'We’re not looking back but looking forward'- Laois hurling manager Willie Maher
The Laois manager is preparing his side for battle in Division 2A of the league
The Laois hurlers will get their Allianz Hurling League campaign underway this weekend as they welcome Down to Portlaoise. This is the first year since 2013 that Laois have not competed in Division 1 having stood their ground for the last decade in the top tier.
2024 represents a great chance of silverware for Maher and his side as they'll also compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup, a trophy that they previously won in 2019 under the stewardship of Eddie Brennan.
Maher spoke to the Leinster Express/ Laois Live to give an update on his side's preparations as well as the problem he faces with college players and the potential for them to get burn out due to them having too many matches.
"Preparations are going well. We played a challenge match last week and the lads played well in it. I suppose the one concern we have is Fitzgibbon players. We have seven or eight of them playing, one of the lads played Monday and Thursday and is hoping to play on Sunday and then he’ll probably have another Fitzgibbon game next week. Carlow IT are out this week as well and we have five lads on the panel. They’re playing UCD and we’ve a few on that team too. It’s trying to manage people’s games and the amount of time that they play so that they’re not burnt out," Maher said.
Laois played four out of the five teams that join them in Division 2A in 2023. Laois were comfortable winners over Down, Kerry and Kildare while they drew to Carlow after a last-minute penalty from Marty Kavanagh meant the points were shared. Maher believes his side are ready for the challenge of Down.
"I suppose we can use what happened last year but again it was a different time of the year. It was summer hurling when we played Down and Kildare in particular. The Kerry match, we played very well and won well in the end but for 55 minutes there was very little in the game. I think with winter conditions and the ball slowing a fraction, it becomes a lot more competitive. It’s up to us to make sure that we’re ready to play Down on Sunday, which we are and we’re taking everything into account. We’re not looking back but looking forward," he said.
Laois have four players from the U-20 panel involved with the Senior panel; Jer Quinlan, Tom Cuddy, Cody Comerford and Aaron Phelan. At present, players cannot line out in an U20 and senior championship game in the same seven-day period. The Laois boss says it's key to communication between the Seniors and the U-20's when it comes to players playing both age groups.
"It’s a very short-term plan we’re trying to work through with the under-20 management. If we’re playing in the national league and if players are in the top-20 for a given national league match, they’ll be unavailable for the 20’s that weekend. A lot of the under-20 games are mid-week so we’re trying to be as accommodating as possible. We understand that Laois is a small county with small playing numbers compared to bigger teams such as Kilkenny and Tipperary and the likes. We’re in constant communication trying to make sure that the players are at the centre of all the decisions we make and we’ll just have to manage it week by week," Maher said.
Laois come into the game against Down with no fresh injury concerns and will welcome back Rathdowney-Errill's Paddy Purcell, who had suffered a dead while playing for UCD. Purcell didn't feature in the Walsh Cup but did line-out for Laois in the challenge game against Cork in Rathdowney. Maher ends by saying that the increased volume of games for some of his panel members will affect them in the future.
"Not so much injuries but the increased workload on players playing college hurling. It’s been referenced in the national media across football and hurling, it’s a lot of games for a lot of fellas. We’re kind of running through the competitions concurrently and it’s difficult for the individuals that are playing. There’s no fresh injuries but at the same time, the increased volume of activity that will affect us in the future.
"Paddy will return. We played Cork last weekend and Paddy played well in midfield. We’re hoping to have a relatively full squad to pick from but again we’ll be training on Friday night and we’ll make a final call with the team announced after that. With the increased volume of activity with certain individuals, there’s always a risk of something happening so we’ll leave it till the last minute to pick our team," he said.
Laois and Down clash in Round 1 of the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A this Sunday, February 4 in Laois Hire O'Moore Park from 2pm.