Coady's knowledge on the sideline to aid the Rangers' cause

It could be said Eddie Coady sleeps, eats and drinks hurling. He played his first senior final for Mount Leinster Rangers when they lost to Ballinkillen in 2003. Two years later, Naomh Eoin broke Coady and Rangers hearts. After that, the talk down around Borris at the time was not so much about a curse but the pedigree and the will of the hurlers was questioned.

Then in 2006 Rangers trailed St Mullins by five points and missed an easy free. The misery looked set to continue but something unfolded. Was it fear of what was about to happen spurred them on or did the players relax and just perform without that fear acting as a crusher?

Whatever it was Rangers outscored St Mullins by 0-9 to 0-2 in the last quarter to take a first senior title. The rest is history.

Eddie Coady won his first senior medal that day and added another a year later. There was more heartbreak in 2008 when Naomh Bríd scored a late goal to deprive Rangers of three-in-a-row. Irrespective of that result a new name had arrived on the Carlow club scene. It hasn’t gone away and that is never going to happen now. Mount Leinster Rangers are now the sort of club that all other clubs aspire to be. Successful across all age levels there is nothing out there to suggest it is ever going to be any other way.

Ever present along this journey of circa twenty years is one Eddie Coady. He captained Carlow to a first ever Christy Ring Cup success in 2008. Time has moved on and this year he played junior hurling for the club and is on the senior management team.

From his own experience, Coady knows there is only one place to be on county final day. Playing at Netwatch Cullen Park is where every player wants to be.

“When you start training, whenever you start whether it be in January or March you are coming with the previous year thoughts. Whether you have won or lost, you are always looking to get into a county final,” agrees Coady.

“It is the place to be. It brings a different level of energy to the environment. To the parish. Everything. It is absolutely the place to be and we are a privileged bunch down here. I guess we have been in a lot of finals over the years. We have had plenty of success and plenty of heartache. Both sides of the coin,” notes the Rangers man.

Last year the final was played a week after the semi-finals. It didn’t work. Coady says he likes what is happening this year.

“Personally, I like the two-week break. There are a couple of reasons. It gives the players a chance to come out after their semi-final win which is a pressurised environment itself. Semi-finals are for winning. Then you have to prep for the final. You put your boots away and then quite literally you have to take them out again. You are getting ready for a final which is seven to eight days later,” the Rangers man points out.

“The two weeks is much, much more enjoyable I suppose. It is a better chance for guys to get themselves ready.

“Looking at the parish, it gives them a chance to get their flags up. It gives them a chance to prepare for a match which is not on top of them. It is two weeks away. If they have made plans they can tweak them or change them. Get the bunting up. Get a few pictures with sponsors.” Bringing forward the All-Ireland football and hurling finals into July has divided opinion. Carlow runs its hurling championship immediately the county fare is over. Then comes the football and as soon as that is over the interprovincial club championships start.

Coady is one of those who feel it hasn’t worked.

“There is probably a bigger picture if you are talking about the (hurling club) championship. To me it is way too squashed. There is very little room from a management perspective,” he says.

“As a player you just get on with it. If you are trying to plan for a game on a weekend, all of a sudden you are planning for the next week. Straightaway. You literally don’t have time to breath. It is difficult.” He does add an argument to his own point of view.

“When you are successful there is nothing wrong but when you lose you say I would rather have it this way or I would rather have it that way. I don’t have the answers as to what is the best way to go whether it be club or intercounty level. That is for another day.” And so next weekend is fast approaching. In last season’s decider, Rangers looked set to make it a two in a row when they led by three points late in the game. Then Marty Kavanagh’s goal brought it to a replay. While Rangers lost a player to a red card in the new game, their manager, Paul O’Brien, said he felt it wasn’t a factor in their defeat.

Coady can only speculate what will divide the sides. He has experienced it all as a player and as a member of a management team.

“There is a flip of a coin. Any given day. Any given momentum switch. Any decision. A lapse of concentration. A small thing could change the game one way or the other,” he reasons.

“There is absolutely nothing between the two teams. Both have exceptional forwards. Both sets of midfielders are strong. Good backs. Good keepers. There is nothing between them. On the Sunday, a small thing could tip the scales in the direction of the eventual winners. It is something we might not even think about.”