Joe Canning on the brink of claiming King Henry's crown 

The Galway marksman is closing in on becoming the all-time top scorer in championship hurling

Joe Canning

Joe Canning can surpass Henry Shefflin’s record and becomes the all-time top scorer in championship hurling in Galway's Leinster SHC semi-final against Dublin on Saturday.

Scoring records, like a lot of GAA statistics, are incomplete and often open to question, but Canning’s haul of 27-473 has him within striking distance of Shefflin, who is credited with a total of 565 points from 71 games.

Canning’s scoring average is higher, hitting 9.2 per game to Shefflin’s 7.9, and his haul of 554 points has come from 60 matches. 

If Canning repeats his scoring average of 12.2 points last year against Dublin this weekend then he is set to top the charts.

Shefflin took over the top billing from his fellow Kilkenny native Eddie Keher in 2010 who, in turn, had surpassed Christy Ring’s record in 1972. 

Before that Ring had overtaken Nicky Rackard, who remains the runaway leader in championship goals having hit 59 in just 36 games.

Three of the top four scorers are still playing with Patrick Horgan hot on Canning’s heels with a haul of 23-428 (497 points), with TJ Reid on 447 points, while Tipperary captain Seamus Callanan is seventh on the list with 327 points.

Canning has scored in each of the 60 championship games he has played for Galway. His biggest hauls were the 2-12 against Cork which announced his arrival on the scene in 2008 and the 1-15 he scored against Laois in 2015.

His best season was in 2015 when he scored 5-55 (70 points) in seven games, while his lowest was in 2019 when his championship campaign was hampered by injury and he was confined to a brief spell off the bench against Dublin before they bowed out.

Top championship scorers in history.

Henry Shefflin (71 games) 27-484 (565 points).

Joe Canning (60 games) 27-473 (554).

Patrick Horgan (60 games) 23-428 (497).

TJ Reid (63 games) 25-375 (447). 

Eddie Keher (50 games) 35-334 (439).

Eoin Kelly (63 games) 21-369 (432).

Seamus Callanan (58 games) 36-219 (327).

Christy Ring (65 games) 33-208 (307).