KILLINAN END - Tipp stalking behind the long grass

Speaking once with a young man once who grew up in Dublin and whose father was a former Shannon Rovers’ hurler was instructive. He said to me with the proverbial twinkle in his eye “I didn’t do much hurling, but I know what the ‘next ball’ means”. Now there was a life-lesson for you.

It might be timely for Austin Gleeson to spend a holiday in picturesque Terryglass to pick up some tips on biding your time. What a silly way to miss a League Final? The jab of the hurley is a time-honoured way of making a point quickly and without fuss and in that sense many would argue it was harsh. Referees would say that it was by law the right decision and that is inarguable. What brings the referees’ view into disrepute is when you see Aaron Gillane staying on the field in last year’s Munster Final for something far more blatant. It is not the individual decision – it’s the inconsistency.

As the League goes through the exit doors, our own county can take little solace from the competition results-wise. The win over Kilkenny was the high point. The loss to Dublin when the small margin flattered Tipp - the low point. However, in the context of what is ahead the outcome that might cause most concern was the ultimate margin at Walsh Park. Suffice to say that Tipp will need to make the most of the time available to them ahead of the championship opener. Not often have Tipp faced into Waterford in a context such as this one where the Déise are one of the form teams and Tipp are under stress to create a new coherence.

After their weekend demolition of Wexford, the home team will be huge favourites in a few weeks, but it could yet be an interesting day. When channels are blocked and hits are going in things can look different as Kilkenny showed for a period in the game in Cork. The home team on Leeside will, as long as their throwing of the ball is indulged, will cause problems for teams with their pace and movement.

However, shrewd observers in Cork will worry about their full back line. They will also wonder at where the physical edge we saw against Limerick was during the first half against Kilkenny. The team in Black and Amber may not be brilliant, may not be the force they would like to be, but they are fantastic for hurling in that what you see is what you get. They came to Páirc Uí Chaoimh with full intentions and while they never quite looked like winning, they showed how Cork might react to pressure.

The wonder for Kilkenny is why they failed to empty the bench when the ship was taking on water all over the place. Why, when they were being outscored two to one in the second-half did they not use five subs? And what does that say of their deeper panel? TJ Reid will come back but what they had in Cork was otherwise the bones of what they will rely on in summer. The second period raised the spectre of many of Kilkenny’s signature faults of recent years including the puckout meltdown though the first displayed their myriad qualities.

With eyes looking further down the road, the hit that Wexford took in their semi-final will have raised the spirits of the local onlookers in Nowlan Park. In the context of previous games from the Model County the semi-final was a disaster. In the broader context it might make little difference as there is no doubt that the importance of their opening home game against Galway will have overshadowed their thoughts throughout the competition. Maybe the harrowing experience of that semi-final will stand them in good stead – and whisper it, maybe a couple of weeks to ready themselves for Galway might be of greater value than a League final no matter the excitement it would create by the Slaney. Plenty to contemplate in the coming couple of weeks for the new management and they will have a restless night or two about how easily their defence was opened up.

One factor which is impossible to quantify but was very real at the weekend was the weather and how different the last round of the League was to the earlier rounds. Might it be that heavier pitches suited teams like Wexford and to a lesser extent Kilkenny? Wexford won a few slugfests against Limerick and Galway on heavy pitches when different questions were asked. Could it be that the renewed mobility of teams on the harder pitches will militate against them?

You might think that the opposite would apply to Cork which might be the ultimate top of the ground team. Yet, you would wonder how they will cope if Limerick crank it up and turn Páirc Uí Chaoimh into a battle-zone in a few weeks. Cork have much in common with Limerick when it comes to their style of play with regard to mobility and working through the lines. However, unlike Limerick it was hard to make sense of some of Cork’s approach. Rarely has a team used the pass-back to the goalkeeper with such regularity. Some of the short-passing in general seems to be done for the sake of it. It’s a tough watch too.