The link between league form and summer success is well established at this stage.
The sides who generally contest the Allianz League decider in May tend to also be involved in September. But the hurling landscape has changed since last season’s epic All-Ireland saga between Kilkenny and Tipperary. How will the Cats cope without JJ Delaney? Will Ger Cunningham have the time to bed in as Dublin manager? How will Clare replace Podge Collins?
With these questions and more in mind, we’ve taken a gander under the bonnet of all six sides competing in the top flight and give our assessment as to where they might finish come April time.
Kilkenny
Brian Cody doesn’t do the ‘beal bocht’ so he’s unlikely to be moaning too much about introducing new faces to the defending champions set up this season. Hints of a new approach in Kilkenny under Cody were evident in last year’s league as he chopped and changed his side weekly, blooding a number of players who would serve him so well later in the autumn such as Padraig Walsh and Cillian Buckley. Can he do the same this year after a raft of retirements and the missing Ballyhale contingent?
Just two home games from five means that the Cats will be up against it to make the knock out stages. However the priority of the 2015 side is different to the squad who had a long winter to brood over their disappointing exit in the 2013 championship. Wins against Dublin and Clare in Nowlan Park should be enough to see them avoid a relegation play off if they pick up anything on the road.
Verdict: Quarter finals at least
Tipperary
Last year Tipperary re-asserted their right to be called the next best side in Ireland after Kilkenny, with their slick movement and hard edge almost delivering Liam McCarthy. The issue in Tipp over the last number of years is maintaining that consistency, and then bringing it on a notch or two the following season.
Seamus Callanan had one of the best seasons of his life in 2014. If he is even at 75 per cent of that for the start of the league Tipp will be hard to beat. They only have two home games to try and pick up points, but one of those is against Kilkenny on March 14th. At that stage both sides could be desperate for a win to push them closer to the knock-out stage, or else edge away from the relegation mire.
It could be the game of the league.
Verdict: Top two finish
Cork
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Jimmy Barry Murphy helped the county to the Munster title last season but that was soon forgotten about when August rolled around. They secured passage to the Waterford Crystal final in January where they suffered a 10-point defeat to Limerick. However, despite the loss JBM will have seen enough from players such as Stephen Moylan and Cian McCarthy to suggest they are eager to make every game count in 2015.
The Cork faithful will expect a response to the loss to Tipperary last August and opening to Kilkenny in Pairc Ui Rinn under lights is an ideal atmosphere in which to ambush Brian Cody’s side.
Verdict: Q-finals at least
Clare
Since the championship loss to Wexford last year there has been much soul searching in Clare as to what went wrong, with the added distraction of players leaving the panel for various reasons. However, Davy Fitzgerald has been working with a settled squad for the best part of four months now and their fitness work is rumoured to be intense. It’s reported that players now feel fitter in February than they did come championship last year.
If they tighten up at the back then they can have a very profitable league campaign. Early momentum will be vital to keep critics at bay and a win against Galway on day one could set up the next few months to be very interesting indeed.
Verdict: Top two
Galway
The loss of Joe Canning for at least six weeks appears to be very bad, but in the long run for Galway it may free the rest of their attack from the pressure to ‘give it to Joe’ at every opportunity. The league is for finding new players but the room to experiment without their three-time All-Star leading the attack and guaranteeing at least five-or-six points per game is not ideal.
Home matches with Clare, Kilkenny and Cork could see them just escape relegation trouble, but they will have to avoid a must win clash with Dublin on the final day to ensure of their top flight status into 2016.
Verdict: Bottom two
Dublin
There is no such thing as a honeymoon period in management really. Supporters and players want immediate result but for Ger Cunningham he really couldn’t have asked much more of his players in the early stages of his tenure. They lost last week’s Walsh Cup final but Cunningham will have seen enough to give him confidence ahead of the forthcoming league.
Dublin just avoided relegation in 2013 by edging Waterford in the play-off but they may not be so lucky this season. A mixture of Cunningham finding his feet as well as a tough fixture list that sees them face Tipperary and Kilkenny in their opening two games indicates they may struggle to trouble the other sides in Division 1A
Verdict: Bottom two
Allianz Hurling League Roinn 1B 2015
With all due respect (cue massive disrespect) the winner of Sam Maguire is going to come from Division 1 of the Allianz Football League. However, when it comes to the hurling counterpart, the second tier contains at least one team with genuine designs on Liam McCarthy being in their possession come September.
That side are favourites for the Division, Limerick. The Treaty men were pipped for promotion last year despite going undefeated in all five games. Two draws, including one against eventual winners Cork, mean they remain in the second tier for 2015.
Limerick made a Munster final and an All-Ireland semi-final last year and TJ Ryan will be determined they improve on that this term. Step one will be the long awaited escape from Division 1B and they will be hard to stop.
Their biggest rivals may be the team they face this weekend. Waterford travel to the Gaelic Grounds and the team Derek McGrath sends out will look very different. Stephen Molumphy, Shane Walsh, Shane Prendergast, Liam Lawlor and Jamie Nagle are no longer on the scene with the new side based on the 2013 All Ireland minor winning side.
Limerick beat them when the teams met in Waterford Crystal Cup last month but the winner this weekend will be in pole position to claim the Division.
However, Wexford will also eye top spot. Last season Wexford dumped Clare out of the Championship and had their best season in a while before going down hard to a rampant Limerick in the quarter-final.
The loss of Keith Rossiter will be keenly felt but the sense is that Liam Dunne has this team headed in the right direction, though getting promotion may be just beyond them this term, especially as Conor McDonald is set to miss more than half the campaign through injury.
As for the other three teams, Cheddar Plunket has made Laois the shock specialists and they are capable of beating any team in 1B on their day. Offaly look to be in the doldrums, with Brian Whelehan facing a massive task to return the Faithful to the glory days.
Antrim’s place as the upset specialists has been taken by Laois. Winless in their 2014 League campaign, Kevin Ryan will be targeting Offaly and Laois for morale-boosting wins this term.
