You can almost smell Kilkenny’s belief
You could almost smell it off the warm breath from the big cat’s roar.
The roar was loud enough to warn off anyone who dares to enter their lair but if I was in Anthony Cunningham’s shoes tomorrow, I’d be happy enough. In 2012, they absolutely annihilated us, the Dubs, in Portlaoise.
There was a lot of talk that Dublin could beat them, similar to the expectation in Wexford two weeks ago, and Kilkenny just devoured them.
They were raging favourites going into that 2012 Leinster final, but I never saw Kilkenny as flat and Galway as sharp. The big cat was severely wounded. In that regard, the dynamic is in Galway’s favour again now.
Since the drawn Dublin game, Galway have become a different animal, an animal that looks ready to front up to the biggest and most dangerous beast on this terrain.
There seems to have been a major change in Galway’s demeanour, from management right throughout the team. We know they have the players.
There are still questions about whether the full-back line have been tested enough, and for sure Cody will test them tomorrow — but they’re all ready to fight it and they have the sharp claws up front to wound Kilkenny again.
How they react to adversity against this crowd though, will tell how far they’ve come. What impressed me most about Galway against Laois was that there was no panic after 15 minutes.
They tweaked the system, told the full-back line to shove forward, not to remain with a 4-on-1 at the back, and got all their full-back line on the scoreboard early. They worked it out impressively on the hoof.
I like what’s going on in Galway. It was unusual that Anthony Cunningham got a fourth year without winning an All-Ireland but himself and Eugene Cloonan, Damian Curley and Pat Malone seem to be getting the best out of this group again after two barren years. The feedback I’ve got is that the players really enjoy Eugene’s training and they’re responding to it now.
I think we could be in for the game of the year so far. Hurling needs a good game and this has real potential to take off. Galway love the space in Croke Park and they really need to open up the play, to play wide, to try and isolate Cyril Donnellan on Kieran Joyce, get their wing-forwards to roam, the corner-forwards to run and switch all day, with Joe Canning probably holding on the edge of the square.
Joey Holden played well against Wexford but Wexford didn’t let the ball into Conor McDonald so Holden is still untested at this level. Joe really seems to have rediscovered his mojo and I’d be stacking all my chips on his table; let everything into him with the two corner-forwards steaming at him.
If Joe strikes a big day, anything could happen but Kilkenny are well forewarned now from three years ago. This will offer the most accurate gauge of where Kilkenny are at for the rest of the year but Richie Hogan, TJ Reid and Michael Fennelly have taken it to another level now and Kilkenny have enough players in form to win.
his evening in Wexford Park is a huge unknown for Cork and Wexford. Does a day like two weeks ago in Nowlan Park murder you or ignite you? The Wexford players have to look long and hard at themselves but you’d wonder if they have it in them to come out now and beat Cork. I saw some quotes from Conor McDonald this week about the Jack Guiney issue, which reflected a mental fortitude and maturity in Wexford. If they can get a performance out of themselves, they can win.
Where are Cork? Their U21s were wiped out by Waterford recently and we don’t know how much mental scars have been left after the two Waterford defeats. I wouldn’t rule out a shock in this one but you’d imagine Cork have learned enough from the last two games to get it right. They have no other choice. If Wexford are under pressure, it’s nothing compared to the heat Cork are feeling. That pressure should see a Rebels side boosted by the return of Seamus Harnedy home.
If I was Ger Cunningham, I’d have preferred to get drawn against Cork or Limerick in Parnell Park than have to go to Portlaoise this evening. The away trip to a hurting Laois side, who I’d say have felt they let their manager down, is a dangerous enough assignment in these circumstances.
The Dublin players should equally be thinking they let their manager down but Dublin have had time to grieve and get back on track. The last month will have been invaluable in that context. Surely they’ll also have restructured the team. I’d be unequivocal in putting Liam Rushe back at centre-back. We experimented with Liam at full-forward too but we all felt that he was best suited to No. 6. If Peter Kelly is at No. 3, Dublin look a much stronger and better team with that defensive spine.
It still won’t be easy to come out of Portlaoise with a result but this is the type of match too that can get Dublin’s season back on track and that is the only way they should be approaching this game.
In Cusack Park tonight, Clare will beat Offaly. It’s very likely that Clare will have a full-forward line of Darach Honan, Shane O’Donnell and Conor McGrath. That line has enough firepower to put fear into any full-back line in the country, never mind Offaly.
Honan’s return provides the real sizzle to the heat in that pan. I saw Honan recently in a club game against Clarecastle and he was on fire, back to his electric form of 2009-10 when he was almost untouchable. This game is an opportunity for him to bed back into the team but the draw was ideal too for Clare. At this stage, they didn’t need a big test in Parnell Park or Páirc Ui Rinn. They just need to get a win in the bag and get back on track again for next weekend. Joining them in that draw will be Limerick, who will get past Westmeath tomorrow in Mullingar.
The championship will really take off then but I’m hoping that the first real fire will be lit tomorrow in Croke Park.
