To put it mildly, Tipperary haven’t been enjoying the life of Kiely. Since he took over as Limerick manager in late 2016, Tipperary have won just two of the counties’ 11 league and championship meetings, the other results comprising two draws and seven defeats.
One of those wins came after extra-time in a 2018 Division 1 semi-final, the other in the final round of the 2019 Munster SHC when Limerick could afford to rest players before hosing Tipperary in the provincial final two weeks later.
When once the statement was 'Limerick don’t fear Tipperary', the question again ahead of Saturday evening’s Division 1B clash in Cork is do Tipperary fear Limerick?
“I don’t think any Tipp player really fears Limerick,” says former Tipperary player Eoin Brislane, who managed Limerick club Monaleen to an All-Ireland intermediate title last year.
“Fear is a strong word. There’s a lot of respect for Limerick because they are the benchmark but a lot of these Tipp players would have been in college with these Limerick players.
“The big advantage Limerick have is a system which the players have bought into and with Kiely, Paul Kinnerk, Seánie O’Donnell and these boys, they know where they’re at. All they’re looking for is one or two players to add a bit of freshness to it.
“Tipp are in transition and there’s team-building going on. You don’t fill the boots of Brendan Maher overnight but the players will love this crack at Limerick. It’s league and it will give Liam Cahill a good idea of where Tipp are at. They’re not at the level of Limerick who could win the five-in-a-row and go down as the best team ever but Tipp aren’t a million miles away from them.”
Brislane likes how Cahill has expanded his options between the half-back and half-forward lines where Limerick have placed so much of their emphasis. “A lot of the game is played in the middle third and you need guys who are physical, can hurl and score from distance. Conor Bowe, Bryan O’Mara, Barry Heffernan, Seamus Kennedy can all do that.
“Conor mightn’t be the finished article this year but he could be a fine wing-back next year. Bryan O’Mara is a player who will always go at the opposition and Craig Morgan’s return from injury gives Tipp a massive shove-on. He’s attack-minded and plays from the front and is full of confidence.
“Tipp are by no means a small team and by all accounts training has been going well. I’d be hopeful for them this year, that they would get to the last four. That will be the aim for them, I’m sure. That would be progress.”
One win from their last couple of games should secure Tipperary a Division 1 semi-final berth. He expects they can approach this game in SuperValu Páirc Ui Chaoimh with a degree of freedom before going to Belfast and wants to see them compete with Limerick until the end.
“In the league game last year inside in Limerick, Tipp were well in it with 10 minutes to go and then we drew with them in the championship. It feels like we’re getting closer but a lot of teams can live with Limerick for 55-60 minutes but they’re worn down by then.
“Liam Cahill teams always bring energy and work-rate but can they really go to the finish line with Limerick – that’s what I’m looking forward to seeing. To do that, they have to get their set-ups right like their puck-outs and implement a structure that allows us to play how we want and perhaps force Limerick to adapt to us.”
With the championship just over 40 days away, Brislane expects things to ramp up in this weekend’s penultimate round of the league. “This is the start of the league for me and teams are going to be showing their hand for the championship. Liam will want his team to put their best foot forward. It’s not do or die but he will want to lay down a marker.
“The general public in Tipp is happy enough because everyone knows where we are at and there are a lot of new bodies coming in, and Liam is trying to find his shape and system.”
