Strain begins to show as Rebel hurlers lose power

Eamonn Fitzmaurice, the new Kerry football manager, recently gave an interesting interview in which he discussed conditioning and physical strength in Gaelicfootball, saying underage players from Cork and Dublin, in particular, were more physically advanced than those from Kerry.

Fitzmaurice was referring to Gaelic football — Cork’s annihilation of the Kingdom in last year’s U21 provincial final may have been his main case study — but that clarification was hardly necessary. Cork’s hurlers have not been bossing games physically since the middle of the last decade.

The obvious point of comparison would be manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s first period in charge, 1996-2000, when Clare set a physical template that other counties aspired to. At that time Barry-Murphy — badgered all over Cork to pick big, strong men — stuck with speedy ball-players and won the 1999 All-Ireland.