Allianz Hurling League Division One, Group B
Antrim v Kilkenny (Corrigan Park, Saturday, 2pm)

AS League openers go, they don’t get more glamorous or challenging than taking on Kilkenny, so Saturday afternoon will see Darren Gleeson’s Saffrons aim to get an exciting year off to a perfect start at Corrigan Park.

Last year’s campaign ended with defeat to Cork in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final as they perhaps ran out of steam just seven days on from collecting the Joe McDonagh Cup.

That success and decent showing against the Rebels has injected a buzz into the county with a full Leinster Championship programme ahead that didn’t materialise in 2021 due to Covid disrupting the season.

Before that, there is a very important League campaign for Antrim to navigate in this, their third straight season in Division One.

That status was secured following a relegation playoff win over Offaly last year following a campaign dominated by near misses including a three-point loss in Nowlan Park on the opening day when Kilkenny goalkeeper Darren Brennan made a stunning stop to deny Domhnall Nugent who had got a touch on a dropping ball - Kilkenny instead clearing upfield for John Donnelly to tag on an insurance point at the death.

That set the tone with performances not translating into points, so the obvious target is to get results.

“I’ve said it before: moral victories are no good to this team,” Gleeson insists.

“We need to stay developing and develop the young players. We need to have a right cut off the National League and keep going up the levels because the Leinster Championship is going to be something we haven’t seen before in terms of the level of intensity. We have to build a squad that can play five weeks in a row, which is going to be an unbelievable test for us, so this is going to be a very important League campaign.”

The call has gone out to Antrim Gaels to pack out the West Belfast venue as they welcome last year’s All-Ireland finalists who are embarking on a fresh chapter with Derek Lyng set for his first League game in the bainisteoir bib following the departure of Brian Cody.

Lyng won six All-Irelands, nine Leinster and five League titles as a player under Cody, so he will be keen to get his tenure off to a good start in Belfast, but Antrim are just as keen to lay down a marker for the season ahead with so many crunch fixtures ahead including a rematch with the Cats at Corrigan Park in the Leinster Championship.

But these are the challenges Antrim crave and having worked so hard in recent years to get to where they now stand, the objective is to push on and become a contender against top-level opposition.

“It’s a baptism of fire for some of the younger players as their first game is against last year’s All-Ireland finalists coming to play us in Corrigan,” Gleeson admits.

“That’s what we want and they are the challenges we need. Kilkenny are so physically imposing and I’ve seen them recently. They’ve a new centre-back (Pádraic Moylan) and midfielder (Shane Murphy) who are massive men - they just keep producing them.

“They will be a serious challenge for us so we are hoping to come with the right attitude, the right level of aggression and get a big performance in our own ground.

“Derek Lyng is trying to put his own mark on the team and you can see that with how they are trying to play.

“There are subtle changes, but it’s still the same old Kilkenny in how they are going about it with a huge level of intensity and work rate which is embedded into them. We have to match that and see where it takes us.”

Antrim’s Dunloy contingent is back in harness having enjoyed a brief period of downtime following their loss to Kilkenny’s Ballyhale Shamrocks in the All-Ireland Club final with Nigel Elliott also set to return to county colours this season departed for Australia at the end of the 2019 season, but will not be available until next week’s trip to face Dublin.

Despite will remain available despite requiring surgery on a wrist injury
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Despite will remain available despite requiring surgery on a wrist injury

Conor Johnston is also available for now as he awaits a date for surgery on his wrist, but on the flip side, Damon McMullan, who missed out last year having had surgery on his shoulder, requires further treatment despite getting game-time in January’s Walsh Cup.

Aaron Crawford is also out for the season having suffered a broken collarbone in Dunloy’s All-Ireland semi-final win over St Thomas’, joining Ciaran Clarke, Conor McCann and Domhnall Nugent on the long-term list.

The absence of the above players in January gave many new faces the chance to put up their hand in January, although Gleeson admitted he would have preferred to see the new players have a little more time to develop before being thrust into action.

With such a busy season ahead and games against the top teams across League and Championship, strength in depth is crucial as having the ability to go to the last will be necessary to ensure the glorious feats of 2022 turn into seminal victories.

“Finishing stronger in games and staying in games is the big focus for us this year,” Gleeson stressed.

“When I first came in as manager before Covid hit, we got in a really good pre-season. This year, we’ve managed to get in a really good block of training from November, which we wouldn’t have been able to do over the past couple of seasons, so I’m really pleased with that.

“The players have put an unmerciful effort in to get themselves ready, so I hope it comes out on the day.”

Antrim’s hurlers face some glamour home games in the league

Compiled by Louis McKeown
 
Kilkenny (February 4, Corrigan Park)
It goes without saying that Kilkenny will be a tough test for the Saffrons.

The runners-up of last year’s Championship can boast of coming first in Division One, Group B last year but come under the new leadership of Derek Lyng who takes over from Kilkenny legend Brian Cody and the new man will be keen to get off to a good start.

They were defeated in last year’s All Ireland final by a talented Limerick side and were also defeated by Cork in the Division One semi-final last year as well.
Last year, Antrim came within a whisker of getting a result at Nowlan Park against the Cats, but the task will be just as tough against hurling’s aristocrats. 
 
Dublin (February 12, Parnell Park)
The Dubs narrowly missed out on the Division One play-offs last year when they finished third with seven points and failed to advance out of the Group Stage in the Leinster Championship from a challenging group. But there are plenty of signs that Micheál Donoghue’s men can repeat what they done in 2011 when they won Division One.

They have consistently got the better of Antrim in recent times including this year’s Walsh Cup, so the Saffrons will be keen to turn the tables.
 
Waterford (February 26, Dungarvan)
The Déise, having recently appointed hurling legend Davy Fitzgerald as their manager, are the reigning champions of the league but sadly failed to progress out of the Munster group stage last year after a disappointing campaign.

Fitzgerald brought Waterford to the All-Ireland Hurling final in 2008 and also had success with his native county, Clare, and Wexford as a manager.

Waterford’s home venue of Walsh Park is undergoing redevelopment and the venue for Antrim’s trip is yet to be confirmed, but Dungarvan is likely.

Antrim will test themselves against Tipperary in the final round of games on March 19 at Corrigan Park
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Antrim will test themselves against Tipperary in the final round of games on March 19 at Corrigan Park

Laois (February 12, Corrigan Park)
Willie Maher takes over the reins of the Laois hurlers following Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett stepping away at the end of last year.

The O’Moore men avoided the relegation playoff in last year’s Allianz Hurling League thanks to a home win over Antrim that was a de facto knockout game given the victor would have the tiebreaker.

In last year’s All-Ireland Hurling Championship, they came last in the Leinster group stage and were relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup. But after famously defeating Dublin in the 2019 All-Ireland Hurling Championship, Laois prove that they can cause an upset and their trip to Corrigan Park could prove pivotal for both teams.
 
Tipperary (March 19, Corrigan Park)
The Premier County have former Waterford boss Liam Cahill as their manager for the season in 2023 as he returns to his native county.

Last year, they finished their league campaign with six points in Division One, Group B, two of them registered in a heavy win against Antrim although that game was something of a dead rubber.

They exited the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship at the first hurdle in the Munster Championship, finishing in last place with no points. 

But the All-Ireland champions from 2019 can prove their worth and this game is something of a glamour fixture with Antrim boss Darren Gleeson going up against his home county on St Patrick’s weekend that is sure to draw a huge crowd.