TYRONE captain Conor Grogan insisted it was no accident that everything came together in perfect harmony in the Nickey Rackard Cup final.
Saturday’s emphatic win over Roscommon was a climax in the planning since the dark days of winter, when the squad came together to prepare for a massive push in 2022.
“It's not glamorous going up to Garvaghey in December and January with the wind and rain lashing. But you have to put in those hard yards and they paid off for us,” said Grogan.
“It's unreal because this team has been training all year just to put in a performance like that.”
But the Red Hand skipper was nonetheless staggered by the near perfection of his side’s display at Croke Park in a 1-27 to 0-19 triumph.
“Everything just clicked, and from minute one until the 70th minute, the turnovers and everything just went our way,” he said.
“Even when Roscommon came back at us in the second half, we just kept driving and driving. I'd love to know the turnover county because it was ridiculous. We had gone down to Roscommon two weeks ago and there was none of the intensity which we brought to this game.
“Thank God it just clicked and the shift put in by the players was just unbelievable. I couldn't believe it and everything that we trained for all year was clocked. It was the polar opposite of last year's final against Mayo when things didn't happen, but it happened here for us.”
Tyrone hurling is at an all-time high, and a first every involvement in the Christy Ring Cup next year will bring a fresh challenge to a team very much on an upward curve.
“We're two years down the line with Michael (McShane) and Stephen (McGarry) as our management team and we're going into the Christy Ring Cup for the first time ever.
“Christy Ring hurling is a step up, don't get me wrong and we'll have to up our workrate again and take things to the next level. But we'll enjoy this and I'm actually lost for words because I can't believe that we'd gone out and put in such a dominant performance.”
With the Division 3A League title in the bag, victory in the Rackard Cup final completed a memorable double for Tyrone, who had already secured promotion to Division Two hurling.
“It's just unbelievable that we've won the league and championship double and it's just a class day for Tyrone hurling.”
