Super Model looking lean & mean so far..
LIMERICK may have a 100 per cent record and Clare are also unbeaten, but Wexford have been the team of the League for me so far.
In fairness, there’s no great surprise that Limerick and Clare are flying high given that they’ve both been competing at the back end of the Championship in recent years.
Wexford, however, were on the brink of the Joe Mcdonagh Cup last May.
Add in the fact that they have a spate of injuries and that Keith Rossiter is a rookie manager and their form is all the more impressive.
For much of the first half last Sunday Waterford were the better team but I still felt that Wexford were playing quite well; it just wasn’t showing on the scoreboard.
They have a very highly regarded coach in David Franks, who has been involved with
Ballygunner in recent years as they’ve swept up all the major honours.
It will always take some time to bed in how you want a group to play and Franks will be afforded leeway in that respect, maybe up to a year, once people can see some improvement.
Leaving aside coaching and a team’s style of play, work ethic is always a strong indicator for me of where a team is at – and Wexford are emptying the tank in that respect.
I wouldn’t say that they weren’t trying last year but they’ve certainly brought it to a different level now.
Sometimes a lengthy injury list can ultimately turn out to be a positive, provided it’s at the right time of the year.
You don’t want it in the thick of the Championship, but if it comes early in the League, you end up having to play lads that ordinarily may not have been given a chance. Before you know it, you’ve uncovered a hidden gem.
Wexford looked like a team that needed that injection of youth as they slipped from the dizzying heights of 2019 – when they won Leinster and should have reached the All-ireland final – to almost dropping out of the Leinster Championship last year.
Will they surpass Kilkenny and Galway this year?
I don’t think so, but they are now currently a firm third in Leinster having moved past Dublin, who beat them in last year’s Championship.
They could well take a big scalp again in the Championship but it’s more important that they develop some consistency as two bad performances either side of a good one ultimately won’t take you anywhere.
Granted, it could be argued that some teams are only operating at half-pace at the moment, but who’s to say Wexford aren’t either, especially with the players they still have to come back?
This is a longerterm project for Rossiter that will take a few years and there will be difficult days before this year is out.
But if he brings a consistent level of performance to Wexford this year then it will have been a success and a very solid foundation on which to build.
It looks like he’s already gone some way towards doing that.