In fairness, Limerickâs movement last year was really good. Hegarty hasnât been quite as lively this year and neither has Lynch, Kyleâs runs were unreal last year. Tom always a live threat tbf.
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Itâs definitely a weak line but hard to see limericks half forward line being as electric as last year.
Iâm a little bit surprised it seems Mikey butler will follow Peter Casey.
Casey ended up everywhere last time v Galway and if butler follows him I think itâs huge for Limerick. Casey isnât as key as a Tony Kelly so it would be a huge win for Limerick imo.
I reckon Blanchfield will start
Limerick will be shitting themselves if Butler causes the same problems out the middle of the field, running forward, as he did in the semis.
3D chess as ye call it on here.
If youâre only playing 3D chess youâre at nothing.
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It just looks an obvious ploy for Pete to give him a tour of croke park and create loads of space for gillane and Flanagan
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BEST OF LUCK TO JOHN AND ALL THE LADS NEXT SUNDAY REALLY HOPE DECLAN HANNON IS OKAY HE HAS A SORE KNEE THESE LADS GIVE EVERYTHING FOR LIMERICK WE NEED TO GET BEHIND THE LADS ALL DAY THEY DESERVE OUR TOTAL SUPPORT FOR THE ALL IRELAND FINAL ON SUNDAY IN DUBLIN
COME ON LIMERICK ALWAYS
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IVE BEEN TO EVERY MATCH FOR THE LAST 4 million YEARS. Whereâs my ticket?
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I was working in Kilkenny yesterday and KK people really believe they will beat limerick this year.all Iâm hearing is of how better prepared they are to take down limerickâŚI get the sense this match is going to be incredibly physical.
There is massive belief that they will win even more so than last year.limerick need big games out of Hego and Lynch if they are quiet we will be in big troubleâŚwe need a better start than what we had against GalwayâŚ
Kilkenny ex players turned pundits and supporters have been very bullish alright. Shades Cork 2021 in that regard, dare I say.
But this Kilkenny side will die on their backs. We couldnât kill them last year and only won by 2 despite being about 8 points better.
If Will is at 6 Iâd be concerned about Mullenâs influence midfield and the supply he may be able to give Cody inside early doors. If it gives KK a cushion, theyâll be difficult to reel in. There will be no collapse a lĂĄ Tipp or Galway or Cork.
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Kilkenny are better than last year but Limerick may be the greatest of all time
For players, All-Ireland finals are never just about the match. Not in the build-up. You might try to tell people that nothing else matters â and thatâs true, when you boil everything down â but youâre not going to get through the build-up without being pulled in other directions, whether you like it or not.
Limerick and Kilkenny have been in this position so many times in recent years that theyâll both have a routine and the players will take comfort in that. Extra gear will be handed out, suit-fittings will be done, the sponsors might need something, a couple of players will be rolled out for media. The playersâ ticket needs will be looked after too, as much as possible, and thatâs the one thing that can drag on.
I would say, for most players, tickets are the biggest issue in the build-up. Team managers donât like their players getting bogged down in that. I remember one year being asked for 64 tickets. Thereâs a big family of us so nearly half of that number were for close relatives and you donât want to let any of them down.
But I was also getting requests from cousins I barely knew existed. On top of that, people never seem to ask for one ticket â itâs always two, or four. Some people just donât have a clue. You end up trying to source hurling tickets from counties who are in the football final, and promising to pay them back with football tickets, which always ends up being a hassle. For most of the tickets, though, you have the fork out the money in advance, and at âŹ90 a pop that adds up fast.
The year that I had to find 64 tickets my brother Frank took the pressure off me. But, in a funny way, I didnât mind being involved because it was a distraction. You canât allow the match to take over your mind for a fortnight. Youâd be worn out before a ball was pucked.
Itâs interesting that neither team is staying in Dublin for the traditional banquets on Sunday night. Whether that was an issue with cost or availability, or whether they just had a preference for going home, Iâm not sure.
Iâve been to four of those banquets and as a player theyâre hard to enjoy. When you lose you feel like youâve let everyone down and youâre not in the form for meeting people, or talking about the match, or making small talk. People mean well, and they try to pick you up, but youâre just in no form for it.
The funny thing is, the year we won the All-Ireland I didnât enjoy the banquet either. On a night like that you really want to spend time with your family and friends and team-mates, but you end up being dragged in every direction. You canât walk two yards without being stopped. Youâve no peace.
Craic
I went to bed earlier that night than I did after the three All-Irelands we lost. The really enjoyable time was in the bus going home the following day, when the craic was mighty and it was just the players and management, and nobody else.
Kilkenny have been waiting 12 months for another crack off Limerick. You canât count the league final. Thereâs no way that Kilkenny went all-out for that match and it has no relevance to the game this weekend.
I think Kilkenny are better than they were a year ago. Brian Cody had made changes to Kilkennyâs style in recent years but under Derek Lyng I think theyâre even more comfortable with the modern way of playing. Tom Phelan has been a good addition in the half-forward line; Tommy Walsh was a newcomer last year, but he has established himself now; Mikey Butler had a brilliant breakthrough season in 2022 but I think he has improved again.
Kilkenny are not going to tie themselves up in knots trying to work out a strategy for Limerick. Theyâre going to be aggressive in their set-up and savagely aggressive in their play. With every Kilkenny team, workrate and a never-say-die attitude are a given. It might sound simple, but not every team has those qualities.
Kilkenny will have a sting in them from last year, when they know they had a chance but couldnât take it. That will be in their minds far more than the league final.
For Limerick, this is their chance to make history. Only two other teams have won four hurling All-Irelands in a row â Cork in the 1940s and Brian Codyâs great Kilkenny team between 2006 and 2009.
Peak
If Limerick pull it off, I think thereâs a strong case that theyâre the greatest team of all time. With all due respect to Kilkenny, who were an absolutely phenomenal team, the route that Limerick have had to face to win their All-Irelands has been tougher. Under Cody at that time, Kilkenny only had to peak for a couple of games at the end of the summer.
Joes take on the match.
Limerick havenât had that luxury in the Munster round-robin. The championship is harder now, simple as that.
I hate going against Kilkenny in any match, especially an All-Ireland final. Theyâre good enough to win it, and they will have that belief in themselves. But this group of Limerick players are incredibly tough to crack. You can see that theyâre not satisfied. Theyâre absolutely focused on winning as much as they can, while they can.
Limerick have been in a few tight corners over the last couple of years, and they could be in another one on Sunday. But I donât think theyâll be stopped.
Hard to believe eoin Cody was subbed with 15 to go in last years final.
Says more about Sean Finn than Cody.
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True
Iâve Finn down as maybe the best corner back of my lifetime.
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I wonder will Kilkenny put Donnelly Reid and Cody inside for a period and play very direct.
Leave WOD free at 6 if he is indeed there and man mark Hayes and byrnes.
Cody done something similar in 2019 where he left Limerick hit short puck outs to Casey and English whose distribution isnât the best.
This would look like a fairly obvious tactic to me.
You want absolutely nothing to do with Mullen in mid field as well.
KKvLIM EMurphy MButler HLawlor TWalsh DBlanchfield RReid PDeegan CFogarty AMullen TPhelan MKeoghan JDonnelly BRyan TJReid ECody Subs DBrennan CDelaney CBuckley PWalsh DCorcoran AMurphy CKenny TClifford WWalsh RHogan BDrennan
Blanchfield is named anyway not that it means a whole lot
Is Cillian Buckleyâs wedding still going ahead tomorrow?