AIDAN WALSH and Podge Collins are just two high profile players who represented their county in both hurling and football this year, but they won’t be doing the same in 2015.
Neither player hit the heights they were capable of in the season gone by as they struggled to balance a place on the panels of both codes. A year ago it was Lee Chin, a supreme athlete, who decided that it’s simply not possible to be a dual player at the highest level.
Speaking about his decision back in August, Chin wasn’t optimistic for the future of the dual player at inter-county level.
“For me, I find it very hard to see dual players in the future,” he said.
“The physical demand, the whole demand that’s out there for dual players is just too much at the moment I think.
“The games are moving on so much every year and that physical demand is too much to ask.”
Both Podge and Sean Collins indicated their willingness to represent Clare’s footballers and hurlers next year but it was the small ball manager, Davy Fitzgerald, who handed the Cratloe brothers an ultimatum. They chose to stay loyal to the footballers, who are managed by their father Colm.
“The hurling management decided that they weren’t going to have any dual players,” Colm Collins said after their decision.
“The players decided they were going to play football and that’s where it is. We’re not happy about it, we were happy to accommodate them in any possible way.
“I’ve nothing to do with this, absolutely nothing. I was strongly of the view that things could stay going as they were. I suppose it’s good news for us, but it’s not really news that we wanted. Both of them are mad sportsmen and they’d love to play both. As a father, I’d love to see them play both but it’s not to be.”
Fitzgerald made it clear that he wasn’t prepared to accommodate the dual players anymore when Clare were knocked out of the hurling championship.
“There are a few lads that think they can play both codes -you can’t do it,” he said.
“I knew something was going to happen today before the game even happened, and if you know that going into a game, sure you’re wasting your time. What are you doing?”
Walsh’s decision to focus on one code is purely because he doesn’t feel he can fulfill his potential while trying to combine both.
“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible but I would say it’s impossible to play both codes at 100 per cent so you’re not going to play at your full potential. That’s not possible in today’s game and the way it’s gone.”
****
So if Walsh, Chin and Fitzgerald say it can’t be done, are the days of the dual star finished? Let us know what you think in the poll and the comments section below.
