Dempsey: Cody’s spirit and influence still there
With Cody unavailable following recent heart surgery, selectors Martin Fogarty and Michael Dempsey directed operations.
But neither man wore the coveted ‘Bainisteoir’ bib and Dempsey laughed: “Neither of us are that brave that we’d wear the bib in his absence!
“We were in contact with him during the week, he’s recovering well but he hasn’t been in at training or anything like that. He’s been keeping a close eye on us. He was going to watch it on TV. In his absence he still has a huge influence over the team.
“The spirit and influence he has is still there, it’s been such an influence on the team and these players’ careers so just because he’s missing for one day…” Dempsey admitted Cody will not be back in time for the league final against Tipperary on May 5 – but that championship time is a realistic target.
“We’ll see what happens. Obviously today will make Brian happy and boost his recovery good enough to get back for the next day.
“It’s unlikely he’ll be back for the Tipp match but he should be back in for the first round of the championship. I don’t think Kilkenny have ever had a league final in Nowlan Park and the fact that it’s Tipperary will probably add to it.
“2009 [was] a classic here [Thurles] Tipp are a serious team – they’ve laid out their stall for the year and have a new management structure.
“They’ve been going very well since a defeat [Cork] early on and did very well against Dublin today. But we’re also going in the right direction.”
Dempsey believes Michael Fennelly could return in time for the final against Tipperary – and he also paid tribute to Lester Ryan’s performance at centre field. Ryan and Michael Rice dovetailed brilliantly in the middle of the park – leaving Kilkenny management with some selection headaches if Fennelly is passed fit for May 5.
Dempsey admitted: “He [Ryan] was good and it’s great to see a young guy coming in and playing with such confidence and such work-rate. Overall, the team performance was great, particularly after a shaky start in the first half. In the second half the team effort overall was excellent.
“TJ [Reid] is where he should be under the supervision of our physios and he won’t be playing for a while yet. We are happy with his progress. We were delighted to see Cillian [Buckley] coming on today after being out with a hip injury. Michael Rice had a very tough time with a hand injury and it’s good to see TJ making a recovery after a tough time out.
“There is a good chance [Fennelly]. He wasn’t far off the mark for today. There is a round of club matches in Kilkenny that we will have to see what happens out of that.”
Dempsey confirmed Walter Walsh required stitches after his nasty first half collision with Fergal Moore – a clash that saw the Galway captain require hospital treatment.
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