Waterford senior hurling panel set to be without two more experienced players for 2024
GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final, Croke Park, Dublin 7/8/2021 Limerick vs Waterford Waterford's Shane McNulty Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
The Irish Examiner is reporting this morning that experienced Waterford defenders, De La Salle’s Shane McNulty and Fourmilewater’s Conor Gleeson are set to follow Austin Gleeson in stepping away from the Déise senior hurling panel in 2024.
2020 Young Hurler of the Year nominee, Iarlaith Daly is also a doubt due to college commitments but elsewhere there is good news as all three Bennetts look set to be part of Davy Fitzgerald’s squad for the coming season and Calum Lyons, currently in Australia is due back in January.
Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League, Déise selector Peter Queally said, “Kieran Bennett came back last week. Shane will hopefully be back in mid-January. Kieran, in fairness to him, he’s been away now for a year and a half but he trained with us last Friday and we played an in-house game on Sunday and he was in good shape for a fella who’d been away so long. We’re delighted to have him back.
“Iarlaith Daly is a bit unsure at the moment with study commitments. He’ll make his mind up in the new year.”
When asked of any possibility of Austin Gleeson performing a U-turn on his decision to step away, the Ballydurn man answered, “he’s made his mind up and we don’t want to be badgering him and having it open for discussion on a regular basis. We just have to drive on and that’s it. I have no doubt Austin, over the summer, will have a long hard think about committing to next year, whoever is involved next year, so hopefully we’ll see Austin back in 2025.”
On the ten in a row Ballygunner and the state of health of the Waterford SHC, Queally said, “they’ve set a standard that’s hard for the teams in Waterford to catch up to. My own opinion is some are really trying hard to get there and they’re raising their standards whereas a few others, after a lot of heavy defeats, are finding it hard to motivate themselves.
“You have a mixed bag and what you’re getting is probably a low-quality senior hurling championship.
“Let’s call a spade a spade, the best games in the championship this year were games that Ballygunner weren’t involved in. They were tough, they were strong, there was good hurling. They were competitive right up to the final whistle.
“Whereas the ones that Ballygunner were involved in were one-sided. They were over after 15/20 minutes. They weren’t a great spectacle and attendances are dropping off so there is a gulf that’s affecting the overall standard of the championship.” He is however happy with the quality of young players coming through.
“There is good quality and they’re producing good quality hurlers as we saw last year with Patrick Fitzgerald who’s a great young prospect from the underage system in Ballygunner.” FITZGERALD NOT A FAN OF PENALTIES Passage defender Mark Fitzgerald was also at the Munster Hurling League launch and he felt Ballygunner’s penalty elimination was unjust.
“It’s hard to lose on penalties. You’re not really losing,” said Fitzgerald. “You’re putting everything into a match and extra-time as well, then you lose on one mistake.
“Billy O’Keeffe’s ankle slipped from underneath him and missed a penalty. That’s harsh on anyone.
“A replay is probably the best option. They would have had time to play it in the new year.” Fitzgerald insisted that he’d much prefer being defeated on the field of play: “Lose it properly instead of losing it on penalties, that’s what I think anyway.”
