Liam Blanchfield of Kilkenny in action against James Barry and Padraic Maher, right, of Tipperary during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A Round 4 match between Tipperary and Kilkenny at Semple Stadium in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
By John Harrington
It was another entertaining weekend in the Allianz Hurling League. Here are five of the main talking points.
Kilkenny and Tipperary no longer the standard-setters
For much of the last ten years, clashes between Kilkenny and Tipperary have tended to let us know where the high bar is set in hurling.
Kilkenny have traditionally had the better of it, but Tipperary have usually been competitive enough to force the Cats to be at their best and, on occasion, have come out on top themselves.
Since 2009 the two counties have served up some seriously high-octane League and Championship clashes, but yesterday’s contest felt different.
The hurling wasn’t of a very high standard, with both teams guilty of some heavy touches, poor decision-making, and inaccurate shooting.
Kilkenny will have enjoyed winning the match in the manner they did with a last-gasp free from Eoin Murphy, but coming away from the game it was hard to convince yourself that either of these two teams has the quality to win an All-Ireland title this year.
The return of quality players like TJ Reid, Cillian Buckley, and Colin Fennelly will improve Kilkenny, but they simply don’t have the cutting edge in attack or overall depth of talent they once did.
As for Tipperary, they have even more doubts about their pedigree to disprove in the coming weeks.
Confidence surely has to be an issue first and foremost now for a team that has won just one of its last nine competitive matches in League and championship.
They have plenty of good hurlers, but there’s a disjointed look about the team at the moment and a lack of the sort of pace that manager Liam Sheedy harnessed so well during his first spell in charge.
Midfield is probably the biggest problem position, but every other line of the field is just as unsettled right now as Sheedy auditions players while trying to find the right mix.
The return to full fitness of men like Brendan Maher, Cathal Barrett, Dan McCormack and John McGrath will improve Tipp and the introduction of hungry newcomers like Ger Browne and Mark Kehoe might provide a badly needed spark.
But, on the evidence of Sunday’s defeat to Kilkenny, Liam Sheedy has a big job on his hands to get the Premier County seriously challenging for silverware in 2019.
Danny Sutcliffe of Dublin in action against Austin Gleeson of Waterford during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1B Round 4 match between Dublin and Waterford at Parnell Park in Donnycarney, Dublin.
The Mattie Kenny era is up and running
Mattie Kenny surely demanded a response from his Dublin players after their limp defeat to Galway, and he got it yesterday against Waterford.
You’re doing well to win a game despite conceding four goals, and Dublin showed a lot of moral fortitude to absorb those blows and still find a way to win the match.
Danny Sutcliffe produced his best performance since his return from temporary inter-county exile by scoring four points from play, assisting 1-2 and winning two frees that were pointed
The fact that he was up against Austin Gleeson only makes those statistics all the more impressive.
Sutcliffe was ably assisted in a very lively Dublin attack by Eamon Dillon, Liam Rushe, Oisin O’Rorke, John Hetherton, and Caoalan Conway.
If they can continue honing that offensive threat, then Dublin might well take a big scalp or two before the year is out.
"A lot of the performances to date have been driven by our back six or our back eight. Today's victory was driven by our front eight,” said manager Mattie Kenny after the game.
"That was a really good Waterford team. They move the ball so well and are so comfortable on the ball. Our lads had to work hard to keep closing them down. Games like that can only bring you on."
Cork defender Sean O'Donoghue celebrates after victory over Limerick in the Allianz Hurling League.
Cork halt Limerick’s gallop
The manner in which Cork halted Limerick’s unbeaten start to the year will give other counties food for thought.
The Rebels went with a man-marking rather than zonal approach to defending and so Limerick danger-men like Seamus Flanagan, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey, and Gearoid Hegarty found themselves shadowed wherever they went by Eoin Cadogan, Bill Cooper, Robert Downey, and Christopher Joyce respectively.
This meant Limerick didn’t get their short-passing, hard-running game moving as effectively as had against Kilkenny the previous weekend because the battle for primary possession was so intense and space was at a premium.
Instead of being able to drop deep into pockets of space to pick up possession relatively easily to get their team on the front foot, Limerick’s half-forwards were dogged all over the field.
A defeat might do Limerick no harm in the medium to long run because it’ll take some steam out of the hype machine.
But the nature of this loss shows that opposition teams are now studying them more closely and coming up with strategies to put a spoke in a style of play that won them the All-Ireland title so impressively last year.
Kerry and UCC hurler, Shane Conway, pictured in 2018 after winning Bord Gáis Energy U-21 ‘B’ Championship Player of the Year at City Hall in Dublin for the second consecutive season.
Conway gives Kerry hurling a boost
Shane Conway gave Kerry hurling a nice shot in the arm by playing a key role in UCC’s Fitzgibbon Cup Final victory over Mary Immaculate College on Saturday.
The Lixnaw man scored 0-6 (5 frees) in the Final to bring his total score for the whole competition to a whopping 38 points (27 frees).
One of the most talented young hurlers in the country, he’ll be a serious asset now for the Kerry hurlers for their upcoming Division 2A League Final and Christy Ring Cup campaign.
“It just feels brilliant,” Conway told the Irish Examiner after the Fitzgibbon Cup Final.
“It means a lot. For all the people here today from home, they got a bus up. All my family are here, so it is something special.
“Not too many have a Fitzgibbon around Kerry, not too many have them around the country either — it is a very hard medal to get. So, it is just great to have one.
“There is a lot of work being done down in Kerry.
"There were other players here before me only that they never won a Fitz final. They were on the panels.
"It is great to finally have someone playing. It represents Kerry and it shows we are not just a mediocre team.
"We are pushing slowly but surely and thriving as well.”
Westmeath maintain perfect start
Joe Quaid’s reign as Westmeath hurling team manager is off to a seriously impressive start.
Building on their Kehoe Cup success, they have now won four matches from four in Division 2A of the Allianz Hurling League.
That means they’re guaranteed to contest the Division 2A Final against Kerry regardless of how the final round of matches go this weekend.
This year’s Division 2A title is an especially significant one as the winner will be promoted to Group A of the newly restructured Allianz Hurling League Division 1 in 2020.
