Hurling is an option for Comer
GALWAY ace Damian Comer has revealed that he would have taken up an invite to join the county hurlers, but for the footballers’ promotion to the Allianz League’s top tier.
Despite only playing hurling at intermediate level with his club Annaghdown, Comer revealed yesterday that he had met with Galway’s All-Ireland hurling winning boss Micheal Donoghue and had considered switching codes.
‘I would have thought about it this year if we hadn’t got Division 1 status in football, but playing Division 1 it’s going to be a hectic schedule,’ admitted Comer, speaking at yesterday’s launch of the Allianz League in Croke Park.
The 24-year-old spoke with O’Donoghue on a number of occasions about the possibility of joining up with the champions and intriguingly refused to rule out the possibility of playing for the hurlers in the future.
‘Yeah, I’ve talked to him a bit,’ he confessed.
‘It’s just that I’d have a lot of work to do, to be honest. Hurling wouldn’t come as naturally to me as other lads who have been playing it all their life. I played underage and that but it would have been a bit different, I’d have had to be in the handball alley a lot more, working on skill.
‘Look, it’s something that’s possibly there in future years. If the opportunity arose again then who knows, I might try it.’
In the meantime, Comer and his football team-mates will seek to take inspiration from the hurlers All-Ireland success having failed at the All-Ireland quarter-final round for the past two seasons.
‘I was up here for the All-Ireland and it would definitely make you jealous in a way, the success they’ve had. There’s not much to it, you literally put the head down [and work hard].
‘When they won you’d be buzzing to get back training and to start the new season ahead. We’re all here for the one thing, we all want the prize at the end of August,’ added the Galway star.
Meanwhile, Comer has pleaded with the Connacht Council to see ‘sense’ by upgrading this weekend’s final round FBD league clash against Roscommon to a final.
Both counties have already qualified for the decider of the preseason competition and this Sunday’s game is a dead rubber as a result, but council chiefs have rejected pleas from both sides to play this game as the final, insisting that it will go ahead as scheduled on February 18.
However, that is one of only two free weekends in this year’s Allianz League programme and if the final goes ahead on that date, it will mean that both teams will have played 10 out of 11 weekends by the time the League concludes, raising concerns about player welfare.
Last weekend, the Munster Council acceded to a request to play its pre-season league final a week earlier than scheduled when finalists Limerick and Clare, having both qualified for the final, clashed in the final round.
‘We’re hoping common sense might prevail, and they’ll double up the game, play it as a final,’ said Comer.
‘The only positive thing is you’d play strong teams in those first three League games, and maybe lads looking to get into the team might get to show themselves in the FBD final.
‘But I think it makes sense to play it off now, have it done in January. I heard they were looking at that, but not now. The final will be played again but it’s pointless really,’ he added.
The council are opposed to doubling up the final on the basis that it would compromise the integrity of the competition.