Kilkenny GAA Thread

Why in the name of God would blanchfieid call it a day? He's 25/26 .

Too bad he didn't stick around, he'd be a good leader to have on the team, still only 28.

From talking to a few kk hurling men the general feeling is they're dissapointed that things are staying the same. Its very unusual that a county board fully backs a management that isnt improving. Derek and rice were absolutely brillant servants to club and county and are trying their best but its very obvious this team is in decline. Derek has being way too conservative. From the team cody handed to him after the limerick defeat 3 years ago 12 of them started against tipp a few weeks ago. Padraig,conor browne,tommy walsh the 3 changes and 2 of them are finished. I dont accept that there isnt more jordon molloys or stephen donnellys in the county. McMahon for comer was exceptional last wknd and has had some great games for comer,we know that paul cody and tom kenny wouldnt go back in but he needs to go after these lads again.Same with Eddie donnelly. Oisin knox from vegas. I know ian byrne was away last year but glenore have a few good young lads. We cant go back to the likes of billy drennan next year. Eddie brennan will be a help around the squad but it desperately needed a clear out and freshess added to add a bit of excitement. Tom mullally would of being a great addition.

No way should he retire, if he used the ball quicker he is as good as there is out there. He takes forever to scan his options and loves that drag back dummy he uses all the time. I'd say the forwards are pulling their hair out. But he has all the attributes if he can work on things.

Still need a ball carrier and some pace in the team.

A very insightful contribution !!!!where would hurling be in this county or any other county for that matter without our teachers , again all voluntary?... Cop on to yourself.

Agree and God only knows what long term damage playing Mullen while injured will have on him going forward is it any wonder lads don't want to commit to County if this is the type of thing that is going on.Have to question how Physios,Doctors S&C etc can allow this situation to happen

Unless I am badly mistaken Mullen played the full final game of the round robin v Wexford Centre back and full game Leinster final v Galway and showed no signs of any injury. There was no injury apparent in the semi final and I know John Mullane criticised him after that game ,not for his display rather his reaction to being subbed. Strange one.

That is quite a statement! I wonder what Shefflin would make of yours? Quite accusatory. I would like to think that management would have player welfare at the heart of their decision making! I would not question the professional credibility or integrity of the back room team including physios, doctors etc I would be wholly confident that they would 100% uphold all professional standards and best practice by not allowing injured players play.

If people don't have a burning desire to play for Kilkenny then they have no business anywhere near a panel. It's hard to get on the panel never mind get on the team. How long did it take TJ to claim a starting place on that team.

I heard that interview. Henry was not in the county camp and is not in possession of all the facts . The Kilkenny medical team Doctors and Physios are. They are people of the highest integrity in medicine . Who are you or indeed Henry to question them?

I am commenting on what Henry said regarding Mullen carrying serious injury I have no idea whether this is true or not.I would like to think that everyone connected with Kilkenny teams are full of integrity/best intentions however should Henry's claims be true do you not think questions have to asked of everyone

One would wonder why our physio has stepped away and won't return next year. A very highly respected and top class physio by all accounts.

Awful lot of rumours and speculation being posted here and whilst there's no smoke without fire nobody here actually knows what's going/gone on. Then you have people reading this forum, maybe not posting, and relaying these comments to people in real life (Jaysus I heard Doherty left because he didn't like that selector, Jaysus I heard the physio left because Mullen was injured) as if they're in the know and all this speculation gets super charged. I realise this is a discussion forum and it's entertaining to read all this stuff but if you don't KNOW something as fact, take a second before you press confirm

Well there goes half the posts in every thread then..... 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Regarding the Mullen injury obviously unless your in the setup with kk you don’t know the full story but when shefflin mentions what he did in an interview that can be replayed for anyone to listen to it’s pretty much coming from the horses mouth

If there’s 30 players on a pitch there is a fair chance a lot of them are carrying some kind of knocks or niggles nobody is 100% fit all the time

Some will do anything to be on the pitch for the business end of there season including getting injections or painkillers etc

Read any sports persons autobiography and they ll mention this or knowing there not 100% fit going out or struggle through a fitness test but do enough convince management there good to go

I’m pretty sure j Donnelly wasn’t 100% fit in 2024 and he had played most of the games

Mick Fennelly and r hogan are 2 other examples

I think it’s probably unfair to blame medical staff or the player or the management in this scenario everyone wants to be out there and give the team the best chance of winning

The mistake the management did probably make was to leave Mullen on so long when he was struggling in the semi