Can Tipp cope without Lar, can Dublin do it all over again and which of the new boys in Division 1B will make the biggest impression?
A big Lar-shaped hole in the Tipp attack
We’re not ruling out the prospect of a triumphant return for Lar Corbett at some stage during the Championship, but Declan Ryan and the Tipperary squad can’t simply sit idly by and wait for Lar to come back and save the day further down the road.
If he does return, well and good, if he doesn’t, they’ll just have to move on and come up with a contingency plan that doesn’t involve the most dangerous forward in the game for the last three seasons. Thankfully for Tipp, they are probably better endowed when it comes to potential replacements than any other team in the country.
Seamus Callanan didn’t start the 2010 All-Ireland final but he was – for the early part of last season at least – one of the top forwards in the country last year, Pa Bourke came on and scored a goal in last year’s final against Kilkenny and Brian ‘Buggy’ O’Meara, winner of the man of the match in the 2010 All-Ireland Under-21 final, was reportedly flying for the Premier in the Waterford Crystal Cup in recent weeks.
There’s no doubting the magnitude of Corbett’s loss, but Tipp have the forwards to step up in his stead, starting when life without Lar begins against Kilkenny on Sunday.
Can Dublin do it all over again?
Dublin’s run to the All-Ireland semi-final and subsequent narrow loss to Tipperary showed that their league success last season was no flash in the pan, but they’ll be up against it in their quest to repeat that success this time around.
Anthony Daly staying on and the defection of Ross O’Carroll to the hurlers is good news, but with Conal Keaney out for the foreseeable future, Dotsy O’Callaghan missing for the trip to Galway this weekend and Liam Rushe another potential absentee, the Dubs are facing into a tough start.
The expectation on Anthony Daly’s shoulders will be about as big as the head in the background of this picture
Odds of 8/1 – the second longest after Waterford – would suggest that the bookies don’t think they can do it, but if they can prove them wrong they will be serious Championship contenders down the line.
Which of the new boys club can make the best first impression in Division 1B?
Given that it’s the first game of the league it’s stating the obvious to say that it’s a fresh start for all counties this weekend, but it’s a really fresh start for everyone involved in Division 1B, where every single team has a new manager in charge.
It’s not as if the new Bainisteoirs are small-time either, the list of names – Davy Fitzgerald (Clare), Liam Dunne (Wexford), John Allen (Limerick) Ollie Baker (Offaly), Teddy McCarthy (Laois) and Jerry Wallace (Antrim) – reads like a who’s who of hurling and their presence will ensure that the second tier won’t be entirely overshadowed by the big boys in 1A.
We can’t think of any time in the past where every single team in a league has had a new boss and they’ll all be vying to make an impression good and early. The meeting of Allen and Davy Fitz and of two improving Limerick and Clare teams should be an entertaining way to kick things off at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
