Where best to play Seamus Callanan?

DECLAN RYAN would have preferred a fit Brendan Maher at the start of this season but his return to action has given him plenty of stick to use against Seamus Callanan.

The Drom-Inch man didn’t have the greatest of days out against Dublin in the semi-final and Maher’s re-emergence gave the Tipperary management options. Callanan could have been sacrificed with Gearóid Ryan moving away from midfield to take up a spot in the half-forward line, leaving Maher to renew his 2010 central partnership with Shane McGrath.

Otherwise, and it was less likely, last year’s young hurler of the year could have been introduced in the place of the less experienced John O’Keeffe who Kilkenny could target. Maher, of course, played at wing-back in 2009.

The word is both Callanan and O’Keeffe have been performing well in training since August 14 so much so that Maher has been kept in reserve to lead what is a better auxiliary line-up than Kilkenny’s.

That’s not such a bad thing. Maher is an exquisite hurler but there’s nothing wrong with shaking things up a bit.

Had he been restored to the team in place of Callanan, it would have meant Tipperary fielding the same 15 as last year apart from the retired Declan Fanning. That wouldn’t necessarily have sent out all the right signals.

What Callanan offers, as much as he is mercurial, is a challenge to a Kilkenny defence that will be concerned about pace.

Lar Corbett is a more complete hurler but the 22-year-old also has that ability to ghost around the fringes looking for lay-offs.

Providing he’s stationed on the wing, preferably JJ Delaney’s as Patrick ‘Bonnar’ Maher did such a good job against Tommy Walsh on the left last year, he has the agility and speed to make inroads.

Centre-forward is also a second option, assuming that Kilkenny’s pride is strong and they don’t use a seventh defender like Dublin. Ryan and his selectors Tommy Dunne and Michael Gleeson will appreciate Callanan was swamped at number 11 in a crowded 40-metre line.

With Joey Boland sticking it to him and Johnny McCaffrey buzzing around him, he had little or no latitude, something that he craves.

He also provides a pick at full-forward where, as much as he is not the most physical player in the world, his pace could trouble Noel Hickey as long as there is enough room around him.

It also has to be remembered that Callanan is carrying some hurt from last year. Dropped after the qualifier win over Wexford, he played cameo roles for the rest of the season, this after being a first-choice in 2009 when he scored a goal in all three of Tipperary’s Munster games.

He might also have a bone or two to pick with Jackie Tyrrell after an over-the-top tackle in the ‘09 final, possibly a reaction to Callanan breaking Brian Hogan’s collar-bone in the league final earlier that season.

It won’t be motivation he’ll be lacking on Sunday not to mention how much he will want to repay the faith that Ryan has shown in him despite substitutions in his last two games.