Cavan and Roscommon may have satisfied their requirements and submitted teams for Sunday’s championship encounters but both the accuracy and necessity of such midweek announcements are becoming increasingly questionable.
A word of caution will definitely come with the Wexford hurling team to play Dublin in Saturday’s Leinster quarter-final replay at Parnell Park: manager Liam Dunne made seven changes for last Saturday’s drawn game, and 14 positional switches, from the one listed in the match programme, and made no apologies afterwards.
“I’m managing the team,” said Dunne, “and if I feel like doing it that way then that’s how I’ll do it.”
The naming of so-called “dummy teams” is nothing new and yet Dunne has his sympathisers, at least when it concerns Croke Park dictating that teams must be submitted by the Wednesday before championship games: Galway hurling manager Anthony Cunningham says it conflicts sharply with the need to assess players’ fitness and form.
“This year we are determined to pick our teams based on their current form in training,” says Cunningham. “Whoever is playing well in training the week of the game will start. We don’t finish training until Friday, and it’s going to be touch and go for some of them. How can I pick a team before then?”
No Shine
Roscommon football manager John Evans has named his team for Sunday's Connacht semi-final against Mayo, the big news being forward Donie Shine is not listed to start because of a hamstring injury:
“We have been honest all along with the different injuries we have had,” says Evans. “In fairness, you’d have a good idea about 13 or 14 of your starting side and 24 of the panel, but there are always a couple of late concerns.”
The team includes two debutants, with Darren O’Malley named in goal, while Conor Daly will join his brother Niall in the half back line.
Also ruled out along with Shine was Ian Kilbride, Darragh Donnelly and Donal Keane.
Cavan football manager Terry Hyland has named the same team that beat Armagh in the preliminary round, including Jack Brady, who was however replaced before throw-in the last day by Killian Brady.
Damien Hayes, meanwhile, is almost certain to be included in the Galway team to play Laois in Sunday's Leinster hurling semi-final; what the veteran forward is not so sure about is what his position will be this summer, having played such a loose role last summer in the run to the All-Ireland final.
Playmaker
"I suppose I ended up being a bit of a playmaker," says Hayes. "I did enjoy that, was at a level of huge fitness as well. Maybe it was just that I got a new lease of life with the role I was given."
A s defending Leinster champions, Galway are both wanted and wanting over the coming weeks, although Hayes insists they haven’t looked past Laois;l indeed there are lingering doubts as to whether Galway can push on from last year, when they came so close to beating Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final (having already taken them down in the Leinster final).
“Well we nearly got relegated in the league last year,” says Hayes, “whereas this year we got to the semi-finals. Now, I know we didn’t play very well, but we blooded an awful lot of players from the Walsh Cup, the Railway Cup and the league.
“We’ve done a good bit of training as well. Preparation has gone well. There’s not going to be any excuses.
"But Laois are going very well at the minute. We won't be taking them for granted. We'll take the game extremely serious. I'm being honest, there has been no team mentioned, only Laois. If we're looking at other matches beyond Laois, that's where we'll get caught."
ROSCOMMON (SF v Mayo): D O'Malley; N Collins, N Carty, S McDermott; D Keenan, N Daly, C Daly; K Higgins, M Finneran; C Devaney, K Mannion, C Cregg (capt); D Smith, S Kilbride, D O'Gara. d
CAVAN (SF v Fermanagh): C Gilsenan; J McLoughlin, R Dunne, K Clarke; J McEnroe, A Clarke (cpt), R Flanagan; D O'Reilly, D Givney; C Mackey, J Brady, F Flanagan; N McDermott, M Dunne, E Keating.
