The chances of Peter Queally returning to the Waterford hurling squad appear slimmer than ever after he agreed to take over the training of the county footballers for the coming season. Queally recently made the headlines when, along with Brian Greene and Brian Flannery, he vowed not to play for the Waterford hurlers again while Justin McCarthy was in charge. Not surprisingly, the trio were overlooked when the new hurling panel was named, but selector Nicky Cashin later insisted that the door had not been closed on anyone and that the panel would be reviewed before the start of the National League. However, Queally's new appointment has effectively ruled out the prospect of him playing hurling for Waterford again. A former All-Ireland junior football medal winner, the Youghal-based Garda will link up with new football manager Billy Harty (Ardmore) and selectors Liam Dalton and Pat Curran, a former Waterford hurling goalkeeper. Harty has been credited with nurturing many of the players who were involved in this year's Munster under 21 championship success, when they were on under 14 and under 16 county teams. Meanwhile, the Decies' only hurling All-Star for 2003, John Mullane, has been honoured with the Waterford Hurler of the Year award. The football award has gone to rising star Michael Walsh, who helped Stradbally to their third consecutive senior championship title and was also named man of the match in Waterford's historic Munster under 21 final victory over Kerry. Tweet

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