The flinging minnows that constantly swim with the sharks

Westmeath got there through a memorable ambush in Dublin – a game that became known as the Portlaoise ‘Puddlegate’ affair. The Lake County Minnows duly avoided drowning, but their reward was a semifinal date with the Sharks… and Kilkenny eventually rode home with 14 points, 1-23 to 1-9.

But even that was counted as a home win: Westmeath had easily beat the bookmakers’ 22-point spread, while almost 7,000 jumped at the chance to see King Henry in person and then search for his autograph.

The Leinster battle continues this Saturday night when the provincial round-robin series returns for the first time since 2019, but it’s hard to imagine a crowd coming anywhere near the previous mark set on the TEG Cusack park descends.

This is the age-old conundrum when mid-sized hurling counties get a (usually elusive) spot at the top of the chart. Patient, incremental progress deserves the right to be there. Then, much faster, they discover the chasm between levels one and two while falling back onto the latter.

And yet, according to former Westmeath star Brendan Murtagh, these are the very games counties like him desperately need to make sustainable progress. A classic Catch-22: you have to stress test yourself against the best, even if it pushes your morale to the breaking point.

“Westmeath has to play against these top teams,” says Murtagh. “They have to play a higher standard in slingshot and in competition. I know we were beaten by 14 points that day (2006) but we played most of the game.”

Murtagh’s career in maroon spanned two full decades, finally ending in November 2020 after answering an SOS for that year’s McDonagh Cup. He would have enjoyed this week’s daunting challenge. “I would just like to compete with the top players. That should actually be the case for everyone,” he says.

“The day we played Kilkenny in the semifinals was a big day for Westmeath Hurling. And beating Dublin… until then we weren’t very competitive, let’s put it that way. I think we’ve made good progress since then.”

That’s reflected not only in last year’s McDonagh Cup success, but also in their recent flirtation with top-flight slingshots. But even that underscores the dilemma facing Westmeath – and to a lesser extent Laois – in this year’s Leinster round-robin series.

Under former boss Shane O’Brien, Westmeath played two consecutive seasons in Division 1 Group A. In 2020 they lost all five regular rounds but stayed up after beating Carlow in a relegation play-off. Five more defeats last year (106 points cumulative this time) were followed by a relegation loss to Laois.

Dive deeper and you’ll get a taste of the challenge. An encouraging three-point loss to Waterford at Walsh Park was hemmed in by two massacres – they lost to Galway on 30 points and Cork on 33 points.

Panel depth is always an issue, making consistency elusive. “When you’re playing the bigger teams, you have to up your standards and your stakes because you’re playing against top-class slingers,” says Murtagh.

“If you drop your standards, you’re looking at a 30-point-plus punch and the floodgates could open for you very easily…it’s a big challenge to do this week in and week out, but it’s something what they have to do now in the championship.”

Murtagh had been a Westmeath selector in 2019 and 20. In the latter league, they had lost by just four points to a Cork side who had relied on two Patrick Horgan penalties and a crazy goal from long-range by Bill Cooper.

“We almost shocked Cork that year at Cusack Park – and Cork probably had that in mind when they met us last year,” he suggests. Cue a 7-27 to 0-15 mauling.

They had previously met in a 2019 All-Ireland preliminary quarterfinal: this time Cork went points crazy, winning 1-40, 0-20.

Despite their struggles against the elite, Murtagh sees Saturday as a day to be enjoyed. Joe Fortune’s squad follows with dates against Galway (away), Dublin and Wexford (home) and Laois (away) in a game that could decide the Championship’s demotion.

In 2006, he played with Derek McNicholas, who is still active after starting in Westmeath’s NHL Division 2A Finals win over Down to secure an immediate Division 1 return. If age allows, Murtagh would love to still be in it alongside McNicholas.

“I would hum at practice this week,” he says. “If I were a player, I would just be crazy about action at Cusack Park. You have nothing to lose, everything to gain. That’s how I would see it.”