It’s patethic alright Trav, laughable for anyone from the Barrs to try to pin this hammering on the ref.
Clon and Haulie ONeill created the blueprint to stop Nemo earlier in the championship. The fact that a half strength Clon team almost beat a full strength Nemo should have alerted other teams to the effectiveness of Haulie’s tactical masterplan. Our neighbours out in Ross copied it play by play and came a lot closer to Nemo than the Barrs despite having nowhere near the same depth in quality.
There just doesn’t seem to be the same understanding of the game in the city (Nemo aside) as there is in West Cork. Hard to know what to attribute it to, passion, tradition, greater immersion from a young age, who knows.
I always felt city clubs like the Barrs, Douglas, Bishopstown should seek out the likes of Haulie ONeill and James McCarthy and look to them for guidance on how to maximise their playing resources. If clubs like Castlehaven and Newcestown had even 1/4 of the playing numbers the Barrs had they’d be winning counties every second year. They need to humble themselves and be willing to learn from the best in the business.