Its
eleven weeks since Waterford’s last competitive Senior Hurling game.
In
that time a lot has happened.
More
than one Trump lives in the White House. A general election has taken place in
the UK, with the Conservatives losing their majority in the House of Commons,
and are likely to be propped up forming a minority government, thanks to
Northern Ireland’s DUP party and Ireland has a new Taoiseach.
In
the world of hurling, the Munster and Leinster Champions from 2016, the two
sides that contested the All-Ireland Final last September have lost their
provincial crowns and Galway, often a side that are very good or nor so good
have won the National League title, becoming the third side from Division 1B in
three years to do so, and the first not to compete in the top flight the
following year.
In
those long eleven weeks, the players in Derek McGrath’s panel returned to their
clubs to play in two rounds of the senior hurling championship and some would
have also played at least one round of football with their club before
returning to the Inter County set up, playing a number of challenge games, some
open to the public to attend, others played behind closed doors.
It
is interesting to read that some bookies after Tipperary and Kilkenny recently
lost their provincial crowns have made Waterford favourites to win only a third
ever All-Ireland Senior Hurling Title.
While
some money might have exchanged hands in the hope that what the bookies might
be saying, it should be remembered that it is still only June and no major
Silverware is handed out in June. There is still a long way to go before we are
left with two sides to battle it out for the Liam McCarthy Cup in early
September.
I
for one have not checked the odds for Sunday’s games but I am sure that the
Bookies are making Waterford favourites. While many might not agree with me, I
often prefer to see Waterford the underdog in a two dog race, as often
Waterford play their best hurling when they are the underdog.
It
would be hard to argue why Cork should not be the favourites. In their last
game they beat the reigning Munster Champions and the All-Ireland Champions, and
as a result will go into this game very much on a high and to show those that
have wrote of Cork Hurling in the last couple of years that not all is as bad
on Lee-side as many are suggesting and that they don’t depend on what is often
called their dream team (the current Cork Under 17 team) to show that hurling
is alive and well in Cork.
Kieran
Kingston and his management team have a nice blend of youth and experience,
with some of their most experienced players still young. It is also worth
remembering that it is just four years since Cork were seconds away from
winning an All-Ireland Final, and if they had beaten Clare in 2013, there is
the possibility that they could have added another one or two titles to that
one since.
Anthony
Nash is as good as a goalkeeper as in the game right now. He showed his value
to any team in his sides win over Tipperary where he made some top class saves
to keep the Tipperary attack very much at bay.
Out
along the different lines of the field in the likes of Luke Meade, Mark
Coleman, Shane Kingston, Mark Ellis, Conor Lehane, Patrick Horgan, Seamus
Harnedy, Colm Spillane, Bill Cooper, Christopher Joyce, Lorcan McLoughlin and
Michael Cahelane etc Cork have players that will revel playing on the big
occasion, and who will punish any side that make mistakes.
And
what of Waterford.
Nobody
will need telling that there is plenty of ability in Waterford and are more
than capable of winning an All-Ireland or All-Ireland’s in the coming years.
To
some however, there is an issue with the tactics or as some prefer to call it
the system used by Waterford in games.
Crowding
out your own half of the field might well limit the amount of chances to score
over the course of seventy minutes, but when you do this, you have often to rob
Peter to pay Paul, meaning in this instance that you have less forward in the
other side of the field and when that happens and the opposition have spare men
in their own half of the field, and not necessarily because they use a similar
system to Waterford, it means that the spare player or players are sending the
ball back into the Waterford defence with interest.
News
coming from the Waterford camp is that Derek McGrath will have a full strength
panel to pick from, which could result in Waterford fielding along expected
lines.
The
number one shirt is a straight battle between Stephen O’Keeffe and Ian O’Regan
with the Ballygunner club man expected to take it.
In
front of him will be Shane Fives, Barry Coughlan and Noel Connors, but there
could be positional changes from the way the three are named here.
The
half back line is expected to start with Tadhg De Búrca in the middle of Conor
Gleeson and Philip Mahony with Jamie Barron and Kevin Moran in the middle of
the field.
The
starting half forward line is expected to be made up of Michael Walsh, Pauric
Mahony and Austin Gleeson with the Mount Sion man expected to drop back into
his own half of the field as an extra defender, while the inside forward line
for Waterford is expected to be made up of the Bennett Brothers and Jake
Dillon.
The
favourite’s tag is one that seldom sits well on the shoulders of any Waterford
side and it will be interesting to see how it will work out here.
But
this is an experienced Waterford side, one in which many members of the panel
have Munster Final medals at senior and underage levels, one that has league
medals, one that has All-Ireland underage medals, one that has All-Ireland
Colleges medals.
Over
the past few years Waterford has have some moral wins when it comes to the big
day. But the time for such victories should be over, and now is the time for
actual big wins, starting this weekend. There is some that would suggest that
the way to go to winning an All-Ireland Final which is what all in Waterford
would love to see happen is to go the scenic route, but with the likes of
Limerick, Dublin, Kilkenny and Tipperary on such a route already, the best way
for Waterford to go is take the shortest possible route, as the last thing
anyone wants is a possible banana skin game before the side gets a chance to
play in Croke Park in August and September.
Waterford
has the players to win on Sunday. Will they win? I hope they do.
