Kilkenny GAA Thread

Kilkenny are very very committed, hard-working team. But limited

A poster from another county posted above comment. We are very very limited team and we can't expect TJ to pull us through come championship. TJ pace is also gone, we can't have TJ, Walter and Buckley in the starting 15

To be honest after what we did with our puckouts against Cork last year I can't believe we did the same again. We won 1 or maybe 2 of 15 long puckouts in a 15 min period in the turning point of the 2nd half.

I think it was a hugely valuable night for us in terms of personnel. We learned a lot about players tonight that we were fooling ourselves on over last few weeks.

But even with TJ back and Donnelly and Maher and Richie Reid starting and maybe a return to form for Mullen and 20-30 mins for Hogan, none of it will matter if we revert to stone age high ball.

Every time a game tightens, we just start skiing the ball and invariably it proves disastrous.

As for a limited players, that's a bit harsh, despite idiotic puck outs and some bad shooting we were still ahead with 5 mins to go, conceded a shocker of a goal that included 7-8 steps yet again by Fitzgibbon from what looked suspiciously like a throw from Cahalane.

Cork are a slick and speedy team but get away with murder on steps and throwing.

We learned more than Cork did tonight, but will it matter ?

Ha I wish, twenty or thirty mins for Hogan. Not a chance Cody won't give him that he is a game changer or at least he was and he was lucky to get ten minutes the last couple of years. My point as I posted above is Cody is too stubborn to bring in fresh faces, always has been and that won't change. He totally believes the fifteen he has sent out should be able to do the job and it's a great belief but it's majorly flawed. 2016 all Ireland proved to me there and then that his time was up and here we are 6 years later at the same shite. I get we are trying to mix it up a bit like the first half but it's revert to type and will continue to be with this man. If we can make cork look very ordinary for 50 mins of a game tonight and again last year I believe we have the hurlers to compete against any team out there. We need a new management team simple as that.

Cork are in the top 3 of likely All Ireland champions. They've been perfecting the game plan for a few years at this stage. They had a lot more going for them thus evening with playing at home and getting every free the ref could give them. In the head up to their goal a Cork player overcarried and wasn't blown. They were blown just once for throwing the ball when there was plenty of other throw balls.

Kilkenny are still working on their game plan. Why they change it in the second half baffles me. Is it deliberate or do teams suss us out?

Anyway, my point is that despite Cork having so much going for them, they still could have been beaten. Either we're making progress or else Cork are overrated.

I think tonight shows that while we don't look like we can win at the sharp end of the championship we are not that far away either. 100% agree about the puck outs in the 2nd half and this will have to change. Also agree about use of the bench as it was the same as the semi final last year. Wouldn't agree that we are fooling ourselves about players like Wally and Buckley as I think they have plenty to offer. We do need pace and impact from the bench and hopefully players like Leahy and Browne could provide this. Ultimately as was said here previously, if we revert to the long ball game when the pressure comes on then it won't matter who's on the field as it is too easy to defend against.

Had Murphy much option but to go long Delany lost two short puck outs and Cork scored off them. Why was our hurling carrier booked to night.

The sad thing is that there are kids as old as 10 that have no memory of Kilkenny winning an All Ireland. How times have changed. We are going through a barren spell that doesn't look like it's going to end soon

Not sure, but I don't approve of it.

I thought Cork played Kilkenny in Nowlan Park last time they met?

First off well done on the win best team won. I'm not being a cry baby at all just some one from cork comes on above and says if we meet in croke park this year Kilkenny will get a hiding and that we would probably put up a better game against Limerick😁 that's why I responded about cockiness. Ye have a few band wagoners following cork hurling with statements like that and the booking and whistling for the Kilkenny free taker.

I think in the first half Cork were not at the pitch of the game at all. Kilkenny had far more aggression. When Cork matched that in the second half it became far more difficult for Kilkenny to sustain the 'through the lines' game. Kilkenny probably just don't have the team to sustain this style of play successfully right now.

And by successfully I mean winning an All Ireland title. Anything could happen in Leinster but that won't count for a lot really in All Ireland terms as arguably the three best teams are outside Leinster. I'm not sure they "changed the tactics", I think what happened in the second half was forced upon them.

Ironically while people will welcome the coming back of TJ Reid, his aerial ability is more likely to encourage the long ball route.

And, on a different note, when you see the pace of the second half tonight I think maybe it's time people were finally realistic about Richie Hogan. Cody is talked about in relation to this player as if he is setting out to personally victimize him, and that the player is somehow owed more because of past service. Doesn't work like that I'm afraid. It is impossible to imagine a player of his longevity with so many injury issues in recent years getting to a point where he could have a significant influence on a major fast-paced championship game as a starter. Not even sure using him in cameo roles would best serve the future of the team or really impact a high level match either. It is a poignant moment for a county when it gets to that stage for someone who served with distinction but there's no point in praising Cody's supposed "ruthlessness" over the years and now expecting him to be influenced by terrace emotion.

Finally, on the individual player side of it, is it reasonable to say that Kilkenny need a new goalkeeper for the modern game?

The competitiveness they showed and the vulnerability of the Leinster opposition could take them deep into the All Ireland series yet again and if that happens results will temporarily noise over any criticism which will be dismissed as too negative. But I reckon the same post-match conversations will re-emerge before summer is out.

That second half tonight (1-13 to 0-8) was a good clipping. They might now be in a kind of frustrating limbo where they are good enough through the circumstances of their province to continually qualify but not good enough to achieve the next level. Interesting summer ahead for the county.

Is Cody waiting for the wheel to turn? Seems so as he's sticking to his old tactics by and large.

Positives today is that we scored 2 goals, hit the post,Billy Ryan had a great chance of another. More signs of form from Eoin Cody, Billy Ryan if he gets decent ball. Mikey Butler too. Lads tried their best. We gave away far too many frees but Cork are a running team and they got away with a good few thrown balls. In fairness, a Cian Lynch blatant throw resulted in a goal against them last year. I really hope that the crackdown on throwing the ball and too many steps hasn't ended.

Blanchfield did okay but will learn from today, Huw Lawlor has had a good league, Paddy Deegan needed the game. We seemed to run out of steam in the second half and should have brought on subs sooner. Cian Kenny is still learning, this year may be too soon for him, maybe Conor Browne might fill one of the midfield spots.

Overall, not too disappointed. Better team won. But throwing the ball is a plague, that and taking too many steps are destroying hurling

No point in complaining about the Cork crowd booing. We have plenty of our own who've done it over the years.

It says a lot about what Cork think of us when their full forward line dropped to the 45 for every one of our puck outs and I don't think that changed in the second half. They flooded the half back line with bodies and then just counter attacked at will when the ball hit the ground. We actually just gave them exactly what they wanted. I don't really recall Carey or Blanchfield receiving a ball from our full back line in the last 25 minutes.

We turned over around 3 balls at the start of the second half where Kenny tried to run down the left hand sideline and a loopy ball was attempted over his shoulder to hit him in stride. After that we seemed to lose all confidence in the short game so Cork could afford to drop into the half back line and defend the long ball. Did we get any decent ball into Keoghan or Ryan in the second half? Did Keoghan actually touch the ball in the second half?

Joyce at half back for Cork is top class in my opinion. They have problems in the full back line and I can't say I enjoy their style of play but they're a very very good team with crazy athleticism. And if Lehane carries this form into championship then fair play to him for turning it around as I genuinely thought he'd never be seen again after he didn't play last year.

Lehane will always do well on a winning team.

Our lads did a lot right such as nullifying Horgan and Kingston.

The biggest disappointment was Cody's lack of action. We were always going to need all five subs to keep the momentum going but he didn't use enough and didn't use them early enough. And he must approve of the puck out strategy, its hardly Murphy's own doing.