Anthony Daly: Brian Cody and Kilkenny are masters at picking holes in a new system

They may be Leinster champions but I’d still say they’re feeling slightly wounded

Fri, 27 Nov, 2020 - 20:00

When Clare reached the 1986 Munster final, Tommy Keane, the team-captain and a huge character, arrived to meet the squad in the Abbey Street car park in Ennis that morning with his hurley, and his socks and togs tucked into his two boots in his hand.

Before the bus departed, Tommy shouted back to whoever dropped him off: “I’ll be back home by Tuesday.” Tommy was wired. No nerves. No hang-ups. He went down against Cork and hurled up a storm. Win or lose though, Tommy already had written off a couple of days knowing it would be either glory for the Banner or another dead end from the wait since 1932.

It’s just a sign of the new reality, and the absolute professionalism of the modern player, but I still had to laugh when I saw some of the Tipperary and Cavan footballers interviewed on Monday evening. In the past, you’d have had a fair job trying to locate lads on a Monday after a big Championship win. After a famine-ending success though, you’d have a better chance of getting a one-on-one interview with Donald Trump.

After Clare won the Munster football title in 1992, the whole squad went on a week-long tour of west Clare. It was like Mardi-Gras moving from one town or club to the next. We hardly knew any of the players but myself and a couple of the Clarecastle lads joined in on the action.

The Monday night we went back to Doonbeg to welcome the team, it was like being in New Orleans.

After winning the 2013 Leinster title with Dublin, we met up in the Strawberry Beds in Lucan at 1.30 on the Monday. Nobody was allowed to switch on their phones for about three hours, so that they wouldn’t blow our cover.

Marty Morrissey definitely couldn’t nail down one of our lads anyway for a TV interview for the Six One News.

Cavan and Tipperary are dead right to bask in the warm afterglow of their fantastic achievements this week. The challenge for Mickey Graham and David Power is to manage that emotion with an impending All-Ireland semi-final looming but Cavan in particular look like a team running on energy and emotional excitement.

They’re also a complete anomaly in how they’ve continued to get stronger and better as the Championship has progressed. It’s been interesting to compare Cavan’s situation with the half-equivalent of that schedule in hurling, especially when the toll of having to play three games in consecutive weeks is such a dominant theme heading into the weekend. Because since the round robin was introduced in 2018, no hurling team has managed to win three games inside 14 days.

Of the teams which lost after playing three games in three weeks in this Championship — Dublin, Cork, and Clare — fatigue was a clear factor in that third game.

When we were in a similar position with the Dublin hurlers in 2013 — playing five games in four weeks — we did very little in between those matches. We would do one long session between games, which lasted no more than 45 minutes. It’s only seven years ago but the game has changed so much in the meantime that you’d wonder how much more taxing and physically draining the games are on fellas’ bodies now? Two of those five matches we played ended in draws but it’s all-or-nothing now with it being winner-on-the-day, which places a whole different mental strain again on fellas.

One of the best ways of overcoming those issues is to be absolutely animal fit. That might sound like a very simplistic solution to such a complex puzzle but Mike Mac’s torturous winter training with us in Clare made us realise how much your physical conditioning is so intrinsically connected to your mental outlook.

That will be a huge factor in Waterford’s approach towards on Saturday because they will take massive confidence from how incredibly fit they are. Only six days after playing a hard, tough match against Limerick, Waterford were getting stronger as the game against Clare went on last Saturday, finishing like a steam train.

Waterford have a really good mix at the moment; they’ve blended the core of experienced and seasoned players perfectly with the infusion of youth and new faces.

The big question for Liam Cahill now though is how well programmed the machine is for a whole new test. Mental and physical fatigue aside, Brian Cody and Kilkenny are the masters at isolating potential glitches in a new system, and causing it to malfunction.

Calum Lyons was detailed to man-mark Tony Kelly last week but what happens if his brief is to pick up TJ Reid? If it is, Calum would be forced to spend some time on the edge of the square.

Waterford wouldn’t want — or allow — that to happen but Cody will have noted the aerial damage Aron Shanagher caused on Conor Prunty last Saturday.

Prunty is a good operator. He impressively manned up to the Shanagher challenge in the second half but he’s still a rookie in Croke Park and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kilkenny load their full-forward line.

It was great to see Conor Gleeson appear last Saturday. It was hard to fully know what his role was when he came on because he pushed so far forward but Waterford may need Gleeson in a man-marking role, possibly even from the start. Then again, who does he pick up?

No matter where you look, there are threats everywhere in this Kilkenny forward line.

After Richie Hogan’s electric performance against Galway, Cody must believe Richie can be even more productive as an impact sub than as a starter. That may go against the grain of Cody’s philosophy because current form has always dictated his creed, but, whatever he decides, Cody has options. And assassins.

TJ is far more than an assassin now. If anything, he’s become more of an assists machine but all he needs is a half chance to produce the top-drawer goal he bagged against Galway.

Any team with TJ is always going to be dangerous but, even with their phalanx of attacking weapons, Kilkenny are also entering this contest is an ideal position.

They may be Leinster champions but I’d still say they’re feeling slightly wounded.

We all saw how delighted they were after the Leinster final but I’d be expecting a sting in the tail from how they perceived the Leinster campaign; they capitulated in the second half against Dublin; some of the commentary after the Leinster final was more about Galway blowing the match than Kilkenny winning it. On top of that load, the players are still probably carrying the hurt from last year’s All-Ireland final defeat.

I always got the sense from Cody that the positive points from any match are firmly held on to, while any negatives are quickly dealt with. Kilkenny certainly seemed to have learned their lessons from the Dublin game, especially in how well they defended around the D against Galway.

Part of that may have been down to Galway’s tactics, especially in taking Conor Whelan away from the danger zone, but it’s doubtful you’ll see Dessie Hutchinson afforded the same space he was against Clare. Dessie may have that assassin capacity but this is a whole new test for him in his debut season.

Waterford got three goals against Clare but they only managed one in the matches against Cork and Limerick. They’ll need goals again here, but I’m not sure they’ll get them, or enough of them to beat Kilkenny. And I think Kilkenny’s greater ability to raise green flags could be decisive to the outcome.