DESPITE ALL THE talk of retirements and transition, it was business as usual for Kilkenny yesterday at Nowlan Park.
They cruised into yet another Leinster senior hurling final with a 24-point destruction of Wexford.
And in the process, Kilkenny rolled another attacking star off the conveyor belt to prove that their production lines are still in working order.
23 year-old Ger Aylward may not have been familiar to the wider hurling audience before yesterday’s game but he fired 3-5 from play on his first championship start to firmly announce himself on the senior stage.
But where did this left field inclusion to the Kilkenny forward line come from?
Yesterday was Aylward’s first senior championship start but it wasn’t his debut. In 2013, he came off the bench in the Leinster semi-final replay defeat against Dublin and the All-Ireland qualifier win over Tipperary.
But injuries hampered his involvement last year and the Glenmore club man was a bystander as Kilkenny swept to All-Ireland glory.
In 2013, Aylward made his senior breakthrough in the league with starts against Waterford, Clare and Cork in March of that year. He struck 1-1 apiece against the Deise and the Banner but didn’t start a game in Kilkenny senior colours for the remainder of the season.
In fact it wasn’t until 15 March this year that he was back in the Kilkenny starting line-up for a competitive senior encounter. That clash against Tipperary was not an auspicious outing as Aylward was held scoreless and replaced as Kilkenny slumped to a 12-point loss.
He came on as a sub in late March in Nowlan Park, firing a point in their regulation league game against Clare.
But despite that lack of exposure, Aylward was pitched in yesterday from the off. He repaid Brian Cody’s faith in him as he wreaked havoc on the Wexford defence and troubled the scoreboard operator throughout.
It was a dream debut yet Aylward’s potential has been apparent for some time. He featured in the 2009 and 2010 All-Ireland minor finals, winning the latter against Clare.
In 2012 he shot 1-1 against Clare but defeat was Kilkenny’s lot in that All-Ireland U21 final while in 2013, his last year operating at U21 level, Kilkenny were struck down in a Leinster final below in Wexford Park.
Free from the shackles of injury, Aylward was able to make a convincing case for selection since the league and his inclusion proves the worth Cody places in players burning up the training ground.
Last year Cody pitched in Mark Kelly for their championship opener against Offaly and he bagged a pair of goals. As the summer altitude got higher, Kelly found it difficult to replicate those scoring feats and certainly Aylward will face stiffer challenges.
His threat has been advertised now and Leinster final opponents Galway will be on their guard. But in the stocky and robust Glenmore man, Kilkenny look to have discovered another forward with a devastating scoring touch.
Another fella who wasted his talent. Similarly to anthony stokes. Also stephen ireland, those 3 should have backboned the irish team for the last 10 years.
@Gareth Ward: not sure on Stokes i think he might have been found out early in his career that he was below average but the other 2 ya
@Wheresmyjumper: Maybe ya, but he had the talent as a young lad and just didn’t work hard enough at it! The other 2 though, imagine if they were our midfield partnership for the last 12 years!
@Gareth Ward:
We achieved more with wheels in midfield than we ever could of with Gibson or Ireland, Glenn is a pro who wanted to play . Gibson never gave it his all to any team he played for. How Stephen Ireland was treated by both Man City and the FAI is a totally different story . Stephen Ireland could of achieved a lot more in the game and I’ve a lot of sympathy for him and his story . Gibson however I wouldn’t trust him to hand out the jerseys and has never looked like a player who cared about anything except for a gargle.
@Shane Lad: Ya Whelan has been grand like when we’ve had no one else. But what im saying is if Gibson had delivered on his potential he would have been so much better than Whelan
@Gareth Ward:”grand when we had no one else” that’s harsh, whelan a fantastic pro put a few them boys to shame, it’s not as if we never had any other options in midfeild either and we had throw poor Glenn there he was there on merit.
@Gareth Ward: Harsh on Warren. He’s only 21.
@Wheresmyjumper: He wasn’t found out, he was fond of the drink which most young Irish players were back then.
A tented lad on his day but wasted his career I’m afraid
We achieved more with wheels in midfield over the last few years than we ever would of with Ireland or Gibson. Glenn is a pro who wants to play . I’ve a lot of sympathy for Stephen Ireland and his story. The way he was treated by city and the FAI was disgusting and he could of achieved a lot more in the game . As for Gibson, he’s never given his all to any team he’s been in because he doesn’t care.
@Shane Lad: I would say taking everything Stephen Ireland says as gospel truth is very dangerous. There’s a reason his career went the way it did after packing in Ireland and then City- perceived “disgusting” treatment with both can’t have applied.
@Shane Lad: “The way he was treated by city and the FAI was disgusting ”
Yes because what happened with Stephen Ireland was everyone elses fault but him, pull the other one Shane.