Friday GAA Dispatch #2: What can Limerick learn from Dublin’s drive-for-five?
Crunching the numbers as Kiely's charges embark on their pursuit of history
It makes for good reading a few years after the fact, if you google; ‘Dublin, pressure, five in-a-row’. You’ll be set for the evening with all the hits. Everyone had their say; Sheehy, Bomber, O’Mahony all chirped in from the Kingdom. Henry Shefflin shared his experience from Kilkenny falling short, and was adamant that the Dubs would feel the heat. That, they certainly did - but they came through the fire, (after a replay) to beat Kerry and make history in 2019.
Limerick’s Drive-for-Five is guaranteed to be one of the defining narratives of the 2024 season, and their campaign started on Wednesday night against Clare in Clarecastle. With Lohan and Kiely handing out a clatter of debuts, and giving players on the periphery their shot, what we witnessed was a world away from the warfare we’ve come to expect from these two - I asked Kiely how he kept the fires lit over the winter, and if he’d be mixing his team up this year, his answer speaks for itself.
John Kiely speaking after Limerick’s five-point win against Clare in the 2024 MHL.
It’s a feat that has never been achieved before in Hurling, but much like the Dubs as they chased immortality, it’s nearly impossible to bet against the team that has been so dominant.
If Limerick do get that far, I wonder which of the players will be ‘lucky’ enough to get to play the Michael Dara MacAuley role with the media ten days out from history, that piece is well worth the read!
Paddy Andrews was wheeled out in front of the media that week too, and has spoken previously on The Football Pod about why this Limerick side reminds him of his Dublin, in their pomp. We’ll dig into some of the numbers below.
The Numbers behind Dublin’s Drive for Five
Both by design, and out of necessity, Jim Gavin made a habit of mixing up his team as Dublin completed their five in-a-row - perhaps his greatest trick was the constant and gradual re-invention of his starting fifteen as we moved from 2015 towards 2019.
It meant that Rory O’Carroll could start the first one, win an All-Star and then head away for work. Jack McCaffrey would win Footballer of the Year that same season, and miss the following year’s campaign as he travelled. Paul Mannion was in China for 2015, and returned for the rest. At the time, they were barely missed.
14 Sept 2019; Jim Gavin during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final Replay match between Dublin and Kerry. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.
We knew about the awesome depth at their disposal, but Gavin’s use of it fostered a competitive and ruthless edge within their squad that brought them all the way. Bernard Brogan wrote in great detail about the ferocious A vs. B games in between the 2019 finals in his autobiography The Hill - and his own bid to make the matchday panel for the replay.
They had a core of eight players who started the five finals that yielded the first four All-Ireland’s; Cluxton, McMahon, Cooper, O’Sullivan, McCarthy, Fenton, Kilkenny and Rock. By 2019, injuries had caught up with Cian O’Sullivan, and Philly McMahon lost his starting place, both of them appeared off the bench in the replay - so just six players started all seven.
As they entered the 2019 season, Gavin had used 30 players across the five finals it had taken to garner four All-Ireland titles, 26 had started at least one, and quite often the bench - or a bolter, provided the platform for success.
Different players, at different times, made the difference for the Dubs throughout their drive-for-five. Alan Brogan with the insurance point in fifteen, Costello’s three-points off the bench in the 2016 replay. Con’s early goal in 2017, Murchan’s just after half-time in ‘19.
By contrast, it’s extraordinary how consistent John Kiely’s starting fifteen has remained throughout their four All-Ireland final successes. Eleven players have started every final, and were it not for serious injuries to Declan Hannon, Sean Finn and Cian Lynch, it would have surely been fourteen. Kiely flip-flopping between Peter Casey and Graeme Mulcahy in the full-forward line, the one change that wasn’t injury-forced.
23 July 2023; Limerick manager John Kiely before the Hurling All-Ireland SHC final between Kilkenny and Limerick. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Just 18 different players have started their four All-Ireland finals - with 26 getting gametime, but even the use of the bench has been quite sparing, some players have garnered just a couple of minutes when the result was often beyond doubt.
With the chasing pack closing in, and the shadow of history looming, might this be the year the likes of the u20 winning Munster side of 2022 really leave their mark. Seven of them started on Wednesday night; Ethan Hurley, Emmett McEvoy, Colin Coughlan, Patrick O’Donovan, Shane O’Brien, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh and Adam English.
Cathal O’Neill would have been the eight, only he had already made the breakthrough at senior level in the spring of 2022, and was unable to play both. For much of last season, O’Neill looked like he was ready to leave his mark, he started three games in Munster, and impressed - after that he was consigned to being the first man on against Galway and Kilkenny. Perhaps this year is his year.
Ruthless January cuts ahead for many panels
Clare 1-19 2-21 Limerick
Top-scorer:
Patrick O’Donovan 0-07 (4fs) - Limerick
Caught the eye:
For Clare, David Conroy (Doora-Barefield) impressed, hitting 0-04. David Reidy looked sharp, and debutant John Conneally looked the part.
Limerick’s class of ‘22 ran the show, Colin Coughlan and O’Neill turned it on when they had to. Ó Dálaigh looked lively early on and O’Brien will back himself.
Not a huge amount to report back on from this one. It was clear from the starting teams that both managers are hoping that certain players will prove their worth over the coming weeks. There was a good mixture of experience, debutants and fellas on the periphery for both.
Brian Lohan is operating with a panel of about 50 at the minute - that’ll have to be whittled down to 35 by the end of January. It’s a ruthless time really, little room for the players to be excited about debuts, this is their chance. Some will play their way in and others, out of contention over these freezing nights.
Whilst Limerick can afford to add something different here and there, it feels like Clare do need to add an extra trick to the deck to get over the line. They’ve proven themselves to be worthy contenders over the last few years, and that they can push Limerick all the way, but they need to find an edge from somewhere. These nights, and the forthcoming league will be crucial to the players trying to prove their worth, and force their way in.
Exciting match-ups in the JFC and IFC Finals
I’ll be back in Croke Park on Sunday reporting on the Junior and Intermediate All-Ireland Football Finals for Off The Ball, and I can’t wait for it. We’ve got two exceptional games in store, with so much on the line.
The bookies are (just about) leaning towards Listowell Emmets, and St. Patrick’s Cullyhanna - but there must be serious confidence flowing through the veins of folk in Arva and Cill na Martra this week.
The Arva story over the last decade is brilliant; they dragged themselves from Junior to Senior between 2014 and 2017, before sliding all the way back down again. In 2021, they had to throw a pair of Championship games because they couldn’t field a team. Look at them now, making light of all around them on their run to Croke Park. Their biggest test is ahead of them now. I’m a big fan of how Ciaran ‘Holla’ Brady operates, and keep an eye on the left peg of Kevin Bouchier, a classy baller.
Listowel Emmets, are desperate to ditch the moniker of being Kerry’s ‘sleeping giant’, it’s understandable, given that they are the third biggest town in the county by quite a margin. They’ve played some scintillating football throughout this season - with Marc O Se on board as coach - it’s guaranteed to be an entertaining game of Football.
Cill na Martra and John Evans have had an air of invincibility around them for a while, and ever since taking down Milltown-Castlemaine (the slayers of Fossa), the expectation has been they’d make it this far. Evans himself said it after the semi-final, ‘Cill na Martra were known as bottlers before, but not anymore.’ In truth, Castlerea St. Kevin’s will be kicking themselves, the concession of two goals in a minute was key to the Cork champions progressing. They’re up against an Armagh side now who are full of confidence themselves, and can call on the likes of Ross McQuillan and Aidan Nugent, two quality, intercounty forwards. It has the makings of a brilliant contest.
Thank you for reading, I hope we see you here again, and that you have a great weekend. For anyone wondering, The Football Pod will make it’s return for Season 4 on Monday, January 22nd.
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