LEADING QUESTION: What are the differences between the Kilkenny and Tipp forwards?
The Limerick defender was on hand to nail a late point in his side’s Munster championship win over Tipp, while he turned in a man of the match display as the Cats edged out Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Each game a new challenge.
“You prepare differently for each game anyway,” he says.
“We prepared differently for Tipperary compared to Cork, to Kilkenny compared to Cork. You’d be crazy to think one plan fits all.”
Take the fulcrum of the Tipp attack as a starting point. Does he expect the Cats to assign someone to shadow Seamus Callanan?
“Absolutely, I’d expect them to man-mark Callanan.
“Brian Cody has a track record of identifying a team’s strengths and weaknesses and pinpointing match-ups. He’s a big fan of match-ups.
“When it comes to defending, whether it’s JJ Delaney or Jackie Tyrrell, they’ll man-mark Seamus Callanan. The point then, though, is that Callanan has been man-marked against Kilkenny before and still done damage.
“If Callanan is held Tipperary will find it incredibly hard to win this game. He’s the source of a lot of their momentum-changing scores.
“Against Cork I thought it was a pretty tit-for-tat affair until the first goal – it was very unfortunate on Shane O’Neill to make a mistake but Callanan capitalised on that error incredibly well.
“He has a habit of producing these momentum-changers, like Lar (Corbett) did in 2010. Seamus has taken on that mantle well, but the flip side is if he’s held Tipp will find it very hard to win.”
Setting up against the black and amber attack brings a different challenge, though.
“Kilkenny can be hard enough to plan for defensively,” says Hickey.
“Their forwards generally don’t turn up in the same places two games in a row. That’s a unique challenge in itself because they seem to do it so seamlessly, their forwards don’t find it difficult to do that.”
Factor in their calmness on the big occasion . . .
“That’s raw experience,” says Hickey. “That’s composure: knowing the game is 70 minutes-plus.
“In the semi-final we had them under the cosh for a good while, we were doing all the hurling and going well, and they got that break of a ball. Their game changed after that – they changed what they’d been doing for the previous 50 minutes or so and played the situation very well. Fellas put their bodies on the line, the tackles were made.
“That showed the intelligence and the experience. Even against Galway they responded when they needed to when they were under pressure, they had the right people in the right place.
“That’s not just a matter of individual responsiblity in particular situations, it’s collective responsibility on the part of the entire team and subs.”
That experience and sense of responsibility influences Hickey’s choice of a winner.
“If I could be assured that Tipperary would play to their potential I’d pick Tipperary,” he says.
“They’ve been fighting all year to get the respect they claim they merit for the ability they have.
“The concern a lot of people would have is whether they’ll produce it on demand, whereas Kilkenny have regularly produced it on demand.
“Whether Kilkenny’s team is as good as Tipperary’s, man for man, is another question. For consistency I’d take Kilkenny, but it’s that uncertainty about Tipperary . . . I think they’ll come out all guns blazing against Kilkenny, I just don’t know if that will be enough. I’d go for Kilkenny based on that unquenchable fire they have to win.”
