Experience is everything. When Michael Fennelly pulled up in the All-Ireland semi-final replay with Waterford, it looked a serious injury, and so it proved: the Kilkenny midfielder was out for the rest of the season with an achilles tendon problem. Scratch one big name for this weekend.

Almost nothing leaks out of the Hoover Dam that is the Kilkenny senior hurling panel.

The frightening thing is they might just be starting out.

Ask Paudie Butler to discuss the ciotógs on the current Tipperary team and he can’t but mention the recently departed Jimmy Doyle.

It was only weeks after JJ Delaney’s retirement at a function in Kilkenny’s Cíllin Hill that Brian Cody was approached by a supporter about replacing what the manager himself has described as the greatest defender he has ever seen.

I played a bit underage with the county and Dickie (Murphy) asked me to fall in with him as an umpire

Whether it’s Paul Murphy or Joey Holden, JJ Delaney believes his successor as Kilkenny full-back will nail down the position for as long as he held it.

The man can take himself out of the fight but can he ever take the fight out of himself? 

If he was a cynical sort, Noel Hickey would have clapped himself on the back last summer and reasoned that he quit Kilkenny at just the right time before the inevitable decline of a great team, which their Championship results appeared to signify.

Are we seeing the end of this great Kilkenny team, did the final minutes of Sunday’s drawn Leinster semi-final in Tullamore herald the final demise of hurling’s most dominant side?

Munster 2-14 Leinster 4-15

LEINSTER SHC SEMI-FINAL:

When Brian Murphy, who retired from intercounty hurling during the week, was at his peak with the Cork senior hurling team, his brief was pretty specific.

He is the most decorated hurling full-back of all time, arguably the greatest, but for the first time since his senior debut in 2000 Noel Hickey is no longer a part of the Kilkenny set-up.

The light and heat generated in recent weeks about the need for reform in Gaelic football has been entertaining, if a little inconclusive.

There was a moment of levity after this league opener in Salthill yesterday when manager Brian Cody was asked about the missing Kilkenny number three jersey, whether it had been retired with the great Noel Hickey a few weeks ago or perhaps the same Noel had just stashed it in his kitbag on his final day.

Kilkenny boss Brian Cody is facing an injury crisis as the National Hurling League approaches, he revealed yesterday.

The intercounty retirement of Noel Hickey last weekend leaves Kilkenny manager Brian Cody with one survivor from his first senior All-Ireland success in 2000 — Henry Shefflin.

The end came with a telephone conversation on Friday evening.

Noel Hickey, a nine-time All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winner, has played his last game of senior inter-county hurling for Kilkenny.

... is a very different animal to the Kilkenny full-back who has prowled his square and wore the famed No 3 jersey with distinction for more than a decade. Michael Moynihan took advantage of Noel Hickey’s downtime.

Carrickshock, captained by Offaly star, David Franks, claimed their first major title at senior hurling level in Kilkenny since their championship glory of 1951 when they won the senior league final at Nowlan Park yesterday.

Honesty – how often have we heard Brian Cody use that word in praise of his players, of his team?

The manner of Galway clawing back to finish level in the drawn All-Ireland SHC final and David Burke blasting home two early goals in yesterday's replay would have floored many hurling teams. But not Kilkenny.

Henry Shefflin admitted winning a record ninth All-Ireland SHC medal was 'a special feeling' as yesterday's 11-point replay win over Galway sunk in for the Kilkenny forward.

Last year provided sweet redemption after their “drive for five” careered off the road in 2010 but yesterday was about exploring unchartered territory for Brian Cody.

He’s long been touted as the greatest of them all but now, there can be no argument.

Kilkenny 3-22 Galway 3-11

Kilkenny and Galway have both made one change from their respective semi-final wins for tomorrow’s All-Ireland SHC final.

Kilkenny have announced the team to play Galway in the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final.

Kilkenny’s nine-time All-Ireland medallist Noel Skehan believes Henry Shefflin doesn’t need to match his all-time SHC record this Sunday to prove he is the greatest hurler of all time.

It was the game that convinced Brian Cody to turn the thermostat down — way down — on his relationship with Kilkenny’s players.

For many heading to the All-Ireland senior hurling final, one of the major side-attractions is the possibility of seeing history being made if Henry Shefflin wins a ninth medal on the field of play.

As anticipated, Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has made two changes to his team for Sunday's All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Tipperary at Croke Park (throw-in 3.30pm).

I can’t understand where this idea is coming from that Kilkenny are almost a spent force.

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has been given a timely boost by being able to name JJ Delaney, Michael Fennelly, Michael Rice and Aidan Fogarty in his team for tomorrow's All-Ireland SHC quarter-final against Limerick.

I’m torn, really torn, about this game.

Galway 2-21 Kilkenny 2-11

There is one enforced change to the Kilkenny team to face Galway in tomorrow's Leinster SHC final, with Noel Hickey replacing the injured JJ Delaney in defence.

Noel Hickey replaces injured JJ Delaney in the only Kilkenny change from the team that beat Dublin for tomorrow’s Leinster final against Galway.