Consistency will be key for Kilkenny ahead of league bow

The Allianz National Hurling League kicks off this weekend with Kilkenny playing host to Antrim at UPMC Nowlan Park on Sunday afternoon (1pm).

Brian Cody’s team will take their place in Division 1B where they will have five games in seven weeks.

Like in 2021, the Cats will have home games with Antrim and Laois as well as travelling to the capital to meet Dublin.

Waterford and Tipperary are the other two sides and those games against good opposition will be ideal for Kilkenny.

This year’s campaign looks a little different to the one in 2021 where they emerged as joint winners with Galway.

The return of League semi-finals and final are a big boost to the competition but, more importantly, the resumption of the round-robin in both the Leinster and Munster Championships mean Kilkenny will have at least 10 games in a rather condensed period.

Added to that any team that makes the league final will have seven games in nine weeks before the championship even begins.

No more so than Waterford, who have a sizeable Ballygunner contingent in their ranks, the Cats will be without their Shamrocks of Ballyhale players for at least the Antrim and Tipperary games as they get ready for an All-Ireland club final next Saturday.

Brian Cody has already indicated that the championship is the most important thing for his side and he plans to give players an opportunity to impress in the coming weeks and months.

As with any league campaign, winning your home games will be important but the way the fixtures have transpired, Kilkenny’s fate may be dictated away from Noreside.

Big away fixtures against Tipperary in Semple Stadium and Dublin in Parnell Park will give a fair indication as to where the Cats stand.

It all starts with Antrim travelling to UPMC Nowlan Park on Sunday as the Saffrons aim to build on a promising 2021.

The Ulster side shocked the GAA world in beating Clare in last year’s league opener and they eventually did enough to maintain their Division One league status.

Their year dropped off after that though with a heavy Leinster championship defeat at the hands of Dublin followed by a defeat in the relegation playoff to Laois that sees them drop down to the Joe McDonagh Cup.

For the most part it’s been a upward trajectory though and Tipperary’s Darren Gleeson will be overseeing his third year in charge.

Antrim will be looking to get a repeat performance from the corresponding fixture in last year’s league and while they lost out on that occasion by seven points, they did manage to hit the net three times.

Kilkenny will still be expected to get a win on their first day out though. However, the real test will arrive a week later when they make the short trip to FBD Semple Stadium to take on Tipperary.

Under the guise of new manager Colm Bonnar, Tipp will be out to lay down a few markers in the league so no doubt a home game with Kilkenny will be near the top of that list.

Bonnar hasn’t been slow to lay down the law after leaving John 'Bubbles' O’Dwyer out of his league squad and , after losing out to Kerry in the pre-season Munster Senior Hurling League, it will be interesting to see how they perform and like their opposition, this outing is likely to be their first real test.

The Premier County have been relatively disappointing over the last two seasons but with the calibre of player in their ranks including Jason Forde, Cathal Barrett, Ronan Maher and Jake Morris they will be aiming to recapture the highs of 2019 when they beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.

As already stated, Kilkenny will be without the Shamrocks clan for the Tipp game but that will give other players the chance to really stake their claim for selection in the bigger games later in the year.

After a week’s break, Kilkenny will then entertain Laois on February 27 in what will be their second meeting of the year.

The near neighbours already clashed in the Walsh Cup with an understrength Kilkenny side running out 1-27 to 0-24 winners in Callan.

The sides will also meet in the Leinster championship so they will be very familiar with each other by the end of the year.

Laois needed a relegation playoff to maintain their league status last term and they will be more than likely fighting it out with Antrim to avoid the bottom place in the division.

Travelling to Kilkenny will be seen as a big test for Cheddar Plunkett’s outfit and it would be a real bonus if they got anything out of the game.

Clough-Ballacolla’s recent run in the club championship (that was ended by Shamrocks) illustrated the talent among hurling ranks in Laois. Under Plunkett’s guidance, they will be eager to kick on to bigger and better things in 2022.

With the likes of Enda Rowland, Ross King, Jack Kelly, Paddy Purcell and Aaron Dunphy all available, Laois have the capabilities to cause a shock or two before the league is out.

Six days after the Laois clash, Kilkenny make the trip to Parnell Park where they will meet a red hot Dublin side.

Of all the big hurling counties, it’s Matty Kenny’s outfit that has impressed the most during preseason.

Dublin had four games throughout the Walsh Cup and they eased to victories over Offaly, Antrim, Galway and Wexford.

The Dubs beat Antrim in their opening game before they handed Henry Shefflin his first defeat as Galway manager when running out comprehensive victors in Parnell Park.

That success over Galway was noteworthy in the fact that Dublin selected a hugely experienced team.

Last year’s beaten Leinster finalists continued in the same vein for the subsequent games with Offaly and Wexford, with the Croke Park final victory over Wexford a real stand out as they took a facile win on a 2-29 to 0-19 scoreline.

Ronan Hayes and Fergal Whitely netted the goals for the Dubs while Donal Burke also knocked over 10 points in the victory.

Dublin have clearly targeted a lightning fast start to the season and with the championship following on so closely from the conclusion to the league, they will be hoping to carry serious momentum into the main part of the season.

The league game with Kilkenny will give us a better indication as to where they stand in the Leinster pecking order but, after beating Galway twice in recent seasons, the Cats will be seen as the next big scalp.

After a meeting with the Metropolitans, Kilkenny round off the regulation league schedule when playing host to Waterford.

It will also be the first time that the sides have met since the Deise overcame Brian Cody’s side under the lights of Croke Park in the All-Ireland hurling championship semi-final in 2020.

Waterford’s overall aim will be to get back to that stage and Kilkenny are no different in that regard after losing out in the last two semi-finals.

On the subject of semi-finals, this game could have a last four spot in the league on the line so expect a game played at championship pace.

It will also arrive less than three weeks before Kilkenny kick off their Leinster campaign in Mullingar against Westmeath so the team and panel should be taking a bit of shape ahead of the bigger games in the following weeks.

In comparison to 2021, it’s a league schedule that should excite Kilkenny fans with a couple of blockbuster clashes included.

So, what to expect of Kilkenny?

It’s clear the five league games will be used as a testing ground to try out new players but it’s also vitally important that the more experienced crew get the necessary game time that is needed.

The likes of Conor Delaney, Paddy Deegan, Richie Hogan, Conor Fogarty and Richie Hogan haven’t stepped foot on the field as of yet while the Shamrocks players will have to be eased back in at some stage. When that is will be most informative as keeping the likes of TJ Reid, Darragh Corcoran, Eoin Cody and Adrian Mullen fresh will be of utmost importance after a punishing schedule for the players in recent weeks.

Ideally Kilkenny will want to try out things in a winning environment. Just like how they unearthed Corcoran and James Bergin in last year’s National League, the Cats will be hopeful of finding one or two more players over the next few weeks.

The likes of Colum Prendiville, Robbie Buckley, David Blanchfield, Mikey Butler, Eoin O’Shea and Chris Bolger got game time in both Walsh Cup games so they will be hoping to get further opportunities.

With crowds turning out in huge numbers for last week’s opening round of the Allianz National Football League, you can expect to see something similar on the hurling side of things and that makes a change.

Let’s get it started!