New golden age of hurling

HURLING is heading for another golden age when the big prizes will be more widely spread than has so far been the case throughout this decade.

According to Ger Loughnane the new order could begin to emerge this year as the gap between Kilkenny and Cork, who between them have won eight of the last nine All-Ireland titles, and the rest narrows dramatically.

Whether it can be completely closed remains to be seen but Loughnane is convinced that the chasing pack is closing in on the leaders. No county is more determined to be among the big-time contenders than Galway, whom Loughnane leads into next Sunday's NHL final against Tipperary with a zeal that has typified their season so far.

However, Galway are also looking beyond that as they set about ending the 20-year wait for their fifth All-Ireland title. Loughnane believes that while they are well qualified for the tests ahead, others are pressing forward too in pursuit of the 'big two'.

"I would say that change is coming," Loughnane said. "Of course Kilkenny and Cork will continue to be fierce strong but there are others coming into the reckoning as well. We'd like to think we're in there, Tipperary are definitely making progress and Waterford are strong too. So are some others so we should have a great season.

"The best guide to change is how the underage scene is going. For instance, there are people who say that when the present Waterford team breaks up there will be a drop but anyone who saw De La Salle in the colleges final last Saturday would be hugely impressed by the standard.

Competitive

"We will have a very competitive championship this year which could turn out to be the start of a very good era over the next five or six years. The change of system this year will mean that there will be fallers much earlier than over the last few seasons where we had eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals. The real knock-out phase comes sooner this time which will liven up the scene quite quickly."

Tipperary manager, Liam Sheedy, who will be experiencing his first big final as a senior manager next Sunday concurs that hurling is entering an exciting time, although he says underage success brings no guarantees. He believes that the game is changing, with pace more important than it has ever been.

His new-look Tipperary team are well endowed in that area but they also have a steel and determination which enabled them to finish strongly against Waterford and Kilkenny over the last two Sundays.

"That was encouraging but we probably had that bit more training done than Waterford or Kilkenny which helped us get over the line. We knew we had to do well in this League so we put in a lot of work from the start," Sheedy said.

Both Tipperary and Galway have remained unbeaten in the League and to add to the intrigue they drew in a Divisional clash in March. Loughnane believes that it was vital for Galway to make significant progress in the League as they have a long break to the start of the championship.

The same applied last year but Galway's spring campaign turned into a stop-start affair that ended at the League quarter-final stage with a defeat by Wexford. It set the template for what was a rather inauspicious debut season for Loughnane.

"It takes time for a manager to adjust to the mentality of a different county and that was the case with me and Galway," he said.

"The Clare mentality would have been one where we didn't expect to win anything whereas there are always very high expectations in Galway.

"It mightn't always be warranted but it's there and of course that leads to terrible criticism for players if they don't win.

"It also takes time to settle other things in as you want them too. The team is more secure this year," he added.

Loughnane wouldn't have been noted for his interest in the League during Clare's glory days in the 1990s so why is it so significant to Galway now?

"It's important for any team that hasn't won an All-Ireland. Clare reached the League final in 1995 but once we won the All-Ireland, it wasn't as vital to do well in spring. Galway are in a different position now. This team is still waiting for its first All-Ireland so we have to do well in the League."