Meelin set their sights on Croker

“MAKE sure you write that Denis Walsh should be looking at a few of these Meelin lads for next year.”

A comment passed after the boys from Duhallow had destroyed Tipperary representatives St Patrick’s to win Sunday’s Munster club junior hurling championship.

True, he was a Meelin supporter and thus a little biased, but the manner in which his team had trounced St Pat’s was impressive.

It wasn’t just that they hurled with intelligence, the influence of their Newtownshandrum coach Liam Ryan very evident. It was the level of skill on display, superb touch shown by every player, fantastic fitness levels and outstanding support play.

But it’s also those individuals, the likes of young Eamon Brosnan at corner-forward, the hurling brain and ability of centre-forward Shane O’Riordan, the manner in which centre-back Kevin Collins covered every inch across the line, alert to every break.

As a man familiar with the style of play honed and perfected by his native Newtownshandrum, Ryan is impressed with the way these youngsters are duplicating that style.

“You won’t win titles like this without an exceptional group of players,” he said.

“Everyone of them, from goalkeeper to 26, they’re always there, never anyone missing with a silly excuse that they have this, that or the other.

“They’re never injured, for some reason or another. The oldest man we have is 27, next to him is 25, and the rest are from there down.”

Given such talent, given also the ability of the coach (he led Newtown to U21 county honours this year), no surprise then they are only a couple of games away from an All-Ireland final.

“We won a league title earlier this year and in the dressing-room afterwards we said, this is stage one of five stages. The Munster title is stage four, so I’ll let it to yerselves to say what stage five is. When you’ve never won a county you don’t set your sights on winning an All-Ireland. But when you do win the Cork county you definitely have a great chance of a Munster and All-Ireland. You start with 100 clubs in it (Cork championship) and the cream always comes to the top.”

With an All-Ireland quarter-final against the London champions to come, that cream is set to keep rising in Meelin. For the club, could yet end with an All-Ireland title, though doubtless the other provincial champions will have a big say in that. For the individual players? Over to you, Denis Walsh.