Tribesmen can top a shaky Tipp
THE crown of champions that is tottering on Tipperary heads will fall today. They stayed alive last weekend by beating Cork, but – and I am allowing for awful conditions – I saw nothing to believe that this is a team capable of making a successful title defence. Quite simply, too many of their leaders are out of form. Séamus Callanan has managed just 0-2 over two games, Pádraic Maher is no longer the driving force he was, while Noel McGrath is suffering a slump in form. Those are three critical players to Tipperary and I have seen nothing to suggest that when they are not at their best that others can step up. The contrast could not be greater with Galway, who have leaders springing up all around the field, and I really don’t believe that they lost anything other than a game against Kilkenny. They played well in a fullblooded contest and while Joe Canning excelled on the evening, there is no sense – unlike Tipperary’s overdependency on Callanan – that he has to play out of his skin any more for Galway to win. On top of that, there is a great balance to their team with the likes of Daithí Burke, Fintan Burke, Conor Whelan and the Mannions, Pádraic and Cathal, all natural-born leaders while Brian Concannon has been a revelation at full-forward. They look fresh, hungry and able – and what happened last weekend will not halt them in their tracks, especially when faced with a Tipperary side who look to have none of those qualities.