Munster league provides a chance for counties to unearth a few new gems
Diarmuid Sheehan takes a look ahead to the Munster Senior Hurling League which gets underway at the end of the month
HE 2018 Munster hurling League (Sponsored by CoOp Superstores) will throw in this year before 2017 has even come to an official end. The early start to this season’s competition is as a result of the Allianz National Hurling League starting in late January.
This round robin event will see the top two of four face off for the title on January 21 – an event all competing sides will look to target prior to the real league stuff staring the following weekend.
With just for teams vying for pre-season glory (Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Clare) the tournament may not be able to garner the interest of all hurling supporters in the province however that should in no way take away from what this competition strives to be, a good pre-season event that will see some of the top sides in the country put through their paces.
Cork will head to Mallow on the opening day of this season’s fare to take on a Limerick side that were runners up to the Rebels in the 2017 edition of this event. Cork triumphed in a good clash between the neighbours this time last season so Limerick will be looking to turn that result around and get back to something like the standing they had in Munster circles a few years back.
For Cork, this competition will be seen as a nice warm up for new manager John Meyler and his back-room team as they look to put their stamp on a side that impressed many this year on their way to an All-Ireland senior semi-final.
The loss of Kieran Kingston and his team was of course a big shock to most of those involved and supporting Cork hurling however there isn’t much time to dwell on the past as the Blood and Bandage head back into competitive action.
Results in this competition are far less important than the way the team perform and there is little doubt that Meyler will be looking for a bounce after his recent appointment – that said the new head tactician would probably settle for one or two major finds in this competition.
Cork like all the other sides in the Munster Hurling League will try out a host of previously untested and hopefully what will become stars of the future which will probably keep the die-hards in the stands happy but in itself that will do little to attract the others through the gates in early January.
One or two finds like Blarney’s Mark Coleman will be seen as a huge positive in this season’s league with a view to blooding any new stars throughout the league proper. Clare and Kerry are the other two sides in action this season and the pair will square up to each other in Sixmilebridge at 2pm, also on December 30.
Clare finished third of five last time out, with just Kerry and Waterford behind them, but there was little doubt in Banner circles that the project was well worth taking on. Clare need to get off to a good start this season and will target this competition to see if their preseason preparations are on track – that said, the Clare management will look to at least get into the top two with Cork’s scalp surely the main aim on the pitch this time round.
For their part, Kerry will hope to surprise one of the big boys this year and maybe sneak a win – something they failed to do in this competition last time out. Clare will be a tough test for the men in green and gold but all inside and on the peripheries of the squad should see this as a terrific opportunity to impress the management team and maybe secure their spot on the starting fifteen come league and championship time. Kerry will be up against it again this year, but some competitive displays and some upturned diamonds in the rough would suffice. There is little doubt from a Cork point of view that after a brilliant championship campaign in 2017 John Meyler will have his work cut out for him this year to deliver on what has become serious levels of expectation but if this particular project is to have any chance of reaching the heights attained in 2017 then a good Munster Hurling League showing has to be somewhere on the wish list.