Dalo's Hurling Show: The Brian Lohan connection has set Tony Kelly free

Speaking on the Irish Examiner GAA podcast, Hogan believes Clare boss Lohan deserves plaudits for unlocking even more of the talent Kelly has always displayed.

“Tony is such a natural hurler and plays with such flamboyance off the cuff. He’s in the form of his life.

“The biggest thing is Lohan has given him that freedom to express himself. If you spancel a player like that, or tell a player you're going to be playing in the middle of the field, you restrict him.

“But you’re giving him the responsibility, You take the frees, you go where you like'. And more importantly, the Shane O’Donnells, these guys, the brightest hurlers in the game, are feeding off him.

“Tony can express himself. He’s ripping through the defences and he knows he will get the ball. The lads are popping the ball to him. You give the ball to your best player and he’s putting the scores over.” 

Anthony Daly agrees: “We’re not seeing Kelly back on his own 21. He has that freedom Ken alluded to, but it’s attacking freedom. We didn't see him anywhere back behind his own 65 in Clare’s three games so far. That’s the way with Ballyea as well.

“People who don’t follow the club scene might say, 'where was Tony Kelly since 2013'. But for Ballyea, this has been a consistent thing, he has kept them at the very top of Clare hurling.” 

The loss to Clare of Peter Duggan and John Conlon perhaps forced Lohan into ensuring Kelly remaining in attacking areas, suggests former Limerick manager TJ Ryan.

“His point into the breeze in the second half against Wexford, where he carried the ball 50 or 60 yards, was as good as the ones from the corner flag in the first half. They were nails in the Wexford coffin.

“I saw a clip of himself and Lohan just before half-time. And to me there seems to be a really good connect, a really good relationship between the two of them. And you know what they say, average players want to be left alone, good players want to be coached, and great players want to be told the truth. And whatever Lohan is doing he is getting the absolute maximum out of Tony Kelly.” 

As Dalo put it: “Lohan is Lohan. You won’t get lies of Brian Lohan, you’ll get it straight.”