What’s a poor wing back meant to do?
Donal Tuohy is blessed no matter what way he goes. A short puckout and the little buzzers like Colm Galvin, Jack Browne and Tony Kelly are in the money and on the run. A long one and the big boys, Niall Deasy, John Conlon and Peter Duggan are in cloud-cuckoo-land.
How could anything possibly go wrong?
Half of them go short because the Crusheen man has a mean one in him. The rest of them land on the right wing, that’s where Peter Duggan is usually stationed.
To think there was a time when the Clooney-Quin handful couldn’t make it on the Clare team. After one hell of an under-21 career that saw him win three All-Irelands in three wonderful years, it took a while for him to nail it down with the biggest of boys.
Frustrated by a lack of starts and his role as a late sub, by the beginning of the 2018 season he was debating giving up the dream.
“I’m delighted I didn’t now,” he says.
Even training at 5.00 in the morning, Peter Duggan sees the bright side
He went onto dominate the Munster championship with his sharp shooting and his powerful ball-winning ability leaving a trail of defenders in his elusive trail and ended the year as an All-Star.
Not only is Duggan extremely effective, however, he also has a very unique free-style of hurling that ensures he’s always an entertaining watch.
"A truly astonishing score" – Peter Duggan hits a spectacular point as Clare try their best to stay in the game.
Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 9:30pm on RTE 2 tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/yjLgwIbeZ2
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 28, 2018
That famous point sums him up, off-the-cuff, fearless and at times desperate but he nearly always gets the job down.
“I don’t know what I do half the time being honest,” he said to us at the launch of Bodibro at Future Proof Media.
One aspect that stands out is his ability to catch high balls with either hand. Usually a right handed hurler, like Duggan, would catch the ball in their left hand but he often comes down from the clouds with the sliotar in his right.
“I think that came from handball, I played a lot of handball when I was younger. I liked being different because I don’t think there’s too many that catch it with both hands and I actually find it nearly easier catching it with my right. I used to love when someone would say, ‘Get to his catching hand.’ And I’d smile and think, ‘Haha, I have you here!’ So catching with both hands was just something from handball I kept on.
“It’s made a huge difference over the last few years. I’d surgery on my hand only recently and I’ve only just been able to catch the ball on my right hand again. It’s a nice thing to be able to do.”
Get practicing that one hurlers.
As for the Banner side of things, his and their aim is to become more consistent recently and the holy grail is that Munster title.
“Back in for the slog, yeah. A long year so hopefully we’re able to do something a bit different.
“One thing that’s being a big flaw in Clare’s game over the last few years is consistency. We’ve very much struggled to perform for a full 70 minutes and if we can get that for the start of the year and build that the whole way for the rest of the year. It’s a lot easier said than done. We have to see what happens on the field. We can do as much as we can in training but it’s about getting it out of each player and building that mentality that we can play for the 70 minutes.”
“I fairly thought every year was going to be a big year. The target isn’t to get an All-Ireland, it’s to get a performance every day and whatever happens after that happens. Ideally, what I’d love is the Munster title.”
In a very enjoyable interview, Duggan told us about the days he spent working on the Cusack Park, Ennis sod and how he used to ensure there were always a few sliotars there waiting for him.
That’s half of the reason I worked there! (pucking ball) Most days I’d have the hurley inside, I actually had a hurley left inside there. I used to love finding a few sliotars after training. When we were training inside in Cusack Park I’d pick up three or four brand new ones and I’d launch them fair high. They wouldn’t be seen and I’d collect them the next day!
