Ryan points to Cadogan as dual Model

WEXFORD football manager Jason Ryan has pointed to the example of Cork’s Eoin Cadogan as proof that the Model county can accommodate dual players this season.

Ryan is embarking on his fifth year at the helm in the south-east but will have to handle the dual player phenomenon for the first time in 2012 with Stephen Banville attempting to line out for the senior hurlers and footballers.

An ever-present with the county hurlers for the last three years, the Shelmaliers player came on as a substitute late ins Sunday’s O’Byrne Cup defeat to Meath in Navan and may not be the only player looking to juggle commitments.

“I won’t ask anyone to make decisions,” said Ryan. “It is about communication and I would like to think that Eoin Cadogan has shown the way. There is obviously fantastic communication between the two Cork senior teams.

“Cork is a massive county geographically and they have such high standards with all their GAA teams. If they can do it then why can’t other counties as well if players approach it the same way? Physical conditioning for hurling is the same as for football.

“There is no great difference between the two so if you can merge those two areas in such a way as the player doesn’t have to double up on the workload and pick key times to have them for hurling or football training then I don’t see why it couldn’t be done. Maybe Eoin Cadogan has opened a can of worms for us with that in Wexford but he has shown us that it can be done.”

Cadogan has played senior hurling and football for Cork in recent seasons and in these pages last summer claimed his workload was no greater than any other inter-county players thanks to the lines of communication between the management teams.

The lot of a dual player can, nevertheless, be a thankless one with one slip or bad game inevitably followed by belief that the magnitude of commitments and failure to focus on one code is the root of any problem. Ryan is a native of another dual county having played hurling hurling and football in Waterford and in London. Mentioned in dispatches as a possible successor to Davy Fitzgerald as Déise hurling manager during the off-season, he is keeping an open mind for now.

“It’s a work in progress. That’s the easiest way of looking at it. It hasn’t happened before so we have to wait and see. I just don’t know. We haven’t picked our national league panel. Nor has [Wexford senior hurling manager] Liam Dunne so we’ll see.

“Wexford is a real dual county. Nearly all the guys play senior hurling and football. They play both of them and it isn’t a case of them saying ‘look, I play one or the other’. I just don’t know what is going to happen.”

There is further uncertainty over whether the versatile Adrian Morrissey will return to the panel this season. The Kilmacud Crokes player has changed jobs recently and remains undecided whether to play football although Ryan has left the door open.

However, it has been confirmed veteran defender and former team captain Colm Morris has returned to the panel after considerable uncertainty regarding his immediate plans. Morris returned to training at the weekend.

“He is a great leader amongst the guys,” said Ryan. “For the rest of the players, it is a great boost to have him. Why is he back? He is back because he believes we can progress on as a group from where we have been in recent seasons.

“He takes pretty good care of himself. He is a very determined character and when he goes to do something he will give it everything. He will be putting us under pressure to give him game time or he won’t be happy.”