When the bleeding started against Wexford, Eoin Murphy scanned Nowlan Park for a black and amber Band-Aid.
As soon as the Kilkenny goalkeeper spotted TJ Reid, Murphy raised his left hand in the air and proceeded to launch the sliotar down on top of the Ballyhale clubman.
It was the 66th minute of the contest and though the Cats led by two points, Wexford were in the ascendancy. Cian Byrne had goaled moments earlier and immediately afterwards Lee Chin sent a long-distance free just wide. Kilkenny were under the cosh.
In such situations, the default setting over the years has been to seek out Reid. Murphy’s puck-out went long towards the opposition 65, where Reid emerged from a forest of bodies to collect the ball. Siege lifted.
Seán Moran: Ratios shift ominously as the GAA fights to hold its audience
Decision on Ulster quarter-final venue put off as Antrim double down on Corrigan Park
Proposal to allow GAA clubs make facilities available to other sports to be voted on at Congress
Aidan Forker set for two-game suspension after red card for headbutt on Michael Murphy
In the first minute of injury-time, Reid cleverly changed the direction of his run to cut across Eoin Ryan and force the Wexford defender to make contact and concede a close-range free. Reid pointed said free.
Wexford went down the field and Chin pointed. From the resulting puck-out, Murphy scanned downfield, raised his left hand and everybody knew what was coming. Kilkenny won the game by a single point.
Among the array of Reid’s talents, his Velcro hands remain a superpower – that bravery and willingness to launch himself skyward through a hail of hurls is as potent as ever. However, in other aspects of play in recent games – including his shooting accuracy – Reid hasn’t quite reached the heights of previous seasons.
That sounds strange considering he scored 1-13 against Wexford – all from placed balls – but he also hit three uncharacteristic wides from scoreable positions over the course of the game, including one late on.
During the second half of Kilkenny’s previous outing against Dublin, Reid missed three long-distance frees and dropped another short. In both matches he wasn’t as influential to the pattern of the game in open play as might previously have been the case and his trademark powerful surges through defences weren’t on show.
“I wouldn’t have any worries about TJ,” says his former Kilkenny team-mate Richie Hogan.
“I think the later the championship goes on, he’ll improve. It’s been maybe a slower start than he would have previously had, but he didn’t have the rest this year that he would have had in previous years.
“When your club gets so far in the All-Ireland, you miss a lot of that winter training and you’re a little bit kind of fresher coming through than other guys who have been maybe training hard since late November. Because the club is a completely different level. It can be a nice break.”
Reid is 36 years old now and it is unfair to expect the seven-time All Star to keep conjuring up magic on demand.
He joined the Kilkenny panel in 2007 and among his truckload of honours is a collection of seven All-Ireland senior hurling championships and 12 Leinster senior hurling titles.
The 2015 Hurler of the Year has been one of the greatest to ever play the game. On Saturday at Croke Park he could become the first player in history to surpass the 700 points mark in championship hurling.
Reid is currently the leading all-time championship scorer with 32-591 (687) but remains locked in an ongoing arm-wrestle at the top of that leader board with Cork’s Patrick Horgan on 28-592 (676). Over the next few weeks, we will be witnessing a shoot-out for history.
But Hogan is not convinced this is any sort of swansong season for Reid.
“TJ trains incredibly hard and his whole lifestyle is dedicated to keeping the body in a shape that allows him to go out on to the pitch. I think he can definitely last and contribute to Kilkenny for another couple of years,” Hogan says.
The next couple of weeks, that is what matters right now though. Kilkenny are chasing a first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship crown since 2015 and they enter Saturday’s Leinster final hoping to win a fifth consecutive provincial title.
The Cats are favourites to come out on top, but Dublin almost had Kilkenny’s measure at Parnell Park last month and will fancy their chances in the wide open spaces of Croke Park.
Which is where Reid’s prowess in the air might prove to be pivotal.
[ Tactical breakdown: Dublin and Clare both have weapons to end the long waitOpens in new window ]
“With TJ, at his age, it’s just about how can we focus on impact rather than output,” Hogan says. “We can’t expect TJ to be running up and down the pitch at 36 years of age, doing all of the things that all of the other players on the Kilkenny team can do, like hooking and blocking and tackling and overturning players.
“TJ is an outstanding catcher of the ball and he has a brilliant pair of hands. I’d like to see us getting more out of TJ in that sense.
“Whether that’s put him on the edge of the square where he played against Limerick or whether that’s play him in the half-forward line for 20 minutes and then move him to the full-forward line and back, but definitely trying to get the best position for TJ within the team will be vital for Kilkenny over the next couple of weeks.”
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
