JJ Delaney retires

wingbacknr5

Just felt that this guy deserves his own thread. Very much in the debate about the best hurler of modern times and unquestionably (IMO) the best defender in modern times if not ever.

Sad day for Kilkenny fans, JJ will be irreplaceable.

homeofhurling

one blow to many for kilkenny i feel with this man gone

Mountainlad

What a fantastic hurler, best defender I've ever seen and given the quality of those in recent times quite possibly best of all time.

Best as a wing back, just unplayable. After a ropey start in 2009, he made probably the hardest position in the backline his own and has been consistently the best in the position since then. Fairplay JJ.

Mushy

What a hurler! It's going to be a weird thing next summer not seeing JJ on the teamsheet. A great hurler, would always be hoping it'd be the day he would have an off-day against Tipp but he never did.

Enjoy the retirement, he gave his all and owes nobody anything.

KevIRL

As mentioned by another poster on the kk thread, Cody always said that the first name he had on the team sheet was JJ. Says it all really considering the others on that team over the years.

Good luck to him in retirement. His block on callanan in the AI final relay this year is a fitting exit memory

Iecrawfc

KevIRL wrote: »

As mentioned by another poster on the kk thread, Cody always said that the first name he had on the team sheet was JJ. Says it all really considering the others on that team over the years.

Good luck to him in retirement. His block on callanan in the AI final relay this year is a fitting exit memory

A true great alright, not many can master wing back and full back and be the best in both, probably the first retirement this year that could really hurt Kilkenny prospects next year, although knowing Kilkenny and Cody someone will step in and perform just as well,

circular flexing

I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that the hook against Callanan will still be talked about in 25 years time.

deadybai

Without doubt the best defender of all-time. Loved watching JJ play. Some tough fooker.

FrasierCrane

deadybai wrote: »

Without doubt the best defender of all-time. Loved watching JJ play. Some tough fooker.

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dcrosskid

Another retirement for Kilkenny & probably the most costly for Cody & co. JJ Delaney was the best defender I have ever seen & probably best overall hurler when all is considered too. He was simply exceptional, had very few bad day's & always saved his best for the biggest occasions. He went about his business with minimum fuss which is what I admired most about him, even his retirement announcement is short & sweet. He was part of one of the best half back lines of all time with TW & Brian Hogan. They had to be simply bypassed to have any hope of beating Kilkenny when they were in their prime.

I've said it before & i'll say it again, in terms of hurling TW will go down as probably the best I have ever seen but if I had to pick a defender to do a job, mark a player out of a game or play anywhere in the back 6 he would be my first pick every time. The best defender there has ever been imo.

As a Tipp man I wont be sorry to see the back of him & in reality he will be the first real loss to KK as he is the first irreplaceable player imo that KK have lost. The affect of losing 5 players who all played snr championship at some stage this year should be huge and it really does cut a lot of the ties from the team of 06-12 (bar Cody of course). If Shefflin calls it a day the hurling landscape will have a far different outlook come the start of the league next year. Interesting times a head.

Best of luck to JJ in his retirement, richly deserved.

padraig.od

the best. So long JJ

thesultan

I remember his marking Dan and Ben O'Connor out of it both at their peaks. Savage hurler

yohan the great

Best I ever saw

Pearlstone

Incredible hurler. All the best to him in retirement. The game will be the poorer for his retirement.

Fwank wizzo

Class act and just saw him being interviewed there now.Seems like a lovely fella.
What I liked the most about the likes of him,Tommy,eoin Kelly and all the rest of the recently departed was that they let their hurling do the talking and didn't go making whores out of themselves in the media when they were playing.

Charlie69

That's the whole half back line of Tommy, Hogan and JJ all retired together.
Kilkenny were never beaten when they lined out together at 5, 6 and 7.
Says it all really.... Legends.

Triboro

Fair play to him...best defender in the game.

glued

Great player and great hurler but it's not a surprise to a good few people as there have been rumours he was going to call it a day when he came back off holidays. He's not the force he was and was cleaned out in the first final but him and Tommy Walsh will always be the stand out defenders of this generation.

In his prime he was unbeatable.

Deskjockey

Fantastic hurler, has earned himself a bit of relaxation in his retirement , 9 medals is some achievement

Mulbert

We were only talking in work this morning about all the retirements. We all agreed that Kilkenny could handle the retirements so far , but the one player they couldn't replace in retirement was JJ. Then an hour later he announced his inter county departure. JJ Delaney can not be replaced 'like for like'. Kilkenny teamlists will not be as ominent to their opposition in the near future. Now if Jackie retired aswell... well....

Gavlor

I can't believe that the retirement such a legend of the game has barely received a handful of acknowledgments on here. Sums up the bias on this forum and this is coming from a waterford man.

Enjoy retirement jj.... (Thank fook for the rest of us that you're gone!)

Mountainlad

Gavlor wrote: »

I can't believe that the retirement such a legend of the game has barely received a handful of acknowledgments on here. Sums up the bias on this forum and this is coming from a waterford man.

Enjoy retirement jj.... (Thank fook for the rest of us that you're gone!)

You've a big hand!!

Gavlor

Mountainlad wrote: »

You've a big hand!!

Mrs g is that you????

Browney7

Great hurler and never easy to master the full back position but he bossed it every time. KK will miss him but with Cody in charge the show will go on and they'll always be a force.

Speak Now

JJ what a man, what a player.

STIG83

Great player, that block in the replay says it all.
Here's one: who was the better full back? JJ or Noel Hickey? 50/ 50 to me.

And the million dollar question who will replace him?
Cody would hardly try R Hogan there? Playing him at midfield this year paid off big time.

galwaylad14

What a hurler he was, the complete defender. Made his name as a terrific wing back and then moved to the edge of the square when Hickey's legs started to go. He's a man Kilkenny will find very hard to replace as good full backs are like hen's teeth. Maybe Tyrell will move across to number 3?

Was there ever a day when he was really cleaned out? Canning caught him for goals early in games on a couple of occasions and it looked like he might go to town but that never really materialised and JJ was always ultimately able to get to grips with him.

Rightwing

He's right to go, KK's era of dominance is quickly coming to an end. Says a lot about Cody that he is staying, he certainly loves the game.

galwaylad14

Rightwing wrote: »

He's right to go, KK's era of dominance is quickly coming to an end. Says a lot about Cody that he is staying, he certainly loves the game.

Based on what? 3 of the last 4 All Ireland titles, they won the minor title this year again against a cracking Limerick team. These guys are going nowhere. Admittedly they aren't crushing teams like in the late 00's but I guarantee they'll be there or thereabouts for a long time yet.

I'd say well away from the bookies if I was you

glued

Rightwing wrote: »

He's right to go, KK's era of dominance is quickly coming to an end. Says a lot about Cody that he is staying, he certainly loves the game.

Cody will stay on for as long as he can. The challenge of building a new team will keep him going. He must feel as if Kilkenny have more to give him. Apparently the under 21's will be training with the seniors this year to fast track a few guys which suggests to me that he's planning on staying on for a couple of years.

Realt Dearg Sec

Rightwing wrote: »

He's right to go, KK's era of dominance is quickly coming to an end.

Is that conclusion based on our recent run of bad form or what?

Rightwing

galwaylad14 wrote: »

Based on what? 3 of the last 4 All Ireland titles, they won the minor title this year again against a cracking Limerick team. These guys are going nowhere. Admittedly they aren't crushing teams like in the late 00's but I guarantee they'll be there or thereabouts for a long time yet.

I'd say well away from the bookies if I was you

I don't really go to the bookies, because they can't afford to give me the odds I like.

No doubt about that, but I'll be more than surprised if they win 3 out of the next 4.

Kkboy

Rightwing wrote: »

I don't really go to the bookies, because they can't afford to give me the odds I like.

No doubt about that, but I'll be more than surprised if they win 3 out of the next 4.

Surely the minors must be good prospects given that the beat your top class Limerick team in the final.

galwaylad14

Rightwing wrote: »

I don't really go to the bookies, because they can't afford to give me the odds I like.

No doubt about that, but I'll be more than surprised if they win 3 out of the next 4.

Well I don't expect them to keep up that strike rate either but failure to win 3 out of every 4 All Ireland's is hardly enough to say that they're finished or anything. There's 5 more Championships left in this decade, going on all known form I'd expect Kilkenny to win at least 2 of them. At least. Now while that's a significant slowdown on 3 of the last 4 you could hardly say their dominance would be over were that to come to pass.

I'd be absolutley over the moon if we could sneak one of those next 5 championships.

Fireball07

STIG83 wrote: »

Great player, that block in the replay says it all.
Here's one: who was the better full back? JJ or Noel Hickey? 50/ 50 to me.

And the million dollar question who will replace him?
Cody would hardly try R Hogan there? Playing him at midfield this year paid off big time.

Hogan is an attacking player... moving him to midfield made sense to me, he enjoyed a lot of freedom, used his pace and creativity to great extent while not being as heavily marked. At full-back, he'd have to be the one doing the marking. I imagine he'll have to introduce a new player, it is a fairly specialist position. Someone like Joyce might do a decent job, but with Hogan gone as well, they need a centre-back too.

Rightwing

Kkboy wrote: »

Surely the minors must be good prospects given that the beat your top class Limerick team in the final.

KK will be there or thereabouts, no question about that.

galwaylad14 wrote: »

Well I don't expect them to keep up that strike rate either but failure to win 3 out of every 4 All Ireland's is hardly enough to say that they're finished or anything. There's 5 more Championships left in this decade, going on all known form I'd expect Kilkenny to win at least 2 of them. At least. Now while that's a significant slowdown on 3 of the last 4 you could hardly say their dominance would be over were that to come to pass.

I'd be absolutley over the moon if we could sneak one of those next 5 championships.

All true and correct apart from the only thing is no one said they were finished.

If they win 2 out of the remaining 5, and say Tipp win the other 3, I think we can safely assume that yes, their dominance is indeed over.

Gentleman Off The Pitch

http://balls.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/walshgif.gif

citykat

Rightwing wrote: »

If they win 2 out of the remaining 5, and say Tipp win the other 3, I think we can safely assume that yes, their dominance is indeed over.

I'd say if you bring that into the bookies they'll give you any odds you want - they'll probably even pay for your summer holidays for the rest of the decade while they're at it.

Rightwing

citykat wrote: »

I'd say if you bring that into the bookies they'll give you any odds you want - they'll probably even pay for your summer holidays for the rest of the decade while they're at it.

That's the error most novices make. They won't.

ilovethecats

The three best players of this or any other generation have just retired.I salute all three of you...Eoin,Tommy and JJ......hurling will not be the same without you.The best of luck in your retirements.....i'd say ye might share a few pints in Langtons and have a good aul chat.

thinlizzy51

Being watching Kilkenny since 71.best defender I have ever seen.fan hickey willie o connor pa dillon tommy ger Henderson joe hennesy so on so on.he was the best of the lot.will really miss not seeing him in the black and amber nexy year.Jackie definitely staying and can see him going in at full back.need to find a couple of attackers. League will be interesting if ballyhale go all the way.with their 5 and the 5 retired the squad will be really tested. Time to really get behind the team and travel in numbers to the 4 away games. Thanks jj for many great memories.

cul beag

The word legend is always bandied about easily over the years about different players but when it comes to this fella I don't think its good enough to describe him. My god what a hurler the best I've ever seen and I would be saying that having watched the game for the last 40 years. I had the privilege of meeting him once and a more decent down to earth fella you won't meet. Everytime he marked Shanahan he cleaned him out and I think it came to the stage that mentally the big fella was a beaten horse ever before the game started such was his dominance as a wing back.
In years to come in bars and clubs around the world the comparisons will be made but the template will be always - was he as good as Delaney?.

JJ was without doubt in my mind the greatest defender of his generation. Excelled at both no 3 and no 7. Tenacious, brilliant reader of the game, strong, whole hearted, commited to the end....In a way he exemplified Kilkenny in modern times every bit as much as Brian Cody, Henry Shefflin or Tommy Walsh ever did. In fact id arguably say he leaves the biggest gap to fill. That hook in the replay was outstanding. I have to tip my hat to greatness. JJ was superb and i wish him the very best in retirement. I will extend that also to Tommy, Taggy, Brian Hogan and David Herity.

Whether the next generation of Kilkenny hurlers are as good as the outgoing generation will remain to be seen but one thing for sure, while the mastermind himself remains, he'll continue to get 10 or 15% extra out of those players

hunter164

Shocked to hear about this one, thought he had at least one more year.

The past few retirements have really shown to me that the golden decade or so of hurling we had from 2000 on is coming to a close. I don't think there will ever be a time where there were so many great hurlers at one time. Or where there were so many great matches and battles.