They won’t give a damn but they must be wondering why.
Cuala have been the best hurling team in the country over the last two years. They’ve won the last two Leinster finals by a combined total of 23 points against Kilkenny and Offaly respectively.
They crushed Clare’s giant-slayers Ballyea in last year’s All-Ireland final in March. Mattie Kenny’s men were tested on a couple of occasions in the early rounds of this year’s county championship.
But when you think about it, why wouldn’t they have been? The Dalkey men were on the road for 13 months. They’d achieved their goal in lifting the Tommy Moore Cup on St. Patrick’s day.
It must’ve be tough for them to find motivation for another long, gruelling journey again. They didn’t destroy teams in Dublin, but they did win.
They clicked through the gears nicely, and just like any good team, they managed to win even when they weren’t shooting the lights out.
Their best performance came in the semi-final, when they put 4-16 past a fancied St. Vincent’s side, and since then, it’s been business as usual.
Kilmacud Crokes were accounted for in the Dublin decider. St. Martin’s and Dicksboro were totally outclassed in Leinster before Kilcormac/Killoughey were destroyed.
The best thing about Cuala is they are a team. Despite Con O’Callaghan being one of the best individual hurlers in the country, everything he does is with the team in mind.
So many other individuals have stepped up to the mark. Take Sean Moran who has been a brick wall at centre back. Paul Schutte has been a figure of ferocious intensity and aggression in the full back line.
Darragh O’Connell cuts through opposition defences with his surging runs from midfield. Nicky Kenny, David Treacy and Colm Cronin have been lording it up top.
Total hurling from the Cuala boys https://t.co/WD4bpT0JKv
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) November 6, 2017
Next up is Galway champions Liam Mellows in the All-Ireland semi-final, and the red and white army will more than likely take out the outsiders.
On the other side, Limerick and Munster champions Na Piarsaigh will be hotly tipped to dispatch of Slaughtneil which would set-up a heavyweight showdown on March 17.
That will be a clash of the winners of the last two campaigns. A clash of the two best club teams in Ireland.
Na Piarsaigh are a brilliant side in their own right. They have stoic defenders, like Michael Casey and Ronan Lynch, and dangerous attackers in the likes of Peter Casey, Adrian and David Breen and Kevin Downes.
They’ve three Munster titles to their name since 2013, so like Cuala, they’ve a rich history and will have plenty of confidence in themselves.
Paddy Power have them installed as 8/11 favourites to rise highest on March 17.
Meanwhile, Cuala are priced at 5/4.
Mattie Kenny’s men, and the Cuala ultras in the stands won’t take that lying down.
We reckon the Cuala boys have as much firepower and more strength in depth than the Limerick men. We reckon they’re fresher, and we can’t see a reason for them not being favourites.
Meanwhile, the football betting is largely as expected. Corofin and Slaughtneil are hard to separate at the top, while Cork kingpins Nemo Rangers and Leinster champs Moorefield are more tentatively priced.
Fulham Irish, who are set to play Corofin in the quarter-final later this month aren’t quoted. That’ll fire Greg McCartan’s army up.
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