Preview- Kilkenny chase more glory with Leinster title on the line against Galway

It’s back to Croke Park this weekend as Kilkenny bid to win a sixth consecutive Leinster senior hurling championship title when they face Galway.

It’s a ninth final meeting between the counties since they first met in the province in 2009 and the Cats will be looking to continue their relative dominance over the Tribesmen.

In those nine final meetings - 10 if you include one replay - Galway have only come out on top twice, in 2012 and 2018. That sort of statistic is something that won’t sit well west of the Shannon.

Kilkenny claimed the Bob O’Keeffe Cup at Galway’s expense in 2010, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Having already accounted for Michael Donoghue’s side at the beginning of the round-robin, the Noresiders will be big favourites to add to their provincial tally.

When it comes to the crunch, Kilkenny have largely shown up when it matters most. The Cats have been there or thereabouts in the big games, so the question marks are mainly surrounding Galway this time around.

While their form dipped towards the end of Henry Shefflin’s term as manager at the back end of 2024, if you discount the first defeat to the Cats, Galway have bounced back well with four wins on the spin.

They are still in transition somewhat but that round one loss is bound to see them travel to GAA HQ with huge motivation on Sunday and in many ways they are returning to a venue where they have unfinished business.

Cillian Buckley’s last-gasp goal in this fixture two years ago saw the counties go on two very different paths and Galway still have a bit to prove to suggest they can take on the Cats at a stage they have made their own.

While the Cats have failed to bring home the Liam MacCarthy Cup during this Leinster spell of success, a possible six-in-a-row on Sunday would still be quite the achievement.

Like in recent years, they have largely gone under the radar as they completed their business in the Leinster round-robin with minimum fuss.

The Galway and Dublin victories came either side of huge margin wins at the expense of Antrim and Offaly and apart from the Dubs second half rally, which definitely gave Kilkenny a fright for a period, the tests for the Cats have been few and far between.

Galway’s renaissance in recent weeks should ensure that it’s a competitive decider and that would be a huge positive to both counties if it occurs as Kilkenny have had a few turkeyshoot deciders during their dominant spell in the province.

While the four wins out of four have had a routine look, it’s been far from a straight-forward few weeks for Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng with injuries being the main concern for the Urlingford man.

The biggest issue looks to be Luke Hogan after he hobbled off in the Dublin win and while he wasn’t an automatic starter, his direct style was a huge asset off the bench and his season definitely looks in doubt at this point.

Eoin Cody and Shane Murphy are the other short-term doubts with the manager recently confirming that both are on the right track but whether Sunday comes too quick remains to be seen.

Elsewhere the Kilkenny team picks itself in many ways but there has still been a few interesting selection calls in recent weeks.

None more so than the placing of Adrian Mullen at centre back in the recent dead rubber clash with Wexford and while it would be a very bold call to place him there for a Leinster Final, it’s clearly a position that the Cats are still trying to perfect with Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan, Mikey Carey and David Blanchfield all playing there at different stages throughout the season.

Whoever mans the heart of the defence, one of the main objectives for Sunday will be to curb the influence of Cathal Mannion with the roving forward putting up huge scores for Galway in recent weeks.

Add in the return to form of Conor Whelan, Tom Monaghan and Brian Concannon and there is more than enough to keep Kilkenny occupied in training this week.

The two counties come into Sunday with different expectations and objectives as a Leinster title would make Galway’s season, no matter what follows considering where they are coming from which is in contrast to Kilkenny where this final is just another stopping point on the road to their ultimate aim of winning the All-Ireland title.

As ever there is a big prize for the winner with automatic entry to an All-Ireland semi-final and a month’s break being a huge benefit. Expect the Cats to achieve that aim after a tough battle.