ON SECOND THOUGHTS
Are the players returning to Mickey Harte’s Tyrone improving the side or is it a sign of his diminishing options?
LONG before Croke Park became aware of its carbon footprint, Mickey Harte had developed a healthy appetite for recycling forwards. There are few better oiled dressing -room doors as those in Tyrone’s centre of excellence at Garvaghy, where there seems to be a tendency, particularly when it comes to attacking talent, of players exiting one door and returning through another.
Tyrone travel to Tuam today hoping to build on a bright start to the spring where two wins out of three isn’t bad.
The headline take-away from that bright start has been the form of Darren McCurry, a player who just two years ago was so disillusioned with his lack of minutes that he left mid-League.
He sought to hide that disillusionment by claiming his decision had been forced on him by work commitments, but he had started in just one game in the 2018 League against Galway and was offered just a few cameos off the bench.
It felt like the end of the road. After all, his probation period had long expired, having made his debut in 2012, and he was the team’s top scorer with 2-84 racked up in 30 Championship appearances at that point.
Against that backdrop, it felt like he was heading down a road with no return but, within a year, he was back.
It’s a route well-travelled by some of his team-mates.
Ronan O’Neill quit the panel, having failed to feature in any game, at the end of last year’s
Allianz League but he is back in harness this season.
Meanwhile, the diminutive Mark Bradley, who cited study commitments when opting out last year, has also returned to the fold.
Kyle Coney’s return is perhaps the most dramatic, dropped by Harte in 2015, he came in from the cold last year.
With that flow of return traffic, Tyrone have developed a Hotel
California vibe – you can check out but never leave.
Which is why no one should be really surprised if Lee Brennan who quit the group early in the Championship last summer after becoming disillusioned with his lack of opportunities, or Conor McAliskey, who opted out for the year during the close season, should come knocking again in the very near future.
There are two ways of looking at the transient nature theses attacking options for Harte (right).
The first is that he has a reservoir of experienced talent at his finger-tips, the other is that he could be found guilty of over-fishing a river with scant resources.
After all, McCurry is, perhaps, the exception with his return adding significantly to Tyrone’s attacking menace. In the last month he has taken his game to a new level, scoring 1-14 in the opening three games.
His kicking performance on his home pitch in Edendork, capped by a late mark and an exquisitely-executed sideline kick, against Kerry was little short of sublime.
But perhaps that is not by accident. There has been subtle changes, in body and technical development, which have been particularly noticeable since his return.
He has always had pace, but his ability to win ball has greatly improved after developing his upper-body bulk.
And, while he still favours his left, his use of his right foot has become more frequent and effective.
Those changes are important because there is little benefit, for either the player or the team, if those who return have not learned from a dissatisfying first stint.
Coney’s case is slightly different in that it has been more of a case of the team changing tactically to suit his skill-set.
Despite having team-mates such as Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly,
Coney was the star turn when Tyrone won the 2008 All-Ireland MFC, his career was derailed by injury and Harte opting for a running, possession-based game plan for much of the noughties.
That has changed in the past two seasons, particularly because of the offensive roles played by Cathal McShane and Donnelly, which saw Tyrone use their boot more often, but Coney was still lost to the fringes.
Coney’s strength is as a kicker, but in the modern game, pace – a quality he is not blessed with – still trumps technical ability.
O’Neill’s career path has followed a similar path to Coney’s, gifted at under age level, always good to provide flashes of technical genius, he is liable to get lost in the rough and tumble of high-intensity games. Bradley’s return provides Harte with a game-changing option, particularly in light of Cathal McShane’s decision to resist a move to the AFL. In many ways, Bradley was the first to prompt Harte into a relaxing of Tyrone’s running game, as his movement allowed for a more direct approach but he is not a natural inside finisher.
However, he can be an asset in ensuring Tyrone have a different type of target this summer and, in the process, allowing them to mix it and get the best out of McShane.
But the prevailing sense is that Tyrone’s inclination to go back to those they have already tried, although not necessarily trusted, is down to shrinking options rather than healthy choice.
True, it is better than single use but it is a long way from sustainable delivery.
‘HARTE MAY BE FISHING IN A RIVER WITH SCANT RESOURCES’