Clare and Offaly must not be written off warns Waterford captain
McGrath was in Dublin to receive the Vodafone GAA Allstar Hurler of the Month award for June, which completed a unique treble for the county. With Paul Flynn and Dan Shanahan honoured in April and May, Vodafone Brands manager Helen Marks said it was the first time in the history of the scheme this happened.
McGrath, inspirational in Waterford’s first Munster final triumph over Cork since 1959, watched Kilkenny’s runaway win over Galway on television and admitted to having been suitably impressed.
“They played some stuff, they were flying,” he commented. “I knew they weren’t finished. They were caught by a last-minute goal against Wexford, in a great game and there was nothing in that match. It could have gone either way.
“Kilkenny probably needed a break from Croke Park. They showed what they are capable of. I’d say they can’t wait for the next match again.
“Everyone is saying it will be Waterford and Kilkenny. But, Clare and Offaly will have something to say about that. I’d say that whoever wins that game will have a right shot at Kilkenny.”
In the meantime, McGrath is satisfied that the long break from the Munster final will not affect their team. After being away with their clubs for the past fortnight and being involved in the county championship at the week-end, the panel are back in training tonight.
“We’ll have four straight weeks up to the championship. We won’t go stale in that time, we can stay fresh. We know exactly when we’re playing and that’s a help.”
Taking an overview of the championship, the Waterford captain believes that there’s nothing between some of the teams remaining.
“Cork played some great hurling in the second half of their game with Tipperary. I thought it was a tough game, with some hard hitting. They showed they were really up for it.
“We caught them by a point in the Munster final, which was really nothing!”
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