The View: Bonnar is back; Halloween heartache for somebody; and why Commercials now need provincial buy-in
By Noel Dundon
As we head into the last weekend in October it’s great to be looking forward to another county senior hurling final – even if it is a replay. Again.
The Halloween Bank Holiday weekend will make for a scary and spooky time for either Thurles Sarsfields or Kiladangan with the final replay curse set to strike again. The Blues lost the 2021 replay to Loughmore Castleiney, while Kiladangan lost last year’s replay to Kilruane MacDonagh. So, one side will break their duck, while the other will continue to be cursed with the replay horror.
There is nothing between them and the replay promises to be another very close affair. Granted the underfoot conditions have changed substantially in a fortnight but in Semple Stadium this will be less of an influence as perhaps in other venues.
Sarsfields will probably feel that they want to get more from their attacking division – a number of their players, you would feel, have more to offer and having been through the final experience would be expected to be more prominent on Sunday.
As for Kiladangan, they were left to chase the game for almost all of the drawn game and they will want to rectify that by taking the game to the Blues from the off.
This game can absolutely go either way – perhaps it will even take extra time and penalties to find daylight between them. Time will tell.
Sarsfields had the disappointment of the premier intermediate final loss last weekend – yes, you guessed it, after another replay. This time Lorrha Dorrha just about limped over the line having gotten off to a flying start with two first half goals. Sarsfields were left smarting over a few dubious decisions at the very end and they may well have had a case. However, the loss of Micahel Cahill was a game changer and it was obvious for a while before he departed that he was struggling with the leg injury which certainly curtailed his influence.
So, Lorrha Dorrha are into the Dan Breen championship in 2024 and will represent Tipperary in the provincial championship. The County Board’s CCC has been spared a few headaches and the two affected grades will have 16 and 16, rather than a potential 17 and 15. It just goes to show that despite the best efforts of legislators, strange scenarios always have the potential to crop up unexpectedly.
Predictable football outcome
The FBD Insurance county senior football final was, as predicted, a bridge too far for battling JK Brackens as the mighty Clonmel Commercials made it four titles in five years – an incredible achievement. They bagged a hat of goals and could have had a few more too as they cruised to victory despite a game Templemore side trying all they could to try and contain them.
The key now is for Commercials to press on. They have much quality throughout the side and their bench is not too shabby either. You would just love to see them cutting loose, playing with freedom and abandon and having a right go at Munster. They have the capabilities; they have the personnel; and they have the wherewithall. They just need to get the heads right and go for it.
Strange Place
Football in Munster is in a strange place. Talk of Waterford not entering the provincial championship is unsettling, especially for a Tipperary where finding a Manager is proving extremely challenging – the latest hope was former Kerry Boss, Peter Keane, but his interest has cooled we are led to believe.
And, considering that Tipperary are down to play Waterford in the first round with the winner taking on Clare in the semi-final, we will certainly be keeping a watching brief at the Premier side of the border. But, we need to get our own house in order first and the Football Board have been very active as they try to find a successor to David Power. The search goes on as the weeks pass by.
In Waterford, the clubs were asked to put forward nominees but nobody was proposed – a sad state of affairs for a proud Deise.
Fittest Family
Former Tipperary hurling star and for a brief time , Manager, Colm Bonnar and his family are taking part in the popular RTE programme Ireland’s Fittest Family – the programme and concept which was devised by Davy Fitzgerald. Colm – a fitness fanatic and a man who always drove himself to the limits on the field of play – will be joined by his family as they pit themselves against other competitors in a bid to earn the crown of Ireland’s Fittest Family. No doubt the programme offered a distraction to Colm who was deeply upset at being sidelined by Tipperary after a short stint as Manager of the senior hurling team, prior to Liam Cahill coming to the fore. Bonnar, a proud man and a fierce competitor was greatly hurt by the Tipperary dismissal and found it very hard to return to the game despite a multiplicity of offers at club and county level. But, this rock of Cashel has his competitive juices and his fighting spirit back again and he has channeled them into this latest project.
It will make for interesting viewing from a Tipperary perspective.
By Jonathan Cullen
Thu 26th Oct
