He hadn’t gone away you know. Just as one doesn’t become a good sportsperson or team overnight, nor does it dissipate rapidly. Doubtless, those who specialise in reactionism will look at the current landscape in Gaelic football and conclude Dublin have shot their bolt. Likewise Limerick in hurling. Without taking extenuating circumstances into consideration.
Mileage accrued from years of being on the road, injuries accumulated over time and commitments to college and club teams will eventually catch up with any team. But you can be guaranteed they will be back in peak condition for when it matters most. For individual sportspeople the parameters may have been different but the end objective was the same.
So too the kneejerk naysayers when it comes to Michael Van Gerwen’s alacrity at carving out major titles for himself on the oche. The Green Machine was forced to pull out of the World Championships over Christmas having failed a Covid test. Since then, his form has been average at best.
That is to say, average for him, given the extraordinary standards to which he normally performs. Which for most people would have people feeling like they were world beaters.
However, incrementally as the opening weeks of the Premier League Darts campaign MVG has been re-discovering the form which made him an irresistable force in the sport for more than a decade. Last night, the darting world got a fairly emphatic reminder of just how clinical he can be.
That said, while much of the focus has been on the Dutchman’s supposed regression, it must also be pointed out that many other players on the circuit have upped their games considerably. Most obviously Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price, undoubtedly the top two players in the world at present.
This corner has a soft spot for Jonny Clayton. Primarily because it’s not all that long ago he was playing the game part time, still working as a roofer and considering cashing in his darting chips altogether. How lucky are we, the darts viewing public, that he didn’t!
‘The Ferrit’ is undoubtedly the most improved player in the game but, even though he didn’t perform at all badly in Exeter, he encountered Mighty Mike back on top form as he recorded a 6-1 victory. Elsewhere, Michael Smith claimed his first win of the League season, Peter Wright made another final and James Wade and Joe Cullen also continued their improved recent form.
The night, though, belonged to Van Gerwen who obliterated Wright 6-0 in the night’s final. Making him the fourth different winner in as many rounds of the League. Like Mark Twain, rumours of his demise have been greatly exaggerated!
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