Shefflin moves to centre stage

Seán Moran profiles the Kilkenny forward who has finished hisapprenticeship in the corner and now plays a commanding role in the heart of the attack

The tall tale of Henry Shefflin. After a decade that saw Kilkenny establish a virtual underage monopoly in Leinster, and in so doing showcase a procession of pocket-sized scoring machines, Shefflin is one forward who has so far delivered on the highest hopes invested in him.

He runs contrary to the Kilkenny stereotype of small, swift corner forwards - and it was in the corner that life started at senior intercounty level. Big and strong, he moves like a diesel but has the sensitive touch of something more sporty.

Maybe it's random who makes it after a successful underage career, but maybe Shefflin simply has better hurling and attitude than others. He was conditioned as a hurler as he was reared in a big family in Ballyhale. The local club, Shamrocks, won the 1990 All-Ireland and was home to the Fennelly brothers, two of whom, Liam and Ger, lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup for Kilkenny.

The story moves in a gilded, if by the county's standards unexceptional, line, taking in Hogan Cup success with St Kieran's, the obligatory Leinster minor title and, in time, an under-21 All-Ireland. The serious business, the touchstone of what you would be as a hurler, comes later.

Kevin Fennelly preceded Brian Cody as Kilkenny manager and currently manages Dublin. He remembers his clubmate from an early age.

"Henry was always a bit above the ordinary. When he was underage he was always the leader of the team. Always. His style of play is much the same, but he's got stronger. In the last three or four years he's filled out a lot. He was good in the air, but he used be a bit light."

We can speed this up to the spring of 1999. Cody called Shefflin up for Walsh Cup duty. The cloying mud of places like Mullinavat wouldn't be mainstage gigging, but the year has to start somewhere. The Kilkenny manager is careful not to be misled by the promising displays of his young recruit who, unlike his more experienced colleagues, is sharp with Fitzgibbon Cup training.

One thing is clear, however: Henry Shefflin is versatile and will line-out all over the attack. Corner forward it will be for the initial stages of his senior intercounty career, but this is an apprenticeship.

"Centre forward or full forward would be his best positions," according to Fennelly. "He needs to be in the centre under the ball. He was only developing as a forward when used in the corner. He's not a corner forward by nature, that sort of smaller, quicker player. But he could play there. In the air or on the ground, Henry can do either. He can play anywhere in the forwards."

So it proved. There were some advantages to using him in the corner. Like the fact that he frequently towered over his marker, making high balls into the corner an unusually fruitful tactic. Twice he was marked by one of the most tenacious and quick of corner backs, Offaly's Simon Whelahan.

"One of his great strengths is his anticipation," says Fennelly. "Simon Whelahan is a fine player, but much smaller. Whelahan thought he could use his pace to get to the break first, but it didn't work out for him. Henry doesn't have great pace but he has everything else."

The mortification of Simon Whelahan encompasses both Shefflin's second Leinster title and first All-Ireland, but if the progression seems too smooth, it's worth mentioning the significant transition phase: Fitzgibbon Cup. The player has acknowledged his debt to the third-level championship.

Like many a good hurler in the south-east, he enrolled in Waterford IT, the modern institution that has done most to challenge the grip of the traditional university teams in UCD and UCC. A finalist in 1998, he was a member of the winning side in both of the following years.

Jim Ryan, chairman of the UCD hurling club, watched Shefflin at close quarters.

"He was on a Waterford team that did very well and it brought him on. He won Fitzgibbons in 1999 and 2000 playing on very strong sides, although in UCD we would say that Stephen Lucey marked him well in the 2000 final. He was big enough to be a target man and was good on the frees and with a great attitude. In Fitzgibbon fellas are there to be taken down a peg or two, but he thrived."

No team really challenged Kilkenny in their drive to the Millennium All-Ireland, and it was more instructive to watch Shefflin the year before as the team went down to an inexplicably low-scoring defeat - 0-13 to 0-12 - to Cork. While his hitherto free-scoring colleagues ran dry, the rookie full forward held his nerve and was the best of the forwards, including Hurler of the Year aspirants DJ Carey and Brian McEvoy.

Another painful failure, against Galway last year, sandwiched the 2000 All-Ireland, and Cody began to reconsider his resources. In 2001, his insistence on a brave new team foundered on a NHL semi-final trimming by Clare. This year, however, the new line-up won the league and the Leinster title. And if DJ Carey is back after a year's absence, it is at the expense of another veteran, Charlie Carter. Central to the new configuration has been Shefflin at centre forward.

He announced himself with a powerful display on Sean McMahon in Ennis last March, and picked up momentum through the knock-out stages, leading the charge against hot favourites Limerick in the semi-final - a process watched by Limerick captain Mark Foley.

"He's very skilful and strong under the dropping ball and always capable of putting it to good use. He drifts a lot from wing to wing and takes a centre back to places he's not going to be comfortable."

Tomorrow Shefflin will renew acquaintance with his old WIT team-mate Eamonn Corcoran, who has been switched into Tipperary's problem position of centre back. Jim Ryan remembers a previous meeting between the two.

"I remember a CAO (Comhairle Ard Oideachais, the body regulating third-level Gaelic games) trip to Manchester with a combined Fitzgibbon team two years ago. The British colleges could try their luck at football, but in hurling we used break up the team and play our forwards on one side and our backs on another.

"Interestingly, Henry ended up being moved onto Eamonn Corcoran who he would have known well in WIT. I can tell you, sparks flew - there was a right bit of an edge to it.

"They were serious hurlers. A lot of the footballers went off to Old Trafford on one of the afternoons when we organised sessions for the local students. But the hurlers, including Henry, came down for a puck around, which was nice.

"Waterford (IT) would have had the reputation of being not that able to enjoy themselves. They used always go home on the team bus after matches and that sort of thing, but we saw a different side to them in Manchester. People like Andy Moloney and Henry were great fun."

There wasn't much fun - again - for the Whelahan family during this year's Leinster semi-final against Offaly in Thurles. Brian wasn't 100 per cent and isn't happy at centre back, so Shefflin took him for seven points from play.

"He's the leading forward in the country," according to Offaly manager Father Tom Fogarty. "He's played consistently well and assumed the leadership position among the forwards in DJ's absence. I know DJ's back, but Shefflin has grown in stature. He's two good hands, hurls off both sides and has a great awareness of the field. He also converts a high percentage of his possessions into scores.

"He has to be marked. He's too good a player to leave loose. He has great composure and will wait for the chances. Against Wexford, Declan Ruth marked him very well but he still kept his concentration and shot two great points when the chances came."

A week ago Waterford's Ken McGrath came to town as the best there was at centre forward but departed under a cloud after a frustrating afternoon. Tomorrow it is Shefflin's turn to measure himself against the hype, and few foresee too many embarrassed eulogists around Dublin 3 at teatime.