Morris enjoying life under Bonnar so far

Currently entering into his fifth year on the panel, Nenagh Éire Óg player Jake Morris says that he is eager to get going, but he and his teammate are bitterly disappointed about the news from Padraic Maher and says that he has an appreciation for his time in the Tipperary jersey.

“Any time you get to play for Tipperary you feel very privileged. Padraic having to step away from Thurles Sarsfields is also a big whammy for him, I'm sure he would have liked it when he stepped away from Tipperary to play another couple of years with his club.

“I'm sure everyone would agree he was so comfortable last year playing with Sarsfields that it would be a big shock to the system.

"But look, that's life, isn't it? It could be taken away from you at any second too, but I really do have big sympathy for Padraic this morning. You would be more grateful to be healthy enough to go out and play for Tipperary and your club.

“If you look back at Paudie Maher, he probably would have made any successful Tipperary team ever. He was such a monster at wing back and everywhere he lined out, really. I honestly cannot remember a time where I've seen Padraic Maher have a bad day at the office for Tipperary. He has been a constant nine out of ten Tipperary player and he has set the standards for us every night, showing us how to train and look after your body.

“He also showed us how to attack a match and I have massive respect for him. I wish him all the best and we're going to try our best to continue his legacy and I'm sure Ronan will do his best to do that anyway, but Padraic Maher is an unbelievable man and what a hurler he was for Tipperary and Thurles Sarsfields.

“I think the best memory is when we played the All-Ireland minor semi-final in 2016, and we were sitting in the Hogan Stand afterwards and Padraic Maher nailed Joe Canning with a shoulder right in front of us.

“I'll never forget the crunch of the shoulder that day. When I was called into the Tipp team in 2018 I remember saying to myself, as a light 18-year-old, that I better keep out of this fellow's way in case he throws me out over the line!

“I'll never forget the sound of his shoulder (on Joe Canning). It was the turning point for Tipperary that day. There are numerous memories of him, he was such a good hurler for Tipperary.”

While it was an early season game in the first week of January, the loss to Kerry in the Munster Hurling League will have sent warning signals around the county, and a good performance against Laois is a munst facing into the weekend.
But Morris says he isn't concerned about the result in the slightest.

“I wouldn't say there's any hangover from losing a match in the first week in January. All I can say is from what I've seen in training, lads are really busting themselves and everyone is really enjoying it a lot. Laois are very good opposition, we've played them a couple of times over the last few years and got very good games.

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“I think the league is about yourself, so all we're doing is focusing on ourselves, trying to get a performance and trying to get lads used to playing together again.

“That's the way we're looking at it anyway, so we'll try and give a performance for the Tipperary fans on Saturday night.”

The team once again with the target on their backs this year will be Limerick, who are chasing three All-Ireland titles in a row, and while the big focus will be on the Treaty men for any team looking to win this year, Morris insists that the team aren't pre-occupied by them, and that they need to focus on all opposition.

“I don't think we are just focusing on how we can bring down Limerick, because we have five rounds of the league and then the Munster championship.

“There are so many other good teams you can play that we will worry about Limerick when we come around to them.

“There's no doubt that they're a very dominant team at the minute, they're a savage team and have set the bar for everyone else and it's up to us to see if we can get there or not.

“That's down the line for us, we don't have to play them in the league.

Most of the Nenagh sharpshooter's Tipperary career has been under the helm of Liam Sheedy, and while there has been wholesale changes in the camp (with the exception) of Tommy Dunne, Morris has been impressed with the new ticket so far, and says he is being well managed with Fitzgibbon action thrown into the mixer.

“I think we're all enjoying it, but you also have to train your arse off as well! We've been putting our heads down and working hard.

“We've had Liam (Sheedy) for the last three years and it's great to have new ideas and new voices with Colm Bonnar and Johnny Enright and Paul Curran. It's been going very well so far and us players are enjoying it a lot.

“Our S&C man Tom Hargroves looks after all that stuff so we don't get overloaded at this time of the year, because it is important to keep fresh as well.

“You don't want to be flogging yourself in January or February but the boys are very good, they look after the load very well. We have no complaints in that regard.”

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