Ian O'Riordanassesses the former Clare manager's hopes with Galway and reflects on Antrim's ambitions
The wise man draws more advantage from his enemies than the fool does from his friends. Without getting too deep and meaningful about it, that seemed to be the mindset behind Galway's league campaign: They watched, they learnt, they drew inspiration, at the same time giving little away about themselves.
When Ger Loughnane walked out of Nowlan Park after the surprise quarter-final defeat to Wexford he talked about increasing the work-rate, getting players into the right position, maybe sharpening up a little more. Typical of Loughnane, he was playing the wise man, and we were the fools to think these were the only things he'd be working on. Loughnane had drawn much more from his enemies. In reality, all hell was probably about to break loose in the long and slow build-up to the championship.
Anyone who watched Galway closely during the league would have got the sense that Loughnane had yet to fully exert his influence on the team, was deliberately holding something back for the championship. That was particularly obvious in the final round game against Kilkenny, when he stood practically motionless on the sideline as his team struggled to contain their opponents, especially in the closing stages. It was the same that day against Wexford. Clearly, Loughnane has a lot more fire in the system, and there'll be no holding back come the business end of the season.
Galway's league campaign was always going to be a learning process. Loughnane needed to test the style and substance of as many players as possible, in as many different positions. In the end, there was some confusion over who was best suited where, and which, if any, players were surplus to the need. Question marks were left hanging over several key positions.
Full forward Eugene Cloonan was one of the very few players to start in the same position. He was easily their top scorer, hitting 1-46 in six games, and his fitness and strength is better now that it has ever been. Cloonan could yet be one of the players of the year - look out.
After Cloonan, however, Loughnane does face plenty of making-your-mind- up time. Damien Hayes was tried at midfield with some success in the win over Tipperary, but lacks some of the power of a more natural midfielder and will probably end up back amongst the forwards.
Kevin Broderick showed flashes of his old brilliance, but lacked consistency as well and may struggle to find his place ahead of younger faces such as Iarla Tannian and Niall Healy.
Alan and Mark Kerins are always reliable contenders, and there's also Ger Farragher, Richie Murray and David Tierney to consider. In other words, Loughnane has plenty of options up front, and the key - as always - will be finding the right blend.
Midfield was effectively a roundabout during the league, with David Forde, Fergal Healy, Alan Kerins, Damien Hayes and even team captain David Collins among those all given an opportunity to impress and there's also Tony Óg Regan to think about. This is another crucial decision facing Loughnane, and right now the most likely partnership is anyone's guess.
Collins is a more natural defender, ideally wearing the number seven shirt. John Lee was as consistent as anyone at centre back and Derek Hardiman still looks the best bet for full back. Liam Donoghue is expected to be the first-choice goalkeeper, although James Skehill and Aidan Ryan can't be dismissed either.
So, Galway's team-sheet for their opening game on June 30th - the first round of the All-Ireland qualifier group - is awaited with great interest. Ideally, Loughnane would have preferred at least one more game before entering that 12-week hiatus, but it gives him more than ample time to design his perfect starting 15. Further suggestions on a postcard please.
Inevitably, Galway will ease their way into the All-Ireland quarter-finals at the end of July and that's where their season really begins. Loughnane has surrounded himself with plenty of good advisers, including sports injury specialist Ger Hartmann, who liased with fitness trainer Louis Mulqueen in designing a programme aimed solely at peaking at the end of summer.
The amount of ball and stick work was deliberately limited during the league in order to establish as strong a fitness foundation as possible. Hartmann admits his work was effectively done by the end of April, and from then on the only thing that would really make a difference between winning and losing the All-Ireland was the skill level of the players. Fitness wouldn't fail them anyway.
Loughnane still has very real ambitions of playing hurling through to the first Sunday in September. This, after all, is the man who admitted he would be a failure if he didn't deliver an All-Ireland to Galway within two years. And when has Loughnane ever contemplated failure?
Morale and spirit in the camp has been in no way affected by their somewhat disappointing league run. The shock defeat to Dublin was a reminder that nothing will come easy, and the four-point loss to Kilkenny - albeit somewhat flattering - was a reminder they weren't too far off either.
One of the big talking points of Galway's league run was their lack of goals: Three against Antrim in the first round, one against Dublin, and that was it. That was clearly a fluke because Galway definitely have the forwards to score goals, and come the summer they surely will score more.
If that starts to happen, then on any given day they are still capable of beating any team in the country.
The reality is Galway's league run won't have fooled anyone, and least of all their enemies.
If you've foundit hard to get excited about Ulster hurling in recent years then don't worry, you're not alone. The Ulster championship has always been sympathetically handled - a bit like an unwanted puppy - trying to find a proper home for the winners, as long as they don't end up too close to the All-Ireland doorstep.
Last year, that meant keeping them out of the All-Ireland championship altogether, a decision made in agreement with the Ulster Council. Needless to say, that didn't go down too well with
Antrim, who went on to win a record 45th Ulster title - albeit four months later than planned - by beating New York in the novel setting of Canton, outside of Boston, Massachusetts, at the end of October.
The big problem with Ulster hurling at the moment is that Antrim are so much better than everyone else. Last year, for example, they stumbled against London (2-16 to 1-14) before hammering Down (2-23 to 0-12) in the semi-final. The fact that New York beat Derry in the other semi-final confirms the worrying state of play within the province.
Antrim duly went into the Christy Ring Cup as part of the "rebuilding" process and won that competition even easier than they could have expected, beating Carlow in the final, 5-13 to 1-7. So now they're back in the All-Ireland championship and poised to make up the numbers again in the qualifying groups.
They still have an Ulster championship to contend with, facing London again on May 13th, playing either Derry or Armagh in semi-final final, and most likely Down in the final.
None of those teams appear equipped to stop them and yet there is still the unlikely prospect of them entering the All-Ireland championship having lost somewhere at provincial level, while those provincial winners remain limited to the Christy Ring Cup.
Antrim always produce teams capable of producing a shock somewhere along the line, as their surprising and much-needed win over Dublin in the league proved. That, however, was their only victory of the campaign and under the revised format it's impossible to see how they can return to top-flight hurling anytime soon.
They are now in the capable hands of joint managers Terence McNaughton and Dominic McKinley, who know the reality of their championship ambitions better than anyone else. Antrim are back on the All-Ireland campaign this year.
They deserve to be there, but whether or not they'll ever get to call it home remains to be seen.
The winners of this year's Christy Ring Cup won't qualify automatically for the 2008 All-Ireland, and will instead have a home play-off against the last of the 12 championship sides - which at least gives Antrim a little more security in their efforts to establish some consistent competition against the top teams over the next few years.