PREVIEW: Battle of the Blues as Thurles Sarsfields and Lorrha clash in Nenagh on Saturday

Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Final Preview

Thurles Sarsfields vs Lorrha, Saturday, October 14th in Nenagh @ 4 pm

In contrast to the senior decider, few would have predicted this pairing when looking at possible winners of this competition from the outset.

Ok, maybe that applies more to Thurles Sarsfields remarkable run from the back of the quarter-final pack. Still, Lorrha are just fresh back into the grade after winning the Intermediate title last year and there was a train of thought that they would need a bit of time before making a crack at going up into the senior ranks.

But they certainly haven’ rested on their laurels and continue to improve at a rate of knots under club legend and current senior manager Ken Hogan who has a real knack of milking the most out of every team he gets involved with.

They are undefeated in this year’s championship and given they were in the perceived Premier Intermediate version of the group of death with Killenaule and Gortnahoe Glengoole, it makes it all the more impressive.

Thurles Sarsfields second team have exceeded all expectations outside of the group and management itself, with some very impressive outings this year but the recent buckling at the quarter-final stages over the last number of years looked like it was going to be hard to overcome, but clinical and hard working wins in the quarter and semi-finals over Burgess and Killenaule respectively has sent fair warning the way of Lorrha ahead of this game.

In particular, the defeat of Killenaule who were many people’s favourites to win it out can’t be underestimated. Speaking at the recent county final preview in Thurles, selector for the senior and premier intermediate team, Michael Gleeson was full of praise for the group of players assembled at the start of the year and believes their hard work has put them in this unique position.

“We have a group of 50 players and at the start of the year, we set out to set high standards and bring a culture to the squads to take it game by game.

“Since then everything has kind of snowballed every week we go out. It’s been every Saturday and Sunday playing one team after the next. Every time you win it builds momentum and it has just carried on in every game for us.

“We’ve just taken every game as it comes and when you’re winning it makes life that bit easier so long may it continue.

Balancing to high performing teams in the latter stages of the championship looks like a challenging situation from the outside looking in - albeit an enviable plight! - but the underage talent and sheeer volume of players being retained in the club in recent years is staggering and they have a knack of keeping lads playing, no matter what their level, and that is highlighted in the quality they have in this second team.

You need only look at the sight of Michael Cahill at number six on the teamsheet to realise the embarrassment of riches at their disposal in the club, and add into that mix the experience of the likes of Mossie McCormack, David Maher, and Mikey O’Brien, it makes for impressive reading.

Add to that the recent raft of good underage teams coming off the conveyor belt that is Durlas Óg, it has added hugely to this second team with Liam McCormack really coming to the fore this year, while Robbie Stapleton and Tommy Maher have been mainstays in the team all year.

“The underage system in Thurles is very strong, Durlas Óg are doing very well at the moment and we’re seeing the benefits of it now and it’s just a case of trying to bring these guys in from the U17 and U19 grades into the setup; and the management haven’t been one bit shy in throwing them in at the deep end either.

“The jump is a bit harder these days. The level of strength and conditioning of the guys is a lot different than when I was coming through,” he acknowledged.

“So it’s all about trying to bring them through and try and keep them interested and when the two teams are going well it really helps.

“From there, you’re just looking at the development and looking for them to get on the senior team in the coming years.

This game though, looks like it could be a shoot-out considering the abundance of attacking talent on display between the two teams.

Thurles Sarsfields have been well served by the class of Jack Lanigan all year with the deadly full forward topping their scoring charts this year with a massive 3-36 scored in his five appearances, and he is the fulcrum of this Sarsfields attack.

Liam McCormack has also stepped up to the plate in a big way for Sarsfields up top, while Harry Fitzgibbon and Michael Cahill's leadership and influence around the middle third back has been key.

Lorrha really made little of a decent-looking Cashel King Cormacs team in Toomevara last weekend, and despite the upheaval of both their quarter-final and semi-final being postponed and delayed, it hasn’t fazed them in the slightest as the might of their vast attacking arsenal was laid bare last Sunday.

They obliterated Cashel inside the first 20 minutes and the fear for Thurles is that if Lorrha gets on top early, they will be very difficult to stop.

The return of Brian Hogan to the fray off the bench in that win is another feather in their cap to what is already a high-functioning outfit and he brings another dimension to them if needed. Still, the form of the likes of Colm Fogarty, Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher will be postitive for them.

Michael Cahill will be key in the Thurles effort and he will have to be a constant presence going across the line to cut out the ball into a potent Lorrha full forward line.

Thurles have been written off in so mony games all year and it seems to boil down to the fact that they are a second team for most people, but with the quality they have that is a nonsensical outlook and they will be ready to cause one last upset.

Lorrha look so sharp and the hurling former Offaly hurler Brian Carroll has them producing is a solid marriage of pace and work rate and with the momentum firmly behind them, they might just sneak this one, but only by the minimum.