Anthony Daly: The anti-Cody chat sounds fairly hollow now. He's the greatest of them all.

You often hear it that a game is as good as four training sessions but Kilkenny nearly prefer the training sessions, because their manager can get them all together and strengthen their bond even more

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody celebrates with Tommy Walsh after the game.

On the evening Kilkenny were beaten by Cork in the Allianz league semi-final in late March, their All-Ireland winning odds were stretched out to 12/1. Kilkenny would have probably seen that as an insult but could anyone have really argued with the price? Still, there was only one way to shave down those figures and no better crowd to ram it down everyone else’s throats than the stripey men. 

What are those odds now?

It was easy to hype up Clare after the epic Munster final, and the manner in which they dug out the Wexford match, but the conditions were ripe for Kilkenny to burst that bubble in the most dramatic manner imaginable.

There was almost a dangerous silence from the camp over the last four weeks. Bad as all as the Leinster final was, Kilkenny were still Leinster champions and were still outsiders against a side which haven’t won anything.

You often hear it said that a game is as good as four training sessions but Kilkenny nearly prefer the training sessions, not just because they’re often as good as championship games, but because of how Brian Cody can get them all together and strengthen their bond even more.

We all heard the vibes after Salthill about the potential division in the squad but a divide can sometimes unite the whole thing if it’s handled properly.

All the old Kilkenny traits and strengths were smeared all over Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final performance. They worked like animals, especially around the middle. Kilkenny were savage in the air. I know Clare were trying to hold their positions and shape but I felt they got their match-ups wrong in the air.

Paul Flanagan was outstanding again on the ground but he’s not geared for going man-on-man with TJ Reid under high balls. He caught three high balls alone in the first half.

Kilkenny’s movement and rotation was excellent, especially in the first half. They got some brilliant scores but their defence was excellent too. Huw Lawlor was brilliant. Mikey Butler did his job on Tony Kelly to great effect, never letting him out of his sight.

The Kilkenny half-back line had the Clare half-forward line in a vice. Richie Reid was excellent. His distribution was top class, especially when compared to the Wexford game.

It was just a complete malfunction from Clare. They gave us everything all year but it was an awful way for such a brilliant campaign to finish. Nobody could have seen this coming but there was a really edgy vibe around the place as soon as word started filtering through that John Conlon was out injured.

I’ve always admired Paidí Fitzpatrick. He’s from a great family in Sixmilebridge but I struggled to understand his inclusion ahead of Cian Nolan and even Aaron Fitzgerald, both of whom had been given far more game time than Paidí throughout this championship.

I also felt it was strange to start Tony Kelly on the frees after he struggled so much on them against Wexford, especially when Peter Duggan had taken over that role so impressively, including the Munster final.

WARMING UP: The familiar Cody pose.

Clare never recovered from that Limerick game. Maybe too much was read into the Wexford match too. If they had their full team on the field when they were six points up, with Rory O’Connor still on the pitch and Lee Chin not struggling with a hamstring, they’d surely have pushed on and won that game handy.

Clare knew that if they performed like that again on Saturday that they’d be punished far more heavily. And they were. The same energy just wasn’t there. Those runs off the shoulder were largely non-existent.

The shooting was desperate. The game was over at half-time. Clare just couldn’t get going but it’s all about timing your run and we put so much into Munster that it was always going to be a struggle to maintain that pace.

Everything has just been tough going since the Munster final. I know Brian Lohan has been suffering with his back. He could hardly move on the sideline. It’s just a shame the way the year ended for everyone because Brian and Clare certainly didn’t deserve to close out the campaign with such a dark chapter.

Hindsight is great but how often have we seen this in the past where Kilkenny just come out as underdogs and bite the opposition’s head off? Clare were poor but any team would have struggled to live with Kilkenny on this display.

Kilkenny will take a bit of beating now in the final. Walter Walsh had a big impact off the bench and will be pushing hard for a starting place in the final, which is the way Cody always wants it. The only regret Cody probably has is that he doesn’t have another four weeks to get the side humming again for the final.

They are some county and Cody is some manager. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Cody is the greatest of them all, unquestionably. Micko, Gavin, Heffernan, Harte – none of them hold a candle to that man.

He’s unwavering. All this craic about Handshakegate and a stand-off with Henry Shefflin and he never even blinked. This chat at the start of the year about it being time for a new voice sounds hollow now.

Cody’s unwavering. Just like his side were on Saturday.