New roles for McGrath and Walsh prove refreshing

AS WATERFORD have been gradually rehabilitating themselves after last year’s All-Ireland disaster with an encouraging league campaign to date, there have been signs of the sort of redeployment that can freshen up a side with high mileage.

Davy Fitzgerald’s team are still short a number of last year’s championship starters and there has been much improvisation.

Greatest interest focuses on the pivotal positions of centre back and centre forward, where Michael “Brick” Walsh and Ken McGrath have been lining out.

The two most versatile players on the team, they look as if they are about to be given different roles in the season ahead.

McGrath, author of some of the best centre back displays in recent years, was used at full back for a while last year and now appears to be required back in attack where his senior intercounty career began 13 years ago.

Walsh has always been a more reluctant chameleon, frequently used in attack when it was clear that centrefield – where he won an All star in 2007 – was the optimum placing for both player and team.

His performances in the NHL campaign so far have, however, been sufficiently encouraging to suggest he may be the key that will unlock McGrath and allow him stay forward.

“I don’t know if I’m moving closer towards the line,” says Walsh with mock anxiety. “Anywhere you get on the team you’re happy with. I wouldn’t have played there much before but I generally play defensive midfield so you’d fit in quick enough.

“You have to watch your man more than you would at midfield but hurling is a simple game and if you do the simple things right you won’t be too far off winning.”

Selector Maurice Geary says that Walsh’s redeployment was just one of a number of innovations that management decided to bring in during the league.

But he also agrees the switch to centre back is one of the trials with the greatest chance of being permanently adopted.

“Definitely. He’s a serious option and he’s done well. Brick’s very versatile – last year we moved him to the half forwards. He’s a good reader of the game and has a good hand and in fairness, great vision.

“He’s always looking at his options. On Sunday you could see the number of times he looked up and hand passed to a man in space.”

Walsh captained Waterford in last year’s wildly fluctuating season that ended in the joy of a first All-Ireland appearance in 45 years completely drained by a massive defeat in the final. “We’re after moving on,” he says.

“It’s a new year for us. There’s no point in looking back. Next week we’ll be back in training learning. We’re trying to bring the new fellas on. We want a training panel of 30 fellas who can do a job for Waterford and we’re moving towards that.”