TJ Reid has committed to playing his 17th season and possibly beyond in an interview with ourgame.ie last night.
TJ spoke ahead of any announcement being made in regards to the vacant Kilkenny manager position. Ultimately Derek Lyng has been named as Brian Cody’s successor. No doubt the Emeralds man will be buoyed by the news that TJ will continue in the black and amber.
See also: Derek Lyng confirmed as new Kilkenny senior hurling manager
It is a rare sight for an intercounty player to be still going in his mid-thirties, but TJ is no ordinary player as we all know. Fitness is his life of course running his own gym in TJ Reid Health and Fitness. His overall health, combined with the performance of Kilkenny in the Championship gave TJ the impetus to go on;
“Back in 2019, we lost to Tip, and half the team that played in the All Ireland final two weeks ago in 2022, there were 6 or 7 new lads. The team is very young, the average age is about 24 or 25 and if you take myself out of it, it goes right back down. We have a young team coming through, some great players. The under the ’20s bet Limerick in a great All Ireland final, and we will have a few of those players coming through as well.”
Embed from Getty Images“The important thing is that we are competing. Last few years we got to the semifinals and did not get over the line, that was a big motivation this year. Try to get back to the All Ireland final and compete and we did so.”
There is a great future for Kilkenny, Brian has left Kilkenny hurling in a great place.”
The Shamrocks man made it very evident that the absence of a Liam McCarthy certainly plays is certainly playing on his mind and he was quite determined in a separate interview saying;
“It’s in my head every year that we haven’t won an All-Ireland since 2015”
Listen to the full interview with Shane Stapleton on OurGame.ie, where TJ also goes into the club scene with the Shamrocks below :
TJ Reid joins us now to talk about hurling and much more
— OurGame.ie (@OurGameHQ) August 4, 2022
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