KILKENNY BOSS BRIAN Cody insists that next Sunday’s All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final opponents Waterford are genuine contenders for Liam MacCarthy Cup glory.
The jury is out on whether or not a team deploying a sweeper system can go all the way and lift September’s big prize.
But Cody is in no doubt about the credentials of Derek McGrath’s Munster finalists.
“I don’t look at them as just being a sweeper team at all, and the lad who was playing mostly as a sweeper, Tadhg de Búrca, is an exceptionally talented hurler as far as I can see,” Cody said.
“They have the ability to defend, the ability to attack, they work very, very hard, outstanding on breaking ball, all that kind of work.
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Tadhg de Búrca is more than just a sweeper in Brian Cody's eyes. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
“They do the basics very, very well and they attack from all over the field and they play with great freedom as well, you can see them shooting for points from everywhere, and that’s because they have this belief in themselves and they have the players who can do that as well.
“So can they win the All-Ireland? There’s no doubt about it that they could win the All-Ireland. Absolutely certain.
“Could they win the National League? It was proven that they could win the National League already, so they’re one of the four teams now and have as much of a chance as the other three of winning the All-Ireland right now.”
Cody admitted that the Cats have taken note of Waterford’s style of play, and will cut their cloth accordingly at GAA HQ.
“You’d be very, very silly not to consider what the opposition are doing as well. Of course we’re doing that and we will do that,” he insisted.
“It could have been a different team, obviously, but we will definitely have to prepare for the potential of what Waterford can do to us, but more importantly we will be trying to get our own game as finely tuned, I suppose, as is humanly possible first.”
And Cody has heaped praise on the Déise as they prepare to lock horns with Cody’s champions.
“Well before I even knew we were playing Waterford, people were asking me what I thought of Waterford.
“The first thing I always think about when I think about this Waterford team is that they’re very skilful, to me that’s the most important thing they are.
“I think they’ve tremendous skill, right throughout the team, from the goalkeeper right throughout to the corner-forwards, plus their subs coming on – younger lads coming on.
“And I’ve seen that skill developing over the last few years with them, not that they haven’t always had skill, they’ve had terrific hurlers over the years but I think this particular group of hurlers are very, very skilful.
Brian Cody is steeling his Cats for a huge battle. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“Plus they have terrific experience there, they have Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, Kevin Moran, Noel Connors – these lads who have massive experience.
“They have great athleticism and pace so they have a huge amount going for them and they’re playing the particular way they’re playing, but they’re capable of tweaking it at any stage as well, so they’re not even remotely playing as a team that’s playing in one particular way.
“They’re being labelled as being very, very defensive, setting up with sweepers or whatever it is, but they’re getting huge scores, attacking at pace massively and to me they’re just very, very skilful, that’s the way I look at them.”
Cody 'absolutely certain' that Waterford can win the All-Ireland hurling title
KILKENNY BOSS BRIAN Cody insists that next Sunday’s All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final opponents Waterford are genuine contenders for Liam MacCarthy Cup glory.
The jury is out on whether or not a team deploying a sweeper system can go all the way and lift September’s big prize.
But Cody is in no doubt about the credentials of Derek McGrath’s Munster finalists.
“I don’t look at them as just being a sweeper team at all, and the lad who was playing mostly as a sweeper, Tadhg de Búrca, is an exceptionally talented hurler as far as I can see,” Cody said.
“They have the ability to defend, the ability to attack, they work very, very hard, outstanding on breaking ball, all that kind of work.
“They do the basics very, very well and they attack from all over the field and they play with great freedom as well, you can see them shooting for points from everywhere, and that’s because they have this belief in themselves and they have the players who can do that as well.
“Could they win the National League? It was proven that they could win the National League already, so they’re one of the four teams now and have as much of a chance as the other three of winning the All-Ireland right now.”
Cody admitted that the Cats have taken note of Waterford’s style of play, and will cut their cloth accordingly at GAA HQ.
“You’d be very, very silly not to consider what the opposition are doing as well. Of course we’re doing that and we will do that,” he insisted.
“It could have been a different team, obviously, but we will definitely have to prepare for the potential of what Waterford can do to us, but more importantly we will be trying to get our own game as finely tuned, I suppose, as is humanly possible first.”
And Cody has heaped praise on the Déise as they prepare to lock horns with Cody’s champions.
“Well before I even knew we were playing Waterford, people were asking me what I thought of Waterford.
“The first thing I always think about when I think about this Waterford team is that they’re very skilful, to me that’s the most important thing they are.
“I think they’ve tremendous skill, right throughout the team, from the goalkeeper right throughout to the corner-forwards, plus their subs coming on – younger lads coming on.
“And I’ve seen that skill developing over the last few years with them, not that they haven’t always had skill, they’ve had terrific hurlers over the years but I think this particular group of hurlers are very, very skilful.
“Plus they have terrific experience there, they have Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, Kevin Moran, Noel Connors – these lads who have massive experience.
“They have great athleticism and pace so they have a huge amount going for them and they’re playing the particular way they’re playing, but they’re capable of tweaking it at any stage as well, so they’re not even remotely playing as a team that’s playing in one particular way.
“They’re being labelled as being very, very defensive, setting up with sweepers or whatever it is, but they’re getting huge scores, attacking at pace massively and to me they’re just very, very skilful, that’s the way I look at them.”
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Brian Cody COMP:ALL-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship derek mcgrath GAA Mind Games? Kilkenny Waterford