Cunningham fears Nash style

Ger Cunningham says, for health and safety reasons, the GAA will have to put a stop to the dead-ball technique used by the likes of Cork keeper Anthony Nash.

In his guise as county selector last year, the legendary Cork goalkeeper heralded Nash’s style and claimed Clare’s Patrick Kelly broke rules in moving off his line to block a shot in the drawn All-Ireland final game.

Having stepped down from the role at the end of the season, Cunningham is still an admirer of the Kanturk man’s style of pushing the ball yards ahead of him before striking penalties and 20 metre frees.

However, he is now concerned about the danger the ferocity of his strikes poses to players on the goal-line: “For the moment it doesn’t matter; it is going to be there for the Championship. We see other teams doing it as well and other fellas trying to perfect the art of what he is doing. I tell you it is a fairly frightening place to stand 12 yards away from an Anthony Nash penalty.

“When Anthony throws it up like he did against Tipp in the league semi-final, he was nearly into the penalty (spot), so where is that going to end? “What’s to say the next fella won’t throw it in even further? So I think it is an issue and the GAA will have to look at it.”

Like another Cork goalkeeper and Irish Examiner columnist, Dónal Óg Cusack, Cunningham predicts a player will eventually end up injured.

“Someone is going to get a belt of a ball. I stood on the line last year when he was practising and I’m telling ya, you are just saying ‘don’t hit me, please!’ “Other teams like (Kilkenny)... TJ Reid was at it. I am sure Joe Canning will do it and other teams are seeing this works.”

Like Cusack, Cunningham regards the solution for penalties as the ball being struck before the 20m line, with only the goalkeeper permitted on the goal-line.

“In years gone by, they have changed from five or six on the goal-line to just three, and I would suggest just the goalie, but start outside and strike on the 20m line.”

Cunningham dismissed the idea of making the sliotar heavier. “Hurling is better now because the ball is good. There is more consistency because the sliotar is good, the touch is better and the ball has helped that and they won’t change it.”

However, he does give tentative support to Galway’s proposal next year to prevent goalkeepers from using oversized hurleys in taking frees and penalties.

Meanwhile rearranged fixtures in the Cork County SHC look set to stand, despite an angry reaction from delegates at last night’s county board meeting in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

As a result of Cork’s Munster SHC draw with Waterford on Sunday, six county championship games have had to be rescheduled to late June, with one game on Thursday, June 19 and two on the following Monday.

The hurling delegate for St Finbarr’s, Denis Harrington, outlined the stark situation in which they find themselves as regards the availability of Cork dual player, Damien Cahalane. The Barr’s meet Bishopstown in Monday, June 23, two days after Cork footballers play Limerick or Tipperary.

“We have a player who will have had six weeks of inter-county championship involvement and we’ll have him for two days ahead of our match,” he said.

“As chairman of the senior hurling league, I’ve had numerous clubs contacting me over this and we seem to be the ham in the sandwich.”

When informed by board chairman Bob Ryan that there was “no other place” for the game, Harrington said Cahalane could be instructed to prioritise club training over inter-county.

“The alternative is that he trains with the club during the period, how would the Cork hurling management like that?” he asked.

Christy Ring of Glen Rovers sided with Harrington, saying: “We’re supporting the Barr’s all the way, this is only facilitating the Cork management. It’s totally unreasonable that 300 club players are being put out, and there’s no proof that it will help Cork to beat Waterford. It’s not a knockout game, beating Waterford isn’t critical to winning the All-Ireland.”

Denis Hurley of Sarsfields added to the dissent. “We’re very unhappy,” he said. “It’s degrading to the competition and we thought we’d be consulted.

“We have two players on holidays for the new date and one living in Belmullet who took time off for this week’s game. There’s no reason why it couldn’t be played on Sunday night, there’s no consideration being given to clubs.”

Chairman Ryan accepted that the situation was far from ideal, but asserted that there was no better solution.

“Nobody who has ever sat in this chair took more notice of what clubs want. Not one person rang me during the week about any fixture.”