Tipp’s greater need not enough to derail Kilkenny’s treble bid

GO BACK to just over a month ago and the knives were out in Tipperary. And justifiably so. Eamon O’Shea’s players were one puck away from being relegated, and yet here they are in a League final today. There’s something not right with a format that can swing wildly from top to bottom on the basis of a single shot. What other league in the world operates in the same way?

If Niall McMorrow had dropped the ball over the bar rather than into the square for Dublin in that last round, Tipp could be facing a crisis of confidence rather than a league final against Kilkenny.

In fairness to O’Shea, he never lost faith and rode out the storm. And home advantage means that his side have a very good chance of beating their great rivals in a national final after losing so many in recent years.

I still think that the top tier of the League is two teams short. Limerick and Cork should be part of an expanded eightteam top flight and on that basis, Limerick would probably still have a joint manager. Losing Donal O’Grady has been a bad joke.

When I came out of Ennis back in February I thought I might be looking at a repeat of ClareKilkenny in the League final. We get that, alright, but in the shape of the camogie curtain-raiser at Thurles.

Judging by the semifinals, three teams turned up to win; one team turned up for the occasion. Clare didn’t look worried about getting through to the final. Was Davy Fitzgerald worried about showing his hand to Brian Cody? Or does he want a stick to beat the players with in getting their focus back on the Munster Championship?

Only the Clare manager knows. But he left his hands in his pockets for a long time on the line at the Gaelic Grounds against Tipperary. Bar the odd outburst, he certainly wasn’t his usual fired-up self and the players mirrored his attitude.

I don’t mean to take away from Tipperary’s win because they had plenty of positives and got a bit more shape back in to their team. Padraic Maher (above) is more comfortable at full-back than Conor O’Mahony. I don’t think he was playing well in the half-line, either, where he can be too easily turned at times.

A number three needs to carry a bit of a fear factor and Conor O’Mahony is simply too nice for the position. Maher is a bit more ruthless. Kilkenny, too, have been auditioning for the same jersey all spring and JJ Delaney still looks like the best one for the role to me. It has been a different National League this term. Every manager has used the competition to find players - unlike last year, when everyone was worried about playing their starting 15.

The mindset changed – maybe because of Kilkenny winning last year and finding out nothing new about themselves. And look what happened in the summer. Maybe Martin Fogarty and Michael Dempsey wanted to impress in Cody’s absence by winning a few games but Kilkenny have taken a completely different approach this year and it has worked. Even after beating Galway in the semifinal, the Cats have plenty of room for improvement from midfield up.

Michael Fennelly needed game time badly after his break and Richie Hogan was taken off. Up front, Walter Walsh ended up being substituted, Mark Kelly had his poorest game of the campaign, Colin Fennelly was average by his standards and John Power also had room for improvement. TJ Reid showed good flashes but it was the maestro Henry Shefflin who kept the ship afloat. Some of his skills - his touches - were unbelievable. That moment when he controlled the ball with one hand and laid it off in the one movement was worth the admission fee alone.

I saw him in club matches in Kilkenny last year and I thought he was finishing up. The miles the man has on the clock, the injuries he has endured – to come back and have the hunger and lead the ranks in such a way is testament to his remarkable talent. This Tipp team are mentally susceptible – just witness the huge turnaround in the encounter in the group stage. And they need to win this more than Kilkenny after losing so many League and All-Ireland finals.

Home advantage has to be worth a few points. Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher showed his worth to the team back in the half-forward line and Lar Corbett still has the ability to make an impact this season, if he is fully focused on hurling.

Have Tipperary the strength of character to win? I’m not sure. Losing after leading Kilkenny by 10 points in the League will surely still be in the back of the players’ minds.

Going on their higher standard of play over the course of the League, I give Kilkenny the nod, especially as they are chasing a three-in-a-row which would be another first under Brian Cody.