Toomevara have the set-up to take on consistent Loughmore

GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Final Preview

By Shane Brophy

LOUGHMORE/CASTLEINEY v TOOMEVARA

FBD Semple Stadium

Sunday, 13th October

Throw-in @ 3.45pm

Referee: Alan Tierney (Shannon Rovers)

The Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship has been going since 1887 and it still has the ability to write a new chapter in its history as it will do this Sunday with the first ever final meeting between Loughmore/Castleiney and Toomevara.

There is a real freshness to it as the sides haven’t met in the knockout stages of the championship since 2008 when Toomevara edged to a semi-final victory, going onto win their 21st and last title.

Maybe this Sunday could be another sliding doors moment for both clubs as back then it heralded the end of the great Toomevara team that had won eleven senior titles in seventeen years.

Loughmore/Castleiney were defending champions when they fell to Toome in 2008 but since then have been the more consistent of the two reaching four finals, winning two in 2013 and 2021 (in a replay) with defeats in 2014 and 2020.

Loughmore/Castleiney are the more experienced of the two sides against an up and coming Toomevara who have been building steadily in recent years under the astute guidance of manager Ken Dunne who won nine county titles with the club during its golden era.

However, they face the ultimate team what is Loughmore/Castleiney who are on a run, similar to 2021, when they claimed a senior hurling and football double.

A lot is made of their dual commitments, but this is second nature to them, and they don’t see it as the slog that many people do.

As a rural club, the depth of their squad is limited so the key is avoiding injury and they have managed that well so far this year. This isn’t by luck. New manager Eamonn Kelly with hurling coach Aidan Stakelum and trainers, Toomevara native Paul Treacy and Mikey Ryan, planned for this with a heavy pre-season, building up the stamina to cope with playing thirteen championship games in fifteen weeks between both codes so far, and have at least two more to go.

That stamina also helps avoid injury with only Joey Hennessy, Ed Meagher and Philip O’Connell suffering muscle injuries during the campaign and missed games but will be available on Sunday, while Liam Treacy missed a significant period with a hand injury but has made a timely return in recent weeks.

That they remain so fresh judging by their dominant performance in the senior football semi-final win over Moyle Rovers last Sunday is a testament to the players diligence to their rest and recovery between games, as for all the management can do, it is up to the players to apply it.

Their appetite for work is ferocious as well as their ability to play in various different ways, epitomised in the semi-final win over Thurles Sarsfields where their footballing ability and comfort in holding onto the ball ensured they overcame the elements and a strong opponent to reach a ninth senior hurling final in their history, all since 1983 when they became a hurling force as many might not appreciate that they were a football orientated club long before they established themselves in the small ball game at the top level.

Their ability to use the ball to its fullest could lead to a final of a contrast in styles, particularly if Toomevara use the same gameplan with their puckouts as they did in the semi-final against Moycarkey/Borris of going direct.

Rory Brislane has a booming delivery and while Moycarkey defenders made some notable catches, Toomevara still won the majority of their long restarts, from where they can feast on breaks which their forwards thrive on.

In general play, they are able to work the ball around well also, but they will be keen to see how the direct ball works in the early going as they will have seen the nature of the goals Loughmore conceded to Kilruane and Thurles Sarsfields in their last two games. All three came from long balls into the full forward line and is where Toomevara have an area of strength with Adam Hall and particularly Darragh McCarthy. Both are good in the air but crucially have an eye for goal when they get the ball in their hand.

Despite being just nineteen-years of age, McCarthy is the key man in this Toomevara team. It’s pressure on a player so young but it something he relishes and few defenders at club and inter-county level have managed to get the better of him. He accepts that he will be targeted by the opponents best man-marker and just gets on with it, relishing the physical confrontation as much as the ability to find space.

However, he can’t be as good as he is, indeed the Toomevara attack can be with Mark & Kevin McCarthy and Jack Delaney all being capable of match-winners on their day, without the right service.

The relocation of Darren Delaney to the half-forward line this year has been an inspired move as he provides the experience and, on the ball, he is astute at doing the right thing with it all the time.

In midfield, Robbie Quirke and young Conor O’Farrell are a solid partnership, they aren’t flash and just get on the ball and move it on, the same for their half-back line of Josh McCarthy, captain Liam Ryan and Jake Ryan.

They have also the ability to be flexible with corner backs Barry O’Connell and Seamus O’Farrell able to play further out the field and offers them options in terms of match-ups in who they detail to mark John & Liam McGrath in Loughmore’s inside forward line, along with Andrew Ryan at full back.

Toomevara also have a strong bench with Jake Hackett and Conor O’Meara making notable impacts in recent games with the management not afraid of changing things with Colm Canning, Shane & David Nolan and Joshua Powell all seeing game time in the championship so far.

The Loughmore/Castleiney team is likely to be along expected lines with Aidan McGrath between the posts, the former outfield players ability on the ball important in ensuring they will a large portion of their restarts.

Ed Meagher, Joey Hennessy, and Willie Eviston should make up an experienced full-back line but who can be exposed a little in the air. John Ryan and Brian McGrath have had terrific campaigns in the championship so far in the half-back line along with Lorcan Egan who is equally adept at playing at cornerback and could get the marking job on Darragh McCarthy.

It’s not in Toomevara’s style to go down the man-marking route but curbing Noel McGrath’s ability to get on the ball in the middle of the field will be so important in their chances of winning as he continues to play to such a high level, aided by the workrate of Ciaran Connolly who is back to his best after two injury-hit seasons, as well as his brother Ed, while Tommy Maher and Tomas McGrath drop deep to good effect also.

The only question in terms of the Loughmore starting team will come down to who starts between Ciaran’s McGrath and McCormack. Both are remarkably adept at having a greater impact coming off the bench, but it could well be that they could spring both should Liam Treacy get the nod as he was playing well until the hand injury.

Overview

Loughmore/Castleiney come into the game as favourites, unbeaten in thirteen games across both codes, and it is a tag that doesn’t burden them a bit.

Toomevara will relish the underdogs tag, but they won’t fear Loughmore in the slightest and indeed former players of the Mid Tipp club would be a little apprehensive considering the poor record they would have had over the years and will be fully respectful of what this Toomevara team will bring.

A number of managers, including Loughmore/Castleiney’s Eamonn Kelly, have remarked that Toomevara are the hardest working team in the championship and having that as a base is a requirement to beat Loughmore who know nothing only than playing to a high level of intensity, workrate and ability each day they go out.

They have shown nothing since the first round of the championship in June that they might slip up now and considering all they have achieved over the years, adding Toomevara to their list of conquests on county final day would be significant for them, and barring unforeseen circumstances, should get their hands on Dan Breen for the fifth time on Sunday.