WE ASKED KILKENNY legend Henry Shefflin to pick three key players from each team for Sunday’s meeting of Galway and Kilkenny in the 2015 All-Ireland senior hurling final at Croke Park. Here’s what he came up with…
GALWAY
Jonathan Glynn
“I’ve been very impressed by the level of physicality he’s brought to it. His aggression has really set the tone for the rest of the players in the forward division to follow.”
Cyril Donnellan
“I’m going a bit left-field with this one because he’s a player who hasn’t really been spoken about, but I think Cyril Donnellan could have a big impact. We haven’t seen too much of him this year but he’s a very good player who I think could potentially grab the game by the scruff of the neck.”
Cathal Mannion
“He’s been a massive find. His striking and his movement have been very impressive. The one game he did struggle in this year was against Kilkenny in the Leinster final when they really tied him up, so it’s going to be a big challenge for him.”
KILKENNY
Cillian Buckley
“He’s come on leaps and bounds. Last year brought him on and getting the All Star has given him a real boost in confidence, which let him know that he’s a big player now for Kilkenny. He’s performed brilliantly and I’ve been very impressed.”
TJ Reid/Richie Hogan
“I’m cheating a little bit here by including these two in one spot, but Richie and TJ come as a pair. They’ve been synonymous with Kilkenny’s best performances, they’re always to the fore when it matters most.”
Colin Fennelly
“Another slightly left-field one here, he’s someone who might come out of the pack and grab the attention on Sunday. He’s worked seriously hard all year — I’d say his stats on hooking, blocking and tackling are very good – and I would hope that he can bring the scores to his game for this one.”
Centra’s ‘Champion of Healthy Living’ ambassador Henry Shefflin was named Ireland’s favourite hurler in a survey conducted at Centra’s community hurling events this summer.
Almost 5,000 children turned out for Centra’s ‘Champions of Healthy Living’ events across 13 different locations during the championship season, with a selection of the finest inter-county stars.
The events travelled to counties from Cork to Donegal and Galway to Dublin with hurling stars such as Henry Shefflin, Patrick Horgan and Conal Keaney on hand to give budding hurlers form local clubs the chance to learn from the best in the game.
