Now every person that has played GAA at various different levels is well aware of the tactic of “dropping the man back” and playing a free role in an attempt to shore up the defence and I myself am well-accustomed to it. We have seen this deployed at senior club level and at inter-county level and undoubtedly can have its success. However, in the championship this year Waterford under the stewardship of Derek McGrath have used this tactic and advanced it to become one of the most defensively minded teams in the country. Throughout the championship Waterford only conceded 3 goals which is an extremely impressive return and deserves to be praised in itself but only managed themselves 5 goals, 3 of which came in defeating cork in the 1st game of the Munster Championship. The following day out when they came up against the Premier men in the Munster final, arguably one of the biggest and most anticipated events in the sporting calendar they once again adopted there defensive approach but on this occasion Eamon O'Shea identified this and countered it with similar tactic themselves which lead to one of the most disappointing Munster Finals in recent times with Waterford managing a mere 16 points throughout the 70 minutes of action. Throughout the game it was obvious to see Waterford’s plan in sniffing out any goal opportunities and depriving Seamie Callanan of a yard of space which after his virtuoso display against Galway later on in the series is not easily done. Once any Tipperary attack was broken down Waterford attempted to break out and by delivering ball up to the Waterford attackers namely Maurice Shanahan the primary target. More often than not he was surrounded by opposition defenders usually completely out numbering the amount of Waterford attackers because the majority of the players are under instruction to retreat back with the main objective being defensive orientated. Once it was evident that this tactic was not working Waterford had no plan B or C and the game itself ended in Tipperary claiming another Munster title.
2015 has been a breakthrough year in hurling because of the introduction of “The Sweeper System” and it has also been a breakthrough year for many of the new breed of hurlers in Waterford, the likes of Colin Dunford, The Bennett brothers and of course Tadgh De Burca. Tadgh only recently received an All-Star award for centre back and claimed the young hurler of the year accolade and is a fantastically gifted hurler but did the selection committee award him his All-star for playing as a sweeper? Who am I to question the decisions made by that committee as they are made up of massively respected personnel in the game and yes Tadgh was outstanding in his role throughout the year, but who was he marking? His job as the sweeper for the side left him as a spare man to collect ball and distribute it without having the responsibility of marking an opponent. Is this a sign that the GAA are approving of a sweeper in the game? You can be sure other inter-county managers are already busy trying to identify who their Tadgh is going to be and hoping he will have a similar impact.
Author: Craig Burke - 4th year BB (Hons) in Recreation and Sport Management student.