He makes it look like topping an egg.
The best hurlers always look like they have time on the ball and John McGrath is never ever in a hurry.
Just like the turtle racing the rabbit, the Loughmore-Castleiney ace will tip along lacksey-daisy and he might just fool you into thinking that he’s going to get there second but we should know by now that he’ll always be there to cause wreck when it matters.
Because just as deceptiveness is the name of the game for hurling’s most luminous artist, opposition defenders, be they foxes or dummies it doesn’t matter, they’ll all fall into the snares set for them.
He’ll always find space, too. It’s a collector’s item to see a corner back up on top of the Premier County’s most artful artist and then it all becomes clear that even when he doesn’t have the ball, he’s still probing, thinking and plotting the easiest way to make hay.
Beautiful touch by John McGrath and what a finish! Goal! pic.twitter.com/ABeUhbRWDq
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 25, 2018
It is often said that the longer good players have on the ball the better, the longer bad players have on the ball the more likely they are to mess it up, McGrath is the most efficient machine in the game and he nearly always has all the time in the world.
It’d make you wonder, is John McGrath actually the most relaxed man hurling? Does he actually have the Mo Salah-esque ability to stop the clock for a few seconds and then make the most calculated decision?
Is this actually John McGrath at full throttle or is he making a mockery of the tried and tested adage that you have to go hell for leather into absolutely every ball or else you’ll be lost? There are other ways of doing things and John McGrath does it his own way.
At times, he will drift in and out of games and as a Tipperary supporter, he might frustrate you at times but that’s only because he makes the game look so easy that you think he should be going to town every second of the game.
But when he does get his hand on the ball that’s when the panic sets in all around him and he runs rings all the way in. A man who could swing a hurley in a phone-box, he’s deadly accurate and his first touch is lethal.
Tipperary will be under pressure in this year’s Munster Championship, particularly on the back of a disappointing League final to Kilkenny, but if the Premier are to progress, the Fitzgibbon Cup hurler of the year will play a crucial part.
John McGrath ag breith ar an sliotar san aer, scóráil Jason Forde an cúl!!
32" @KilkennyCLG 0-09 @TipperaryGAA 1-07 pic.twitter.com/WFBTLCZ4vz— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) April 8, 2018
Thursday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show was a preview of the year ahead, and Cheddar Plunkett, Colm Parkinson and Damien Hayes discussed their predictions for the year ahead.
When Hayes put it to Plunkett who he fancies to win the Hurler of the Year award, the former Laois manager had no hesitation picking out the Premier County’s ice-cold killer.
“At the minute I would say on technical ability, John McGrath…To me, he’s an incredibly efficient forward, he may not be a tracker or a tackler or some of those things.”
Plunkett also gave a nod to the crown’s holder Joe Canning, while Damien Hayes went for Daithí Burke.
Wooly was chatting to Clare hurler and McGrath’s UL Fitzgibbon Cup teammate UL Tony Kelly recently and he was quick to nail his colours to the mast.
“I actually was doing a thing with Tony Kelly recently and he had to pick a Hurler of the Year and he went John McGrath without any hesitation.”
At odds of 20/1, the mid-Tipperary man from the most famous clan in Loughmore might be just worth a punt.
You can listen to this discussion and much more on Thursday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show right here.
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