John Fogarty: Hurling's phoney war is almost over

Galway manager Shane O'Neill during the Allianz HL Division 1 Group A game against Waterford at Pearse Stadium. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Shane O’Neill’s exasperation with a question he considered highlighted another problem with the state of hurling was obvious following Sunday’s win over Waterford. Asked if the high rate of scoring was sustainable, the Galway manager responded: “Last week we were giving out we only scored 0-24 and now we score 4-28 and the scores are unattainable.”

All that was missing from O’Neill’s reaction was a “are you not entertained?” Galway and Waterford provided plenty of that in Salthill but the intensity left a lot to be desired. Such was its proximity to the start of the Championship that there was a natural reluctance to go full pelt.

Galway were slow to begin and while determined to win, the slightest hint of an injury — Johnny Coen’s hamstring and Joe Canning’s rib niggles come to mind — was enough to prompt a substitution.

Casual one week and serious the next, counties’ varying approaches to the league has meant it has not been a reliable barometer for the Championship ahead. Limerick, for instance, clearly put an emphasis on fitness in the opening stages of their campaign while trialling fringe players. The timing of their tackling on Saturday was much better than previous league outings and the win over Cork was timely but hardly a marker when their opponents’ attitude to the game bordered on the cavalier.

Kieran Kingston achieved what he wanted from the league before last weekend. Ruthlessness has proven to be the last box to tick for aspiring teams but how they have regularly found the net would indicate they have added a dimension sorely missed in recent years. They may not boast the physical attributes of other teams and to get around Limerick’s totemic half-backs and half-forwards their puck-out strategy will have to be in tune but they are going to trouble the All-Ireland champions next month.

Cork also don’t boast the same personnel options as Limerick but it’s been a long time since they had like-for-like options from the bench. As a proven ball-winner, Seamus Harnedy’s hamstring issues and his lack of game time is a worry yet Jack O’Connor’s development is healthy and the emergence of Alan Connolly must be thrilling.

After drawing their first two games having surrendered large second-half advantages, Tipperary’s concentration levels and legs were questioned but they now stand to finish top of Division 1, Group A providing they beat Waterford. Barry Heffernan continues to grow as a defender of quality although there remain a couple of key players like John McGrath who are out of sorts.

Galway could nobble Tipperary for top spot but why they continue to persist with Daithí Burke at centre-back when he is a five-time All-Star winning full-back is anyone’s guess, especially when he has struggled in the more advanced position. Joe Canning, Conor Whelan and Brian Concannon would make any team in the country but the streakiness of support players raises questions.

Kilkenny are the only team with a 100% record across the two top flight groups and the certainty of their spine offers confidence — using TJ Reid sparingly have been clever on Brian Cody’s part — and Adrian Mullen offers much-needed presence in the forward line.

Suddenly, they look like they have a bench of note but who exactly have the Cats beaten? Wexford, the team closest to them in the table, were still reeling from their Covid cases when they met last Sunday week and like Cork on Saturday weren’t going to show too much of their hand ahead of a possible Championship.

Losing Rory O’Connor to an early injury and Matthew O’Hanlon 10 minutes into the second half in Belfast on Saturday upset what was the strongest Wexford team Davy Fitzgerald has been able to assemble thus far this year but get over Laois and they have form in frustrating Kilkenny.

For a team painted as being in crisis following two opening defeats, only Kilkenny have scored more than Clare in Group 2. Reservations about John Conlon’s positioning at centre-back aside, their ability to mix direct hurling with the more intricate play espoused by Tony Kelly and Aidan McCarthy should see them make a better fist of it against Waterford on June 27 than they did last year.

As for the Déise, the goal concessions against Cork and Galway aside, there was enough in the games against Limerick and the first half on Sunday to illustrate they can replicate the frenzied work-rate of last year.

Having seen his team ship four more goals, Liam Cahill may have expressed concern but his body language didn’t.

Mixed messages have been the story of this league where All-Ireland contenders have either been not as good (Kilkenny) or as bad (Limerick) as they have been made out to be.

Thankfully, this phoney war of a competition is almost over. It passed away the time and provided a function but little else.

Return of crowds so badly needed

After a yawning 293 days, GAA matches in the 26 counties finally have in-person audiences. That they will initially comprise the nearest and dearest of those involved is only fair even if it only home teams who will benefit initially. It’s they who have suffered the most from not being able to attend.

Home advantage for promotion and relegation play-offs will count for more with supporters present particularly in Newry on Saturday where Down could have 500 in full voice as they bid to avoid the drop against Laois and Armagh on Sunday as the home team are also set to benefit from the crowd in their Division 1 relegation clash with Roscommon.

Choosing who can purchase the golden tickets will get trickier for the GAA and its sister associations when crowds increase later this month, especially as the central season ticket scheme is postponed this year, but the prospect of gate receipts is a good complaint. Without such income up to now, the GAA has been compelled to offer voluntary redundancies to staff.

For those players who have yet to play a senior inter-county game in front of crowds, their return must be awaited with relish too.

We’re thinking of players like Dublin midfielder Tom Lahiff, Kerry forward Ronan Buckley, and Cork’s Alan Connolly. They are all entitled to be admired, to “win the crowd” as Ollie Reed’s Proximo put it, to be willed “to make that killer blow. The silence before you strike and the noise afterwards. It rises. It rises up like a storm. As if you were the thunder god himself.” Fans, oh how they have been missed.

GAA won’t blame tools for the cheap scores in hurling’s new era

Elsewhere on this page you will read the considered thoughts of Galway great Pete Finnerty about the state of hurling and his opinion that marking, something for which he was noted, has gone out of the game.

To add more value to scores, the Mullagh man is more interested in adding weight to the sliotar than ensuring the bas of hurleys conforms to the regulation size of 13cm at its widest point but he remembers when the size of sticks was policed.

“Back then, the goalkeeper could only have the hurley a certain size and he was the only one that could have it,” he recalled.

“Then a few teams would have three of them in the goals in case of a penalty and Jesus it was like contraband bringing them into Croke Park. They were like half-doors.” Inspecting hurleys before each game is not likely to be on the GAA’s agenda, especially not when they have turned a blind eye to how players have illegally increased the sweet spot over the years.

To compensate for that, some of the leading players are now opting for shorter pieces of ash so that wielding the larger bas isn’t as cumbersome.

Nor would it appear the authorities are going to increase the weight of the sliotar any time soon.

While ensuring a uniform weight is a priority, there has also been speculation about doing away with the rims, which would likely make the ball travel even further.

Scores may never be as cheap but the GAA won’t be the bad workman blaming the tools.

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