Tipperary keen to get that first victory

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE:NO ONE in Tipperary is getting too worried about it but having lost their opening game quite convincingly – albeit against Kilkenny – there is suddenly some pressure on the All-Ireland hurling champions to get back to winning ways when they face Dublin in the curtain-raiser of the new Spring Series in Croke Park on Saturday evening.

Manager Declan Ryan remains without several of his All-Ireland winning team, including team captain Eoin Kelly who is currently on honeymoon, and there are fresh concerns about midfielder Brendan Maher, who retired early in the seven-point defeat to Kilkenny last Saturday evening in Thurles.

Noel McGrath – who helped raise something of a fightback the last day – admits that winning is a habit, and reckons Tipperary will want to get back into that habit on Saturday, especially given they also went down to Dublin in the league last year.

“I know we came up to Parnell Park last year and probably got a bit of a shock,” he said. “We’d no excuses; the better team won on the day. We just weren’t ready for it and we got blown out of it. Hopefully we’ll be ready for it on Saturday night.

“And it’s nice to get a run out in Croke Park this early in the year and it’ll be something different playing under lights.

“Winning is a habit so it’s nice to get the confidence and a bit of momentum but we know it will be hard because there are no easy games in this division. We got a good performance against Kilkenny in the league last year, starting off. It probably gave us a bit of confidence to know we could perform and get a good result against them.

“Everyone wants a result and to get a win early on and get momentum going for the year.”

Former Tipp forward Ryan O’Dwyer, who earlier this year switched allegiance to Dublin, hasn’t ruled himself out of playing some part in Croke Park on Sunday, despite sustaining a dislocated shoulder in training, which resulted in torn cartilage.

O’Dwyer has put off an operation until the end of the season, as that would necessitate at least a six-week lay off, and while he’s most unlikely to start on Saturday, he will undergo further medical assessment before the game to establish whether or not he could play some part.

OFFALY(HL v Galway): J Dempsey; S Egan, P Healion, B Mulrooney; R Hanniffy, D Kenny, D Morkam; C Mahon, D Hayden; B Carroll, J Bergin, S Wynne; C Parlon, C Egan, S Dooley.