Kevin O’Brien reports from Croke Park
SHORTLY AFTER THEY arrived back into the Cusack Stand dressing rooms with the Division 1 trophy, the Limerick squad and backroom team could be heard belting out a rendition of ‘Piano Man’ as they soaked in the victory over Waterford.
The Billy Joel song was a party piece of John Kiely’s in the aftermath of their breakthrough All-Ireland victory last August.
The Treaty have picked up where they left off in 2018 on the field too. Outside of Kilkenny, Limerick became the first county since Galway in 1989 to take league honours the year after they were crowned All-Ireland champions.
John Kiely was having none of that particular statistic though.
“Other than Kilkenny, well okay, doesn’t count so,” he said.
“Listen, it is satisfying to have had a solid league without being spectacular. The younger lads need a lot of growth and time, because it just doesn’t happen in one or two or three games.
“I think it takes somewhere between six and 10 or 12 games for fellas to find their feet and be comfortable. And each year that fellas get two and three games under their belt in the league, it develops them a little bit and maybe get a little bit of added time in other games. It takes a lot longer than people might expect.
“There is this expectation than young lads are just going to arrive, the same as if they come off a conveyor belt. They don’t, they are developed and growth level is important. Players grow into the standard that is required here.
“To be able to deliver consistently takes time. For us, that was as much as the league was about, giving opportunities to lads to grow through the league because it takes time.”
The manner by which this young Limerick team have taken the Liam MacCarthy success in their stride has been remarkable. They rarely looked in trouble against Waterford, winning by eight points. Had it not been for 15 wides, Limerick’s margin of victory would have been higher.
“I think it is really satisfying for the group because there are always going to be questions as to how the group as a whole and lads, individually, would cope with what happened last year,” stated Kiely.
“They’ve handled it really well. They have handled themselves really well. Obviously, physically, they have looked after themselves. They haven’t lost sight of the fact that this is a hurling career. It is not a hurling year.
“There is going to be an awful lot more for them in the game and they’ve shown that they have that desire to push on. I think we could have been a bit more ruthless today. We should have got a few more scores at vital times in the games.
“We allowed the game to be hanging there for too long. We know the championship will be hot and heavy when it does come. These games will be a hell of a lot tighter come championship. There is no two ways about that.
“I was in Walsh Park when Clare visited really and we saw what happened there. Waterford were savage that day. There is a long year ahead, an awful long way to go.”
Kiely used 33 players in their return to Division 1A this season. Worryingly for the rest of the country, he feels he has greater depth at his disposal than he did last August.
“I think we are a stronger panel. I think we are stronger, mentally, than what we were this time 12 months ago, that bit of confidence is there. They have a lot of reference points.
“Last time out against Dublin, we had to win by grinding it out in different circumstances. We have adapted to games in a more mature fashion than we have in the past.
“At the end of the day, it was the league. We move on. It is the next competition now. It is hugely satisfying at the same time.”
Limerick bridged a 21-year gap for Allianz Hurling League success, while Nickie Quaid, Declan Hannon, Shane Dowling and Graham Mulcahy have now completed a clean sweep of All-Ireland, Munster and league titles.
“For these guys, they don’t look at it like that. They just see it as a competition they haven’t got a medal from and they want to go and get a medal.
“How many of them have Munster medals? Very few of them have Munster medals. For me, that should be at the top of their agenda right now. They should be going hunting one down every time they get a chance.
“Look at Rory McIlroy, how long he was been waiting for that major that he can’t get? You gotta hunt it down every time you get a chance.
“For these guys, the Munster championship is the next opportunity. Who knows the day you lose that chance – you might get an injury, work commitments, whatever might send you on a different direction in life and you mightn’t get that medal.
“You have to seize the moment when the moment comes. That’s very important for these lads.
“There has to be a seed somewhere inside you to drive you. If there isn’t anything that’s driving you on that you want to achieve… when you break it down you’re going to break it down into smaller pieces, smaller chunks. I’m sure he looks at it from every shot, every strike of the golf club. We’ve got to look at it almost in the same manner.
“Every play, every ball. You work your way towards it. You have an end point that you want to get to but you have to break it down into small pieces along the way.
“We’ll sit down, refocus. They’ll play their club championship matches which is effectively a rest from us, they won’t see or hear from me for three or four weeks, I’m sure they will be thrilled. They’ll take their breather.”
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