Clare's Podge Collins has dismissed the notion that scoring in hurling has become too easy for players, and encourages those making the complaints to come and try it out for themselves. 

As the senior hurling championship progresses nicely along in the second year of the revised provincial format, criticism of the game at this elite level has been rare.

With a greater number of games between evenly-matched teams elongating the hurling season, the apparent ease with which teams are racking up big scores has raised some eyebrows, however.

Of particular interest is the sliotar, and the apparent manner with which certain players can now take their points from within the recesses of their own-half; an off-shoot of this being a reduction in the numbers of goals scored as Shane Stapleton recently discussed.

For the inter-county hurlers themselves, however, it may not be such an issue.

"My striking wouldn't be the best," Podge Collins admitted with a laugh when speaking on Wednesday's OTB AM, "so I'm going to say no, it's just fine.

"You do have players like Pat Horgan, TJ Reid, Tony Kelly and Joe Canning that can strike the ball one-hundred-plus yards, but it's a skill.

"These people who are commenting, I'd love to see them come out onto the field and hit the ball to see how they get on.

"Honestly, I would, because there's not a lot of players that can do it to that level, with accuracy.

"The ball is the way it is and the game is going pretty well at the moment.

"Last year's championship was good, and I think they've very little to be giving out about."

Dismissing the notion that inter-county hurlers were capable of doing this routinely, Podge Collins explained the pressures that came with taking on such shots from distance.

"If you're putting the ball wide from 70-yards," Collins explained, "your management are not going to be happy.

"They'll want to see the ball going in to their inside-forwards."