Pride of the parish takes centre stage For the next few months while the majority of intercounty players take a break from competitive action, all the GAA interest will swing to the club scene and Sunday afternoons will be spent watching TG4 to see the real grassroots of the association in action. We get to see just what it means to the local town or village who have a team to support in the pursuit of provincial honours for now and All-Ireland honours in the New Year. If a club team is still in action now, it means they had a successful campaign to date, unless they are unlucky enough to be in some relegation battle. To have a team still competing now is fantastic for the players and management themselves but it is even more important for the local community and the people of these parishes. To drive along the road now and see the flags and bunting brings a new lease life to the respected communities and at a time when the man in the red outfit usually takes pride of place, he is put on the back burner for a while yet. Even the non GAA person cannot help but become enthralled in all this activity and for those teams like Tulla of Clare and the Tipp county champions Loughmore-Castleiney, this has now become a roller coaster ride that many would never have predicted. For Ballyboden of Dublin and Birr of Offaly across to Portumna and up to the North, the excitement is at an all time high. If they win one match then the sky is the limit. This is what keeps us all alive within the GAA - to witness occasions and days like this. The emergence of new talent, be it a guy just out of minor and a few good performances and the eye of the county manager is on you. If only I took the chance when I got it and did not overdo the celebrations, I would have loved to represent my club at this time of year. Enjoy it lads the chance might never come again. What has been encouraging from a player perspective is that not only does it relate to senior clubs now but intermediate and junior clubs get the opportunity to have their big day out in Croke Park. Imagine for the player who has supported his county up and down the country for years and followed them all the way to Croke Park spending vast sums of money but always felt he would never get the opportunity to run out onto the pitch as a player. Well they now have their chance and it is only right and it will keep more guys playing our games because of it. It is one of the best things the GAA have done in my book - bring the importance of the games back to our grassroots levels. It is important to have the stars but it is equally as important to have the boys on the ground involved also. Predictions for the New Year Lets take a look at some of the teams who I feel will make an impact come next year and hopefully there is a team there that will seriously challenge the Cats and put a dent in their three-in-a-row bid.(remember I am a Rebel). The appointment of Liam Sheedy in Tipperary comes on the back of an impressive period in charge of their minors and he will be keen to blend the experienced heads with some new players and give the youngsters the chance to bring Tipp hurling back to the forefront . Man management is the key ingredient to success in most All-Ireland winning teams - getting the best out of the talent at your disposal and there is no doubt in my mind that the Premier County have talent in abundance but for some reason or other, the best did not always come to the surface. At the same time we must remember it is still an amateur game and time constraints and working environments have changed considerably for individuals, and this has to be taken into consideration by county boards and managers alike. However, expect to see a new Tipperary team come championship next season with no baggage attached and they might surprise a few people. One player to watch out for is midfielder Noel McGrath. Galway under Ger Loughnane are twelve months wiser and I am sure he has a good idea of the players he wants and needs for the challenges ahead. You need only look at the recent Railway Cup final to see that a few of the regular faces will no longer be required and he now wants to blood as many young guys as possible and see are they up to test of intercounty hurling. Time will tell but the jury is still out on the no 3 position and up front at no 11 and 14. You got to have leaders here and finding them might be a lot more difficult than he thought. Still, they were not too far away from Kilkenny when it mattered most and he will have been encouraged by it even though the element of surprise will now be gone. The player to watch with Galway is Damien Hayes if he is in his right position of corner forward. Cork will be there or there about but an injection of new blood is needed and particularly in attack. They still need a replacement for Brian Corcoran at full forward and need to find someone to compliment the scoring exploits of Ben O'Connor and Gerry O'Connor from midfield. If anything happens to these two then the Rebels are in serious trouble. The defence should remain the same with a chance that Wayne Sherlock might come back into the frame to fight for his place. The players to watch are two guys with natural hurling ability and should make a major impact in my book. The first is a club mate of mine, Patrick Horgan, who was one of the top scorers from play in the county championship this year. Another top scorer from last year in Paudie O'Sullivan, who is now recovering from a cruciate operation. I expect these two to make a big impact provided they are given the chance. Kilkenny as usual will be hot favourites to complete the three-in-a-row - a feat I am sure Brian Cody would take great pleasure from. It would round off his term as manager nicely and push the Cats one ahead of the Rebel County in the honours stakes - it is 30 titles each at the moment and with the strength of Kilkenny squad at the moment, it would be hard to back against them. Keeping the hunger and appetite should not be a worry for Cody as they always seem to relish any type of game no matter what time of the year it is. All the usual suspects will be back in contention for places and hoping for a full recovery will be Henry Shefflin and a rest for this man might be the worst thing for every other county. What everyone else does not need is King Henry jumping out of his socks come August and September next as a new kid on the block. My player to watch is the man they are calling the next DJ and he will surely get his chance in 2008 and that is Richie Hogan. He is an excellent minor ready to be unleashed and what a combination that would make - Shefflin, Comerford, Brennan, Larkin, Power and Hogan. Tweet

Most Read Stories