Hetherton destined for bigger role after serving Dublin apprenticeship

JOHN HETHERTON used to carry hurleys for the Dublin team that created league and Leinster history under Anthony Daly … but now he wants to leave his own imprint on the field of play.

The St Vincent’s freetaker, 26, is playing for his third different Dublin manager in three seasons but already there are signs that he could have a bigger role under Mattie Kenny.

Hetherton started all four Walsh Cup outings, amassing 0-29, and the only blemish was a late red card in their semi-final defeat to Galway.

But now he has a quick-fire chance to set the record straight against the Tribesmen in Pearse Stadium on Sunday, as Kenny faces the first real litmus test of his new regime against his native county.

The towering Hetherton (above) marked his full league debut against Carlow late last month with a series of impressive catches to go along with a 0-4 haul, three from frees. He followed up with another 0-3 (2f ) off the bench against Offaly.

“Galway are a big, strong side. There’s no doubt they’ve good players. They’ve been challenging at the top for the last few years, but as a team in Dublin we’re just looking forward to a big test,” he declared.

The Mountjoy-based garda doesn’t spell it out, but it’s obvious that he’d relish a chance to replicate the stand-out success that he witnessed from a ringside seat as Dublin made Division 1 league history in 2011 and then ended their 52-year Leinster SHC famine in 2013.

His father Ciarán, who hurled for Dublin in the 1990 and ’91 Leinster finals, was a selector throughout Daly’s six-year reign. This opened the door for Hetherton Jnr to help out Dublin kitman Ray Finn. “I would have always tagged along to the matches with dad,” he explained, “and then Ray just needed a hand, a dig-out ... I did the hurls for them or the water on the line.

“Oh massive,” he added, recalling the ‘Dalo’ era. “Where they came from, originally it was Tommy Naughton who was manager, he was in charge when they got from Division 2 up to Division 1 and they built on that then with Daly, made massive strides. Winning the league in 2011 was obviously the biggest achievement in a while and following on from that then the Leinster Championship in 2013. Missing out then on an All-Ireland final in 2013 as well. I was happy to help in any way and then as time went on, I just stepped away from it when I kind of thought that I could have been in myself.”

Hetherton, you see, harboured senior ambitions of his own. A Dublin minor contemporary of Danny Sutcliffe and Eamon Dillon, he played alongside this duo as well as Chris Crummey for the county U-21s.

He earned his breakthrough under Ger Cunningham. Even as the wheels came off in 2017, Hetherton had the consolation of marking his championship baptism – off the bench against Galway in Tullamore – with a late two-point cameo.

His game-time under Pat Gilroy, a fellow St Vincent’s man, was limited by early-season injury.

“Pat got Dublin hurling back up to contending. The performances were there; maybe we didn’t get the results,” he acknowledged. “But we weren’t far off – it was only a point either way and a few decisions maybe went against us. We built on the dip from two or three years ago … and now this year again it’s just building on that.”