Good article that Billy.
I guess the game at the highest level has now become all about the oul intensitaaa....
Killkenny bring that to the table like no other.In this era we live in where everything is under the microscope with the internet and whatnot a lot of the stuff that goes on,the cynical stuff that Donal og eluded to in his article,the grabbing of the hurl with the loose hand,the grabbing on the face mask,the pulling,the dragging the dig with the but end of the hurl etc etc,its all spotted by everyone.So it gets saturation coverage these days.
Its become win at all costs now.How you play,set-up tactically,weather its pleasing on the eye of the hurling aristocrat or not dosen`t really matter.Its about getting the result,by any means necessary.Break the rules when you can get away with it once it benifits your side.
Lar Corbett on the large didn`t break any rules on sunday when he decided to be Tommy Walsh`s shadow.He was clearly instructed by Declan Ryan to do so.A junior B hurler could have done what Lar did on sunday.This tactic was to wind up a fellow hurler (c*nt or not) to a point where he gets him sent off.This is the prime example of the win at all costs,cynical tactics.Ryan somewhat deprived one of the finest hurlers to have come out of the premier county his opportunity to show what he can do for Tipp,make an impact,with his skills with the hurl,not by playing chasing.
A lot of this cynical stuff has gone on for years but has gone unoticed,or at least ignored.Donal og goes back to a bygone era where the hurling aristocrats of Offally ruled the roost in `98 with the slik wristwork of the Dooleys,Brian Whelehan,Johnny Pilkington and co.Or the Cork teams of Doanl o grady and then John Allen who employed the running game.Dirty shite went on in those days too,not as much as today but it did.As donal og says Micheal Duignan himself was no stranger to mixing it when things got dirty and he`d the neck to cry foul time and time again while commentating on sunday.Oh the irony!!
Donal og made a great point.Maybe after game analysis of the incidents and adequate punishment later might make some players and managers think twice and go out and play the game how it should be played.With skill AND intensity.
