Harte influence credited for increased physicality in hurling

Waterford star John Mullane credits Tyrone football boss Mickey Harte’s influence with the increased physicality in hurling: “The game really changed from 2006, 2007 when Kilkenny started to get involved with Mickey Harte. I think that was the pivotal point, I think that really changed the landscape of hurling today.”

Mullane added that the Waterford captaincy was “never an issue” for him: “I want to draw an end to that. Michael rang me in September and offered me the captaincy. I told him that the best thing he could do was offer it to a 25-26 year-old, for the good of Waterford going forward. That’s the age for captaincy, I feel.”