“Joxer was always someone that just gave everything”
Waterford Senior hurling manager Peter Queally has been impressed with the Déise minors ahead of Saturday's final. Photo: INPHO
The Waterford minor hurlers are a mirror image of their manager according to senior boss Peter Queally.
The Ballydurn man soldiered alongside James O’Connor during the nineties and noughties with the Déise. They won a Munster title together in 2002.
“Joxer was always someone who just gave everything. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He is very passionate. Every night we trained, Joxer gave it everything. If you marked him in training, you knew you marked him! He gave every ounce to the cause. You can see that he is transferring that over to this minor team. They gave everything against Kilkenny. I think their first sub was with ten minutes to go because everyone that started gave everything to the cause. That's a mark of Joxer. He will be the first to acknowledge that he has a very good backroom team with him, a lot of experience there, and some good coaches. Paul Flynn is a great guy to have there with him, a lot of experience, especially at underage level. A fella that I’m sure every young hurler would really respect and look up to. He has surrounded himself with good fellas. You can see Joxer’s stamp all over the team.”
Waterford’s last line of defence impressed Queally most in that semi-final success against the Cats. Man of the Match Conor Lynch as well as Darragh Murphy and Darragh Keane stood up to the plate. “Everywhere was pleasing, every line was pleasing but from my point of view it was the full back line. I love seeing corner backs coming through, I love seeing full backs coming through. It wasn’t just that night. All year, our full back line has been very good. They’ve been under pressure some days, but they’ve handled it really well. There’s a lot of good ball going in. Against a high-quality Kilkenny line, I thought they were outstanding again.”
The TG4 cameras picked him out in the stand at Wexford Park. “It was wonderful. Both sets of supporters were in under the one stand. There was a large Waterford crowd, and we had plenty to cheer about. I loved the way the boys bounced back after a poor start to the first half and the second half. They dug in and they hurled really well. It was great to see so many happy Waterford supporters leaving the stadium that evening, looking forward to an All-Ireland final. It was a brilliant occasion.”
Queally was the guest coach at the Déise Óg Development Camps last week in Walsh Park and Abbeyside/Ballinacourty GAA club. The camps were aimed at first and second-year students. “They picked up a few tips here and there in relation to bad habits that they have. They all took lessons away from it. We have an awful habit here of putting our hurley to balls that we can catch. I even see it with our own lads in training. Cold winter nights and a ball will come at them from 20 or 30 yards away. Rather than catch a stingy, wet sliotar, they’d rather control it. Look, they have great skill and they can do that. You continually have that habit, you’re losing the art of catching a ball. It’s one thing I picked up from Kilkenny when I was down with Rower Inistioge. I’d watch them pucking around and lashing balls at each other. They’d put their hand to everything. It’s just that habit, to get out of it and get better at fielding balls and catching balls.”
