Gaelic Games: Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final
Antrim v Dublin (Navan, Saturday, 3pm, live on GAA GO)
IT has been quite an 18 months for Antrim hurling with their exploits in 2020 gaining promotion to the top-flight in League and Championship.
An encouraging Division One campaign has underlined the progress made, but there are greater ambitions for the players and management as they seek to keep pushing forward.
Darren Gleeson’s arrival at the helm last year singled something of a watershed as Antrim suddenly found the missing ingredient to help them turn promise into results.
The Tipperary man has many attributes including the ability to motivate, instil confidence and a style of play that has transformed Antrim’s fortunes, but perhaps one of the biggest achievements has been in putting together a panel that has an abundance of talent with the players all fighting tooth and nail to get out onto the pitch on any given day.
Michael Bradley had been away from the county set-up for several years before returning under Gleeson’s watch last year and the St John’s man, who last appeared under the tenure of Kevin Ryan, says there is a different feel to things this time around.
“It was brilliant to be asked back into the panel last year,” said the 27-year-old firefighter, based at the International Airport.
“The whole set-up is just really refreshing to be a part of. It’s the whole standards that Darren brings with everyone and there’s a real freshness about it all.
“Darren is brilliant and I have nothing but good things to say about him. The panel has a real close feeling about it and feels a bit like a club set-up. There are 36 fellas as part of the panel and there’s a great bond between everyone, so there’s a real buzz about us at the minute.”
Bradley in actin with Kilkenny's Richie Reid last month
With 36 players vying for a place on the team, or indeed, the 26 match day squad, competition is fierce to earn a jersey each week and this is another major reason for the upturn in Antrim’s fortunes with players fighting tooth-and-nail for a place.
Therefore, there can be no taking the foot off the gas in training or games with players breathing down the neck to step in.
Bradley has been something of a mainstay in the team, either deployed at wing-forward or midfield, and this is a testament to his own performances, but knows he has to maintain his standards or will find himself on the sideline.
“There are 36 guys pushing for sports and even this week, there are two (training) sessions coming up and the team will be picked off the back of those sessions and whoever puts their hand up for a spot,” he stressed.
“In years gone by, not to discredit any other management, but going into a Championship campaign you already knew who the starting 15 were.
“Now, for starters, we’re all just pushing hard to get into the 26 (match day panel) and then if you can push harder, to get into the 15.
“Even the competitiveness to get into the 26 for match day is massive and when you’ve got that, it lifts the standards of the whole set-up as you’ve got fellas really champing at the bit.
“For example, I might be coming off a shift and heading to Dunsilly or Jordanstown to training and feeling a bit tired, but you have to mentally lift yourself. It’s those small things that help bring it all up a level.”
Saturday’s game against Dublin will represent Antrim’s first knockout game in the main Leinster Championship since defeat to Wexford back in 2014. They lost out in heart-breaking fashion to Offaly in the back door a couple of weeks later, but then suffered relegation from the Qualifying Group the following year.
It has been a long journey back to the main race for Liam MacCarthy after spending five years in either the Christy Ring or Joe McDonagh Cup, but they finally emerged victorious in December’s McDonagh Cup final at Croke Park to announce their return.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been there,” Bradley reflects.
“It came up on one of my (social media) timelines the other day, funny enough, but it seems like yesterday down in Portlaoise (against Wexford). At the time, you feel you’re going to be at that level every year.
“We’ve gone through a bit of a change recently and we’re happy to be back. Off the back of a very successful year last year, thankfully we’re back where we want to be in League and Championship.”
Michael Bradley on inter-county duty back in 2014
The Division One campaign saw Antrim take five points out of a possible 10 with home wins over Clare and Laois, plus a draw against Wexford, that silenced some doubters as to Antrim’s ability to perform back at the top level.
There was no targeting of specific games for points with each challenge taken head-on and that is the mantra again this week as they prepare to face Dublin in Navan.
Antrim’s ambitions are to maintain their progress and fulfil the potential that has always been there, but turning that into performances was the challenge.
Now they are starting to get the results, they don’t want to stop and the Saffrons will travel to Páirc Tailteann with ambition this weekend.
“Darren has instilled a confidence in the team, but everything is just based on the next ball and the next match,” said Bradley.
“We are never going to be looking ahead of anyone or anything, so he keeps the guys grounded and that the next hurdle is the only one we’re looking at.
“We’ve always said in Antrim that we always feel like we have the hurlers to match anyone, but he has instilled belief in a lot of players.
“Regarding the League campaign, a lot of people were delighted that Antrim were back in Division One, but was it a success as a whole finishing with five points from 10?
“We’re content but not fully satisfied. If the season ended now, would it be a success? Probably not. We want to keep driving on and going at it.”
Bradley celebrates December's Joe McDonagh Cup
One of the two defeats in the League came against Dublin on a day when Antrim just didn’t reach the level of performance they know they can.
Eight points separated the teams at the final whistle, but were it not for some stunning saves by Ryan Elliott in goal, that margin could have been much greater.
To close that gap on Mattie Kenny’s side, Antrim know they will need a much better display and a massive appetite for the hard yards. They have proven such a performance is in them, so it is about delivering this weekend.
“We’re very aware of the challenge at hand,” Bradley accepts.
“Dublin is a great side, very physical and tactically aware. They are a serious team and one you would consider to be there at the latter stages of the summer.
“They were Leinster champions back in 2013 and are a serious setup with serious players and a great plan, so we have a serious challenge on our hands, but look, we have always spoken about the level we want to be at in Antrim and this is it.
“We have had five games in the League that were tougher as they went on and Championship is going to be no different. This is where we want to be and we feel like this is an opportunity at the weekend to put the hand up and prove ourselves.
“To use a cliché about the All Blacks: any time you get a chance to leave the jersey in a better place, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
It would be a harsh critic to say that the Antrim jersey isn’t already in a better place than it was 18 months ago, but Bradley and his team-mates are determined to have the saffron shine brighter come Saturday evening.
