No decision yet on Croke Park league final

No decision has been taken yet about the possibility of this year's National Football League final being staged at Croke Park. With work required to be done on the playing surface, it has been acknowledged as touch and go whether the final, scheduled for April 22nd, can go ahead in the stadium.

Although the decision is expected this week there are suggestions the Central Competitions Control Committee may wish to wait a little longer to try to assess whether there would be sufficient demand to justify holding the final in the stadium. Recent attendances at the final have been disappointing with only the 46,000 at the Armagh-Wexford match of two years ago getting much above 30,000.

Last year's final was played in Limerick on a Sunday evening to avoid a clash with the Leinster-Munster European Cup rugby match and attracted only 7,598.

That rock-bottom figure probably reflected GAA director general Liam Mulvihill's concern, as expressed at this year's league launch that the competition was starting with a bang and ending with a whimper because of its proximity to the start of the championship.

There had been speculation that after the huge success of the Dublin-Tyrone opening fixture under lights at Croke Park, which drew a capacity attendance, it might be possible to stage another of Dublin's fixtures in the stadium. The stand-out possibility was seen as the final-round match against Kerry but that idea has been knocked on the head, as Donegal's ground in Ballybofey won't have its lights installed by the end of this month and given that all four of Division One A's concluding matches have to be played simultaneously, the whole schedule has been switched to the Sunday.

According to one head office source, "you can understand if the CCC want to have a better idea of who's going to be in the final stages before committing to go ahead at Croke Park".

Already the bucket seats have started to go up on the Hill 16 terrace in advance of Saturday week's first soccer international in the stadium. The Hill will consequently be closed for this weekend's All-Ireland club finals but that has been standard practice in recent seasons.

Meanwhile, Kildare are relieved that top scorer John Doyle's injury, picked up on Sunday, has turned out to be not as serious as initially feared. Doyle had to be stretchered off during the league match against Galway in a drenched Pearse Stadium. X-rays have revealed the leg injury is bad bruising rather than a break.

In the same county Dermot Earley is back in training and looking forward to playing some part in the next league match against Louth, having recovered from a broken metatarsal, the fourth such injury of his career.

The news is worse for young Limerick hurler Denis Moloney, who, it has been confirmed, has damaged the cruciate ligament in his left knee, having just returned after recovery from the exact same injury, picked up on his championship debut last May.

"It's heartbreaking for the lad," said Limerick manager Richie Bennis, "and he's very down because he's so committed. I remember the same thing happened to Tipperary's John Leahy and when he came back the second time, he was never the John Leahy of old."

There was more bad news for Bennis over the weekend as versatile Mark O'Riordan broke his finger in a challenge match against Clare on Sunday and has been ruled out for three to four weeks. But the positive news is that full forward Brian Begley and wing back Paudie O'Dwyer are scheduled to return against Kilkenny next Monday.