Ronan Maher aware of the scale of Tipperary’s task in 2017

So it's that time of year already, players like Ronan Maher talking about winning and defending an All-Ireland hurling title, and winning and defending a county hurling title, more or less in the same breath.

This evening's 2017 championship draw (RTÉ 2, 9.30pm) will certainly refocus minds on the former, although for now, Maher is a little more focused on the latter. On Sunday, he hopes to help Thurles Sarsfields win a third successive Tipperary hurling title, a feat the club last achieved in 1965.

Standing in their way are Kiladangan, outsiders for sure but also relishing the chance to take down their more esteemed opposition. For Maher, who just like his county role will cover the half-back line alongside brother Pádraic, part of the incentive here is the fact he’s yet to lose a county final with Sarsfields

Heaviest defeat

“We’re going for six out of the last eight, or whatever, that’s a great achievement as it is,” he says. “There’s huge heart in this group and the last two years for me were exceptional, and we’re just trying to get another one this year, get over Kiladangan, and see where it takes us.”

In the meantime this evening’s championship draw will also leave Tipp thinking about getting another one. Last month’s nine-point All-Ireland final win over Kilkenny (Kilkenny’s heaviest final defeat in 52 years) earned them their first All-Ireland since 2010. But it’s now over 50 years since Tipp last won back-to-back All-Irelands, in 1964-65.

There were strong hopes the 2010 All-Ireland winning team were capable of that, only for Kilkenny to promptly re-establish their dominance. Maher suggests he hasn’t yet had the time or need to reflect on 2016, but admits Tipp’s sudden downfall post-2010 is already well ingrained, partly thanks to his brother (who played in that 2010 success).

“I haven’t reflected much yet,” he says, “because we’re straight back in with the club. But between college [he also helped Mary IT to a Fitzgibbon Cup] and Tipperary, it has been an exceptional year. It would be nice to round it off winning with the club. It will take until Christmas when you’re relaxing at home on the couch to realise what a great year it has been.

“I know there’s nothing worse than just turning around in September after losing an All-Ireland final, facing back into the whole championship again, it’s very hard.

"But we all understand that when you're after winning one, like we did this year, you think at the start that it's going to all come at once. But I was talking to Colm Cooper recently and he said when you win that one, like his first one with Kerry, that you think it's going to all come to you. but actually it doesn't. That kind of stuck in the back of my head then.

"Our panel of players are all level-headed and there's no doubt Mick Ryan keeps us that way. We all understand that next year is going to be even tougher again. That championship just keeps improving every year, there are so many teams in that championship that are capable of winning it. We just need to keep it stage by stage now and get back down to the grindstone . . .

“Last year when we lost to Galway we were bitterly disappointed. We set out for revenge this year. Thankfully we got over them, went onto the All-Ireland final and pushed on from there. But our arch-rivals Kilkenny are going to be there every year. It was nice to get another one over on them and it’s been a long time since 2010 without an All-Ireland and we knew ourselves that we needed to get one. It was really good for the championship as well.”

Less arduous

Despite all the recent debate about championship formats, this evening’s draw remains the same as in recent years.

Tipp were drawn in the preliminary round in Munster this year, beating Cork, and will be hoping for a slightly less arduous route this time. The Leinster hurling championship, as with recent years, will include a preliminary round-robin format, before the first round proper. In football, All-Ireland and Leinster champions Dublin will be seeded and therefore will avoid playing in the first round.