JOHN ‘BUBBLES’ O’DWYER has outlined the size of the task facing Tipperary to replace their retired icons, claiming Lar Corbett in particular was ‘one of the most feared forwards in Ireland’ at one stage.
The careers of O’Dwyer, 24, and fellow forward Corbett, 10 years his senior, overlapped in recent seasons and they contributed 0-6 between them as Tipp ended their mini-Munster title famine last July, beating Waterford in the final.
Since then, things have gone downhill for the 2010 All-Ireland champions with manager Eamon O’Shea departing after a semi-final loss to Galway as well as four key players subsequently; Corbett, Shane McGrath, Conor O’Mahony and James Woodlock.
New manager Michael Ryan will look to younger players like football sensation Steven O’Brien and the fit again Noel McGrath to fill the void in 2016 though O’Dwyer admitted they are big boots to step into, particularly Corbett’s.
“Lar was massive for us,” said O’Dwyer. “He has no problem saying himself that he had his couple of injuries but from the mid-2000s, from 2008 onwards, he turned into an unbelievable hurler. His goal scoring record kind of talks for itself.
“When he put his head down, he turned into of the most lethal forwards and one of the most feared forwards in Ireland for that three or four years. He’s 34 or 35 now so he’s been around a long time and he’s given great service to Tipperary hurling.”
O’Dwyer famously blew a great opportunity to win the All-Ireland final for Tipp in 2014, drilling a last gasp free just wide against Kilkenny who went on to win the replay.
Despite picking up his first piece of Championship silverware last July, he admitted it was a disappointing season overall as Tipp failed to return to the All-Ireland decider, losing to Galway in that thriller.
“Ah it was disappointing generally, we won the Munster title so we were obviously happy with that but we were disappointed then with the way we played against Galway,” said O’Dwyer.
“We feel we kind of let ourselves down. Only one or two lads kind of played well on the day.”
O’Dwyer said the one bright spot from that day was the return to duty of talisman McGrath following a bout of testicular cancer.
“What happened Noel this year, it was obviously a shock to all of us,” he said. “But he got himself right and he came on against Galway so the result didn’t go our way but it was great to see that man get back onto the field and to have him for the start of the year will feel like a new player.
“He’s one of the biggest leaders on our panel so it will be great to have him there for the whole year.”
O’Dwyer was speaking at the draws for the 2016 Higher Education GAA championships and will compete for Cork IT in the Fitzgibbon Cup having reached the semi-finals earlier this year. They were drawn in the only three-team group alongside GMIT and the University of Ulster.
“GMIT, we played them the last couple of years, they’re a good side and then to travel to Belfast won’t be easy either,” said O’Dwyer. “It’s a very good competition, a very high standard. Every team, no more than ourselves, has a very professional set-up. It’s like a county set-up.”
