Limerick ready to collect first silverware of their season

Allianz National Hurling League Division One final: Limerick v Kilkenny, Sunday, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 2pm – Live on TG4

After a colourless, soulless, feckless league, at least there is a final that might stand for something other than deception.

Of all the things Derek Lyng might have inherited from Brian Cody, treating this competition with a degree of earnestness is the first obvious nod to his predecessor.

It rarely requires an all-out assault to land in the final, and Kilkenny have essentially managed it this year without access to about a third of their championship team, including a gallery of Ballyhale stars.

In that regard, it helped that they were in the weaker half of the Division One carve-up, and they didn’t need to be hectic to pick up results.

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Seasoned Nowlan Park watchers reckoned that the home games against Waterford and Dublin were two of the worst intercounty games played there in living memory, while Kilkenny were flattered to lose to Tipperary by just six points in round two, on a day when the visitors shot 19 wides.

In Cody’s final years he had already surrendered to the modern fashion for short puck-outs and moving the ball deliberately. But in Lyng’s first league Kilkenny have added an extra pass, or more, to that process, and bedding in that change has made them look cumbersome at times.

Paddy Deegan has settled into new role in the half-forward line – a strong man who has a soft side in possession – and Billy Drennan has been brilliant from dead balls in his breakthrough season; his overall contribution from general play is still under scrutiny.

Padraig Walsh could end up anywhere in the backs when the championship comes around, but Huw Lawlor still looks more comfortable at number three than number six.

Limerick have auditioned a staggering amount of players during the league, but in terms of starting positions for the championship, eight All-Stars will be fighting for six places in defence, and there is one obvious vacancy in the attack.

Seamus Flanagan’s form has been dull, and with Graeme Mulcahy recast more as a finisher now than a starter, Shane O’Brien, Adam English, Micheal Houlihan, Donnacha Ó Dalaigh and last year’s brightest newcomer Cathal O’Neill have all made a case, without the question being resolved. Whatever happens tomorrow, the in-house matches will sort that out.

Kilkenny will make it awkward, but Limerick could win by seven or eight points if they put their mind to it. Why wouldn’t they?

Verdict: Limerick