Hogan gets nomination for captaincy

NEWS:BRIAN HOGAN is to be nominated for one of the most eminent roles in hurling – Kilkenny captain.

The 29-year-old was centre back on the O’Loughlin Gaels team that lost the All-Ireland club final last Thursday, but as Kilkenny champions, the club still had to nominate the county captaincy, with Hogan emerging as their preferred choice.

He will take over from forward TJ Reid, who held the honour last year, having been nominated by then Kilkenny champions Ballyhale Shamrocks. Unfortunately for Reid his captaincy ended on a losing note as Kilkenny were beaten in their quest for a record fifth successive All-Ireland by Tipperary.

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has yet to confirm who exactly will be called into his panel from the O’Loughlin Gaels team, though Hogan is a certainty. Forward Martin Comerford was another obvious contender for the captaincy, but the 32-year-old has struggled with illness and injury in recent months, and is expected to take an extended break before rejoining the county panel.

Other O’Loughlin Gaels players such as Mark Bergin, Andy Kearns and Maurice Nolan were in line for a call into the county panel, but that is less certain now given the heavy nature of the club’s defeat to Clarinbridge last Thursday.

Hogan comes well qualified: a member of the panel since 2004, and a winner of four All-Irelands and six Leinster titles, he unfortunately missed out on last year’s final with a dislocated shoulder.

It was also confirmed yesterday O’Loughlin Gaels manager Mick Nolan and coach Andy Comerford will be continuing for another season, despite defeat on St Patrick’s Day.

Despite losing to Galway in the last round, Kilkenny are still pressing for a place in the league final, and take on Waterford at home on Sunday. Waterford, who are just one point behind, will be managed by selector Pat Bennett on Sunday, as Davy Fitzgerald serves his four-week ban, and will also be without forward Maurice Shanahan, who sustained a broken finger at training on Tuesday and is facing a six-week lay-off.

At the other end of Division One, Wexford and Offaly, who have yet to win a game, will face off in a relegation battle in Tullamore, with the losers effectively resigned to Division Two next season. Wexford manager Colm Bonnar has reiterated his feelings on that issue and called on the GAA to re-examine the league structures in order to avoid an unbridgeable gap between the elite counties and the chasing bunch.

Yet Bonnar denied his call for such a restructuring had anything to do with Wexford’s obvious threat of relegation: “I’ve been saying this for the last three years. Even after we were promoted last year, I said I felt Clare should have been coming up with us.

“Hurling is a very unique sport, and the league has to be tailored to meet the needs of hurling. It’s not like football, where maybe a Division Three team could beat a Division One team. Hurling is special, and there are only 11 or 12 teams playing it at a really elite level. They need to be kept together in order for it to progress.

“The way the league is structured the likes of Kilkenny and Tipperary are pushing further ahead. And the likes of Clare and Limerick down in Division Two, it doesn’t help bridge the gap. The two years Wexford spent in Division Two didn’t help their development. It really restricted their advancement, but I can see being in Division One this year how much more they relish it, trying to improve their game every week. We feel we’re making improvements now but that wouldn’t necessarily happen in Division Two.”

In the past the GAA split Division One hurling into two groups, A and B, and a return to that sort of elite group is what Bonnar is suggesting. Unfortunately for him there is no motion to address this issue coming before congress next month – other than the reintroduction of semi-finals, in Division One only. “I find it very strange it won’t even be discussed at congress. The public are voting with the feet as well, because very few are turning up for these Division Two games. No disrespect to maybe Kerry or Westmeath or Down, I know when these teams came to Wexford Park there’d only be a handful of people there. There is no comparison with Division One.”