Whelahan still has the desire

Brian Whelahan's future with the Offaly hurling team is likely to be finalised this week. A meeting with manager Michael McNamara will be arranged within the next few days, but the indication from Whelahan yesterday was that the future is much more about hurling than retirement.

Since winning the All-Ireland club title with Birr last month, Whelahan had been contemplating his role within the Offaly panel. His last appearance for the county was the championship of last summer, yet clearly the hunger and desire for top-level hurling remains.

"The appetite is still there and hopefully after talking with Mike then I will be in a better position to make a definite decision," he said. "One of the things I do want to discuss with him is what I would have to offer the team, and what role I would be able to play."

McNamara has said on several occasions that the decision to return to the Offaly panel is entirely one for Whelahan to make. His displays for Birr throughout the club championship showed no signs of a player in decline, yet Whelahan is not ignoring the fact that he has played consistently for the Offaly seniors now since 1989.

"Of course I have enjoyed some good results, but looking at Kilkenny and Tipperary last Sunday the pace of the game is now massive and you need to be at peak fitness to stay with that. And the last couple of seasons have not been all that great for me.

"But I suppose every championship brings a sense of excitement. At the end of the day, if it boils down to whether you would or would not hurl again I think you would always be prepared to give the commitment and get on with things. And the enjoyment is still there for me, which is a great help."

The future of one of Galway's longest serving hurlers, Joe Rabbitte, is a little less certain. Manager Conor Hayes hasn't ruled the Athenry player out of his championship panel, but it appears certain he won't see any league action.

"Well, we might see him back yet," said Hayes. "It could well be within the next few weeks, but we just don't know yet what his plans are. He hasn't been playing full time with his club, so we don't know if he is ready to come back into this level yet."

Hayes, however, is not exactly overburdened with panel members at the moment. Goalkeeper Damien Howe and midfielder Gordon Glynn dropped off the panel last month, and were recently joined by former standout minor forward Ger Farragher and centre back Peter Huban.

On the injury front, Greg Kennedy has just undergone the same operation as Michael Donellan and it will be later in the year before he's back, while Derek Hardiman has also to return. Mark Kerins also joined the injured list on Sunday with a bad ankle ligament tear.

"For the moment we'll just have to work with what we have," added Hayes. "Eugene Cloonan (back injury) should be okay after another week or two, but obviously he would be a huge asset for us going into the forward line. And I would say that he will definitely fit in there somewhere."

The Limerick v Laois National Hurling League Division One B game scheduled for Portlaoise on Saturday has been switched to Easter Monday to form part of a double bill with Limerick playing Wexford in their Football League Division Two semi-final. The hurling game will throw-in at 1.45, followed by the football at 3.30.

Hurling team manager Dave Keane will allow his dual players Brian Begley and Conor Fitzgerald to line out with the footballers who will be looking to reach Croke Park for the first time. There is also a strong possibility that another dual player, Stephen Lucey, will enter the frame.