Hungry Daly has taste for more success with Dubs

Having last year won their first senior hurling national title of any description since 1939, Dublin open this year’s league campaign against Galway in Pearse Stadium on Sunday next in the unfamiliar role of defending champions.

They’ll be doing their best to retain that title, of course, but manager Anthony Daly says the ambition now must be to drive on to even greater things. “A step further would be winning Leinster or making an All-Ireland final, it would be lovely to think we could get to that stage,” said Daly. “The (Leinster championship) draw has us up against the winners of Laois and Carlow. If you’re lucky to get over that, it’s Kilkenny in Portlaoise — no-one will be giving us any chance in that. I’d like to think our lads are ambitious; they got a taste and they’d like to drive on and win something bigger and better.”

It’s a tough opener for the champions but then again every game in the league this year is going to be a big one. Only six teams in the division, the top three of those to qualify for the semi-finals, the bottom two in a relegation play-off — cutthroat? That’s one way of putting, says Daly.

“You could lose the first two games and be in a relegation battle straight away or you can win the first two and try to win a semi-final. It’s going to be harder for everyone but it’s going to be more interesting for everybody as well. Every day is flat to the boards, try to do your best from the start.”

Galway are under new management this year, former underage star Anthony Cunningham at the helm. The news of Joe Canning’s injury while helping LIT reach yet another Fitzgibbon Cup finals weekend won’t have done their cause much good but, says Anthony Daly, Dublin are aware of Galway’s potential.

“I expect a massive challenge. They’re in fantastic physical shape — I took a spin to the Walsh Cup final (Galway lost to Kilkenny) on my way home from training and couldn’t believe the shape Joe and Iarla Tannian and guys like this are in. They’re as lean-looking as you’d see fellas in August, they must have a ton of work done. They looked a bit heavy-legged against Kilkenny, like a team who had done a bit on Saturday night.”

Dublin of course have their own injury worries to cope with. Captain Stephen Hiney and star forward Conal Heaney are both still out, on long-term rehab programmes and neither will play any part in the league; Paul Schutte is out with a hamstring pull, David Treacy is being nursed slowly back to full hurling fitness, likewise Tomas Brady and Peter Kelly, Dotsy O’Callaghan has been ill with pneumonia for a few weeks while Liam Rushe was rested last weekend with a sore hand. No time for excuses for either side, however; this year’s league is a sprint and from this weekend, it’s game on for everyone.