Cats set for season opener

Carlow first up for Kilkenny in Walsh Cup

BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR

PREVIEW

Carlow Vs Kilkenny

Netwatch Cullen Park, Sunday 1:30pm

Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Wexford)

The first weekend of January 2024 sees our senior hurlers make the trip to Netwatch Cullen Park to take on Carlow as the inter-county season gets underway for Derek Lyng’s charges.  The Emerald’s clubman will know that much is expected of his team this season, but as usual there is the seemingly immovable object that is Limerick, standing in the way of all other county’s aims and objectives.

For now, it’s all about blooding new players and getting minutes into their legs as the Cats management team seek to add a few players to their National League panel that will hopefully push-on and possibly make the championship squad.  We could see more of Lyng’s All-Ireland winning U20 team getting action on Sunday and in further Walsh Cup games.

With Kilkenny club sides performing well and claiming all three provincial titles, the manager will not be able to call on players from O’Loughlin Gaels, Thomastown or Tullogher Rosbercon.  Given the tremendous achievements by all three sides in 2023, you would imagine the likes of David Fogarty, Jordan Molloy and Sean Bolger may have seen action this month, had it not been for the Loughs securing an All-Ireland club final berth to face-off against Galway’s St Thomas’s in a couple of weeks’ time.

With Padraig Walsh and Richie Hogan retiring from the black and amber, and both Alan Murphy and Conor Browne opting out for the season ahead, it could well be a youthful and largely inexperienced side that takes to the Network Cullen pitch on Sunday.  Last season’s Walsh Cup saw the emergence of Galmoy’s Billy Drennan who shone brightly and laid down a marker with some eye-catching performances.   Drennan will also have Fitzgibbon Cup matters on his mind, as will many other Noresiders, with around a fifty strong contingent representing various colleges in the higher education tournament.

I would imagine that the likes of Drennan, Timmy Clifford, Padraic Moylan and Niall Rowe will be hoping to juggle Fitzgibbon and Walsh Cup commitments. This is the perfect time of the year for any player with aspirations of becoming a top Cat in 2024.  Alongside Drennan, David Blanchfield and Tom Phelan were two real cracking additions to Derek Lyng’s panel last season.  Indeed, the absence of the injured Blanchfield from the Kilkenny starting line-up in last year’s decider with Limerick was certainly a huge blow for the men in stripes.

Drennan’s accuracy from the placed ball, meant that TJ Reid could be allowed additional time to rehab in the early part of last season. Tom Phelan improved as the season progressed and that will stand to the Conahy attacker this year.  The pacey wing forward will hope to replicate his form from the 2023 Walsh Cup campaign, having netted in the opener against Offaly. Another of Lyng’s U20 panel, Ian Byrne struck a major against the Faithful County and the Glenmore man will be pushing for inclusion this season.

For the last few years, St Lachtains netminder Darren Brennan has been given the No.1 jersey in the early part of the season with Aidan Tallis keeping him on his toes and getting some game time also.  It will be interesting to see if the likes of Dean Mason can force his way into the senior set up.  The Shamrocks Ballyhale man has been pretty consistent over the last few seasons and has all the attributes to succeed at senior inter-county level.  Glenmore’s Eoin Murphy can enjoy a relaxing January and get himself ready for the latter stages of the league, should his manager decide to explore his options between the sticks.

With Richie Reid recently married and on honeymoon, his clubmate Darragh Corcoran may fancy his chances of getting his name on the team sheet over the next month or so, especially with many others unavailable. Corcoran was converted to the full-back role by Pat Hoban for the recent club season and performed well on the edge of the square.  The former UL student is equally at home in the half-back line, so don’t be surprised if he gets minutes in the Walsh Cup across different positions.

Sunday’s opponents Carlow will welcome their illustrious neighbours to Netwatch Cullen Park knowing that an away victory is expected, but the current Joe McDonagh Cup holders will relish the opportunity to take on what will undoubtably be a makeshift Kilkenny XV.  Masterminding the Barrowsiders efforts is Tom Mullally, who is no stranger to Noreside.  The Glenmore native has done a wonderful job since his appointment with Carlow, and he will be hoping that their successful 2023 season is just the start for this panel.  Mullally has a knack of making things happen with the teams he gets involved with, and has been ‘double jobbing’ recently, not only managing Carlow, but also club side Naas, where he has also made his mark.

Backed by a huge Mount Leinster Rangers and St Mullins contingent, Carlow will hope to use this season as a building block and test themselves against higher ranked sides.  Nolan’s Jon and Chris along with Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Diarmuid Byrne, Martin Kavanagh and Paddy Boland provide an experienced spine in the County set up and have played against the best in Leinster at club level.

Kavanagh was in splendid form in the Joe McDonagh Cup win, notching 1-8 in the Croke Park win over Offaly last May, while Paddy Boland had a decent tally of 1-4.  The Nolan brothers contributed 0-7 between them also, showing that this Carlow outfit has a decent spread of scorers.

In terms of young blood, the likes of Dean Tobin and Donagh Murphy will hope to be included in Mullally’s Walsh Cup panel, having shown well for MLR as they retained their county title by defeating St Mullins last August.

Derek Lyng will hope that whatever side he selects for Sunday’s game, shows enough hunger and desire to complement the undoubted talent that his starting 15 will have.  The fact that Kilkenny will provide clubs at all levels in the upcoming junior, intermediate and senior deciders, reenforces the fact that Noreside has plenty of good hurlers at the manager’s disposal.

Get set for another roller-coaster ride supporting the boys in black and amber in 2024.

WALSH CUP 2024