GAA

09th Apr 2018

Team of the National Hurling League

Niall McIntyre

That was a brilliant League.

At the end of it all, it was Kilkenny who came out on top of the pile.

We didn’t think we’d be saying that after the Cats lost their first two rounds to Cork and Clare but six victories later and Cillian Buckley would be accepting the Dr. Croke Cup from John Horan in front of a buzzing Nowlan Park crowd.

This is a new Kilkenny team now. They were supposed to be in transition, but that transition has occurred at the click of Brian Cody’s fingers. The greatest manager the GAA has ever seen is now presiding over his county for a 20th year, but this could easily be argued as one of his greatest achievements in that magical period.

He’s had to re-build and there were struggles, but now he has unearthed a host of hungry youngsters with that Kilkenny desire to fill the jerseys of their heroes past. This is Kilkenny.

The best thing about it all is that the championship is only around the corner now. Say whatever you want about the new structure but there’s no arguing that the months of May and June are going to be a hurling fan’s heaven. For five weekends in a row, the games will be coming thick and fast in home and away clashes like we’ve never seen before.

The fact that Kilkenny are third favourites to lift Liam MacCarthy in September shows just how competitive it’s going to be. Our appetites are whetted now.

1. Goalkeeper – Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny)

The best goalkeeper in the country and he has been for some time. His double save from Bubbles and Willie Connors was a turning point in the League final on Sunday. That’s what Eoin Murphy does.

Crazy stuff https://t.co/W73m05rQtE

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 8, 2018

His hammered puck-outs are like lightening rods raining down from the sky and they set Kilkenny’s aerially dominant forwards in motion.

He’s such a calming influence in possession too and is the platform for so many of his side’s attacks. A class act.

2. Right corner back – Alan Flynn (Tipperary)

One of the finds of the League.

Michael Ryan spent his League experimenting, but no probe went as smoothly as the one into Tipperary’s last line of defence.

The Premier County were outfought, out-dogged and outclassed in the Nowlan Park showpiece but the Kiladangan club man who never played minor or under-21 for his county was typically solid and composed.

Assured in possession, he can be relied upon to mop up any dangerous situations. Tigerish in defence, he’ll make any corner forward earn his score.

Kilkenny’s two quietest players in Bill Sheehan and Alan Murphy went hip to hip with Flynn at various stages on Sunday. That’s no coincidence.

3. Full back – Padraig Walsh (Kilkenny)

Only there by necessity because Walsh is the best half back in hurling but he’s sorting out Kilkenny’s problem position so well that he will definitely be left at number three.

He may be restricted in the last line but he’s one of those hurlers that could play in any position on the pitch and still be the best.

4. Left corner back – Paddy Deegan (Kilkenny)

Deegan was invincible in a coming of age performance on Sunday. He played on the edge but he was still so composed and collected. He was in a different mood but he was still so abiding to the at times confining principles of the corner back position.

Paddy Deegan hurling an absolute stormer out there. Unplayable!!

— Andy Valentine (@andyvalentine94) April 8, 2018

Gave Willie Connors a torrid time and cut loose after he’d taken his marker out of the game, bursting out and forward up the pitch. He may not have stood out to such an extent on the journey to the decider but this will set him up for the championship.

5. Right half back – Paudie Foley (Wexford)

A behemoth in Davy Fitzgerald’s defence. A teak tough defender, he’s also well able to get forward and pick off scores. Enjoyed a consistent League campaign best highlighted by his awesome showing against Clare the day after a disappointing Fitzgibbon Cup final for him.

That’s character. That’s what it takes.

6. Centre back – Cillian Buckley (Kilkenny)

It was a League campaign for leaders and the best defender in the game broadened his shoulders and got to work. The Dicksboro club man is the most complete hurler in the country.

The Kilkenny captain is a rock at number 6.

7. Left half back – Seadna Morey (Clare)

He’s always had the hurling, the pace, the strength but in this League campaign his use of possession was top class too. A weapon for the Banner.

8. Midfield – Kevin Foley (Wexford)

The most industrious hurler in Wexford. Foley values possession of the sliotar like every pass or strike will the last time he’ll ever touch the leather. Some man to pick off a score, he’s also adept at giving that killer pass.

9. Midfield – Cian Lynch (Limerick)

The best first touch in the country comes from the Rolex wrists and silky hands of Patrickswell’s answer to Lionel Messi. Will control, flick or mop up any ball that enters his vicinity, he’s so clever when he gets it then.

A hurler at one with the game right now.

10. Right half forward – Rory O’Connor (Wexford)

He’s only 19 but he’s filling that Wexford jersey like he was been on the scene for years.

The St. Martin’s youngster from that famous O’Connor clan is a class act. He’ll run all day, he’ll hassle, harry and chase lost causes like a sheep dog let loose from the trailer.

He’s a real forward though and that’s what sets him apart. Scored some crucial points for the Model County in this League campaign, stepping up when they needed him.

He is the future.

11. Centre forward – TJ Reid (Kilkenny)

There are no words.

12. Left half forward – John McGrath (Tipperary)

John McGrath makes hurling look simple, makes rounding two defenders and pointing from the sideline look like topping an egg. Such a smooth deceptive mover, he doesn’t have to break stride to manipulate the rimmed leather to his next move.

Nearly always makes the right decision, be it pass or shot because he just seems to have that extra yard of space on his opponents. That’s no coincidence.

13. Right corner forward – Aaron Gillane (Limerick)

Limerick’s answer to John McGrath. Always seems to have time on the ball, always seems to pop up in acres. And that’s dangerous because he’d swing a hurley and a point over from a phone box.

Really impressed in an impressive Limerick League campaign where they defeated Galway and Clare and he’s now their go-too forward.

14. Full forward – Jason Forde (Tipperary)

Forde has been threatening for ages to do what he has in the last two months of this League. It can only be summed up by the fact that he will most likely be Tipperary’s starting 14 in the championship with Seamie Callanan expected to move to the corner or the wing.

15. Left corner forward – Walter Walsh (Kilkenny)

For a big man, the former Leinster rugby trialist has the pace of your fastest rugby winger. Showed that when smoking James Barry for his goal on Sunday. He’s a weapon in the air and his points are always a huge lift to the Kilkenny crowd and his teammates.

He’s versatile and moves around the forward line like a buzzing bee.