League final once again gives Sarsfields a strong lead-in to the championship

Friday night’s RedFM Hurling League Division 1 final will see Sarsfields go for a fourth straight title.

The Riverstown side clash with Midleton in Carrigtwohill (7.30pm), boasting a strong record in the competition since Johnny Crowley’s return as manager in 2023.

With the club having reached the final of the Co-op SuperStores Premier SHC in each of the three previous seasons too – winning twice – it’s little wonder that Crowley sees a strong league as the ideal tee-up for later.

“Regardless of who you’re playing, the league final is a terrific game to get in terms of preparation for the championship on the August bank holiday weekend,” he says.

“You’re on the phone a lot, looking for challenge games, and you might go to Tipperary or Waterford for what you’re expecting will be a good competitive match but then they’re down five or six and you win well and it’s not ideal preparation.

“We’ve always found that the league final is going to be a good game. 

"You’re up against a good team – we’ve had Blackrock, Charleville, the Barrs and now Midleton – and the learnings will far outweigh the winning of it, if that makes sense.

“It’s nice to win and have a bit of silverware in the clubhouse after, but that’s not the priority. You’re looking to get as much as you can out of the league and if you can get to the final, that’s ideal preparation.

“It’ll be a good, competitive, hard game and I think ourselves and Midleton will both get a lot out of it.”

Midleton’s nine-from-nine record ensured they topped the table, though their defeat over Sars in the last round came with both clubs already through. 

That Sars were in such a position is all the more impressive given that they had just two points after three matches.

“To be honest, we didn’t even look that far,” Crowley says.

“We had our programme made out and our blocks made out in terms of what we wanted to do.

“While it was disappointing to lose two of the first three games, against the Barrs and the Glen, we weren’t overly concerned as we hadn’t a lot done.

“As it went on, we started using different formations and playing different guys and picking up results but still it was only with three games to go you realised that if you finished well you were in with a shout of making the final.

“It was good, we got a lot of learnings from the league, like we always do.”

And they managed to move up the standings while again being able to rotate their team and audition new young players.

“That’s what we’ve always done, really,” Crowley says.

“When I took over in 2023, I wanted to bring in some minors every year and I think it’s 28 players that have come in over the course of the last four years.

“Guys like that are obviously young and they’re light and frail, so there are learnings to be had and the only place to get them really is by playing league games.

“Irrespective of what personnel we had available, we were always very conscious of playing a few young fellas in every league game and that hasn’t changed this year.”