Jack Guiney has had his trials and tribulations as a hurler, but now the Rathnure man finally appears set to fulfil his unlimited potential.
Guiney burst on to the Wexford scene in 2012.
The prodigiously talented 23-year-old has never had any doubters about his ability, what has been questioned, however, was his attitude and his commitment to the cause.
He was a maverick, a maverick, however, that Wexford hurling folk always knew would be crucial to a revival in the county’s hurling fortunes.
These concerns, it must be said were justified with Guiney having endured an up-and-down inter-county career thus far.
He was dropped by Liam Dunne in 2015 for disciplinary reasons and left the panel for ‘personal reasons’ last year. It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Guiney who has also had his fair share of injuries over the last few years.
Guiney, like many of his team-mates, cast his doubters aside in Wexford Park on Saturday night.
Guiney may not have been as prominent on the ball as he would’ve liked, but any ball that did enter his vicinity, he was hungry, he was sharp and he made sure he won it ahead of his Kilkenny rivals.
When he won the ball, as Paddy Stapleton said on The GAA Hour Hurling Show on Monday, he was industrious, he was fit, he was quick and he was ready to go.
What impressed Stapleton the most, however, was Guiney’s work-rate, which was something he hadn’t previously associated with the physically imposing attacker.
“I actually thought he was brilliant. This is not the player we’ve seen in the last few years. It had to be somebody else in that helmet. It was absolutely unbelievable, I just noticed his work-rate, he was flying around. His feet were moving quicker than I ever saw. He was like Zidane passing the ball around. He was absolutely whizzing it around, you know, it was such a team performance,” said the Borrisoleigh man.
Stapleton has marked Guiney out as a potential weapon for Davy Fitzgerald’s side, one that if utilised fully, can cause havoc for opponents.
“The mannerism I’ve seen of him playing (before) wouldn’t have been a lad that was giving himself to the team. The other day, it was just everything for the team. He was popping it off to lads, he was winning ball, he was hooking and blocking. I just thought he was fantastic. The other players might think now, it was his first Championship match in a while, we need to get the ball into Guiney. He was every bit as dangerous as Conor McDonald would be,” said the former Tipperary corner back.
Listen to the lads waxing lyrical about Guiney, and his Wexford team-mates here from 45’00”.
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