LOVE ON TH E
Deise ace Bennett admits his heart wasn’t in it under old format but split season has rekindled his passion
STEPHEN BENNETT “hated” the old GAA calendar and he wishes the split season had come in a decade ago.
Last year Bennett had the guts of six months off from inter-county hurling after Waterford’s early Championship exit.
Waterford finished up on May 22, bowing out of the Championship just weeks after landing the League title.
Bennett went to Dubai, Croatia and took in an Everton game, as well as playing a 12 week club championship in Waterford and Munster.
In other seasons he was straight out of a club campaign, had a fortnight or a month off and was then into pre-season again. The grind of it all meant he was considering traveling, but kept putting it off.
Now, he says, he is quite content in life and may not bother heading off traveling around the world.
“I thought the split season was brilliant,” he said. “It was the first time really we got to actually train for a full period with clubs. And we got holidays. We got everything – had a grand year!
“I absolutely love it. I know you can say it’s condensed and if you get injured you’ll be missing it but you want to be playing matches. I love that.” Bennett (below) has put thoughts of taking a year out to travel out of his mind.
“Four years ago I was saying I was dropping off it [the Waterford panel] and going travelling,” he admitted. Then it was three years ago, two years ago, last year. I keep pushing it out a year. I mightn’t even bother. I’m happy enough in general life at the moment so we won’t question it too much.”
Bennett says he hasn’t tried to figure out what went wrong for Waterford last year after their League title win. They never got going again in
Munster and bowed out of the round robin.
“I’m just looking forward to this year,” he said. “You can look at it different ways. You look at teams like Limerick and they didn’t win loads of games in the League and they timed it perfect and were brilliant in the championship.
“Then you look at Kerry. They won the League and the Championship so I don’t know.
“We were really good for the League but couldn’t maintain it. We were OK against Tipp – got over the line. I don’t think we were actually that good.
“We lost to Limerick by three points but it was probably a six or
seven point game. I don’t think we were good enough that night either.
“We didn’t turn up against Cork and Clare – I don’t know, I really don’t know.
“I suppose it’s hard to just stay up at that level for so long. I don’t think you can do it for four months you know?
“I just want to make the team this year a try and beat Dublin in the league and start again.”
Bennett says he never felt the season unraveling.
“No god no,” he remarked. “The morning of the Cork game I was convinced we were going to go win the game. Not cocky or anything that’s the way everyone is. If you don’t think about winning you are not going to.
“So I was convinced we were going to get over Cork and we’d be playing Clare for a Munster semi-final basically. Then Cork were brilliant and we were bad.
“Seamus Harnedy and a few lads were good and we didn’t deserve to win.
And then Clare we weren’t mathematically
(knocked out) but in our own heads we probably were and we lost a few lads.
“Conor Prunty (above) was out. Tadhg (de Burca) and Jamie Barron were off after six minute. We won a League final which is only the fourth time Waterford ever won one. Overall I don’t think it was bad.
“You can’t go from being you are either told you are one of the best teams in the country and then you lose a match and you are down to one of the worst in the country.
“I think Munster is crazy. Win one game and you are qualified as opposed to lose that game and your year is over. “Whoever doesn’t get out of Munster it is a disaster of a year. But if you get out of it, it can open up for you.
“You get up to Croke Park and things can kick on from there.”