Weekend talking points: Savage workload puts burnout back on agenda for Allianz Leagues
Cork selector Pat Hartnett said in passing yesterday that one of the Rebel forwards, Luke Meade, had played six games in 19 days. It seems odd that with all the talk about fixture congestion and Super 8s in the last couple of weeks that young inter-county players can still face that kind of workload.
The obvious response is that if Cork are pursuing a youth policy, this is one of the inherent dangers, but given Jim Gavin’s comments about Jack McCaffrey over the weekend, it’s strange that the very cohort of players most likely to be burnt out are the ones with such a savage number of games.
Jim Gavin’s term finishes up at the end of this year’s championship but knowing the shrewdness of Dublin secretary John Costello, he is sure to have approached the 45-year-old about continuing on in the role. Costello, remember, along with the late chairman Andy Kettle in August 2014 secured the services of Gavin for another two years and it was only confirmed the following May.
It was a subtle yet impressive bit of business people have come to expect from Costello. The word is Gavin will walk away after this season but when his second best team looks capable of winning Leinster, might he be persuaded to remain on? The threat from Kerry in the coming years might be too difficult a challenge to turn down. At least that’s what Costello might be telling him.
After yet another tough loss for the Cork footballers yesterday, it was once again left to team selector Eoin O’Neill to face the media. Rightly or wrongly, it reinforced the image of Peadar Healy as a reluctant manager. But even if you accept Healy has a particular aversion to speaking publicly, why is O’Neill the constant go-to selector
Why, for instance, is Eamonn Ryan never put forward? He was always good for a line as Cork ladies manager and his addition to the Healy management ticket was seen as a huge coup at the time. You would think someone with his philosophical outlook and experience would be just who the Cork public as well as team could do with hearing from, especially in testing times. Is he peripheral in the Cork setup?
Is he immune from any association with defeat? This Cork team needs leaders, starting with management. Seeing more of Healy and Ryan would help.
Don’t underestimate the value of Limerick’s win over Offaly on Saturday night. In 2014, they drew with the Faithfuls in what was a major blow to their promotion hopes, before losing a year later. Offaly have provided stiff opposition to Limerick in recent years and it looked set up for another smash and grab raid on Saturday evening.
Limerick, down 11 players through injury, lost John Fitzgibbon to a red card before half-time but they dug in to eke out the win.
Losing to Wexford is the result Limerick might look back on as the one that ended their promotion hopes but there was no sign of downing tools on Saturday. Manager John Kiely has demanded full focus in remaining league games and the players could not be faulted on Saturday — as Sean Finn returned from a year out.
Maybe Tipp were so spooked by the outcry after the late postponement in Omagh the previous weekend that they chose at an early juncture to postpone their footballers’ Division 3 clash with Longford, which was supposed to precede the hurlers’ game against Clare in Thurles.
As it turned out, Semple was hardly affected by the hurling and would have been well able to cater for the football.
Instead, Liam Kearns’ side must now face Longford next weekend in the first of four Division 3 games in 21 days. The delay may allow a couple of injuries to clear up but how many might be brought on by the intense series of games?
Longford manager Denis Connerton was certainly not happy with the postponement, stating he and his panel were “fuming”. Coming after the footballers’ opinion on the Super 8 championship format was overlooked by the county board, that the bigger ball game loses out again doesn’t look so good for Tipperary.
Fixtures
Allianz HL (R4), Division 1A: Tipperary v Kilkenny; Division 1B: Laois v Limerick.
Allianz HL (R4), Division 1A: Clare v Dublin, Waterford v Cork; Division 1B: Kerry v Galway, Offaly v Wexford; Division 2A: Westmeath v London (1pm), Armagh v Antrim, Kildare v Carlow; Division 2B: Derry v Roscommon, Meath v Mayo, Wicklow v Down; Division 3A (R5): Tyrone v Louth, Donegal v Monaghan; Division 3B: Leitrim v Sligo, Longford v Warwickshire, Fermanagh a bye.
Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park, 2pm
Tipperary v Kilkenny (eir Sport 2HD); Laois v Limerick (eir Sport 1).
Allianz Hurling League (TG4, Games TBC).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
