Quaid hails dual star Byrne but admits he'll be a big loss ahead of Christy Ring opener

Kildare hurling boss Joe Quaid has hailed the commitment of his dual star Johnny Byrne following the Allenwood man’s fine start to the year in both codes.   Byrne is the only player to represent both codes in the county this year, and he has impressed on his numerous performances for the footballers, while his stunning performance against Derry in the final round of the National Hurling League was pivotal to the Lilywhites’ survival in Division 2A.   Quaid admits that he didn’t know whether or not Byrne would be able to cope with a role in both teams, but he says the Coill Dubh hurler has shown superb commitment to both causes so far this year.   “Johnny came to me at the start of the year, and myself and Cian spoke, and we know the commitment he gives to football. I think the biggest problem with dual players is that both managers want to absolutely have them all the time and flog them all the time. Like, when Johnny’s not with us, he’s training with the footballers. He’s not out socialising, he’s not playing soccer, and he’s not doing anything else,” said Quaid. [caption id="attachment_78617" align="alignnone" width="800"] Byrne in action for the footballers against Limerick in March.[/caption] “He’s training, we know the training with the lads is top class, so we have no issue with that. Johnny does his own bit on the side and then he comes training with us when we have matches.”   Byrne scored 1-3 in the final round victory over Derry which sealed the hurlers’ place in Division 2A for next year, and Quaid admits they probably couldn’t have beaten the Oak Leaf men without him. He was sent off late on in that game however, ruling him out of Kildare’s opening Christy Ring Cup match against Antrim and also the following game.   “Against Derry, without him we probably would have been in big trouble. The only problem is that he got sent off in that game and now he has to serve a two match ban, but we’ll have him back for the third round hopefully,” said Quaid.   The Limerick native held special praise for another member of the panel who is in his first year with the side, citing Naas man Ross Bergin as the player of the year for the hurlers so far. Bergin has been predominantly used as a corner-back for the county side so far, but Quaid hailed his versatility and willingness to play in a number of positions as a great trait in his game.     “Probably the player of the year so far for us is Ross Bergin. Ross has slotted into that team, has been absolutely outstanding, and wasn’t even on our initial panel. I got a phone call about him, approached him to see if he’d be interested and he came in. One thing we said at the start of the year was that ‘you go in, get your jersey, if you play well enough you’ll keep it’.” [caption id="attachment_80101" align="alignnone" width="583"] Joe Quaid has hailed Ross Bergin as Kildare's player of the year so far.[/caption]   “I think we’ve even tried him in the half-forward line for one match. If you’re good enough you should be able to play in most positions,” said Quaid.   Kildare get their Christy Ring Cup campaign underway when they face Antrim in the opening round on Saturday April 23. The venue is listed for Antrim, but there have been rumours that the Saffrons are willing to play in Dublin as both the Antrim and Kildare footballers are in action in their respective league finals the same day.