LIAM WATSON’S NAME rang loudest over the weekend but he wasn’t the only half-forward soaking up the limelight.
Neither was Danny Sutcliffe. Noel McGrath swanned around the self-proclaimed Field of Legends on Sunday and gave Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh another episode of
his recurring nightmare.
The Loughmore-Castleiney man quarter-backed Tipperary’s forward play beautifully and his seven points (six from play) added to the 0-6 he pillaged Brick for in the 2010 All Ireland semi-final.
Waterford have been hit for big scores in their last two games against Tipperary. The Munster final last year was to the tune of 7-19 (40 points); this league clash at Semple Stadium being 0-31. Noteworthy is the differing manners of those defeats. One by goals – seven daggers punctuating a humiliating day for the Déise.
Sunday’s loss was death by 31 minor cuts. For Tipperary, that there was probably just the one open goal chance in such a dominant performance may be a slight worry. Brian ‘Buggy’ O’Meara raced through on goal but Waterford goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe batted his effort away. That lack of a killer instinct might yet be a nub of contention for Tipp fans who are sensing the team’s slight return to form.
And if the goals aren’t prevalent, Lar Corbett’s name will be. Indeed no team has scored fewer majors than the Premier County across Divisions 1A and 1B in 2012 – both coming in the tight win over Galway in round two.
Yet Declan Ryan has plenty to smile about since his team were beaten so comprehensively in Kilkenny on day one. Whether it was his decision, the players’ or a combination of the two, the singular tactic of playing long balls has been replaced with the flowing ball-playing that won Tipp an All-Ireland.
As against Galway, it was not a perfect performance but to create 43 scoring opportunities and take 31 suggests the players moved Waterford out of their comfort zone time and again.
Which is where Noel McGrath and Brendan Maher come in. McGrath was sublime at centre-forward, and his ability to destabilise an entire defence is as impressive as Kilkenny man Richie Power’s. When these artful centre-forwards drag their marker out of position and their fellow attackers exploit the space, the effect is clear. Eleven players getting on the scoresheet says it all.
But as those leaving Semple Stadium on Sunday will have said, there is still plenty to improve on; no more so than the patrons at Nowlan Park too, as
Kilkenny’s air of invincibility took a shelling against Dublin.
Negativity
After so much negativity since last September, Declan Ryan will be happy to focus on positives for now. At the same time, the Clonoutly-Rossmore man clearly still has question marks over the number five shirt after removing clubmate John O’Keeffe from the fray at half-time, and he seems to not have decided whether Shane Maher - back this year – is a better option. Others feel Tom Stapleton may yet make a push for that shirt.
The battle to partner Maher at midfield looks an interesting one. James Woodlock has been very impressive up until now and warrants his starting place after impacting so well from the bench at Nowlan Park, scoring 0-5 in the Waterford Crystal Cup final and doing well against Galway.
It was interesting to see him driving upfield at Semple Stadium against the Decies and, even if he put three balls badly wide, he also put over two. Shane McGrath’s championship place looks under threat but in his five-minute cameo after replacing the Drom and Inch man, he slotted over a couplet himself – albeit against a well-beaten and tired team.
The Tipperary boss has a pleasant headache with two players vying for the one position. And we mean just one position because Brendan Maher looks a certainty for the other. 2011 proved that for his absence; in the same way that 2010 proved it for his inclusion.
His link-up play against Waterford was exceptional, as was the forwards’. Waterford may have been very poor, and Dublin in Croke Park should provide a much sterner test, but the manner in which the players threw the ball around was as admirable as it was entertaining. All of this with the likes of Eoin Kelly, John O’Brien, Patrick ‘Bonnar’ Maher and Seamus Callanan to come back.
Corbett too, if you are of an optimistic persuasion.
With the team returning to the flowing hurling that made them All-Ireland champions, the lure of the blue and gold can’t but grow stronger.
Tipperary’s Conor O’Mahony clears the danger at Semple Stadium on Sunday. Pic: INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Net gains
The outfield players rightly took the praise but mention too must go to goalkeeper Darren Gleeson who was exceptional, most noticably with his distribution. Donal Óg Cusack may be the market leader but Gleeson’s sharp puckouts bear comparison. He zinged a number of short deliveries to his backs over the course of the game and it was a glaring feature that Tipperary did not utilise last year.
To again hark back to 2010, Brendan Cummins hit his corner-backs plenty of times to keep the opposition forwards honest. Cummins was a late replacement for Gleeson in the Kilkenny game and, whether by instrcution or his own choice, the former didn’t hit one short ball. Gleeson provided proof, if it were needed, that variety is a necessity. And when you have players who are such adept stick-men, it makes sense to play this way. No point lobbing 100-yard balls on their heads if you don’t have to.
It’s why Tipp fell away last year and partly why, more recently, Coolderry lost their All-Ireland club final at the weekend: thoughtless punts down the field turning good possession into 50-50 ball.
So in between the sticks, Ryan has another pleasant dilemma. Out the field, the old headaches are beginning to clear.