With the preliminaries now over the hurling season kicks off in earnest this weekend with the launch of the 2016 league. Dublin come to town for a floodlit feature at the Stadium, one which will be eagerly watched by locals as Michael Ryan gets his managerial term off to a competitive start.
The new manager’s first line-out will be interesting. We’ve seen around forty players in action in the pre-season challenge games so now the evidence has to be collated and a starting formation sent into action.
Seamus Callanan looks likely to miss the league opener. Those new sliotars with an elevated ridge are blamed for his thumb damage. He had a medical pin inserted and while he’s on the mend it seems unlikely he’ll play any part on Saturday night. Dublin will be relieved; the rest of us can just hope that our star hit man – a favourite term of the tabloids – will soon be back on the edge of the ‘square’.
Kieran Bergin too has been inactive in recent times having aggravated an ankle problem while Niall O’Meara is working his way back from hamstring difficulties. Sean Curran damaged his knee in the Laois challenge game, though there’s better news with James Barry who seems to have recovered from a hip problem ahead of schedule.
Managers face a dilemma with the league: they want to try out new players but at the same time the pressure is on to win games. It’s a balancing act. Besides, getting a successful lift-off to the league is especially important. It’s even more important when your opener is at home because winning the home fixtures is seen as central to knock-out qualification.
Luckily Tipperary has three of the five league rounds on home turf this time so those fixtures will be especially important, starting with the Dubs on Saturday night. The following week we head for that familiar bear pit at Nowlan Park so it would be nice to have two points in the sack ahead of a renewal of that particular rivalry.
Given the importance of the fixture then one assumes the management will opt for as strong a line out as is available. That should mean Darren Gleeson takes his place between the sticks but there will be huge interest in who fronts him at number three. Tossy Hamill has been steady in the role in recent games so there may be a temptation to give him a go with James Barry on the ‘forty’ where he looked strong against Wexford in last week’s game under lights.
It’s an ongoing debate around Barry, a fantastic player who adapted admirably last year to full back but for many observers half back still allows a fuller expression of his talents. It will be interesting to see the thinking of the present management which has given some indication that they intend playing players in their optimum positions.
Cathal Barrett and Mickey Cahill may well fill the corner back positions, the latter getting back to familiar form in recent games; he looked very lively against Wexford. The ever-present Conor O’Brien is also in the mix and Joe O’Dwyer too is challenging though probably with some ground still to make up after last year’s long lay-off.
Interestingly Brendan Maher has played wing back in recent games and looks really fired-up for the job – he collected the only yellow card against Wexford. Obviously he’s back to his more natural position, which seems to fit with present thinking.
Centre back will be an interesting allocation too because Paudie Maher played mostly on the wing in recent games, which is another indication of how things might differ from last year. Ronan Maher is also available for half back and John Meagher is another in the frame so it will be interesting to see how they call that line.
Midfield will be yet another focus for followers. Many observers would like to see Michael Breen settle in for a prolonged period. Noel McGrath was with him in the Laois game. Joe Gallagher and Daire Quinn patrolled the centre against Wexford. Bill Maher is also in contention so we’d expect Saturday’s pair to emerge from these names. Incidentally Steven O’Brien saw his first action at training last Saturday in an in-house game though he obviously has to work his way into contention. Seamus Kennedy is still football tied with Commercials, facing their big date with Ballyboden this weekend.
In attack ‘Bonner’ looks likely to be the resident centre forward for 2016. Conor Kenny has surely done enough in pre-league outings to start at full, especially in the absence of Callanan. Then on the flanks you have players like Jason Forde, John McGrath, ‘Bubbles’, Noel McGrath (if not midfield) and possibly Dan McCormack who has got a lot of game time in recent outings. You also have other trialists such as Dylan Fitzell (did well against Wexford), Seanie Ryan (R), Andrew Coffey, Adrian Ryan and others though it’s difficult to see too much experimentation in a crucial league opener. Liam Ryan is another who will probably get game time at some stage in the league.
Anyway the focus in training at present seems to centre on work rate and physical drive. The stats people are doing tackle counts with the players expected to meet certain targets. It’s encouraging to hear of this approach because the general perception last year was that Tipperary’s hurling had become too dainty when hit by physical fire as happened against Galway. Another interesting development recently is the appointment of the U21 management to oversee the intermediate team and both panels to be seen as a feeder line for the seniors.
It’s an important league launch then for Tipperary against a Dublin side that already has the Walsh Cup on the sideboard. We suffered against them last year at Parnell Park in the corresponding fixture losing by 2-20 to 0-14. Let’s make it payback time.
Elsewhere it was a winning weekend for Tipperary schools as both the High School, Clonmel, and the Abbey, Tipperary town, reached Munster finals with significant wins over Cork counterparts.
Winning can be infectious and Clonmel has certainly caught the bug. The High School’s win over Rochestown in the ‘A’ football semi-final was a notable achievement and sets them up for a final showdown with St. Brendan’s of Killarney. The Kerry team is very highly rated though in their present mood Clonmel will fear nobody. A quick glance at the records shows that Clonmel last won this trophy in 1928 though they weren’t the first, or only, Tipp school to do so; Rockwell College won an inaugural event in 1918 before the competition lapsed for ten years.
For the Abbey too it was a notable weekend taking out Glanmire Community College in the semi-final of the ‘B’ hurling grade. The game was played at Ballyagran, a new venue for me, near Bruree in Limerick. Conditions were very challenging so it took heart as well as hurling for the Abbey to come through a real thriller.
They faltered badly in the opening half when the storm was in their backs. They seemed to have blown their chances with eleven agonising wides leaving them just one-up on the turnaround. However, the picture changed dramatically in a five minute spell at the start of the second half when the Abbey stunned their opponents with an unanswered 1-2. The goal was a vital item into the wind, made by Daire Egan and finished by county minor, Shane Neville. For the rest of the half Glanmire was on a mission of retrieval. Abbey goalie, Aidan Griffin, kept them out with one fine stop but point-by-point – centre forward Liam Healy a real star – they chipped away to eventually send the game to extra time.
Once more it was the Abbey who laid down a marker in the additional time. This time Shane Neville turned supplier for a Shane Power finish and once more Glanmire was chasing a lead. It was a chase that they ultimately lost, the goals proving decisive. Doon’s Josh Ryan was the individual star for the Abbey at centre back but others like Arravale’s Tommy Lowry, Shane Neville of Lattin/Cullen, and the Galtee Rovers’ buddies, Shane Power and Daire Egan, were big contributors also – as was a defiant defensive unit.
Glanmire drew mainly from the Sarsfields club in Cork and were coached by one of the last great dual players, Teddy McCarthy. The Abbey will face more Cork opposition in the final. Colaiste Chriost Ri play Mitchelstown in the second semi, which was postponed last weekend. The final is billed for February 20, the same day as the Harty decider. With Tipp schools in both I assume common sense will apply.
