“I’d love to be still playing but it’s just not possible”- Hogan

For the first time since 2006, the Kilkenny senior hurlers will travel to Croke Park for a championship game on Saturday evening and not have the services of Richie Hogan available to them.

The Danesfort man announced his intercounty retirement last September with a series of injuries as well as commuting every week from Dublin eventually taking their toll.

While the 35-year-old exited the Kilkenny scene with seven All-Ireland medals to his name, his role as an analyst with GAAGO has seen him watch the Cats in recent games with Wexford, Carlow and Dublin.

Saturday night’s provincial decider with the Dubs will be a totally different experience for Hogan who admits that he will miss the big games.

“The only games I have been at are the ones where I have been working, doing commentary. I like it for what it is, it doesn’t compare or keep me in touch with the games really,” he said.

“Honest to God, I would give my left arm to be able to play again but I know that I am not able, so I am very content watching and wishing people well.

“I probably would find it hard to go to the games if I wasn’t doing commentary at them because I do miss it and the longer it goes on the more I miss the actual games, but I try not to think about it and I will get over it pretty soon.”

While Hogan does admit to missing the big days, his retirement decision was one that was in the pipeline for a couple of years.

“I had a couple of years where I was doing absolutely everything I could to play. I ran out of juice a couple of years ago, but still tried to get as much as I possibly could out of it.

“I’d love to be playing, but when I think about playing, I’m actually looking back, I’m not looking at what is going on now.

“If I had packed it in at 32 when the body was breaking down, I’d have missed it a lot more. For now, I’m fairly content - I couldn’t play intercounty hurling now.

“Even at club level, I train, it is enough for club level. The thoughts of getting to intercounty level, the level these guys are currently at is a million miles from where I am. That is what I look at. We’d all love to be out playing on the pitch.

“I’m mature enough to know what it takes, and I don’t have what it takes, that is for sure.”

Richie’s former Kilkenny teammates have had an unbeaten run in the championship thus far and he likes the way the team is shaping up.

“I think Kilkenny are where they want to be for sure. If you asked Derek Lyng at the beginning of the season, they would have liked to have won all of their games, and they would have liked to have won them very impressively.

“As it stands, being in a Leinster final, and having a full deck to pick from, and Eoin Cody with another game under his belt, Adrian Mullen to come back, Walter Walsh with half-an-hour of championship action, Richie Reid and Paddy Deegan back in, I think he will be very, very happy where we are at the minute.

“I expect Kilkenny to improve in this game and in a quarter or semi-final.”

The former All-Star hurler played with Derek Lyng as a player and played under the current manager last year so he is well placed to assess the Emeralds man’s term in charge of the Cats.

“Derek is a great manager and he came in with great experience as a player and he was also a brilliant leader as a player. He also worked four or five years under Brian Cody so he knew the system pretty well and he was obviously running the show at under-20 level as well.

“He came in at the right time and he also brought a nice bit of enthusiasm to it and he knew what needed to be changed while also holding on to what needed to be kept.

“That’s a great sign of a brilliant leader in that he can recognise what’s working really well.

“He’s definitely doing a great job as it stands,” Hogan continued.

Like many of his county colleagues, defeats have been few and far between against Dublin in either league or championship but Hogan who is now based in the capital still feels there is enough evidence to suggest that Kilkenny will need to be at the top of their game if they are to bring home the Bob O’Keeffe Cup for a fifth successive season.

“They are definitely the surprise package of the year so far,” he said.

“They impressed me against Kilkenny, that was their best game so far. Their running from deep is brilliant. That’s definitely down to the system that Micheál Donoghue has created in there.

“The skill level is much higher than it was 10 or 15 years ago. They have added back in the physicality.

“If they have everybody fit and can get everything right on the day they will give most teams a huge challenge.

“I’m delighted to see it, people were thinking maybe they could fade away and be in danger of Joe McDonagh in a few years’ time.”