Former Galway Senior manager Cyril Farrell says Kilkenny have plenty of forward power to reestablish themselves as All-Ireland contenders.
Speaking exclusively to KCLR, Cyril says no one will want to play Kilkenny if they get to the All-Ireland Quarter-Final.
“They still have marquee forwards like when you look at them closely. Like Richie Hogan has back spasms there, well if he comes right again, they have Colin Fennelly, I think (Ger) Aylward will come right, you have TJ Reid, you have Walter Walsh these boys like, I know they are not playing brilliant at the moment at times but if they come back into form, I suppose if they get the two wins in the Round Robin, come back in, everyone will fear playing them, no one will want to play them.
“Okay, they are not what they were but that doesn’t mean they can’t go back on and win again. I was actually talking to Brian the other day like. He knows that Kilkenny are not as good as they were but he is quietly confident. With the draw been made, I think he will say Limerick will be hard to beat but everyone expects Kilkenny to win down in Nowlan Park,” he said.
Farrell also says it’s a very big year for Galway with Kilkenny gone back to the pack.
“Kilkenny have come back to the pack. Like, when Kilkenny were good like they were so far ahead. They were the hot favourites, they were the benchmark every year and they were doing the business.
“Now that they have come back to the pack with a lot of the pack and with Tipp maybe not as good as people thought they were, all of a sudden their is a gap to be filled and Galway would feel like that this is the year to fill it because if they don’t go out and do the business this year it will be harder again next year.
“They are a while around the top knocking around their or thereabouts and like you get a few years at the top and if you don’t take your chance, you can’t stay there you can actually come back so to me like it’s a very very big year for Galway.”
