Conor Whelan

Why?

I just don't have any interest in it.

Like, you know, I just... Even when I was teaching in school and you'd have to be over the school team and stuff, I just had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever.

I just...

I'm just someone that very much loves playing the game and I think that's something that... If someone was to ask me, how are you still playing 12 years later, I'd say it's just pure and utter love of the game.

I think just the enjoyment of just playing the game and I think when you stop playing...

that enjoyment, I just don't think I'd get that from coaching.

Now, other people do, that's for them, but for me, I just think I will still follow it closely.

Will I be there every weekend?

I can't guarantee that, but yeah, look what I think, I'll definitely be still following it.

I think it's okay, to be honest.

I think from a player welfare perspective, I think it definitely doesn't help.

Was it last year or the year before we had to go to Antrim and Wexford two weekends in a row?

I think there's two things with it.

I think it gives less chance for players to recover

So if you get injured in the first game of the Round Robin, your Leinster Championship is probably over, really.

And the other part of it is, it's definitely gotten rid of the social aspect after games.

So when I was first playing, the first couple of years, like you play Leinster quarter-final against Dublin on, say, the 28th of May, and you're not playing again for three weeks' time, so you'd all go out together and you'd have a couple of pints and...

Just I found that it was very much, there was the game and then there was the night out afterwards, which was unreal.

And then you went back training and you reset and you focus again and you go.