THE SCENE IS set ahead of the 2017 Allianz Hurling League start.
Clare begin the campaign as reigning champions, as a number of interesting sub-plots look set to unfold over the coming months.
The cream of the inter-county crop will strut their stuff across the top divisions and while team goals will have been well set out and established, some leading stars will carry their own individual motivations into the new season.
Here, we’ve picked out 9 players who have personal reasons to ensure that the spring campaign is a positive one…
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1. Podge Collins (Clare)
Collins is committing solely to the Clare senior hurlers for inter-county purposes in 2017.
It’s a big call for the Cratloe man, whose father Colm manages the county’s senior footballers.
Clare’s footballers made significant progress last year, gaining promotion to Division 2 and progressing to an All-Ireland quarter-final.
But after attempting to juggle both codes in 2016, Collins will focus his attentions on the small ball, as joint-managers Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor prepare for their first season at the helm. Collins won two All-Ireland U21 medals when Moloney and O’Connor were in charge.
2. Jack Guiney (Wexford)
The return of former U21 star Jack Guiney is a major boost to Davy Fitzgerald as he looks ahead to the Allianz League start.
Already, the early signs are encouraging for Wexford, who drew big crowds during their Walsh Cup campaign.
Guiney was ‘cup-tied’ for the competition as he’s a DIT student and the Rathnure clubman has been catching the eye at centre-back for the students in the Fitzgibbon Cup.
It’s expected, however, that Guiney will be utilised in an attacking role when Wexford begin their quest to gain promotion from Division 1B – starting with a tasty weekend clash with Limerick.
3. Steven O’Brien (Tipperary)
This is a big season for Steven O’Brien, who will be looking to make his mark with the Tipperary senior hurlers.
A former dual All-Ireland medallist who’s also represented the U21s in both codes, O’Brien made a big call last year when he departed the senior football set-up in favour of the hurlers.
The Ballina man finished the year as an All-Ireland medallist but didn’t feature in the championship and played just a handful of League minutes, at the end of the Premier County’s defeat to Clare at the quarter-final stage.
It’s the second of a two-year hurling plan for O’Brien, who should get the chance to impress with Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher absent due to Army commitments abroad.
4. Patrick Horgan (Cork)
Horgan remains one of Cork’s leading players but by his own sky-high standards, he endured a disappointing 2016 campaign.
The free-scoring forward was a real leader, however, as his club Glen Rovers retained their county senior hurling title, before defeating Patrickswell in the AIB Munster club semi-final.
Cork have already claimed early-season silverware in the Co-Op Superstores.ie Munster senior hurling league, with Horgan and sidekick Alan Cadogan both impressing.
Having avoided relegation to Division 1B last year, Cork will target a major improvement in the top flight and Horgan’s form will prove central to their cause.
5. Seanie Tobin (Limerick)
Last March, 2013 Munster senior hurling medallist Seanie Tobin confirmed that he was leaving the Limerick panel.
The Murroe-Boher clubman cited a lack of game time in the spring but at the end of the year, he accepted an invitation from new manager John Kiely to return.
Tobin’s already made his mark in 2017, marking his return to the team with a three-point haul against Waterford in the Co-Op Superstores.ie Munster senior hurling league.
He also started against Clare and came on as a late sub in the final defeat to Cork, as Kiely rotated his squad.
6. Mark Bergin (Kilkenny)
Mark Bergin has been nominated by county champions O’Loughlin Gaels to captain the Kilkenny senior hurlers in 2017.
Bergin, 27, won Allianz League and All-Ireland medals in 2012, his sole inter-county senior campaign before he was recalled to the set-up last May.
The former minor skipper made his senior championship debut in the All-Ireland semi-final replay victory over Waterford in August but after being replaced late on, he was an unused substitute for the final defeat to Tipperary.
Bergin’s good form at club level was key as O’Loughlin Gaels marched to glory in Kilkenny and he’ll be keen to make his mark with the Cats after being handed the captaincy.
7. Stephen Bennett (Waterford)
The Bord Gáis Energy U21 hurler of 2016, Stephen Bennett is now targeting big things in the senior ranks.
He made his senior championship debut in 2014 and while much of Bennett’s 2016 season was wiped out due to hip problems, he did hit top form towards the end of a memorable U21 campaign.
His senior career is one that’s yet to really take off but there’s no doubting his ability and the Ballysaggart player, brother of fellow All-Ireland U21 medallist Shane, has been superb for University of Limerick in the Fitzgibbon Cup so far this year.
Hopefully Bennett’s injury problems are now well and truly behind him and if he remains fully fit, he’s a super attacking option for Waterford boss Derek McGrath.
8. Joe Canning (Galway)
If Galway don’t claim an All-Ireland senior hurling title in the next few years, Joe Canning will be remembered as one of the finest players to grace the game without claiming a coveted Celtic cross.
His 2016 All-Ireland semi-final ended in the first half, when Canning was on the end of a ferocious challenge from Tipperary’s Pádraic Maher before limping off with a serious hamstring injury.
The Portumna man later revealed how close he came to suffering a career-ending problem but he’s worked hard on his recovery since then and should return during Galway’s Allianz League campaign.
Galway are viewed once again as a leading contender for All-Ireland glory but they’ll need a fully-fit and firing Canning available if that long famine dating back to 1988 is to come to an end.
9. Canice Maher (Dublin)
Canice Maher, a 2008 minor victor with Kilkenny, has been given the chance to impress for Dublin by manager Ger Cunningham.
Maher was also Kilkenny’s minor captain in 2009 when the Noresiders won the Leinster title but lost to Galway in the All-Ireland decider.
A former player with the St Martins club in his home county, Maher transferred to St Judes in the capital last year.
And as Dublin prepare for another campaign in Division 1A with a much-changed panel, Maher will have the chance to stake a claim for a regular place in attack.
– First published 06.30, 8 Februrary
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