Cody: no conveyor belt of Cats’ talent

KILKENNY boss Brian Cody has rubbished notions that the county have a bottomless well of talent as he prepares for Saturday night’s NHL Division 1 opener against Tipperary without several first-team regulars.

Ballyhale’s preparations for the St Patrick’s Day Club SHC final against Portumna rules out the quartet of Henry Shefflin, James Fitzpatrick, TJ Reid and Michael Fennelly, while St Lachtain’s All-Ireland IHC club success last weekend may prevent Michael Kavanagh from featuring.

In addition Noel Hickey, Eoin Larkin and Derek Lyng are all nursing injuries. That opens the door for newcomers to force their way into the reckoning with the Walsh Cup seeing recent graduates from U21 teams like Kieran Joyce, Lester Ryan, John Mulhall, Michael Grace and Mark Bergin all given run-outs.