Cody looks to league to whet Cats’ appetite

THE hurling season got underway yesterday, as it ended last September, with Kilkenny manager Brian Cody centre stage as Allianz celebrated the beginning of its 10th national league in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin.

Cody, flanked by two new kids on the managerial block Limerick boss Dave Keane and Dublin's Marty Morris used the occasion to take a swipe at those who talk down the league. After all, it was Kilkenny's successful league campaign last year that set the tone for the marvellous summer ahead. And the affable schoolteacher is hoping for something similar this year, for his success-laden players to rediscover their hunger.

"I certainly hope we will find a few players in this league campaign," said Cody, who has to plan without Allstar full-back Noel Hickey for Sunday's opener with Waterford.

"We need even more competition for places this year because if you don't have that, fellas get comfortable. And that is something nobody wants, especially after last year. So, we will be hoping to find a few more players."

Cody was quick to dismiss the aura of invincibility surrounding his team since winning the McCarthy Cup in third gear last summer. "We heard this again, after 2000, but I wouldn't go with it. We did well last year, we achieved what we wanted to achieve. But I'm certain that Tipp were every bit as good as us last year, we just got a bit of luck on the day."

"This year, we are trying to achieve something very difficult, that hasn't been done since the early 1990s. With the amount of celebration that goes with winning the cup every year, it is very hard to come back and win it."

It is fairly obvious Cody is using the league as a journey where his players will once again pick up the zest for the game that won the All-Ireland six months ago.

"Last year, when the league started, we were in the depths of serious training. We only came back from holidays at the end of January, so our training and preparations are well behind coming into the league. And it is hard for 15 players who won something 12 months ago to go at the prize with the same hunger. And it is that which can be the biggest factor in winning an All-Ireland."

While Cody spoke with the relaxed air of a man whose coaching career will be remembered fondly no matter what happens over the next 12 months, his two colleagues were taking their first tentative steps into publicity's glare.

Even so, both come with excellent pedigree. Dave Keane's promotion to oversee Limerick seniors came on the back of three under-21 All-Irelands. And he acknowledges the merits of a good league campaign.

"Kilkenny and Tipperary have both shown in the past two years what the experience of a good league campaign came do for teams. So, from a Limerick point of view, we would be taking the league very seriously," Keane said.

Although this will be the Corkman's first year in charge of the senior side, he has yet to feel any undue pressure. "I don't feel any pressure. I am doing this because I love the game and I believe I can win things with Limerick."

There are differences between U21s and seniors, of course, as Keane has already found out. "The biggest difference is that in U21s, the lads still listen to you. Once you come into senior, the players are a lot less likely to listen to what you tell them.

"But, the older lads have given great commitment and with the league, we will be looking to blend youth and experience. I am a great believer that the prime years in a hurler's life are between 18 and 25, but that doesn't mean the older lads don't have a lot to offer, particularly with their experience."

The press conference was held under the shadow of Mick Delaney's radical suggestion that the Leinster championship should be confined to four teams. "I think Mick Delaney is just up for discussion, because that is his job as Leinster secretary," Cody said diplomatically.

The proposal is especially strange given Marty Morris recently led Dublin to victory over Kilkenny in the Walsh Cup. Morris said that is just a platform on which the team can build.

"We can build on that. I am happy with how the lads responded to the challenge posed by Kilkenny. Early on in the Walsh Cup, we were just finding our feet.

"But when we saw the team Kilkenny were sending out for the final, that showed tremendous respect for Dublin and the Walsh Cup. Things went for us on the day, we won it with the last puck, which in other years, Dublin teams might have lost.

"The first few games in the league will be the toughest for us, but we have brought in 12 under-21s for the league and we are still building a team, because of starting so late with the side."

And the old needle of player duality has been sorted out with Tommy Lyons. Some players have chosen football, others have chosen hurling. And David O'Callaghan, the one player there was certain to be a tug-o-war over, is currently out after breaking his hand in a skiing accident.

So, batten down the hatches for Sunday. Because, according to the three managers yesterday, the Allianz Hurling league sets the tone for the summer ahead.