Anthony Daly: 10 talking points for the 2021 hurling season

Limerick luxuries, Waterford losses, Tipperary succession planning, Cork and Clare's defences, Brian Cody, and Joe Canning: After a delayed start to the 2021 season there are no lack of talking points and topics for Anthony Daly to get his teeth into

POWERHOUSE: Gearóid Hegarty goes past Conor Gleeson in the All-Ireland final. Limerick won’t lose the run of themselves. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Is the new penalty/sin bin rule going to work?

In our recent Irish Examiner podcast, referee Fergal Horgan gave some brilliant insight into the new penalty/sin bin ruling. As well as clarifying some of the technical detail of what exactly constitutes a clear goalscoring opportunity, Fergal was of the opinion that the adjudication of both a goalscoring opportunity and what constitutes its cynical prevention would not pose major problems for match officials.

I’m not so sure. I asked Fergal on the podcast if referees were consulted during the whole process — they weren’t.

His sole concern is around dealing with cynical play, which will be the priority of all referees, but I’m not convinced that implementing those rules will be as easy, and as clearly-defined, as refs might think it will be in the white heat of battle.

Making that correct decision in real time will be harder again when the speed of the game should be much higher than normal in the league. With referees having been in cold storage since early last winter, even Fergal admitted himself that match sharpness will be an issue in the weeks ahead.

That is another concern for me because, if this generates a lot of controversy after a few games, the players and the public may lose faith in what the ruling is really intending to achieve.

There is bound to be confusion anyway given the lack of a black card, which only emerged last week. With a sin binning resulting in a yellow card, there is already a clear lack of clarity for supporters when a player can be yellow-carded but not sin binned for conceding a penalty inside the large parallelogram.

Fergal is one of the best referees out there, but one of the biggest issues hurling has at the moment is the lack of top-quality, and experienced, referees currently in the game.

This might not be an issue, or a concern, for Horgan but could that additional pressure get on top of other officials?

With the speed of the game now, I fear it could.

I’m all for more goals but another worry I have is that this might dilute the real art of defending. Do we want to see cricket scores during the league, because defenders are afraid to lay a finger on forwards haring towards goal? I certainly don’t.

I’m not for one second condoning cynical play but I remain to be convinced that this ruling will work as well as everyone hopes it will.

The luxury of Limerick’s selection headaches

Limerick's Kyle Hayes goes by Gearoid McInerney of Galway. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

If anyone needs reminding about the depth of talent in this Limerick squad, then they only need to study last year’s All-Star team. From positions one to seven, five were from Limerick.

Yet you could have made a case for Barry Nash to be included, while Declan Hannon had his best game of the season in the All-Ireland final.

On top of all that, Limerick now have Richie English and Mikey Casey to come back into that defence. Kyle Hayes, who was in the running for Hurler of the Year, was a revelation at wing-back but John Kiely now has so many options that he has the luxury of maybe pushing Kyle back up in the attack if he feels his presence and rampaging running is needed up there.

In the past, a county like Limerick might find it easy to lose the run of itself after winning two All-Irelands in three years but the ferocious competition for places will guard against any insidious threat of complacency. Yet the most exciting prospect of all for Kiely is the potential still within this team, and the comfort to maybe mix up the ingredients even more to keep the pot boiling and bubbling.

Is this Brian Cody’s last stand?

STILL STANDING: How much road has Brian Cody left to travel? Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

At this stage, nobody reading these pages is in any doubt about my admiration and respect for Brian Cody. I’ve always felt that he is the undisputed GAA managerial king, far ahead of O’Dwyer, Heffernan, Loughnane, Gavin, Boylan, Farrell, Harte and all the other great managers.

Harte is still going but all the others eventually ran out of road, or choose to get off the road. That question around how much road Brian has left ahead of him is a genuine one that even the great man must be contemplating. Then again, maybe he isn’t, because, despite the disappointment of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final second-half collapse, the sheer weight and breadth of Cody’s achievements does not give him any real reason to doubt himself.

He did lead Kilkenny to a Leinster Championship last year which was another huge achievement. They were devastating in the first half against Waterford, but the nature of the collapse hinted that the magic, and his message, may be wearing off.

The question Cody will surely ask himself at the end of this year is, what will satisfy him heading into 2022? Winning this year’s All-Ireland would make that question irrelevant but I don’t see that happening.

In any case, the only man who will make that decision is the man himself.

Because while some people in Kilkenny may want Cody to go, Cody will go on his terms, whenever he feels that time is right.

Is it time now for Tipperary to trust more of their younger guns?

Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy. Photo by Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile

Tipperary’s 2019 All-Ireland senior success obviously dominated everything in the county that year, but I often wonder if there was an underlying current of frustration around how much that success possibly undervalued the brilliance of that 2019 Tipp U20 team?

It’s easy to forget how devastating Tipp were in that All-Ireland final against Cork, blitzing them with four goals inside the opening eight minutes, before going on to embellish that win with a magnificent team performance.

A raft of those players had also won All-Ireland U21 medals in 2018 but how many of those guys do the wider hurling public really know about outside of Tipperary? Hardly any because most of them are still waiting to make a mark at senior level. The nature and condensed format of last year’s championship made it easier for Liam Sheedy to go with his trusted lieutenants instead of risking rookies but is it time now to invest more trust in some of those young players?

I think Liam has to. This may be Liam’s last year in charge but, whatever the team achieves, he will have to ask what the succession plan will look like in 2022 if he doesn’t show more faith in these lads in 2021.

Some of Tipp’s older players are all-time greats but hard decisions will have to be made at some stage. And this year’s league is the perfect opportunity to maybe start that succession planning.

For how much longer can Galway keep leaning on Joe Canning?

Galway’s Joe Canning races away from Alan Flynn of Tipperary. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson

When you look at the table for the top scorers in last year’s championship it’s a tribute to Joe Canning that he is the only player in the top eight not to have scored a goal.

That fact lends more credence to his consistent ability to be amongst the elite, with Canning finishing fourth, just seven points behind the championship’s top scorer, Tony Kelly.

Like Seamie Callanan, Patrick Horgan, and TJ Reid, Joe is now in his 14th season.

Yet, even though Canning would be considered top of that elite group, you’d still be inclined to think that there may be more left in the other three than there is in Joe.

That’s not in any way a criticism of the Portumna man but the injury (albeit a concussion and not the devastating hamstring and shoulder injuries he sustained in 2016 and 2019) that forced Canning out of the dying stages of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final further underlined the punishment his body has taken.

It’s only fair to ask how much more Canning can take?

For Shane O’Neill, the burning question will still be to find a way to get the most out of Joe, because his legs have to be on the wane. That’s just science, so keeping Joe fresh coming into the championship may mean we see very little of Joe in the league.

Will Donal O’Grady’s input solidify Cork’s defence?

Donal O'Grady. Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile

I have no idea as to what, or how much input, Donal O’Grady has now in the Cork set-up, but whatever it is, I’m sure most of it is focused on the Cork defence, and making them more solid at the back.

As a manager, O’Grady’s attention to detail always set him apart. He was innovative and imaginative, always searching for new ideas, but still always intensely faithful to old-school principles of defending. Even when he was Limerick manager back in 2011, I remember reading where the thrust of his sessions often involved perfecting the basics of hooking, blocking and tackling.

You rarely saw an O’Grady defence wide open, as Cork often have been in recent years. There are still question marks around the full-back and centre-back spots, but those positions may be easier to solve if Cork’s overall defensive set-up is better than it has been.

Can Wexford bounce back and rediscover their 2019 form?

Wexford manager Davy Fitzgerald. Picture: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan

One noticeable trend of Davy Fitzgerald’s management is that, while he places a huge emphasis on the importance of the squad, his match-day panel — as in the players who regularly see championship game-time — is always pretty tight.

Everyone knows the gameplan, which is rigorously drilled, but Fitzy still clearly only trusts a certain cohort of players to go out and get the job done for him.

I can’t speak for the 2021 squad at present but there has to have been frustration at the lack of new players coming through over the last two years. That may have been down to the talent at Fitzy’s disposal but freshening up the squad, and developing more of those younger players, could play a huge part in avoiding staleness in 2021, and more importantly, in trying to return Wexford to the levels they hit in 2019.

How will Waterford deal with the loss of de Burca and O’Keeffe?

Waterford goalkeeper Stephen O'Keeffe and Ian Kenny with Ryan Taylor of Clare. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

I was delighted for Nickie Quaid last year when he won his first All-Star but I’m sure he was hard pushed to secure the award ahead of Stephen O’Keeffe.

The All-Ireland final was a huge disappointment for Waterford but one of the highlights of that game was O’Keeffe’s brilliant double save from Kyle Hayes and Cian Lynch in the first half.

Apart from his shot-stopping ability and puckout quality, O’Keeffe’s departure leaves a huge gap now, especially in terms of experience, after being the undisputed number one for nine years.

That loss is exacerbated again with the injury-enforced absence of Tadgh de Burca, the All-Star centre-back and Waterford’s totem throughout last year’s championship.

Liam Cahill will obviously be looking for guys like Dessie Hutchinson, Calum Lyons, Jack Prendergast, and Jack Fagan to build on last year’s championship. But Liam’s most pressing concern, for now, will be in trying to plug two massive holes.

Will Clare’s returning stars be enough to offset their defensive worries?

Clare's John Conlon. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Any team that loses players of the calibre of John Conlon and the Galvin brothers, Colm and Ian, is bound to feel that loss, and Clare certainly did last year, especially when the squad was already thinned from the departure of Peter Duggan. It’s unlikely that Duggy will be back but the return of the other three certainly strengthens Clare’s cause this year.

The biggest worry for me though, is that none of those players are defenders, a concern that has been further exacerbated by the loss of Seadna Morey. Apart from the Wexford game last year, Clare conceded far too much — 0-36 v Limerick, 3-27 v Waterford.

Rory Hayes’ form at corner-back was a real plus in 2020 but Clare need him to kick on now. They also need to decide where to play Conor Cleary. Conor is either a very good No. 3 or No. 6 but can they get someone else to nail down the position Conor doesn’t play?

Unlimited subs the right call

On the eve of any league, match fitness for some players would always be a concern but, prior to this year, teams always had the pre-season competitions, Fitzgibbon Cup and inter-county challenge games to help them get up to speed.

But with those avenues denied, you can’t expect lads to go from 0-100 within the space of three weeks. In that context, having unlimited substitutions is a great call, not only for injury prevention but in the context of giving managers an opportunity to throw in new players who, otherwise, may not have been given those chances in big league games in the past.

- You can read the Irish Examiner's 20-page special publication looking forward to the Allianz Hurling League and Championship with your Friday edition of the Irish Examiner in stores or from our epaper site.