Mikey Butler has heaped praise on his O’Loughlin Gaels teammates Owen Wall and David Bolger.
The O’Loughlin’s forwards have been crucial for Brian Hogan’s side this season as they advanced to the senior championship quarter-final where they will play Mullinavat on Saturday at half past 1 live on KCLR.
It's shaping up to be a busy weekend of live hurling and football on @kclr96fm with 9 games under the microscope from the Scoreline sports team.
— Scoreline.ie (@scorelinesport) September 26, 2023
We've got quarter-final & relegation final action in @KilkennyCLG while it's county final weekend in @Carlow_GAA.
Who's your picks? pic.twitter.com/JVDYcFWcze
See more: Get all the reactions from this weekends games
Speaking after they defeated city rivals James Stephens in last weekend’s shield final, 2022 Young Hurler of the Year Butler elaborated on the importance of the forwards.
“The boys are flying in there, thank God. Hopefully, they’ll keep it up.”
“Get the ball in the middle, it’ll bounce right in front of them, you’ll find the result will come when they get the ball in their hand.”
Also speaking after that game, O’Loughlin’s manager Brian Hogan said the 5-20 to 2-15 win against their city rivals James Stephens will be insignificant once their first championship game of the year gets underway.
“Realistically there’s not many lads going to remember who won the shield when it comes to the end of the season. It is all about the championship
“It’s a good preparation but really you know the focus turns to the championship now. It’s important that the lads get their heads tuned in for the challenge.”
See also: “We know hurling is not forever” Mark Bergin vows to stay going for as long as he can
Check out KCLR’s The Kilkenny Hurling Podcast.
Each week Robbie Dowling and former Blacks and Whites manager Eddie Scally cast their eye over all the action from the weekend’s senior, intermediate, and junior league and championship games as well as looking ahead to the next round of action.
In the eight-episode, we look back at a bumper weekend of championship action that included Tullaroan’s exit in the first round.
We also give our take on the upcoming senior quarter-finals including the mouth-watering clash of Ballyhale Shamrocks v Dicksboro and the scheduling of this weekend’s minor finals is debated.
