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6. Ronan Maher Rating: 8/10 Not a lot needs to be said about Maher yet again. He was very good once again in the heart of the defence. His biggest Achilles heel in recent years has been his accuracy in shooting from distance, but he looks laser accurate thus far this term, flighting over two class points from distance.
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4. Bryan O'Mara Rating: 6/10 O'Mara has been impressive in terms of his use of possession, deliveries to the forwards, and has added a scoring threat with points including in Nowlan Park during the first half. However, he has had some damage done by his direct opponent in a few of the games this campaign, with Mossy Keoghan on form throughout. He needs to add more aggression out of possession but overall, he is going in the right direction.
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8. Craig Morgan Rating: 8/10 His rebound from the poor performance in the Limerick game in round 3 has been nearly as noteworthy as his performances. Barry Hogan picked him out numerous times in the pocket between midfield and defence and his range of stick passing has been top class. Adding that scoring touch has been a big asset too and his pace for the first half goal was fantastic.
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5. Sam O'Farrell Rating: 8/10 Missing since the opening round win over Galway, O'Farrell returned and did so with form in Kilkenny on Sunday. Operating at midfield, he got through a mountain of possession and with Morgan, he covered every blade of grass. The Nenagh man fired over some class point in the game with three from play and he looks the part at this level, regardless of whether he is operating at midfield or in the half-back line.