Ger Loughnane wrote in The Star that Offaly "look like a county who are still living in the dark ages" and delivered a stinging verdict on the conditioning on modern Offaly hurlers.
They're the only team in the modern era where you still see players with fat legs, bellies and arses
It is unknown how the land of Johnny Pilkington will react to this typically unsubtle Loughnane slight.
The successful Offaly team of the 1990s were famous for their distinctly pre-modern approach to physical conditioning and delighted in telling stories about their unorthodox pre-match routines. It usually consisted of skulling a rake of pints absurdly close to the throw in and then going out and hammering Kilkenny by 11 points. (For more on this, see Denis Walsh's brilliant book 'Hurling The Revolution Years')
Elsewhere in Loughnane's article, a preview of the upcoming League campaign, he reckons that Tipp need to perform major surgery on the spine of their team, Cork need a few defenders, Waterford's "best young players are too young and their best old players are past their best", Galway look more settled but need the confidence that comes with winning.
And he fancies the Dubs to take the League title.
