Kilkenny boss Brian Cody happy with team’s progress ahead of league semi-final
After claiming victory in four of their five games, Kilkenny have finished top of Division 1B in the Allianz National Hurling League.
Next up is a league semi-final with Cork on Saturday but after last weekend’s crucial victory over Waterford, Brian Cody gave his thoughts.
“The players worked hard and the attitude was good for what was essentially a knockout game for us from the point of view of the league.
“We had to win and as they didn’t need to, we probably had the greater motivation to try and win the game and advance.
“If you want to make any progress, you have to improve with every game and we seem to be doing that at the moment.
“I’m happy with the attitude and the workrate of the players and if it weren’t good today we wouldn’t have won the game,” he said.
Kilkenny’s last two performances against Dublin and Waterford have been hugely promising and as well as that the influx of new talent in the likes of David Blanchfield, Cian Kenny and Mikey Butler appears to be bearing fruit.
“The lads that are in the team are good players and that’s why they are on the panel in the first place and we’ve given them an opportunity to stake a claim for the jersey and they are doing that,” Cody admitted.
“We also have some other players to come back in so the league has certainly served us well from that point of view.
“Getting game time into inexperienced players is important and they are coping with it well.”
experience
As well as the league newcomers, the experience of Padraig Walsh again stood out as he knocked over five points and while he is in a new look position at centre forward in a Kilkenny jersey, Cody knows what to expect from him as he plays a lot of club hurling with Tullaroan in the forwards.
“Padraig plays an awful lot of hurling in the forwards with his club and always has done so it’s not as if we’ve converted him to that position or anything but he’s a very good hurler and he’s playing well at the moment.”
Sunday’s victory saw a number of the Shamrocks Ballyhale players return to the Kilkenny fold with Richie and Adrian Mullen both making their first starts while dual young player of the year Eoin Cody emerged as a second half substitute.
Shamrocks and Kilkenny talisman TJ Reid still seems to be a bit away from a return though as he nurses an injury picked up on club duty.
Cody added: “TJ Reid played his way through the club championship while carrying an injury and that was understandable so he is just doing a bit of rehab at the moment.
“Hopefully over the next few weeks he will get back into it but he definitely won’t be available for the rest of the league.”