Carlow dead rubber gives Offaly hurlers the opportunity to experiment

OFFALY senior hurling management will face a bit of a dilemma when they sit down to select their team for next Saturday's Joe McDonagh Cup game in Carlow.

With qualification to the final secured with one round to go, they can afford to relax, experiment and just enjoy themselves but they also have a duty to other counties to try and win the game, to put their best foot forward.

It is a great position to be in and Offaly have performed really well this year. They have made definite improvements from last year and with some exciting young talent from last year's outstanding minor team getting ready to play senior in the next three years, there is more optimism about the future of Offaly hurling than there has been in a long time.

They have achieved all their objectives for the season so far. They won promotion back to Division 1 of the National Hurling League, they are unbeaten and they are now in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

It is a very significant turnaround from three years ago when Offaly were not only in the third tier, the Christy Ring Cup but were unable to make the final. Many of the same players are still there, albeit with an infusion of younger players but the way they have turned things around has been great to witness.

It is important to be realistic and Offaly are not good enough yet to go toe to toe with the big guns yet. They weren't competitive in Division 1 of the National Hurling League in 2022 and it will take time to get up to that level.

They are, however, moving in the right direction and like all Offaly teams at the moment, there is great commitment, hunger and desire in this squad. It is impossible to know how far Offaly can go and the county does need another outstanding underage team to emerge to really get out of the doldrums but at least people can dream once again – several of last year's minors have great potential but there will be a fall off with some of them and this is where you need another team supplementing them.

All of that, however, is for the future and the current standard bearers are doing everything that has been asked of them. They are unbeaten and the only slight blemish was a draw with Kildare in the group stages of the league in Tullamore but they beat them in the Division 2 final and then beat them easily in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

Promotion to Division 1 was not the most important thing for Offaly this year but the Joe McDonagh Cup and getting back into the top tier is crucial for the mid term development of Offaly hurling. Offaly can't live with the All-Ireland contenders at the moment and that includes two Leinster teams in Kilkenny and Galway but their challenge is to get up to the level below that – where they can at least compete with the top tier teams who are unlikely to win an All-Ireland.

In Leinster, this refers specifically to Dublin and Wexford and that is the next target for Offaly hurling. They need to win the Joe McDonagh Cup to see how they fare with them and the final on May 28-29 will be Offaly's biggest game in years.

In the short term, Offaly have a free shot next Sunday. The result doesn't matter to Offaly but it does matter to Carlow and to Kerry and Laois who are playing in Kerry.

Offaly's first round win over Laois really set up their campaign but there is a feeling, among some supporters at least, that not meeting their neighbours in the final would not be a bad thing and that they would be better off playing Carlow.

Johnny Kelly and management, however, can't afford to and won't allow this type of thinking to infiltrate their camp. It is a negative slant as it diminishes the threat and quality of Carlow and they have beaten Offaly in the past as well as suggesting that Offaly should be afraid of Laois..

The stakes are very simple this weekend. A Carlow win will put them in the final alongside Offally. However, if Offaly win, it throws a lifeline to Kerry and Laois with the winners of that game qualifying for the decider – looking at Kerry last Sunday, the smart money will be on Laois getting the win down south and the Munster men look to have slipped back from last year.

Offaly also have no reason to fear Laois if they do meet again. Offaly have been the best team in the Joe McDonagh Cup to date and they have a great chance of promotion – already, their final berth has secured a place in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship preliminary quarter-finals. They will play the third team in Leinster if they win and the third team in Munster if they lose the final – Dublin look like being the third team in Leinster and while Clare occupy that position in Munster at the moment, that province is wide open with a lot of hurling to be done yet.

Offaly will be trying to win Saturday's game and let no one be under any illusions about that. With the best will in the world, however, they won't be able to bring the same intensity to the table that they would to a big knockout game. It isn't that and apart from aiming to go through the season unbeaten, the stakes just aren't high for Offaly.

Part of the dilemma facing management is what team to field. Do they field their best team or do they give game time to more fringe players? Players who have seen little or no action during the campaign.

There are players on the panel who haven't featured or just got brief runs. Saturday represents a great opportunity to give them a go. The subs bench last Sunday was Eamon Cleary, Eimhin Kelly, John Murphy, Sam Bourke, James Nally, Shane Dooley, Liam Langton, Joey Kenaghan, Cathal O'Meara, Eoghan Parlon and Conor Langton.

Eimhin Kelly is just back from injury and the game would really benefit him. Liam Langton has slipped down the pecking order this year while John Murphy has not got as much game time as he had in other years. They would all love the chance to show what they are made of, not to mention the likes of Sam Bourke, Eoghan Parlon, Cathal O'Meara and Conor Langton who haven't played.

Making wholescale changes would not be the right thing. It simply doesn't give fringe players the best opportunity to excel and they will perform better with a strong team around them. The opening, however, should be taken to give some players a chance and Offaly's only duty is to themselves and the players they have on board.

If they try out things, don't play at full tilt and lose, so be it. Expect Offaly, however, to go for a mixture – to field a mainly first choice team but give a couple of tired bodies a rest. To go out and try and win the game. Offaly were well ahead of Carlow in the league this year and they are likely to be able to get another win.