Liam Sheedy: Bravery at the restart vital to put regal Limerick on the back foot

Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid during the All-Ireland final win over Cork last year. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

From outside, Allianz League games are hard to read. For managers, getting the balance right between results and blooding new talent is not easy. Pundits will talk about shadowboxing.

But the truth is also out there in plain sight, any time of year. Look at the reaction of Will O’Donoghue when he turned over Clare in the second half of the Munster Co-Op Cup final in Ennis. It tells you how connected every player on the Limerick team is to that aspect of their play.

The 2020 All-Ireland final gives you a perfect insight into what makes Limerick kings of the restart.

Waterford had 41 puckouts and retained 31 — a 75% success rate. Limerick had 31 puckouts and retained 20 — just 65%. So Waterford were going well? The reality is retention is not the story, it’s what you do from there.

Look at the conversion rates instead. What did you score from puckouts retained? Limerick scored 10 points from their 31 puckouts. The fact Waterford managed only four from their 41 shows you the intensity and ferocity of the Limerick midfielders and forwards in turning over the opposition in possession and hurting you.

John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk deserve massive credit for that.

Having had the task of taking on Limerick in each of the last three years, I have studied them in detail.

But knowing what they are going to bring is one thing, stopping them doing it is a different ballgame.

The one area I knew we had to get more traction on was their restarts. It’s a well-oiled machine, long or short, with Nickie Quaid owning the process. We have all tried and failed to dismantle it.

Tipp needed to set up to get a good return from our own puckouts and limit the impact they were getting from theirs. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

In last year’s Munster final, our aim was to get the ball in over their half-back line and work off the breaks. We felt getting Diarmaid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, and Kyle Hayes running towards their own goals would yield dividends.

We got a good return from breaking ball inside, with players flooding onto the breaks at pace. It should be acknowledged that a nice breeze in our favour made the task easier — the direct ball was able to get the distance.

We also set up with a four-man half-forward line with Jason Forde playing in front of Hannon and Bubbles keeping him busy behind with Jake Morris and Seamie Callanan inside. Noel McGrath and Mikey Breen were keeping the width to our play while also ensuring Mikey’s pace could cover the darting runs forward by Hayes.

It worked really well and with Alan Flynn and Dan McCormack doing trojan work in the middle of the field we turned them over numerous times and worked the ball to Jason who scored six from play and put us in the drive position going down the tunnel.

We knew that performance was in us and the cool of the dressing room was welcomed as the temperature was energy-sapping. Looking around in there, I did see that the effort put in had taken its toll.

But it was going so well it would have been a difficult decision to withdraw anyone as we felt the 15-minute break would allow us to rest, refuel, and drive on.

Changed mindset

Looking back, I feel our mindset changed a little in the second period. Instead of attacking the opposition, there may have been an element of defending what we had. 

In doing so we handed the initiative over to them. You can’t do that with Limerick.

In the second half, they pushed everything deeper with half-backs dropping back 20 yards and midfielders sitting in front of them. This drew our half-backs too far up the field and they became disconnected from our inside backs. 

There was no space to operate in our forward line while Limerick had acres which made it very difficult to defend.

Watching it back from behind the goal, it was clear we played the ball into areas where they had bodies and then they hit us on the break. They attack in numbers and deliver the pinpoint pass.

We needed to get more bodies out to the middle of the field and look to shoot from distance. That said, Limerick were on top in every sector and when the green wave starts to come at you they are extremely difficult to curtail. 

Their passionate supporters — who well outnumbered us on the day — really got behind their team when the momentum started to swing. They completely overpowered us on both long and short puckouts to the point where we simply could not get our hands on the ball.

Possession

Any team needs possession to keep the scoreboard ticking over. We had 96 possessions in that first half and scored 2-16. In the third quarter, we could only get our hands on the ball 17 times and they were on top in all sectors, outscoring us 1-10 to a point.

We should have acted quicker in freshening it up as the momentum had shifted before our first sub Willie Connors came on in the 53rd minute. 

We had all five subs used by the 59th minute, but impact was needed between the 40th and 50th minutes when the damage was done. 

Looking back, we wouldn’t be happy with our distribution or decision-making, but full credit to Limerick who raised the temperature to intense levels on a scorching day that we simply could not live with.

Our first-half performance gave John Kiely all the ammunition he needed to avoid any recurrence and he powered on to back-to-back All-Ireland titles. 

The question is: Did that period give ammunition to the contenders in 2022, who will all be looking to break Limerick down and play the game on their own terms.

Everyone is back down at the bottom of the hill looking to find that pathway to the summit — in the league initially, then hoping to carry that momentum onto championship.

I still remember our preparation for the 2008 Allianz League, my first at the helm. The lads put in a savage two months in November and December. Cian O’Neill and Eamon O’Shea challenged them in every way possible and they kept coming back for more.

We went on a training weekend to the Curragh and they showed me then that they were up for the journey. We met for a reunion in Westport a few months ago and the lads still reckon it was the hardest weekend they ever endured. Larry still hasn’t forgiven me! 

In the hall on the Friday, up and down, a man on their backs. Then up and down Rabbit Hill on the Saturday under the watchful eye of one of army’s finest, Tony Bracken. A real lung buster but a massive team builder. I still have the footage and love looking back on it from time to time.

We won our first game against Offaly in Thurles and went on to win the league after an epic final against Ger Loughnane’s Galway in the Gaelic Grounds. That was the foundation for a wonderful three years. A catalyst.

Momentum doesn’t always come early in the league.

Limerick did finish fourth of six last year. An average score of 20 points in their first three games was well off their standards, while there was a clear disconnect between themselves and the referees when it came to aggression. Round four had them back on track, scoring 33 points in the first of three victories over Cork. They didn’t look back from there.

To have a realistic chance of beating them, any of the contenders will have to get to grips with the restarts. They will have to be brave yet calculated with ball in hand and really go after this Limerick team when they are looking to set up an attacking play from their own goal.

Damien Young, who led my analysis team in Tipp wrote an academic paper in 2019 which concluded that “the chances of winning the game has a direct correlation with who wins the puckout battle”.

I look forward to watching how this develops through league and championship.

First to take on this challenge is Wexford. No doubt my former colleague Darragh Egan is cautiously relishing the opportunity to see exactly how his team matches up against the best.

They have a very experienced goalkeeper in Mark Fanning who has the temperament and distribution to find his man, which is a good starting position. He also has big men in the middle third who can hold their own in the air as we have seen against Kilkenny in recent years, where they got a solid return from going long.

They will need more activation from half-backs and midfielders on restarts. On puckouts, Limerick are brilliant at sensing you have no interest in getting the ball and shifting their energy elsewhere. You need to be brave at 5 and 7 to make that 20-yard dash to get your hands on the ball. Once in possession, you need runners off your shoulder and support play with the overall objective of crossing the 65-yard line ball in hand.

Keeping 10 and 12 in wide channels with your two midfielders narrow, then coming on the loop to support, can reap dividends. To get any traction, you must have a plan and execute under intense pressure.

All of the contenders will be watching with interest to see how the battle of the restarts plays out next Sunday in Wexford Park. Let the games commence and treasure the fact we can get back to crowds in stadiums to generate the noise and excitement the wonderful game of hurling deserves.

Paudie Maher didn’t know how to reverse out of anything

Talk about Rabbit Hill, Paudie Maher took things to new heights in the physical stakes.

He was still the fittest man in my panel in 2021. When you did the aerobic testing, it was always himself and Bonner at the front. If that bleeper was going, Paudie couldn’t not take it on. He didn’t know how to reverse out of anything. It was how he was programmed, how he was built.

Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy celebrates after the 2019 All-Ireland final with Padraic Maher. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson

Paudie’s physical condition meant he had years left in him. The legs were still strong and so was the mind. He was an example to all the guys in how to apply yourself and mind yourself. His preparation to play for Thurles and Tipp was exemplary.

The only reason he finds himself having to retire is probably down to the number of times he put his body on the line, which is really unfortunate.

I first came across Paudie in 2006 when we won the minor All-Ireland. Galway going for three in a row, Joe Canning waiting at full-forward in the final. I can still picture Paudie inside in the dressing room beforehand, cool as a breeze.

“Are you alright there, Paudie?” “Yeah, grand.” He just went out, played with instinct, had a great game. From that afternoon, he never really took a step back.

He announced himself on the big stage in the league final of 2009, when he had that immense game at centre-back against Henry Shefflin. Just 20, taking on one of the greatest players on one of the greatest teams, and besting him that day.

At wing-back in 2010 when we won the All-Ireland he just hoovered up everything. His contribution in those early years when we were trying to find our feet was immense. In the final, his ‘not for turning’ attitude rippled through the team.

There are certain qualities the supporters look for in a Tipp hurler and Paudie had everything. Catching ball out of the sky, breaking tackles, meeting players shoulder to shoulder, scoring points. They loved him. If there is such a thing as the Tipperary way, he embodied it.

A big Paudie moment was always worth that little bit more. Drew energy from the crowd and the rest of the lads. Because he was loved inside and outside the camp, because he had that iconic presence.

When I came back in 2019, he was awesome as ever and richly deserved his sixth All-Star. Our first big game below in Cork, he was outstanding, ran the show. Wexford in the semi-final, incredible.

Remember, he switched wings in the All-Ireland final, went over on Walter. First puckout, plucked it out of the sky, broke the tackle, offloaded, and within seconds Niall O’Meara had the ball in the net. Another massive moment by Paudie was the transformation of that game, when we were sucking for air.

Later on, when Walter had that goal chance… no way, not happening. Body on the line again. Drove up the field, offloads, ball over the bar. Whatever life was left in Kilkenny was extinguished.

He achieved it all. He was on the All-Star team of the last 50 years and rightly so. He’ll be missed far beyond Tipp, he was so admired for his qualities. He was an ambassador for the game. He certainly unlocked the warriors’ code.

As a manager and coach, he was a dream. Never caused you a problem. The big thing about Paudie Maher is he was really coachable and very accountable. Went about his business. Showed up early, left late. Heart on his sleeve every day. Left nothing to chance. Incredible around the group. Would do anything for the team.

And he’s a great person too. A great friend, always kind and generous to my family. A rock-solid guy. I’m really sad for him because it’s a tough tough way to finish. But he goes, not just as one of the Tipp greats, but as one of hurling’s greats.