By John Considine
Arsenal are on the verge of their first title since 2004. The achievement is not exactly a Leicester City but it is surely a good news story for the game. However, there are some grumblings that they rely too much on set-pieces for their goals. On Sunday, two hurling teams shared 53 scores totalling to 61 points. At halftime the analysts waxed lyrical about the fact that so many of the scores came from play. It speaks to a frequent complaint that hurling is turning into a free-taking competition. Approximately 20% of the scores between Limerick and Waterford on Sunday came from free-shots. Thirty percent (30%) is the current average for such games.
Last year, Tipperary won the All-Ireland title after playing seven games. Over those seven games they averaged 30% from frees. Thirty-five years earlier I was on a team that took five games to win the 1990 title. We got 8% of our scores from frees. While most would prefer a smaller proportion of scores to come from frees, most would also agree that the game in 2026 is in a better place.
Last year, Tipperary won the All-Ireland title after playing seven games. Over those seven games they averaged 30% from frees. Thirty-five years earlier I was on a team that took five games to win the 1990 title. We got 8% of our scores from frees. While most would prefer a smaller proportion of scores to come from frees, most would also agree that the game in 2026 is in a better place.
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