National Hurling League Final 2023 - KK v the Limericks

The question is where are they going to come from. 1-9 they were virtually unplayable today. Countless times Kilkenny had to play the ball back into their own half in order to get a shot off. At one stage they managed to work it up to the ff line and still had to pass it back to midfield to get a shot off from the same period of possesion

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He was ropey enough as a back in 2020 but he’s really improved since.

The kick pass was unreal. I’d say Lynch himself was impressed by that.

Hannon would have played all his minor & schools hurling at centre-back, so it wasn’t a crazy move. The way the game moved aswell, centre-back suited him.

But Nash had only played a little bit at wing-back for his club before being moved to the backs. I was sceptical of it tbh, it’s a really specialist position but he’s improved so much on the defensive side of it, it’s crazy. And they’ve basically reinvented the position as a result. A ballsy move from Kiely, Kinnerk, SOD etc and fair play to Nash for making it work.

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Of course.

He’s still ropey enough when he has to defend one-on-one, but tis rare that happens

He is. When you think about it, if you grow up hurling in the corner it’s part of your identity, your personality. You live the position. He’s not that. He’s making some fist of the position he’s playing but it’s not ‘corner back’ in the sense Sean Finn is a ‘corner back’.

If Limerick had a decent rival who could push up we wouldn’t get away with the luxury of a ball player back there dictating alongside Hannon.

But we don’t. And he’s outstanding back there. Long may he continue.

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His mother must have been a forward

Still, he’s got way better at it compared to when he first moved back.

I never thought I’d say it but I’d be happy enough for him to just do a job as a traditional corner-back now, I wouldn’t expect him to get roasted by anyone tbh.

Being so good in the air and being very quick obviously helps but he’s got way better and just getting those little flicks in and pushing defenders away from goal. Out-and-out tackling has always been his weakness, luckily defenders don’t have to do that that often if they’re playing the game properly.

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When the game was gone to shit today I gave a few minutes just watching Nash. He was incredible to watch. When the ball was far enough away that KK could only reach the half back line with a clearance he was hovering behind the half back line. When they got further up the field he was back sweeping in front of the full back line. You’d be thinking he has great positional sense, and he does, but he works hard to be in the right place all the time it’s not some sort of magic. He was up and down between the lines constantly. Then when we had the ball he was looking for it and trying to be off the shoulder. He covers some ground.

DODs GPS stats must be off the charts as well today. He was everywhere

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You’d an esteemed poster from a south eastern county laughing at him last year when he fluffed a free in a league match, same county hasn’t won an AI in 64 years :sweat_smile:

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Yeah, really good from him off the ball.

Even on Kilkenny puckouts, they were often going with 4 across the half-forward line and he would push right up then to make sure that there was nobody free. The minute the ball didn’t come his way, he was sitting back in the pocket as the “third full-back” but as Kilkenny were only playing two inside for large periods, he became the spare man again.

And then there were times, obviously, where he did have to pick a man and he didn’t get beaten at all I don’t think today. Kilkenny definitely didn’t occupy him enough but once we turn the ball over, he’s immediately rushing the opposite way, which must be a nightmare for opposition forwards. Still has a forward’s instincts playing in the backs.

And that’s not even talking about his actual skill levels; those thirty/forty-yard passes from our 20m line through bodies up to our 65; they’re not easy. He gets them right the vast majority of the time.

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A little stardust was sprinkled over limerick pregnancies in 94-96 for the gaa scene.

Having coached with those age groups, we did see it by ages 14/15 in the clubs and hoped to see it profit. The minor defeat of 2014 was a hard knock but the progress in 2015 at u21 suggested that it would come good. Those of us who attended the u21 medal presentation of October 2015 at the woodlands saw that JK was the man to lead the way. I do wonder if his speech that night was recorded.

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Was that where he urged patience? They knew what was coming but they needed time

Admins?

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The site of Wally Walsh walking past him in on goal without a glove being laid on him on last yrs final should be on the minds on any intercounty manager worth a wank. KK got a hell of a lot right in last yrs final Isolate Mike Casey and Barry Nash in the fullback line and lorry ball on top of them. Have your wingbacks manmark the Lim wingforwards, leave your fullback line isolated but thrust them to win that battle with the Lim fullforward line. It took Hego having the game of his life to get them over the line.

I don’t remember KK getting this part remotely right. The Limerick h-f line did rack.

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:rollseyes:

Was Barry Murphy just hooked at half time or was there a knock? Hard to judge at the game yesterday but I would have thought he did okay in the first half

What did he say?