lexicon these days, but it seems most appropriate any time one sees Anthony Daly discuss hurling on television.
Daly’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious to the watching audience but, as a man who has recently managed at the highest level, he’s very clued-in from a tactical point of view as well.
We didn’t think it possible to top the fly on the forehead moment of last summer, but he managed with his very topical description of his enjoyment of Kilkenny v Waterford last weekend.
"That's my Olympics" – Anthony Daly loved every minute of Waterford's draw with Kilkenny #RTEgaa https://t.co/QXImofWH4p
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 7, 2016
1. Ciarán Whelan
A rather odd comparison perhaps, but Whelan is almost like the Gary Neville of the GAA punditry world.
He wasn’t always the most-liked player and he played for a team hated by everyone else, yet in a few short years he has earned the admiration and respect of GAA followers for his no-nonsense and insightful analysis.
Clip via RTÉ
The hardest thing for GAA pundits is to avoid being partisan and parochial and Whelan does it better than most.
Always calls it as he sees it and really comes alive when it comes to dissecting kickouts and midfield play despite that particular area undergoing a massive transformation since he hung up his boots.
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