Gavin Cummiskey profiles Kilkenny's centre half back who has established himself in the pivotal position despite fierce competition
THE STOCK placed in the centre back position on a hurling field cannot be overstated. It is where possession gets divvied out. When a goalkeeper or defender clears more often than not it is in the number six territory that the sliotar comes raining down upon. If not him then his wingbacks must clean up.
In modern times the success and near dominance of Cork was built upon a remarkable half back line marshalled by Ronan Curran. When Clare rose from obscurity in the 1990s it was Seanie McMahon who was so often the catalyst of their best play.
If anyone deserves a September afternoon hurling in Croke Park it is Waterford's Ken McGrath. When Davy Fitzgerald switched him to full back recently people were immediately suspicious and the ploy was abandoned with one primary reason in mind: McGrath must be at the core of activity for the Deise to flourish.
In Kilkenny they like to produce centre backs in pairs. As Peter Barry concluded a fine playing career, Brian Hogan's form for O'Loughlin Gaels was drawing widespread praise. Hogan's entry into championship hurling was a nightmare, however, and a low point in the ten-season reign of Brian Cody. Defeat to Wexford will do that.
Hogan made his championship bow in the 2004 Leinster semi-final as a wingback. He has long since dealt with the trauma that stalled a promising career.
"That was a steep learning curve that day. I will always remember it but I suppose hurling is the sort of game that is very hard to make any kind of game plan or strategy. You have in your head an idea of what the opposition might do but a large part of it is done on the field.
"In the first ten minutes the intensity is sky-high but usually when the game settles down you try and get a bearing on how the opposition is going.
"From a communication point of view, within that half-back line, we probably needed to close ranks there for a couple of minutes and get things sorted out whereas we let the game progress and got caught up in the whole emotion of it and tried to just cover our own position instead of backing each other up in zones. But hindsight is great like that and there are guys on the bench itching to get in and if you have a bad game, you're looking over your shoulder."
Back he came in 2005 to start the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway at centre back. Kilkenny lost again. His championship stat sheet read: played two, lost two. And this was a Kilkenny hurler! It got worse as a young defender John Tennyson emerged from the minor ranks in 2006, Barry had retired, constricting Hogan to a single run-out off the bench against Clare as Kilkenny's quest for dominance of the national landscape began in earnest.
"Peter Barry was there at centre back and Noel was there at full back so the two boys were not going to get shifted. Probably the following year ('05) I was behind Peter and I came in for one or two of the games. Tenno came in the following year. In fairness to Tenno he had a big reputation as a minor. We slugged it out there for the position and he got it when Peter retired. That's just the nature of it. We all know if you are hurling well enough you will get in there."
Hogan is three years older and three inches taller than Tennyson, which may just be the margin that currently separates them. Imagine the explosion of splinters when Cody lets the two young men shadow each other in training.
"Fortunately the next year (2007) I managed to get in ahead of him and hold onto it. It is a struggle to get in there. You could say the same with John Dalton trying to get in there at corner back or wing back and PJ Delaney is the same. The same with the forwards. You can't really think about that. You've just got to put in a performance."
A medical rep for Grunenthal Pharmaceuticals, Hogan is one of those disarming individuals who is relaxed discussing his main trade. We suspect Mr Hyde never makes an appearance until the helmet is strapped on. Anyway, his demeanour leaves him ideally placed to paint a picture of what makes Kilkenny such a relentless force at all levels of hurling. A group that can so competently overwhelm a great team like Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. Many believed Cork would at least stay close to them considering so many were reaching the twilight of great hurling careers.
"I suppose when you would be out on the road lads would be asking you the same thing. There is huge effort put in underage with the development squad. Trying to get guys at an early age and give them good coaching. Bring them in from all the clubs.
"(St) Kieran's has always had a name as a nursery but in the last couple of years Kilkenny CBS have stepped up as well, winning a couple of Leinster titles. The work is being put in at schools and underage so we are reaping the rewards. You only have to look at the minor team this year, it is made up predominantly of junior clubs. Clubs that wouldn't be your household names like the city clubs or Ballyhale, which is great. The work is being put in everywhere."
