With or without the ball, Dan's the man

A junior club manager asks: "I was interested in your analysis of Kieran Donaghy's success. What do you make of Dan Shanahan's phenomenal goalscoring for Waterford last year?"

We talked to former Tipperary star Michael Cleary, himself a wing forward of some style and distinction and an accomplished coach with the Tipp camogie team and now at club level.

Michael puts Shanahan alongside DJ Carey as the great goal-getter of his lifetime and has been watching him closely in recent seasons.

"I'm a great admirer of Dan. I love his whole attitude to the game, the energy and excitement he brings and his pure unadulterated love of hurling and Waterford that oozes out of him whenever he plays and in every interview he gives.

He's a very special player. The way he ghosts into goal-scoring positions so regularly is no coincidence. It's a great knack to have and I'm sure Justin McCarthy has worked closely with Dan to make the most of his opportunism.

From watching Dan in recent years, I've noticed a couple of things that contribute to the way he can slip almost unnoticed into dangerous situations.

Of course there's the famous rotation system that the Waterford forwards employ so successfully. It's something we've also tried with Nenagh and I like the system. I don't think you can have all of your forwards rotating and the way Waterford do it; Mullane, Dan and Prendergast do most of the interchanging with the other three forwards often holding their positions.

The interesting thing with Dan though is when he chooses to switch position. Rather than interchange when Waterford have the ball, Dan often makes his move when his opponents have it. In fact, Dan is frequently at his most dangerous after he's just lost a contest for possession.

Watch him closely after he's beaten to the ball and his man is bursting out from defence. Once the play is no longer winnable, Dan is out of there ? often sprinting from his zone on the field into another position.

So by the time his man has cleared the ball, Dan is miles away. And if the Waterford midfield or half back line mop up the clearance, Dan is often unmarked and in a good position to receive a pass. And if Dan is unmarked when he gets a pass, you're in trouble."

The Coach is compiled by Liam Horan. Questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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