1. Does Brian Cody know his best Kilkenny team yet?
It’s an interesting statistic that Cody used 24 different players in their two Leinster championship games with Galway – the same amount he used in the entire of last year’s six-game campaign. In all, Cody has looked at 27 different players so far in this year’s Championship which is just four games old. He has clearly given himself more options and used the successful national league campaign to assess new talent. But can he say for certain what his best 15 is? Perhaps he can. Or maybe he is just operating a horses for courses policy.
2. Do Limerick rely too heavily on Shane Dowling
Dowling came on as a sub in last year’s semi-final, taking over the free-taking duties from an ineffective Declan Hannon. A year on, there is no danger of Dowling not getting his place. In fact, they have come to rely immensely on him. The Na Piarsaigh man shot 2-9 against Tipperary, 0-12 against Cork and 2-8 in the huge win over Wexford. That’s 4-29 in three games when the next highest scorer hasn’t reached double digits. Limerick could do with another couple of heavy scorers, even if they are spreading the points around the team. Earlier this week, former Kilkenny defender Noel Hickey agreed that Limerick lean on Dowling. But he maintained it is not a big problem.
3. The battle for Hurler of the Year
The Championship has some way to run but Richie Hogan and TJ Reid are the leading contenders for Hurler of the Year. Hogan has reinvented himself as a dynamic midfielder while Reid’s form in attack has been simply stunning. He has helped himself to 3-35 in four games, 3-32 more than he scored all last summer when his lack of spark summed up the team’s insipid campaign. He has always been ultra talented but lacked consistency, something he has definitely added to his game. Another big display from either player would put them in pole position for an award few would have tipped after 2013.
Treaty star: Shane Dowling. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
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4. Have Limerick got over last year’s loss to Clare?
A year on, we’re still no closer to fathoming exactly what came over Limerick in last year’s semi-final. They badly lacked the same urgency that had lifted them to a Munster breakthrough and were swept aside too easily by Clare. They have taken two pretty big scalps in this year’s Championship but the Munster final defeat raised the question again about their ability to deliver in the most testing circumstances. It doesn’t get much bigger than Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final so they have the chance to silence every last critic with a win. If they do then people will finally stop looking for answers about the Clare loss.
5. Can Kilkenny still kill off games with gluts of goals?
They might have knocked five goals past Offaly and six over two games against Galway but when it came to picking up silverware, Kilkenny relied on heavy point scoring. They beat Dublin 0-24 to 1-9 in the Leinster final. It was just the second time in 13 Leinster finals under Brian Cody that they didn’t raise a green flag. It may indicate that their ability to kill off teams with one, two and three-goal bursts is gone. It was Limerick who famously leaked 2-3 to the Cats in the opening minutes of the 2007 All-Ireland final. Tipperary leaked the same tally in the closing stages of the 2009 decider. But those Kilkenny forward lines contained a fully firing Henry Shefflin, Eddie Brennan and Martin Comerford.
Kilkenny v Limerick Talking Points: Does Cody know his best 15 Cats?
1. Does Brian Cody know his best Kilkenny team yet?
It’s an interesting statistic that Cody used 24 different players in their two Leinster championship games with Galway – the same amount he used in the entire of last year’s six-game campaign. In all, Cody has looked at 27 different players so far in this year’s Championship which is just four games old. He has clearly given himself more options and used the successful national league campaign to assess new talent. But can he say for certain what his best 15 is? Perhaps he can. Or maybe he is just operating a horses for courses policy.
2. Do Limerick rely too heavily on Shane Dowling
Dowling came on as a sub in last year’s semi-final, taking over the free-taking duties from an ineffective Declan Hannon. A year on, there is no danger of Dowling not getting his place. In fact, they have come to rely immensely on him. The Na Piarsaigh man shot 2-9 against Tipperary, 0-12 against Cork and 2-8 in the huge win over Wexford. That’s 4-29 in three games when the next highest scorer hasn’t reached double digits. Limerick could do with another couple of heavy scorers, even if they are spreading the points around the team. Earlier this week, former Kilkenny defender Noel Hickey agreed that Limerick lean on Dowling. But he maintained it is not a big problem.
3. The battle for Hurler of the Year
The Championship has some way to run but Richie Hogan and TJ Reid are the leading contenders for Hurler of the Year. Hogan has reinvented himself as a dynamic midfielder while Reid’s form in attack has been simply stunning. He has helped himself to 3-35 in four games, 3-32 more than he scored all last summer when his lack of spark summed up the team’s insipid campaign. He has always been ultra talented but lacked consistency, something he has definitely added to his game. Another big display from either player would put them in pole position for an award few would have tipped after 2013.
4. Have Limerick got over last year’s loss to Clare?
A year on, we’re still no closer to fathoming exactly what came over Limerick in last year’s semi-final. They badly lacked the same urgency that had lifted them to a Munster breakthrough and were swept aside too easily by Clare. They have taken two pretty big scalps in this year’s Championship but the Munster final defeat raised the question again about their ability to deliver in the most testing circumstances. It doesn’t get much bigger than Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final so they have the chance to silence every last critic with a win. If they do then people will finally stop looking for answers about the Clare loss.
5. Can Kilkenny still kill off games with gluts of goals?
They might have knocked five goals past Offaly and six over two games against Galway but when it came to picking up silverware, Kilkenny relied on heavy point scoring. They beat Dublin 0-24 to 1-9 in the Leinster final. It was just the second time in 13 Leinster finals under Brian Cody that they didn’t raise a green flag. It may indicate that their ability to kill off teams with one, two and three-goal bursts is gone. It was Limerick who famously leaked 2-3 to the Cats in the opening minutes of the 2007 All-Ireland final. Tipperary leaked the same tally in the closing stages of the 2009 decider. But those Kilkenny forward lines contained a fully firing Henry Shefflin, Eddie Brennan and Martin Comerford.
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All-Ireland Senior HC COMP:ALL-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship World Cup 2014 Final Four Shane Dowling Kilkenny Limerick