BARRY HENNESSY is expecting Jason Gillane and Shane Dowling to both get another audition before the Championship.
But the ex-Limerick keeper has urged boss John Kiely to stick to his guns once he decides who will act as Nickie Quaid’s replacement.
Four games into the Treaty’s Division 1A campaign, Gillane and Dowling have had two opportunities to make an impression.
With two more games to come — plus the possibility of a NHL final — before the Munster SHC opener against Tipperary, there is still scope for the pair to strengthen their case for selection.
Dowling gets the nod for tomorrow’s trip to Nowlan Park to take on Kilkenny.
But Hennessy believes it is still too early to say which keeper is leading the race to start against the Premier on April 20.
The Kilmallock man, who retired from inter-county hurling in 2022, told SunSport: “They’ll rotate again for the next two games, just to give them one more crack in a competitive environment.
“I’d expect them to get one more game each but when they do make a decision, I hope they stick with it. It’s such a unique position and confidence is everything.
“Chopping and changing just doesn’t work.”
The last man other than Quaid to start a Championship match in goal for Limerick was Hennessy, who deputised for the three-time All-Star when a collarbone injury forced him to miss the 2015 Munster semi-final loss to Tipp.
Quaid is out with an ACL knee rupture that could rule him out for the season.
But he is making progress in his recovery.
Hennessy said: “From what I’ve heard, Nickie is back doing straight-line running so it bodes well.
“He’s a unicorn, so if anyone is capable of coming back ahead of schedule, it’s Nickie. He’ll do everything he can.”
Despite having their five-in-a-row bid ruined by Cork in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, the bookies fancy Limerick to claim the sixth Liam MacCarthy Cup of Kiely’s tenure this summer.
Hennessy added: “The start of the Munster Championship is getting close. But I think he’ll be happy with the lads who have been perceived to be on the fringes — the likes of Adam English, Aidan O’Connor, Colin Coughlan, Shane O’Brien and Patrick O’Donovan going back in.
“If you go back to the last minutes of the semi-final against Cork last year, I think Limerick had four wides and three of the shooters were younger fellas willing to take on the shot.
“The fact they were on the field at that stage showed the trust they have in them. Seeing the progress those guys are making, I think John will be happy.”
LIMERICK (NHL v Kilkenny): S Dowling; S Finn, M Casey, B Murphy; C Coughlan, W O’Donoghue, B Nash; A English, C Lynch; G Hegarty, D Reidy, C O’Neill; S O’Brien, S Flanagan, A O’Connor.
