Our festival of hurling in the form of the All-Ireland semi-finals is coming into sharp focus.
It is a weekend that piques the interest of even the most casual GAA fan, with many football die-hards likely to keep an eye on events on 8-9 July.
If we get our applications into the credit union in time we might even be able to stay in Dublin for the night to stay up and see both semi-finals, but most would probably choose the tarmac driveway over the night away in the capital.
We're down to the final four and the more things seem to change the more they stay the same, with a rerun of last year’s pairings.
There is obviously little between the sides at this stage of the season, with potential injuries likely to have a major influence on the outcome.
With a place in the final at stake however, brave calls will be required by management to take their place in the showpiece.
"To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both."
I saw this quote recently and thought of it in a hurling context.
To be brave you must make mistakes, you must understand that not everything will fall into place, but still be confident in the knowing you will be successful in the end.
This applies to the managers of the final four teams in the quest to bring Liam MacCarthy home. How you say? Well let’s look at it, county by county.
First up on the Saturday is the clash of Galway and Limerick.
The brave calls made by Henry Shefflin against Tipperary paid off in the form of the match-ups and the role of Cathal Mannion.
The midfielder shut down the space on one side of the field, whilst getting on a mountain of ball himself and delivering it with enough time to have a look at the sliotar, examine the brand and what part of the world it was made in.
It was brave call because a team could shoot from distance rather than delivering ball into that heavy traffic and hurt you with points on the board.
Will Shefflin stick or twist with this system?
My thinking would be, if it’s working, don’t change it. This system allowed the Tribesmen deliver their best performance of the year so far, and maybe their best performance since last year’s semi-final defeat to the Treaty men.
But the adventurous calls to be made in this game I feel will have to be made by John Kiely and his Limerick management team, with the absence of key personnel forcing the champions to tinker.
Limerick are without two of their greats in defence, with Sean Finn and captain Declan Hannon ruled out. These two leaders would relish the occasion in the Croke Park arena and have rarely been found wanting on the big stage.
It certainly helps when you can replace these guys with All-Stars and All-Ireland winners, but where will the defenders line out?
Will Richie English start in the corner, with Mike Casey at the edge of the square and Dan Morrissey pushed out to centre-back?
That’s what’s expected by most and Kiely does stick to a core group of about 18 players when changes are needed, but would the brave and bold call be to hand Barry Nash the number six jersey?
It’s a position I feel he would revel in, getting on ball, and putting in quality deliveries to the Limerick forwards, not to mention his ability to power up the field, like Hannon, and pick off some inspirational scores of his own.
Speaking of the Limerick attack, who will be called upon to finish the job off if required. Will it be Cian Lynch, Peter Casey and Cathal O’Neill who’ll be the finishers? That’s a scary prospect, particularly if you are a Galway supporter.
Imagine this scenario where he doesn’t start the aforementioned trio and Limerick lose.
Memories quickly become short.
"How did he not start them, what was he thinking," would be some of the commentary from most likely the same people who after the Munster final win might have said: "wasn’t Kiely dead right not to start Casey or Lynch and hold them in reserve?"
That’s the fine margins in management, but Kiely has only lost one of his previous five All-Ireland semi-finals, so will know more than most what those calls are.
The second semi-final pits Leinster champions Kilkenny against a Clare side that came within a whisker of landing a rare provincial title of their own.
The hammering of Dublin last weekend means the Banner should have some extra energy in the bank.
Many Clare hurling folk are seeking redemption after their semi-final capitulation against the Cats.
Daring calls to be made everywhere here too.
For Derek Lyng, does he go with what worked so well for Brian Cody last year and assign the tenacious Mikey Butler to follow Tony Kelly?
Will Brian Lohan have something up his sleeve to counter this? Start talisman Kelly in goals just to see what Butler does? The 2022 Young Hurler of the Year would probably just stand on the line beside him and take one of the goalie hurls out of the bag.
Wherever Kelly goes in Croke Park, Butler is likely to be in pursuit and has demonstrated that he is comfortable anywhere you want to take the battle.
However the bravest call to be made is without doubt how and with who do you replace the great John Conlon if the centre-back is ruled out.
Conlon may not make this game due to bang he got against Dublin and the concussion protocol that will have to be followed and the safety of the player will always be first with all those involved.
Last year it was a disaster and was a major factor in the result when this call went terribly wrong. The replacement for Conlon that day was Páidí Fitzpatrick, who endured a really difficult day at the office. As someone said before, "I don't blame you at all, it’s the fellas who picked you I blame".
The loss of Aidan McCarthy is a big one, but there is no comparison to the loss that Conlon would be. There is a wealth of talent in the Banner forward line at present, but there is no one that can replicate what the centre-back brings to the team. His presence alone is massive for the group.
The big call here isn’t to start Conlon or not as that will be decided by medical people, but rather who holds down the spine of the defence, and do they try to carry out the same role as Conlon?
David McInereney would seem like the ideal replacement, but he’s not fully right either and he can’t cover that space or read the breaks like his team-mate.
The Conor Cleary conundrum is a real head scratcher as well. Will he be right to start? Should you risk him when he will have the daunting task of keeping tabs on Eoin Cody?
Imagine the Banner going to battle in the 1990’s without Brian Lohan and Seanie McMahon. It’s almost unthinkable.
Croke Park is an arena for the brave. It brings out the very best in some and cause others to shrink.
It’s just different to the rest of our stadiums and only experience can really get you ready for it: running out, hearing that roar, looking up and seeing that stadium engulf you like a small ant on the pitch.
This is where every player in the country will want to be, where the envy of all the other players will be focused and where four teams get the chance to show us how badly they want to get to the final.
Mistakes will be made. Teams and managers will have luck, both good and bad, but the brave will use both and adapt.
The brave will prevail.
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