Pauric Mahony is hopeful Waterford can progress in their second season under Davy Fitzgerald despite the absence of Austin Gleeson.
The 28-year-old former Hurler of the Year has opted out from the Déise panel next year following an injury-disrupted 2023 campaign.
Mahony, who retired from inter-county duty in January this year, hopes Gleeson "will be able to go off and recharge the batteries and come back to play for Waterford, if it's in 2024 or 2025.
"He will be missed. Inside the group, everyone would know how important Austin is to the team and in general. He’s a positive influence and everyone gets on well with him.
"He’s going to be a loss on the field too, but I think he has made the right decision for himself. Sometimes you can only just push it and push it for so long, putting the team first and sometimes you have to be that little bit selfish.
"But we hope to see him back in a Waterford jersey again."
How was Mahony's first year watching on as a 'former’ inter-county player?
"When you are at the games in Thurles and it is a sunny day, of course you miss being out on the pitch. But not the work that is required to get to that stage.
"I felt I gave it a good enough stint for a number of years and mentally and physically I felt now was the time to move on. I’m content in my decision.
"I was fortunate enough to go and train the Ballygunner minor team this year. That was rewarding in a different way too and we were fortunate enough to win that championship. And then a simple thing like being able to get around for a round of golf. Previously, you would have only got out once or twice a year, now you are out every week for a game of golf. You just have a different type of life. One that you can enjoy. You can make your own decisions, in your own time."
Waterford finished last in Munster this year, their only points coming in a final-day victory over Tipperary that did more to damage their opponents’ prospects than put a sheen on their season.
Fitzgerald suggested last week that he is still trying to rebuild his players’ confidence after a similar two-point haul under now Premier boss Liam Cahill in 2022.
Mahony made his Waterford debut under Fitzgerald in 2011 and but for a cruciate ligament injury would have been captain for the 2020 campaign under Cahill that saw them reach the final.
He is unsure where things have gone wrong but is optimistic of an improved showing this season.
"Looking in from the outside is a little bit different but Waterford were trying new tactics last year and like any new tactic it takes time to bed into the team.
"We might see the benefit of that this year where lads will have a year under their belt understanding Davy’s style and what his expectations are.
"There are a few new younger lads that got their chance last year and showed up pretty well towards the latter stages of the championship. Hopefully they’ll have that new lease of life this year and be ready to go.
"I’d be fairly positive that Waterford will definitely be able to make some improvements on last year."
The 31-year-old forward is still going strong with Ballygunner, who recently secured a record 10th Waterford SHC title in a row.
If you can call 10 September recently that is. By the time they begin their pursuit of an unprecedented third successive Munster on 5 October they won’t have played a competitive game for eight weeks. Opponents Sarsfields will have been off for three since beating Midleton in the Cork final.
Ballygunner were done by Christmas last year after being dethroned by Ballyhale in the December All-Ireland semi-finals but the GAA's long-stated goal of getting club competitions finished inside the calendar year appears no closer.
"We have been in this situation now for the last two years," Mahony says of their long wait after the county triumph. "We've managed it okay. We took two weeks off, to get away for a few days or some of us went playing a bit of golf. You are just completely switching off from the hurling before you go back at it. You are nearly heading into another block of pre-season work to top up on the fitness.
"At this stage you are just counting down to the days until the [Munster] quarter-final. We know a lot of the Sars lads from playing them in challenge games but also a lot of us would have gone to college in UCC and played with each other. I was very impressed with the way they were playing the game and I think we saw a different side of Sars this year that we maybe hadn't seen in previous years. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us.
"I think club players would definitely rather it was all run off in the one year. If you’re in that situation where you’re preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final or final after Christmas you wouldn’t mind but if you’re playing inter-county [as well] then you don’t really get any window of a break, maybe a week off.
"I don’t think that’s right either and that’s maybe why you see players maybe getting a bit burnt out and maybe finishing a bit sooner than they would like in terms of juggling both club and county."
"The level of club now is reaching what inter-county was a couple of years back"
Mahony also sees a narrowing gap between the demands of county and senior club competition.
"The level of club now is reaching what inter-county was a couple of years back. You still have your three field sessions a week, which is the same as most intercounty teams are probably doing. You might have one or two gym sessions but I just think you can manage it better mentally, you can switch off a lot more within the club season.
"It is a bit more condensed so you are not as switched on all the time. You only have around six or seven months where you are ticking over.
"When you are in the county, everything else comes a distant second but with the club, you can juggle a lot more things."
