2009/10 Men’s Season Preview

BANDON

Last Season: 4th
Coach: Ger Burns
Captain: Andrew Kingston
Players In: Paul O’Leary (C of I)
Players Out: Clinton Sweetnam (C of I)
First three games: Quins A (a), UCC (h), C of I B (a)

Bandon will bring their usual mix of starry-eyed youngsters and wise old heads to the table this season, and a club that relishes the underdogs tag will once again look to make a nuisance of themselves against bigger sides.

The loss of Clinton Sweetnam to C of I will be keenly felt however, while coach Ger Burns has been experimenting as he re-shapes his team, with Ali Smith spending some of pre-season in a wide role rather than up front.

Edgar Rice and Sam McElroy ensure Bandon won’t be beaten for physicality at the back, though they could be exposed by the league’s pacier forwards. Underage internationals Darren Sweetnam and Scott Sullivan are likely to be given further chances to stake their claims in midfield.

Third place and continued good performances in the cups are again the most realistic targets, and with UCC now in the mix for that IHL wildcard spot, this could prove to be an intriguing sub-plot.

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE

Last Season: 5th
Coach: Ollie O’Connor
Captain: Tristan Murphy
Players In: Mark Carter (YMCA), Albert Valls (UCC)
Players Out: TBC
First three games: C of I B (h), C of I A (h), C of I B (a)

Little has changed at Rosbrien over the summer, bar the appointment of goalkeeper Tristan Murphy as the side’s new skipper, with Ollie O’Connor taking up the coaching reins.

Munster U21 midfielder Simon Brickenden and experienced campaigners Eric Calendar and Justin O’Sullivan will once again be the heartbeat of the side.

Institute always prove a handful for all but C of I and Quins on their home patch in Limerick, but away day blues are still a problem; witness the discrepancy between defeating UCC at home but conceding eight at the Mardyke last term.

Meeting C of I B twice in their opening three games provides them with games to target early on, while from a development point of view, the inclusion of Mark Ryan in the Munster U16 squad is welcome news.

The signing of Albert Valls from UCC is also a shrewd one – the Spaniard never hit the heights with College last term as he recovered from injury but has played at a high level in his homeland and brings plenty of flair and technical expertise.

Nonetheless, Institute still lack the depth of quality across their squad, and look set to be scrapping at the bottom end once more this term.

CORK CHURCH OF IRELAND A

Last Season: 1st
Coach: Stephen Jackson
Captain: David Hobbs
Players In: Clinton Sweetnam (Bandon)
Players Out: Jonathan Bruton (Fremantle Magpies), Andy Chambers (retired)
First three games: Quins B (h), C of I B (a), Catholic Institute (a)

Few clubs in Ireland can match C of I’s squad depth; in a recent pre-season friendly against Monkstown they began with over 300 Irish caps worth of experience on the bench alone, and almost a dozen of their players are involved in the international setup at once level or another.

They will be raging favourites to take their fourth consecutive Munster title, having gone through the last campaign undefeated, and the weakening of Three Rock and Banbridge will give them renewed hope at national level too.

In John Jermyn they have the country’s best drag-flicker, but they must solve their eternal conundrum of finding the net from play – a deficiency that can be masked at domestic level but has haunted them in the IHL and ISC.

With Jonathan Bruton still in Australia, the cupboard looks a bit bare up front, though immensely talented teenager Nick Burns will get his chance in the Irish international’s absence.

In any case, no side containing the likes of Jermyn, David Hobbs and Andy Herbert can be written off just yet, but whether they can gatecrash the Pembroke-Glenanne axis that dominated Irish hockey last term remains to be seen.

CORK CHURCH OF IRELAND B

Last Season: 3rd
Coach: TBA
Captain: Richie Dorman
Players In: Davy Herbert (UCC)
Players Out: Roger Gray, Andy Gray, Philip Sweetnam, Mark Welch, Conor Shemeld (UCC), Andy Whitaker (Midleton)
First three games: Catholic Institute (a), C of I A (h), Bandon (h)

Last season’s Irish Junior Cup success – their first since 1993 – is one that will live long in the memory at C of I, given the quality of opposition taken out en route before blitzing a shell-shocked Pembroke 5-1 in the decider.

However, C of I’s second string could find things a lot tougher this time around, following a summer of significant upheaval. Two mainstays of that side, Roger and Andy Gray, have jumped ship to UCC, who have also hoovered up some of the club’s younger talents.

The side could yet be further hit by retirements, and they are without a coach, following Dermot Judge’s departure, and a skipper going into the new season.

It is therefore difficult to predict how they will fare; they scrapped with their bogey team, Bandon for third place last term, but are now the outsiders in a three-way dogfight.

Nonetheless, the upshot is that the production line at C of I continues to churn out brilliant youngsters, many of whom may now get a chance to prove themselves in Division One sooner than expected.

CORK HARLEQUINS A

Last Season: 2nd
Coach: Stephen Dale
Captain: Paul Lombard
Players In: Reinout Mensink (Leusden, Holland)
Players Out: None
First three games: Bandon (h), Quins B (a), Bandon (a)

Squad depth remains the primary headache for Stephen Dale’s side, a situation not helped by the loss of goalkeeper Chris Daunt (broken leg) and promising midfielder Colin Ross (knee) to long-term injuries. Dutch netminder Reinout Mensink will make his debut against Bandon this weekend in the former’s absence.

While little went right for Quins last term, they proved they can still pull off top-class results on their day – the Peard Cup win over C of I and the hard-earned draw in Cookstown were among the highlights.

However, Quins have regressed since their Irish Senior Cup win in 2006; the likes of Richie Gash and Wes Bateman are no longer involved, while too few young players – with the exceptions of Dan Hobbs and, latterly, Darren Farrell – have made an impact in their absence.

But like C of I, the presence of Paul Lombard and Mark and Jason Black provides guile and experience that can’t be bought, and if they can start to convert the short corner opportunities they are adept at carving out with more regularity, they can trouble anyone.

In Munster, they will once again need to better their rivals over their two league clashes to wrest the title back, while Pembroke aside, their IHL group looks the weaker of the two on paper, though last season’s winless campaign will certainly need to be bettered.

CORK HARLEQUINS B

Last Season: 6th
Coach: TBA
Captain: Mark Lombard
Players In: Stephen Teap (returning), Ross Bateman (Belvedere), Hugh Kelly (Kilkenny), Alex Blanchard (France)
Players Out: David Mills, Daniel Mulligan (UCC)
First three games: C of I A (a), Quins A (h), UCC (h)

Something of a curate’s egg at the best of times, uncertainty again surrounds a Quins B outfit that are, at the time of writing, without a coaching staff in place.

They have nonetheless been one of the busier sides in the transfer market this summer; Ross Bateman and Hugh Kelly are both solid signings, while Stephen Teap returns after a two-year absence from the game, and looked in reasonable form in pre-season against Monkstown.

Less is known of French import Alex Blanchard, and in any case, the make-up of their squad is likely to be dictated by the injuries and lack of depth in the first team.

UCC provided sweet relief for Quins B last term in the league – their two wins and a serious chunk of their goals came against the students – but this time round the Farmers Cross side are likely to be battling with Institute to avoid the wooden spoon. Facing both big guns first up will hardly help them build confidence, either.

They will, however, be targeting a run in the IJC, having been unlucky to run into eventual winners C of I in the early rounds last year.

UCC

Last Season: 7th
Coach: Neil Welch
Captain: John Catchpole
Players In: Roger Gray, Andy Gray, Philip Sweetnam, Mark Welch, Conor Shemeld (Cork C of I), David Mills, Daniel Mulligan (Cork Harlequins), Graham Catchpole (Railway Union), Graham Jeffery (abroad).
Players Out: Davy Herbert (Cork C of I)
First three games: Bandon (a), Quins B (a), Catholic Institute (h)

College will arouse arguably the most curiosity of any side this season, largely thanks to the appointment of Neil Welch as coach and the arrival of a glut of players that followed.

Fitness, structure and work ethic are a hallmark of Welch’s teams, and he will hope to stamp those on a College side that were too often out of their depth and disinterested last term.

The side looks well-balanced on paper, with Graham Catchpole and John Catchpole providing the solidity at the back to allow Roger Gray, Andy Gray, David Mills and Philip Sweetnam to do some damage further up the field. With the Grays and Stephen Sweetnam at their disposal, College also possess a mean short corner unit.

The question is, of course, whether all that potential can be blended together in time. College teams are inevitably slow starters, though the fact they were one of the first teams in Munster to begin pre-season training suggests they mean business. Avoiding the big guns until the November 21 meeting with Quins will also help their cause.

Third place would represent a superb achievement; if they can better Bandon in their two clashes this side of Christmas, it will become a real possibility.

Women’s season preview to follow tomorrow