Following on from a successful summer, Laois hurling looks set for another major boost with county board officials due to sit down with Waterford native Derek McGrath later this week.
McGrath, recently linked with the vacant managerial roles in Galway, Cork and Waterford, is understood to be considering a coaching role with the county's minor hurling squad.
A reshuffle of current positions in the Laois underage set up would see current minor manager Enda Lyons step up to work with next year's Under-20 squad, allowing Clough Ballacolla club man Liam Dunne to move into the role with the younger age group.
Next year’s Laois minor squad are generally considered to be the county's best crop of young hurlers in many years. They followed up a successful Tony Forrestal campaign in 2017 by winning the Arrabawn Tournament Cup in Tipperary last year, defeating Waterford in the final.
The Laois senior hurlers pulled off the shock of the year in early July when they followed up their Joe McDonagh Cup triumph by defeated Dublin by two points in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.
The appointment of former Kilkenny sharp shooter Eddie Brennan as manager in September of last year has proved to be a masterstroke and hurling in the county is currently surfing on the crest of a wave.
If finalised, McGrath's addition to the underage structure would represent a major coup for the county and give hurling in Laois a further lift, as Anthony Daly's involvement with the Limerick hurling academy did for the Treaty county previously.
