Summers shouldn’t be for soul searching

Another summer over before the summer weather has even arrived.

While this is the seventh year of this round-robin rut, if anything the defeats become harder to stomach as the years go on.

To be honest, it’s going to be difficult to try and find any words of comfort that I haven’t already clung to before.

Did I think Waterford would make it out of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship before it began? No, truthfully I did not - but that certainly doesn’t soften the blow.

Did I think Waterford would put it up to their rivals as well as they did? I have to admit I didn’t either - but still as most supporters will also feel, the mileage I once got out of moral victories doesn’t seem to stretch as far.

There’ll now be a very long time to try and find the answers for why Waterford find themselves in this situation again. There’s evidence on the field to suggest the gap is being bridged, but results in parallel will tell you the progress also remains from a moral perspective rather than an empirical one.

You can point to absences, you can point to decisions, you can point to luck and you can point to a whole lot more - but you also have to point yourself. I haven’t subscribed to the notion that Waterford simply aren’t good enough, and I refuse to, on account of the level of talent that exists in the group - but at the same time, look around you. Despite the talent at the disposal of the Déise, there’s a lot more around us.

The reality is that many players who sit on benches for Limerick, Cork, Tipperary and Clare probably start for Waterford. Other counties have had injury woes but perhaps none of them have suffered repercussions quite as harshly as has been the case on Suirside. Quality in depth won Limerick the match on Sunday. It got Clare over the line on day one in Ennis, it helped Cork get the points when they missed key men in Walsh Park, and it got Tipperary a point there too.

To a man, Waterford emptied themselves at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, and it’s hard to say they didn’t in Ennis or on either occasion at Walsh Park also.

Few people have managed to shackle Aaron Gillane down the years in the way that Paddy Leavey did. Calum Lyons showed us all what we were missing when he was in Australia, Shane Bennett stood up to be counted and Kevin Mahony has also come of age. Billy Nolan is the leading candidate for the goalkeeping All-Star, and Jamie Barron never fails to cover every blade of grass.

That said, Waterford couldn’t get remotely near Cathal O’Neill in the first period, Cian Lynch caused havoc from the minute he went on, Gearoid Hegarty was playmaker in chief. Limerick’s forwards, as was the case with the three other Munster counties - got too much change out of the Déise.

Waterford hit 9-90 in their four Munster Senior Hurling Championship games, but shipped 6-118 at the opposite end. An average score of roughly 2-23 a match, but a concession of 0-34 in tandem. No one needs me to tell them that that’s not sustainable.

The score hit against Clare would’ve won 74% of the round robin games prior to that affair, but the score conceded would’ve won 96% of them. That statistic in a way is the story of this short-lived summer.

There’s a thousand things you can delve into to try and justify why it hasn’t worked out for Waterford, but out of all the ifs, buts and maybes that’ll inevitably rear their head in the weeks and months to come - I find myself landing back at the same one.

The loss of Conor Prunty cannot be understated. In the subplot itself of needing to triumph above Clare and Tipperary, it was those games in particular I felt his influence was missed. Whether his participation would’ve been enough to turn one point into four remains purely hypothetical and will forever more - but out of all of the absentees, Waterford missed the Abbeyside man more than anyone.

Questions will now inevitably turn to Peter Queally’s future. The Ballydurn man has been in the dressing room for four years now, two as a selector and two as the man at the helm. There have been some memorable days in the intervening period, but success has unfortunately always been short-lived. Is a new voice needed or is there enough in what we’ve seen to suggest that next year or never must be the mantra? An interesting few weeks lie ahead to say the least.

Comparing Waterford to the four other counties, the only difference between Queally and the men in the opposite dugout - is that they all know what it’s like to win an All-Ireland, be it as managers in the case of John Kiely, Liam Cahill and Brian Lohan and players in the case of Ben O’Connor. That’s not a swipe at Peter Queally in any way, but if a change is to be made - Waterford need to seek out a manager of that pedigree.

If Waterford are to make a change, it can’t simply be for the sake of change itself. There’s little value in ripping everything up every two years and convincing yourself the next voice automatically holds the answers. Equally though, there’s also no escaping the reality that Waterford now find themselves preparing for another reset of sorts after a season that promised more than it ultimately delivered.

That’s probably the most frustrating part of all of this. Waterford are not being blown off the field. They’re not operating at a level completely detached from the four teams above them either. In truth, there were spells throughout this championship where they looked capable of beating any of them. The issue is that at this level, spells aren’t enough.

The gap is undoubtedly smaller than it looked a few years ago, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that the table ultimately paints the same picture it always seems to. Waterford competed, Waterford battled and Waterford contributed to some excellent hurling matches - but they’re also out before the summer has properly begun again.

Attention will inevitably turn toward Division 1B hurling in 2027. The thought of trying to prepare a team for the intensity and cut and thrust of championship hurling while also having to navigate games against the likes of Kerry and Laois isn’t exactly an appealing one.

Waterford are close in many respects, but it’s hard not to feel miles away at the same time. Hard not to wonder if the breakthrough is ever actually going to come. Harder not to feel exhausted at the thought of climbing the hill all over again.

However, those are the cards Waterford have been dealt and there’s little point sitting around lamenting the fact that the boys next door learned to tread the waters better than we did.

We’re all in the same sea, and it’s on us and us alone to learn how to swim. That’s the uncomfortable reality facing Waterford now. Nobody is coming to drag them ashore.

Still, despite all the frustration and all the fatigue that comes with another short-lived summer, Waterford still haven’t drowned.

For all the shortcomings that existed this year, for all the questions that remain unanswered and for all the familiar disappointment that now hangs over the county again, it has never been for a lack of honesty or effort.

If this year proved anything, it’s that this team will keep turning up, keep scrapping and keep throwing whatever they have at it, even when the tide keeps coming back against them.

Ultimately, ‘close’ will remain the cruelest word associated with this Waterford team for a while yet - but until they stop fighting against the current altogether, there’ll always be a reason to turn up.

Hopefully, the shore still exists.