Paul Murphy Column: "It’s hard to pick Kilkenny’s starting 15 at the minute"

Dublin started off well in the game on Saturday, but really once Kilkenny got to grips with them they had far too much for them.

A lot of people knew that was always going to be the case and although Dublin kicked into action in the second half for a bit and made it a bit fiery, realistically Kilkenny still had far too much for them. They didn’t really kick out of third or fourth gear at any stage.

Nevertheless, Kilkenny will be looking at a few ball handling errors. Their passing wasn’t as slick as where they’d like it, but if there was a bit more pressure from Dublin I’m sure they would have shorn that up a bit.

Really it was a routine victory for Kilkenny and they had too much firepower whereas Dublin were really lacking a small bit up front to put Kilkenny under any real pressure.

Our defence held strong too, with Huw Lawlor and Mikey Butler winning some great ball but Derek and the lads won’t be happy with everything either. They’d like to be a bit more slicker heading towards a possible Leinster final.

With regards points Kilkenny are where they want to be and they’ll be happy to have another game out of the way with another two points added to their tally.

It’s incredible to think that TJ Reid was able to pass the 600-point mark at the weekend as well. It’s hard to know when you are playing with players like TJ whether they’d ever reach that level as you have to get lucky with injuries.

TJ has been hugely consistent over the last few years though. Passing 600 points in championship hurling may have looked impossible to reach at one stage, but it’s remarkable for himself and Patrick Horgan to get there and it just speaks to their longevity and their ability as players to consistently score over the 10 point mark in every game.

It’s a great achievement for TJ - he and Patrick Horgan will probably be tit for tat for the next few weeks and they’ll always be near the top of the scoring ranks in hurling history.

TJ’s brother Richie has been a great man to get on ball and he’s a big presence as well as regards being very involved in the game.

He’s also a big focal point for the Kilkenny attack as he sweeps across the half-back line and gets on loads of ball.

He always gets the head up too and is a great lad to deliver the ball.

When Richie is sitting there at number six, he’s very much like Declan Hannon for Limerick or Tadhg De Burca for Waterford in the way he builds attacks .

He’s obviously an excellent defender as well and Kilkenny now have a bit of time to look at his injury. They may not play him against Wexford, but they will certainly want to have him back for a Leinster final.

Kilkenny function better as a defence when Richie Reid is there. Hopefully the injury is not too serious - he still managed to pick up the Man of the Match award - Derek Lyng and the management team will want him back on the pitch as soon as possible if Kilkenny want to function well going forward.

When you look at Tom Phelan he’s been a really solid player, especially with Conahy Shamrocks over the last few years. He’s really developed in his physical strength.

His hurling has never been in any doubt and he has excellent pace.

He’s certainly one of those players that brings a lot to the Kilkenny attack and the management will want as many options as they possibly can have because with each game they’ll be trying to cut their cloth to measure.

Having Tom’s ability on the wing is certainly a great asset and even when you at the defence, David Blanchfield and Darragh Corcoran are really similar players and both are close to six foot five.

They are both very physical and if you are going to be playing the likes of Limerick or Galway down the line, that type of player and physicality is a huge thing to have.

When you see the type of players that Kilkenny are now introducing - even with Billy Drennan coming in for TJ - you can see that there is lots of players competing. It’s very hard to pick a Kilkenny 15 at the moment if you were to try and pick one for a Leinster final or an All-Ireland semi-final.

That’s the way the management will want it though as they’ll want to see lads looking over their shoulders and you can see that with boys putting their hands up.

Looking ahead to Wexford at the weekend I think Derek will just want to win the game first and foremost but he’ll also want to get one over them considering the teams have shared victories on different days over the last few weeks .

There’s been a bit of a rivalry there but I think from a mental battle, going forward, Derek will be thinking about going down to Wexford Park and getting a win to keep his own team hungry and focussed.

I don’t think there’s any huge benefit to resting a lot of players when a lot of the lads have already got decent breaks in between games and Kilkenny haven’t been overly tested in other games either.

Derek and the lads will be going down to Wexford Park knowing that the home side will be out for a reaction after the Westmeath defeat.

Kilkenny will only be worried about themselves and I think we’ll see a strong team named for Sunday.