Joe McDonagh Cup finalist Laois' Aaron Dunphy during a Joe McDonagh, Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard, Lory Meagher Cup Final media day at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Honesty in a team environment is a key component to success.
It ensures team-mates hold one another to account if the required standards are not being met, and it’s just as important that management teams hold their hands up too if they need to make adjustments.
It’s a testament to the honesty in the Laois hurling set-up that they’ve reached Saturday’s Joe McDonagh Cup Fina, because earlier in the season they reached a moment where everyone had to have a hard look at themselves and accept that what they’d being doing up to that point wasn’t good enough.
The Midlanders won their first two League games against Down and Kildare without playing all that well but when they were then beaten by in Round 3 Carlow it was time to tell one another some hard truths and move forward again together from there.
They won their remaining League matches to win Division 2A and have in superb form in the Joe McDonagh Cup too, qualifying for the final with a match to spare in the round robin phase.
“Yeah, after that defeat to Carlow we had a bit of a meeting and focused on things that needed to change,” says team captain Aaron Dunphy.
“There was a slight tweak to how we were going to set up and how we were going to train.
“A lot more focus on game situations in training and things like that which allowed us to build confidence. We were doing what we were going to be doing at the weekend when we trained on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday building up to the game.
“Those slight tactical changes helped us to build confidence and so when we went into the games we were performing that bit better and so we started to build momentum.
“So far what we've been working on in training has then been working in matches. We've been getting the ball in quick to the lads who are dangerous inside and they're hungry for scores and are getting them so long may it continue from our point of view.”
What’s been most impressive about Laois en route to Saturday’s Joe McDonagh Cup Final against Offaly has been the scoring power they’ve displayed.
Leaving aside their final round robin game when they fielded a weakened team because they were already qualified for the final, they scored a whopping tally of 14-106 from four matches which translates as 37 points per match.
Aaron Dunphy of Laois during the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final match between Carlow and Laois at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
Forwards like Aaron Dunphy himself, Willie Dunphy, and Tomás Keyes are all in very prolific form, and the whole forward line as a unit looks very balanced and is playing with a natural cohesiveness.
“Everyone has a role and Willie (Maher) has been clear on that, that you have to know your role, and if you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing you'll be told,” says Dunphy.
“Sometimes your role might be in the forwards but it might not be to score, and lads are willing to do that as well.
“They're maybe not getting the headlines but they're just as important to the team and that kind of selflessness has probably helped us as well and is maybe another change from early on in the League.
“Now lads are sacrificing their own game to make sure somebody else plays well and that's been another catalyst for us to improve.”
Manager Willie Maher is now in his second year in charge of Laois and Dunphy believes he’s getting a good tune out of the team because he has a better idea of the individual qualities of all the players at his disposal and how to get the blend right.
"Yeah, I think it's always easier for a manager in their second year especially if they're coming in from outside the county because they know the structure in the county that bit better,” says Dunphy.
“He's had the year to look at the club championship and pick out players that he wants whereas when you're coming in the first year you're probably depending on other peoples' opinions a little bit more and what they think and who they think is the right fit for the team.
“Willie did change it up and we've had something like a seven or eight person turnaround from what was there last year. He's probably put his own stamp on it that little bit more."
Aaron Dunphy of Laois during the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final match between Carlow and Laois at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
Dunphy is 25 and most of the current Laois panel is that age or younger, so he believes they have the potential to go from strength to strength in the coming years if they can keep the group together, which hasn’t always happened in Laois.
“We probably have three or four lads that are coming towards the end of their career and they've openly said to us in the dressing-room that they're not going to have long left," he says.
“The likes of Willie Dunphy, Paddy Purcell, Ross King, Picky Maher even has said he doesn't have long left to give and obviously they want to go out on a high.
"And then there are lads much younger than them, the likes of Ger Quinlan, Tom Cuddy, and Cody Comerford who are in their first year on the panel and they're hungry for more games.
"I'd say the panel as a whole is on the younger side alright, there's more lads under 25 than over it anyway.
“We haven't had much underage success over the last number of years. But we always seem to bring through one or two really good hurlers. I mentioned Tom and Ger who at 19 are as good as what's in the country.
“Both of those lads are U20 again next year and hopefully they'll have a strong team. For the likes of those lads, their potential is unlimited. We just need to keep bringing two or three lads every year behind them now and then keep them all hurling.
“Currently, for the first time in a long time, we do have all the lads that we would expect to have in on the county panel which makes it very strong and makes our bench very strong.
“We've 24 or 25 lads competing for 15 jersies. I know it's a bit of a cliche that that's what you need, but in Laois it wouldn't often be the case. This year it is. That's another reason why we've been able to build up this momentum, because we were able to make changes and it didn't weaken the team or anything.”
Joe McDonagh Cup finalists Offaly's Cillian Kiely and Laois' Aaron Dunphy during a Joe McDonagh, Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard, Lory Meagher Cup Final media day at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.
Laois have already beaten Offaly twice this year – in the Walsh Cup and the round robin phase of the Joe McDonagh Cup – so even though most people are making them slight underdogs for this game they won’t lack confidence they can come out on top.
“If we can perform we're confident that we can win, of course we are,” says Dunphy. “But I'm sure Offaly will be thinking the very same thing. They'll think that if they can perform they can win.
“Both teams have match-winners all over the field so, and this is a cliche again, but it really is going to be on the day. It's going to be very small margins that will decide this match.
“It's hard to gauge how the game will go, but the potential is definitely there for a shoot-out. And in the big open spaces of Croke Park and if you get decent weather, then it could be a very good game.
“Winning a Joe McDonagh Cup would be great in itself because it's silverware and a national final, but the ultimate prize really is to get into the Liam MacCarthy the following year. And go back and test yourself in the Leinster Championship against all of those teams.
“Any day we can bring Kilkenny, Galway, or Wexford to Portlaoise is going to be a huge day for Laois hurling. They're the kind of days you want to build yourself up for and hopefully get them back again.”
