Eoin Cadogan: The state of the parties ahead of Munster final primary
FRIENDLY FIRE: Clare and Limerick players jostle each other during the Munster Championship Round 4 match in Ennis.
“Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand”
HAVING been trusted to offer my opinions here one might assume I have some sort of inside scoop or knowledge that would have allowed me to foresee some of the upsets in the Munster hurling championship this year. Fat chance. Anyone who predicted some of the results so far should be doing tonight's Lotto numbers.
With a red-hot Waterford out of the championship, a Cork team unrecognisable now from what we saw in the early stages and a Clare side we all thought were too reliant on one player preparing for Sunday's Munster final - not to mention the All-Ireland champions Limerick who many felt would lack the hunger to drive on this year - it's been turn-up on top of a turn-up for the books.
So where does everyone stand right now as we approach the final weekend of the Munster campaign?
There's a lovely level of evenness about Limerick. They go about their business, never getting too high or never too low but still preparing for another provincial final. The biggest plus from the Munster Championship campaign was the amount of talk of Waterford being heirs to the throne - and how John Kiely's men met everything Waterford threw at them head-on. The Deise still couldn't beat them.
Kiely’s ability to rotate or find players for positions when others are injured such as Cian Lynch, Seamus Flanagan and Kyle Hayes, underlines the ability to adapt and to fit into the bigger picture for the team. Right now there will still be concerns for management with regard to discipline, stepping over the line or whether they are being targeted because of the very public debate around those issues? At this point who is going to tell Gearoid Hegarty or Aaron Gillane to change their ways? Being on the edge makes them. Take that away and you're asking someone to not be what made them Munster and All-Ireland champions. Of course, there is a line, but skirting with it has made them the players they are.
Were we disrespectful to this Clare group that we didn't see them coming? I certainly didn’t see Brian Lohan's side getting out of Munster, much less make a provincial final. But when I look at Clare now I see a much better balance in each line of the field. With Peter Duggan back and in 2018 form, there's a crucial ball-willing ability inside, complemented with a relentless tackle ethic that is uncompromising and effective.
I’ve used the word cohesion to describe other teams and the movement between Taylor, Duggan and Kelly allows to create that second or two of doubt and confusion in opposition defences which is producing copious positive outcomes. At the back, Conor Cleary and Rory Hayes are real defenders while John Conlon is surrounded by the hard-working middle-third troops so that he’s never isolated. The victory over Waterford in Ennis - while sparing some of the mainstay players - will have only added further belief that they might just have the squad and capability to deliver on Munster final day.
After the opening two losses, there is no way I would have foreseen Cork winning a game, never mind getting out of Munster. Credit where it’s due, they found a way - or more precisely, they found what works best for them. Early doors, Cork over elaborated on the passing game, were looking for perfection rather than playing with instinct. They looked crippled by instruction. Now after two wins against Waterford and Tipperary, there is a more discernible Kieran Kingston stamp on how Cork are playing. That two inside with a more direct approach similar to 2017 is what has changed. When your back is against the wall, it can bring the best out in people and the Cork group now look like they have found their mojo. Sean O'Donoghue is as good a man marker as is out there. Ciaran Joyce is a no-fuss type of guy for such a young man and each week we see different players stepping up in that forward unit - Lehane, Harnedy and Connolly.
For me the concern would be that Tipperary were as below par as I’ve seen and Cork now face a game where they’re 'expected' to win in the shape of Kerry or Antrim. That worries me. Are Cork now back in the race as genuine contenders for the All-Ireland series or have we just got lucky? You create your own luck sometimes but for the group, the next two weeks is an opportunity to harness that feelgood and confidence while being all too aware how tight the margins are between good momentum and bad vibes.
Where does one begin? Watching Waterford in the league and seeing how they dismantled Cork in the final, I genuinely felt they had the athleticism and hurling ability to compete with Limerick. Not alone that, but with Liam Cahill and Mickey Bevans in situ for the third year, I felt they would have learned so much about the group, from style to maximising their potential. Having seen the games against Tipperary and Cork in Walsh Park, it stood out to me that the tight confines just didn’t suit their style of play and never let them stretch their legs and escape the maelstrom and the cluster of bodies around that middle third. The defeat to Cork sucked the life out of their efforts and with so many changes going into the Clare game, it smelt of either panic or a complete lack of belief in the four players replaced. That scale of change brings a lot of unhappiness in the group and that can be tough to manage. As a manager you might even been questioning do the players continue to believe in what you're doing when the ship is taking on water. For Waterford the 2022 ship has sunk and they will have a few months ahead to either reflect indivuallly or push the blame elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Colm Bonnar and this Tipp group, losing leaders in the shape of Brendan Maher and Paudie Maher to retirement, and Seamus Callanan and John McGrath to injuries - all while trying to put his own stamp on a group in Year One - was too much of an ask. Apart from the first game against Waterford, they went out on a whimper. With the previous underage success you might be expecting an infusion of new blood and new energy but the step-up to senior is never as seamless as that. For Tipp there will be questions for the winter months about where they fell down most and what needs to change. I didn’t see anything this year that made me think it was a once-off but clarity for 2023 is required as soon as possible to ensure the plan is moving forward and not lingering on the annus horribilis of this campaign.
Basing on what we’ve seen to date, who would bet against further unpredictability, more chaos and scripts being torn to shreds. Limerick are in the box seat again but uneasy lies the head that wears the crown in Munster...
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