John Fogarty: What's on counties' Santa list?

WAITING GAME: A Munster senior hurling title medal with Clare has eluded Clare star Tony Kelly. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

The letters to Santa are written and sent by now but it seems only fair that we afford the same opportunity to some of the leading football and hurling counties ahead of the 2023 season. But what exactly do they want?

FOOTBALL

Armagh — Silverware

An obvious one to start and yet for all the improvements he made to Kildare and Armagh it’s something that has alluded Kieran McGeeney in his 15 seasons as a senior inter-county manager. Given Armagh start their Ulster campaign a week after the Division 1 final, the league is unlikely to be a cup he targets.

Cork — Seven points

That total in Division 2 should be enough to secure them one of the 16 Sam Maguire Cup spots. Having to rely on getting to a Munster final to claim a place in those group stages is a risk John Cleary would prefer to avoid.

Derry — Firepower

Across two months this year, the advances Derry have made and the path they still have to take was there for everyone to see. Being hard to beat is phase one but they found to their cost against Galway that they have to evolve and can’t rest so much scoring responsibility on Shane McGuigan’s shoulders.

Dublin — Healthy heroes

Dessie Farrell knows in the face of what he hopes will be a 17-game season he will have to be more discerning in his use of Mick Fitzsimons, James McCarthy and the returning Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey. They are out-and-out winners but they, particularly Fitzsimons and McCarthy, carry miles.

Galway — Midfield choices

Pádraic Joyce won’t cry if Peter Cooke is not able to accept an invite to his squad, yet the Moycullen man would seem a fine partner to Cillian McDaid. Paul Conroy, who turns 34 in May, is still performing and Patrick Kelly could slot in there too. Joyce is well stocked otherwise.

Kerry — Another year from David Moran

Jack O’Connor would have hoped Mark O’Connor might be home by now but as he continues his AFL career Moran’s presence will again be needed if more so in a cameo role. If he is willing to stick it one more time, he can take off most of the league as much as it has proven to be the launchpad for all four All-Ireland successes under O’Connor.

Mayo — Another year from Lee Keegan

Yes, if the trio of Cillian O’Connor, Tommy Conroy, and Ryan O’Donoghue remain available the forward options improve immeasurably but Keegan’s guiding light is essential, especially after Oisín Mullin’s exit to Australia.

Tyrone — No more farewells

Tyrone might possibly be the most difficult group of players to keep happy. Going back to Mickey Harte’s time, there have been departures citing lack of game-time. With the amount of games ahead, they need depth and harmony.

HURLING

Clare — Munster

It could see them sail to bigger things but the absence of a provincial title is a massive sore point. To think Patrick Horgan might finish his inter-county career without an All-Ireland medal is one thing; for Tony Kelly to end his minus a Munster crown is just as striking.

Cork — A national title

So much emphasis was put on last season’s Division 1 final seeing as how they hadn’t won any silverware outside of Munster since the 2005 All-Ireland title. Pat Ryan has to try players but going one further than last year and winning the league is doable. What’s more, there’s a bigger break between it and the start of the provincial championship.

Galway — Young bloods

Henry Shefflin was frank in his assessment of Galway’s season but for the first without Joe Canning it was pretty solid. In Ronan Glennon and Thomas Monaghan, he has two promising greenhorns but another couple are required in that middle eight.

Kilkenny — Patience

Derek Lyng doesn’t need to be told that he has size nine feet and is filling boots size 12. The Cats’ followers are among the most knowledgeable in the country. They will wait for results but they will expect performances.

Limerick — A fully-fit Cian Lynch

They might have completed the three-in-a-row without the two-time hurler of the year but they could struggle to string together four All-Irelands without their concertatore.

Tipperary — Pace

Injecting speed into the team will be one of Liam Cahill’s primary objectives. Fitness levels will have to elevate if they are to play the intense style espoused by Cahill and Michael Bevans and they need runners.

Waterford — Stephen O’Keeffe

Davy Fitzgerald has quietly gone about convincing one or two players about postponing travel plans. To persuade a goalkeeper that somebody of Eoin Murphy’s calibre describes as the best to return to county colours could be a game-changer.

Wexford — Reserves

But for Shane Reck’s injury against Clare, who knows what have happened for Wexford but it was evident Darragh Egan wasn’t replacing like-for-like towards the end of that quarter-final.

Four motions to stir debate at Congress

Apart from the plethora of proposals to return U18 as the official minor grade, there were a number of interesting motions passed at counties’ annual conventions these past few weeks. Whether all of them will be ruled in order by the authorities remains to be seen but here are a selection that could be debated at Annual Congress in February:

• That the current drug testing process for inter-county players be extended to apply to adult club players at an appropriate scale — Drom & Inch, Tipperary.

Like Rathdowney/Errill’s motion about drugs and gambling education programmes earlier this year, it could be referred to the GAA’s community and health department and is undoubtedly coming from the right place but may need some refining.

• That every club shall field at least one hurling team at U7 and/or U9 age grades and that every county shall organise hurling games on the “Go Games” model for U7 and U9 — St Mary’s, Rosslare.

Wexford’s 1996 All-Ireland SHC winning manager Liam Griffin is behind this recommendation, which is aimed at promoting the smaller ball game in counties where it has been neglected. If anything, it will stir debate.

• That one cash stall be made available for older people at club championship games — Wolfe Tones, Clare.

The GAA’s decision to go almost totally cashless with their ticketing policy has been uncomfortable for some pensioners who may not be internet-savvy or unable to get to a shop to purchase a ticket. There would be plenty of support for this idea, particularly from rural counties, but it may not make the Clár.

• That the silent sideline be introduced up to and including U13 level — Mayobridge, Down.

Aimed at “encouraging young players to make their own decisions and help to eradicate aggressive and abusive behaviour from mentors, spectators and players”, it is most certainly topical.

Black card calls for club hurling

In the end, they didn’t matter. Seán Elliott and Dunloy Cuchullains were triumphant, as were TJ Reid and Ballyhale Shamrocks.

Nevertheless, the cynical fouls the two players were subjected to would have earned Conor Cooney and Shane O’Sullivan 10 minutes in the sin bin in the inter-county game (Philip Mahony quite possibly could have joined them for his infringement on Colin Fennelly, which, like O’Sullivan’s trip on Reid. also prompted a penalty).

As Eddie Brennan commented on Twitter of Cooney’s takedown of Elliott in the opening All-Ireland Club SHC semi-final: “Regardless of peno converted or not there has to be a bigger punishment for that type of foul. Absolutely no attempt to tackle legally at all deliberate cynical rugby tackle drag down. Attacking team denied a goal scoring chance. Yellow card doesn’t fit the crime imo (in my opinion).”

The GAA often launches a rule or measure at inter-county level before expanding it at club. After being introduced on a temporary basis last year and made permanent at inter-county this year as well as being amended following the Aidan McCarthy controversy, the sin bin, now signified with a black card, should apply at club level. It will present a logistical challenge but when such prominent fixtures are played by stars of the game and feature top referees that the rules are not consistent across the board is a fallacy.

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