These lads are coming back and they’re mad to hit the ground running.
Nothing whets the appetite more than watching other lads take your place on the GAA field and perform well.
You could be suspended or injured, you could be on the other side of the world, but watching a game that you could be involved in is the most crippling experience of all.
You want to be in the thick of it, you want to be shipping belts, you want to be plucking balls from the sky.
These six hurlers were missing in action for the 2017 season, but their absence will only make them more hungry to impress and more hungry for success.
1. Tom Devine (Waterford)
The Ireland’s Fittest Family winner dropped himself off the Waterford panel last year, after playing in the opening rounds of the League.
Devine, who is studying medicine in UCC went on his travels last year, and watched his Déise teammates take on Galway in the All-Ireland final from afar in San Francisco.
Hurling was never too far from his mind over the year, as he played with the Tipperary San Francisco team throughout his time away.
He’s back now, and he’ll be hoping to make himself a part of Derek McGrath’s plans.
2. Cathal Barrett (Tipperary)
The Holycross-Ballycahill club man was placed on the naughty step by Michael Ryan last year. The 2016 All-Star corner back was dropped for “disciplinary issues” shortly after Tipperary’s first round Munster championship loss to Cork.
Though such off-field issues can’t be excused, Barrett proved to be an insurmountable loss for the Premier County as the season wore on.
They missed his momentum shifting bursts out of defence. They missed his tigerish tackling, hassling and harrying. They missed his fearless drive, hunger and determination.
He has no excuse this year. Watching on last year must have killed him. He’s back in the panel now, and if he wants to make it back into the team, the chance his there in front of him.
3. Peter Kelly (Dublin)
One of Dublin hurling’s biggest leaders over the last ten years was inexcusably dropped by Ger Cunningham at the beginning of the 2017 season.
Dublin paid for this, Cunningham paid for this.
Kelly is now back in the fold under Pat Gilroy, and he’ll be eager to make up for lost time.
Gilroy already making waves https://t.co/uTgyK0K3hP
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 14, 2017
Still only 28, and with his injury problems hopefully behind him, the Lucan Sarsfields club man has what it takes to bring Dublin hurling back to where it should be.
Back to where he brought it a few years ago.
4. Eoin Cadogan (Cork)
The Douglas club man is back. The former dual star recently decided to throw his lot in with the Rebel hurlers for the first time since 2014. This time his focus is on hurling exclusively.
How could he turn this down? https://t.co/omeKasORia
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) December 16, 2017
This time he means business, and with Steven McDonnell’s number four jersey up for grabs, he’s ready to make his mark.
5. Paudie Foley (Wexford)
The Wexford man missed out on the 2017 season due to circumstances very similar to those of Tom Devine.
Foley spent the summer in America, and missed out on the Wexford revival, but he will be welcomed back with open arms this year.
The DCU student is tall, he is powerful and is very highly rated in the sunny-south-east. He played a starring role in Wexford’s under-21 success in recent years, playing at number 6 for most of those triumphs.
This year, he’s back, and he’s expected to take over that centre back position for the Yellow Bellies.
6. Danny Sutcliffe (Dublin)
The great white hope is back.
Sutcliffe left the panel at the beginning of the 2016 season,before moving to America for the year.
The St Jude’s club man’s departure from the panel marked the dawn of two disappointing years for the Dublin hurlers under Ger Cunningham in 2016 and 2017.
He wasn’t the first to leave the panel, with player unrest apparently rife during Cunningham’s tenure, but his leaving was perhaps the most damaging for the capital city’s hurlers.
Now he’s back, and he’ll be the fulcrum around which Pat Gilroy’s plans revolve.
Because when Sutcliffe burst onto the scene in 2012, he was an explosive attacking behemoth that had no fear or no limitations even against opponents with a high stature and loads of history in the game.
He wasn’t scared, he believed in himself and he couldn’t be held back.
They’ll be hoping he hasn’t lost it.
