The regular league season has concluded. Tipperary and Cork advance to the 1A final decider at sold out Supervalu Pairc Ui Chaoimh next weekend. A preview of this encounter to follow next week.
The league campaign was fiercely competitive. Wexford and Clare make the drop down to 1B next season. Hawkeye Sidekick reflects on where each team in 1A is as we fast approach the throw-in to the provincial hurling championships in three weeks time.
Regular Season Final League Standings
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Pts Diff | Pts |
| 1 | Tipperary | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 10 |
| 2 | Cork | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 9 |
| 3 | Kilkenny | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | Galway | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -24 | 6 |
| 5 | Limerick | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 5 |
| 6 | Wexford | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -18 | 4 |
| 7 | Clare | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -28 | 2 |
Tipperary
A strong league campaign from the Premier County. Liam Cahill has given the prospects an opportunity to impress in the senior ranks and has not been disappointed. Darragh McCarthy and Sam O’Farrell have caught the eye as Tipperary’s core looks steady.
Eoghan Connolly in full back grows with each passing game. Ronan Maher has been excellent at half-back. Tipperary’s work rate has impressed in the league. Their fitness has also caught the eye. The home triumph against Cork was a big statement of intent. Squad depth concerns still an issue.
Tipperary advance to the league final. They have a home opening championship fixture against Limerick on Easter weekend. What approach will Liam Cahill and Michael Bevans take for this final? It is a final, the team will go all out but what cost to their championship ambitions?
Tipperary have taken the league with serious intent. They have seen the Clare case study from last season and looked to create momentum for the championship. Tipperary are setup well right now. Still, a heavy loss to Cork in this league final will derail their season.
Cork
Pat Ryan and management has set the gauntlet early. Cork need to win silverware and urgently. His team selections during this regular league campaign has been close to the championship line-up. Fourteen players who started last year’s All Ireland final started against Galway for instance.
Cork are well primed heading into this league final fixture. Their ability in the middle third to break with pace, create the player overlap has caused opposition serious issues. They matchup incredibly well against Limerick. Darragh Fitzgibbon in midfield has been excellent. The Downey brothers impressive in the back has allowed the wing backs to attack from deep. The attacking line unit cohesion impressive as Patrick Horgan broke more individual scoring accolades during the campaign.
The question is whether Cork have other gears to go through when championship comes? This season, their performance in Ennis and at home in Pairc Ui Chaoimh is impressive. It shows that they are a team at the height of their powers. Brian Hayes’ injury against Galway is a concern but Alan Connolly’s return is prompt. Squad depth looks strong. It has not been tested. Pat Ryan and management have retained their trust in the front line players from last year. They continue to generally rely on them.
This league final next week like Tipperary poses issues in terms of bigger picture. Cork travel to play against a Clare side. Clare will be hurting and keen to get revenge for the league loss a few weeks ago. Cork’s Achilles heel has been slow starts to the championship. This makes the Clare meeting look like a massive fixture given what happened last season away to Waterford.
Cork should be happy with their league so far but getting over the line in finals is the question. We will know more about where Cork are after the league final. The team has the potential and talent to win everything this season. Yet, next Sunday is a barometer. It will show how they approach and deliver in finals. An interesting watch beckons!
Kilkenny
A league campaign which will read a 50% win record does not convey the full story for the Cats. Derek Lyng and management will take positives and negatives from this campaign in equal measure.
Mossy Keoghan and Cian Kenny impressed for Kilkenny. Keoghan took the scoring mantle responsibility in the forward line. He stepped up due to the absences of Cody and Mullen during this league campaign. Kenny was versatile in midfield and half-forward line roles contributing some excellent scores.
Other prospects though in the Kilkenny panel struggled when given opportunities. There is genuine concern in terms of Kilkenny’s attacking squad depth.
As Keoghan and Ryan were prominent, others struggled to deliver which is a concern for Lyng. TJ Reid, Adrian Mullen and Eoin Cody will look to Keoghan, Ryan and Mackessy to deliver. The options off the bench in the forward line are not proven to make the impact required (so far).
Kilkenny will look at the three wins with some level of comfort. Clare away was an early season marker but Clare were missing significant player personnel.
The Wexford away win was comfortable; a good opening half but the second half dipped in quality and work rate. The home win against Limerick to round off the campaign was much better. The work rate and scoring from the attacking unit were strong. Limerick’s side was missing several significant starters though.
The losses will be a reminder for Kilkenny on performance inconsistencies. The loss at home to Galway was a shock in round two. The way Kilkenny’s back line were opened up was a concern. Galway’s response at the end of the contest also stood out.
The defeat to Cork away saw good moments but Cork managed to win late on. The loss to Tipperary at home was the low point; discipline issues and general cohesion issues in the middle third.
Kilkenny in championship are an entirely different animal to the league. The Leinster SHC campaign will be an interesting watch. I expect Kilkenny to be in the top two of the round robin. Yet, there are genuine squad depth concerns in the forward line. The back line looks strong but better sides will expose pace and middle third space issues later in the season. Kilkenny will be aware that there is big scope for improvement.
Galway
When Galway were good in the league, they were excellent. When Galway were not, the league fixtures were a difficult watch. Michael O’Donoghue and management though have given several players an opportunity to impress with differing levels of success.
The half-back line for Galway this season looks solid. Gavin Lee has made the six jersey his own. Michael Garvey brings aerial dominance and physicality to proceedings. Anthony Burns inside in the full forward line has provided good moments along with Tiernan Killeen.
The league campaign like Kilkenny wins a 50% success record. One win in Salthill, two wins on the road is the tale of the tape. After a shaky opening round loss to Tipperary, Galway secured a key win at Kilkenny. The triumph against Clare at home was excellent as the middle third controlled proceedings. Wexford away was a tough fixture but the Tribesmen did enough to secure the full complement.
The losses though have exposed issues. Conor Whelan’s contributions have been too sporadic. The Kinvara clubman needs to be the focal point for Galway’s forward line. Unfortunately, we did not see enough in this league campaign. The middle third unit was second best against Limerick and Cork for long periods. The Cork game saw clear issues in defensive man mark tracking and pace issues in the unit.
The hope for Galway is that they can build some confidence early in the championship. Home form needs to be established but Wexford and Dublin in particular will fancy their chances against Galway come championship. Galway’s inconsistent performances in league is a worry heading into championship. O’Donoghue will look to Daithi Burke to steady the full back line. He also hopes that the player skill set in their first touch and passing through the lines significantly improves.
Limerick
If the regular league ended three weeks ago, one would say that Limerick were a prominent team. Nonetheless, the last two rounds have raised questions on squad depth. They have also cast doubt on general team setup patterns.
John Kiely as in earlier league campaigns has used the fixture list to test out new players. Shane O’Brien, Adam English and Aidan O’Connor have been notable performers alongside Colin Coughlin. Others have found the league tough going but a good testing ground for tougher assignments to follow.
Limerick’s record reads win two wins, one draw and three losses. The wins secured against Tipperary and Galway at home. The draw against Cork away whets the appetite for the championship. Those fixtures showed Limerick on the front foot; middle third cohesion and accuracy to the fore. The losses though will have focused minds.
Team choice aside, Limerick’s standards fell well short in the three losses. Three good goal chances were spurned early during the Clare loss. Then, Clare’s middle third made adjustments to control the fixture. Kilkenny’s work rate and ability to score from play to the fore (twenty points) in that loss. The Wexford home loss though was a big concern. The team gave a poor performance from start to finish. Only two points were scored from play in the opening half.
Limerick management’s assessment of the squad remains open. We have not seen Declan Hannon so far this season. Dan Morrissey is only returning to full fitness along with Tom Morrissey. Gearoid Hegarty’s league was curtailed with injury. Are marquee players chasing form with only weeks to go to the championship? Thurles in three weeks time will be an acid test for the side.
Limerick’s goalkeeping situation continues to evolve with each passing week. Shane Dowling appears the number one choice with Jason Gillane getting minimal gametime at the end of the league campaign. Nicky Quaid also in the panel and making steady progress from his knee injury is another fascinating storyline.
The Limerick management and players have proven themselves in recent seasons. Their Portuguese warm weather training has come at a good time. Team performance remains the mantra. It always will be. John Kiely and players know that the business end of the campaign is upon us. Limerick surely have a kick this season come championship. We will find out in Thurles though for that answer.
Wexford
Relegation was confirmed heading into the final regular league game. Wexford management will be happy with how the side have evolved their performance levels. This improvement occurred after a tricky opening fixture block.
Keith Rossiter and his management team have been bold in testing new prospects. They are not afraid to introduce young players to the setup in this league campaign. Lee Chin’s return has coincided in more measured performances from the side.
Two wins on the league record is the positive. Two away wins away from Wexford Park but two performances full of energy and work rate. If Wexford were more precise in their shot choice, they could have staved off relegation. Their performance against Limerick was impressive. Their hunger on the night to win breaking ball was exemplary.
The losses at the start of the campaign were disappointing. Cork’s pace and middle third skill set too much in the opening round. Kilkenny at home saw an unacceptable opening half performance. Kilkenny were out of sight. The second half performance was encouraging, but the damage was done. Their home loss to Galway was unfortunate. Free taking issues and poor wides caused them to lose the game.
Relegation is a disappointment but Wexford are growing in confidence. McGuckin, Chin, O’Connor will lead from the front. The Reck brothers will need to give defensive nous and leadership alongside Liam Ryan. I suspect Wexford will fancy Leinster SHC this season as there is no standout team in the pack. Wexford will hope that Casey and Byrne start to summon the scoring responsibilities during the campaign.
Clare
A disappointing league campaign for the Banner. The team are now on the perch and opposition are raising their game against the side. One win against Limerick away suggested better performances were ahead. However, the opposite happened in Ennis when Cork came to town.
Cork scored six goals during this match. You can argue that this goal concession vulnerability was there on other league fixtures. Brian Lohan looked to run the depth chart early. Rynne and Galvin deployed to multiple roles during the campaign. Key players did come back late in the league but cohesion issues seen.
Shane O’Donnell’s absence was the cue for Mark Rodgers to lead the forward line inside. Rodgers in dry ground will be a massive threat come championship. Reports of O’Donnell in non-contact training will raise questions for Rodgers. This needs to be managed carefully by Lohan and management.
The league did though expose how vital Conor Cleary is for the Clare defensive unit. Cleary is the full back of the side, no-one comes close to filling the position for the side. Diarmuid Ryan has not featured for Clare this season. Nevertheless, his imminent return will be a big boost for the side. The league has been a disappointment, not just in terms of results. It has also disappointed in the identification of players who will break through to the side next month.
Clare like Limerick have ground to make up in terms of player performance and team setup. Their home game against Cork has to be a must win. A loss on Easter weekend will significantly diminish Clare’s chances of securing a top three berth. It will also lead to an early surrender of Liam McCarthy. The significance can’t be understated here.