Charlie Carter danced his way through 70 minutes of the Leinster final at Croke Park yesterday. He spent the afternoon in the company of Brian Whelehan and Joe Errity. Oh, and Martin Hanamy made a short stop in his vacinity. All of them were switched on to Carter. But with little effect. This was one of those days most hurlers only ever dream about. He contributed a goal, five points and much more.

"You have to keep working at it because the next day I mightn't play that well. It gives defences something to think about. Maybe the next day they might stop watching him (DJ Carey) and they might start watching me that bit more," Charlie chuckles.

So everything is just dandy in Charlie Carter's world. There is a feeling of inner satisfaction at a job well done. As with most of his brethren, however, hysteria is a foreigner to these parts. There is a long way to go yet. "At least, we have that (Bob O' Keeffe Cup) in front of us this year. We didn't have it with us last summer," he said.

That would do just fine as far as a Carey is concerned. "I am not playing well at the moment. The game passed me by. I have only been training for the last two weeks, but at least the hamstring gave me no trouble."

Twenty-four-year-old Tom Hickey, the captain is just about the least experienced player in the dressingroom. He is sitting in the corner with a cut on the bridge of his nose and wing forward Brian McEvoy for company. "Making the speech didn't bother me. I had nothing prepared, but it's really only a minor part of the afternoon.

"I think the role of captaincy is overrated. I like to talk on the pitch, but I wouldn't be roaring. Personally, communicating helps to keep my concentration, especially playing in the corner. I leave all the shouting to the big fella (Pat O'Neill) inside me," said Hickey.

Outside the Offaly dressingroom, Michael "Babs" Keating is standing in his stockinged feet with his hands parked in his pockets. His dejection is plain to see. The honest, hardhitting words are tumbling out.

"There will be a lot of different attitudes needed in the Offaly camp in the next three weeks. I was awfully disappointed in the application of the stick out there. Not one of the players played to his potential.

"There is a a problem with individualism. A lot of them are playing their own game, not for their colleagues. I don't think any of our forwards played well, except maybe John Troy," said Keating.

Keating explained about the quandary of whether to move the wily Martin Hanamy over to lessen the influence of Charlie Carter in the left corner.

"We did and we didn't consider it. PJ (Delaney), DJ (Carey) and Charlie Carter are all equal. They are all moving at the same speed. So we decided to bring on Joe Errity and perhaps this was expecting a bit too much of him."

There definitely wasn't the delirium that usually reflects the importance of winning a provincial title, either inside or outside the dressingroom. Celebrations were muted, almost respectable. There was no screeching from the Cats, merely satisfaction at a job well done and the knowledge that there is oodles of room for improvement from both counties.