The Dubs claimed a first ever National League Division One title when accounting for Mayo at the beginning of May. They have played just once since, when seeing off Westmeath in the Leinster final last weekend.

All in all, a gap of nine weeks. One group gym session a week and one challenge game filled that span. That and the five weeks the players had spent training for, and playing with, their clubs.

Even the Westmeath game felt… off. Diluted. The only two Leinster sides in the senior ranks this season, they got a taste of the sparse diet endured by Mayo and Galway for years in Connacht and it wasn’t much to their liking.

“I didn’t even feel it was a Leinster final and you should have that feel,” said Bohan.

Munster and Ulster have four senior representatives apiece this summer, making for a total of 12 sides that will compete across four groups of three in this year’s revamped All-Ireland competition before eight go on to compete in the knockout stages.

“This stage is good. I’m looking forward to this stage,” said Bohan at yesterday’s launch.

“At this stage last year we would have been straight into a quarter-final and now we have two games. I think it’s a better system and I’d love to see the system completely change.

“I don’t know how Connacht have managed like that for years, with one game, and now you have that system in Leinster. I would certainly feel they need to look at it because it’s stale and it’ll be the same next year. I’m not sure that’s good for the competition.”

Abolishing the provinces and opting for a straight draw is his answer.

Bohan has no doubt but that the depth is there — more so than at the summit of the men’s game — and anything up to six sides could have eyes for the big prize this year.

Two groups of six would make for a streamlined, easy-to-comprehend structure with the top sides emerging to feature in the knockout stages.

Bohan feels it would make for a much better product for the average punter and the players would hardly object to more games.

“Open it up, yeah. No matter what anyone says, that’s the way the men’s game is going. They are just doing it in soft steps, that’s all. But that’s the way it’s going. Ultimately, it’s a spectator sport. Why are we saying anything else? That’s what it’s for.”

Marie Hickey, president of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA), confirmed that the new structure has been introduced on what is effectively a trial basis and claimed that the revamp has added certainty to the calendar.

That’s what we have tried to do this year with the group stages. Everybody knows what group they are in and what dates they are on. They know the dates for the semi-finals and final. It is all laid out now, whereas before it wouldn’t have been as clear.

There was, nevertheless, some disquiet among managers at the Croke Park launch with venues for the first round of group games – down for decision on the weekend of July 14/15 – still to be confirmed.

All games will be held at neutral grounds.

Hickey also confirmed that the LGFA would continue to explore the possibility of games appearing on the same bill as men’s fixtures, as was the case when the Kerry and Waterford ladies played prior to the Kerry and Clare men’s game in Killarney early last month.

The LGFA announced yesterday that TG4 has signed on for another four-year sponsorship term of the championship, which will take it up to 2022.

The station will broadcast 17 championship fixtures over the forthcoming months.

The viewing figures for last year’s final, between Dublin and Mayo, amounted to a record 563,000, capping a remarkable day which saw 46,286 attend Croke Park on the day – a world record for a female sporting event in 2017.