IN ALL FAIRNESS - Post league reflections
The National Hurling League is over so what have we learnt ahead of the Munster Championship which are coming quick smart on the weekend after next.
Limerick remain the team to beat, regardless of their unflattering league campaign. However, that was more by design as thirteen of the side that featured in John Kiely’s defeat to Kilkenny in his first campaign in 2017, started in last years All-Ireland Final. Add in Mike Casey, that’s a lot of players going into their sixth year on the road, and while they are not an old team by any means, they still have a lot of miles in the legs and going hard in the league would have served them no purpose for their goal of retaining the All-Ireland title. The league was about finding a couple of players to come into the starting team or to spring from the bench and in Cathal O’Neill, Adam English, and Colin Coughlan, they have them. Injuries to the likes Peter Casey and maybe a loss of hunger as the season goes on might come against them but expect them to come out firing in the Munster Championship, and they have to with Cork and Waterford to face in the space of six days to start with.
Waterford are as good as advertised. I have said it before that looking at things coldly, Liam Cahill and Michael Bevans made the right call staying with the Deise rather than the lure of home for the moment. They had two years put into the group and had the potential for more gains if they got the likes of Tadhg de Burca back, the addition of Michael Kiely to their attack, while Cartach Daly must be the find of the league on any panel.
There is a strong bang of the Tipp under 20’s of 2019 from Waterford where if there is a sniff of a goal they take it on, and it’s a case of if you want to beat Waterford this year, you’ll have to get goals at the other end to stay with them as they will create chances no matter how well you defend.
Cork remain a flawed team. There was a lot of hype built throughout the league that they had improved from the All-Ireland Final defeat, but I am not so sure, and Waterford highlighted their continued defensive issues last Saturday. If you allow Cork hurl, they have the athletes and pace to hurt you, but if you up the intensity and get physical with them, there is still a soft underbelly, plus they lack a ruthlessness in front of goal. 1-23 was an impressive total in the league final, but they took on the easy point too often when their forwards have the pace to take on opposition defenders.
Little is being said of Clare at the moment. The Banner are used to being written off, but they arguably have the best hurler in the country in Tony Kelly. They have a hard-nosed manager in Brian Lohan, who a lot like Liam Cahill, will get the last ounce out of everyone of his players, as they probably have the shallowest panel of the five Munster teams. However, it is strengthened by Peter Duggan’s’ return and if you think back to last year and if Tony Kelly’s late goal chance had gone in against Cork, Clare could have had strong claims to then go on to beat Dublin and Kilkenny and reach an All-Ireland final.
In terms of Tipperary, you have to go back to the pre-Liam Sheehy first term days for the last time we are going into a championship with such little hype and expectation. Maybe that could prove to be a good thing but certainly the almost defeatest attitude among some supporters is a concern. There is realism attached and that is certainly warranted as going into a championship without Brendan & Padraic Maher, John O’Dwyer, and in the early rounds Seamus Callanan, is a tough ask losing all that experience and quality in the one go from the team that played Waterford in the All-Ireland quarter final last year,also adding in the injured Willie Connors and the unavailable Niall O’Meara.
But doesn’t that present an opportunity to start a new era. Coming out of the Gaelic Grounds in 2019 after Tipperary eased to the All-Ireland Under 20 title, the future seemed to be blue and gold, but that optimism has evaporated. However, the vast majority of the players on that team have massive potential and will now get their chance and should be hungry enough to take it. They might have been passed out by some of their Waterford and Cork counterparts, but it doesn’t mean they cannot catch up the more senior championship experience they get.
Unexpected victories are always the sweetest and the one that stands out is the 2018 All-Ireland Under 20 win when Tipp downed a star-studded Cork side, many of whom are on their senior side at the moment. That win was built on core Tipperary values of spirit and heart, characteristics manager Colm Bonnar will tap into, particularly for the game with Waterford where not many, even within this county, give them a chance in. However, a good performance in a defeat won’t be fatal as this Munster Championship is a marathon, not a sprint. None of the five teams can look beyond finishing in the top 3 and Tipp are good enough to be one of them.
My prediction, Limerick and Waterford will fill two of those slots, with the final place being decided on the final day of the round-robin when Tipp host Cork in Thurles, now what an occasion that has the potential to be.