Maybe I am a ‘dinosaur’ but modern game lacks bite of old
WATCHING Limerick versus Tipperary last weekend in the opening round of the National League, something struck me. Although players nowadays are extremely fit, mobile and skilful, that bit of bite was missing from the game. There was little to get the blood pumping.
If I was a Tipp player heading into that game after the manner in which Limerick had beaten them in the Munster Championship, I’d like to think I would have been fired up. But that bit of aggression – legitimate aggression, not dirty play – is missing from the game now.
There’s a paralysis to the play which is often based out of fear of the opposition. It finished 0-20 apiece with neither side really threatening the goal. The whole thing just left me a bit cold.
When the likes of myself get talking and criticising elements of the modern game, this ‘dinosaur’ claim tends to be thrown about.
Now I’m around inter-county hurling a long, long time. Since 1986. The game overall now compared to then? There’s no comparison. A lot of it for the good. The fitness levels are remarkable. It also struck me that the players deserve so much credit for keeping up their side of the bargain.
Let’s be clear, this is certainly not an attack on them.
That on-the-edge rivalry was so central to the game when I was growing up. Birr was the big town in our area. I think of Daithí Regan, Johnny Pilkington, Brian Whelahan and the arguments and the battles we had – some of our under-14 matches would have been X-rated. There was murder on the sideline one day – and it was only a tournament final. You had the Troys and Joachim Kelly with Lusmagh, just a mile or two out the road from our club St Rynagh’s, but the rivalry was intense. For a while the antagonism did spill over and I’m not saying it was all good but that heat translated on to the field.
I thought about all of that last weekend watching the Tipperary inside forward line retreat to concede the short puck-out, the lack of engagement until the ball reached a certain area. There is a flurry of short passing before the ball is finally delivered. It was all about tactical set-ups and game plans – which is intriguing in its own way but lacked so much bite.
So we ended up with 20 points each and no serious shot on goal.
Limerick looked a different team when Cian Lynch and Gearóid Hegarty entered the fray in the second half for the League and AllIreland champions.
When a team sets a high bar, there’s a tradition in the GAA of other teams trying to copy the style – when most don’t have the skillset. To me, hurling is still a spontaneous game.
Any forward wants a one-on-one ball. A quick delivery rather than one that comes after several runs have been made. The faster you can work the ball in to the forward line – preferably on the diagonal – the better.
That fear seems to have crept into teams with players out the field taking an extra pass. When I was critical of the sweeper system with Davy Fitzgerald’s Wexford and Derek McGrath’s Waterford, it was because when they both played a sweeper in that 2017 All-Ireland quarter-final, the game was such a bore.
Limerick’s half-forward line is key in how they keep their shape –
Hegarty and Tom Morrissey tend to get in more shots and assists than anyone while working between the two 45s. Contrast that with the last ball out of defence that Tipperary hit – when it was cleared down the field, there were four or five Limerick defenders on their own.
To retain the integrity and enjoyment of the game, at least two players need to be around the square.
Paul Kinnerk’s hurling brain is astonishing. He’s devised a game plan and the rest are chasing their tail. But other teams haven’t the courage to go man-to-man with the likes of Hegarty or Morrissey and tackle high up the field.
I remember marking Johnny Dooley in Clareen once, he scored three or four points from play off me at midfield – I couldn’t keep tabs on him. I was embarrassed.
Back then, it was about personal responsibility. It’s an old-fashioned approach – but one where players couldn’t hide behind the collective.
Trends can develop in hurling and football and people follow them. Even if they don’t necessarily suit the strengths of their own team.
Limerick meet Galway this afternoon at Salthill. I watched a fair bit of Galway’s tie with Westmeath. Shane O’Neill has a lot of relatively new blood in the team, which was needed because they appeared to have gone stale.
Go back to Galway’s All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick. For all the misgivings about their play, they went into injury-time level. Pádraig Mannion was off injured and Joe Canning got a knock. And yet they weren’t far away.
They are the best equipped team to take on Limerick this year. They have the physique as well as a huge presence at the back in Daithí Burke. Cathal Mannion is playing phenomenal hurling and I was hugely impressed with Brian Concannon in the Championship. Conor Whelan is a fabulous player and Conor Cooney has the ability to come back into form.
Indeed, there’s a lot of positives for the Tribesmen and this is the game to show a bit of intensity by putting some doubt into Limerick’s minds.
Tipperary looked like they were cruising heading into the final quarter – that’s why Limerick brought on the likes of Hegarty. They didn’t want to give up that unbeaten streak.
Galway should go flat out to win. Shane O’Neill is in his second year and after putting his own stamp on the team, it’s a chance now to put down a marker.