McGrath hits out after O’Sullivan picks up ban

Waterford boss Derek McGrath is unhappy with the circumstances that led to forward Brian O’Sullivan being slapped with a two-match suspension.

O’Sullivan was banned retrospectively following an incident with Damien Cahalane in the Munster SHC semi-final replay. Waterford County Board officials were contacted last week with notification of the proposed sanction but by the time O’Sullivan learned of his fate, it was too late to seek a Croke Park hearing with the Central Hearings Committee (CHC).

McGrath said: “All I’ll say is that we wouldn’t be too happy with the way it was handled. The chap wasn’t given due process. Whatever way you want to read into that, you can.”

The incident involving O’Sullivan and Cahalane was selected for analysis on The Sunday Game later that evening. But Waterford are annoyed that O’Sullivan was singled out for special treatment, when an alleged off-the-ball clash between Cork’s Lorcan McLoughlin and Austin Gleeson, which left the young Déise star grounded, was ignored.

McGrath added: “We won’t want to be coming across as unsporting. We’ll take our medicine but the disappointing thing is that we weren’t informed and it was too late to do anything about it. The fact that Michael Walsh’s and Shane O’Sullivan’s appeals were turned down earlier this year might have been a factor.”

Meanwhile, McGrath has revealed that another of his forwards, Jamie Barron, will miss out on Saturday evening’s All-Ireland qualifier against Laois after suffering a fresh injury setback.

Barron had returned from an ankle problem but suffered a broken bone in his hand against Limerick in a challenge last week.

McGrath was also preparing to put former All Star Noel Connors and Colin Dunford through fitness tests last night

The players have not trained since going off injured during the Cork replay and McGrath admitted that they are both “doubtful” starters for the Walsh Park clash.

McGrath has also warned that Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett’s emerging Laois will provide formidable opposition.

He insisted: “They [Laois] are one of the top teams now. Anyone that thinks any different doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

“There’s nothing between Laois and Waterford and Laois have the draw they wanted.

“Laois ran Clare to four points in the league quarter-final and Clare hammered us. We lost to Cork by 14 points and Laois should have beaten Cork and Limerick in the league. The evidence is there. Laois are not coming in under the radar. Look at how they performed against Galway and then look at what Galway did subsequently against Kilkenny.”