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Chasing Excellence

'I had to change up a lot of things': How Colin Fennelly stepped up to be one of Kilkenny's key men

Cats’ star eyeing up a second provincial title when Ballyhale Shamrocks take on Kilcormac/Killoughey in the Leinster final.

TO MOST OBSERVERS, Colin Fennelly had nothing to prove.  A fine hurler, with two All-Ireland medals before the age of 24, and a vital cog in the Kilkenny attack.

But Brian Cody’s culture of excellence is so ruthless and relentless that no man, no matter how decorated, is ever completely safe.

Just ask Tommy Walsh.

We know how the story ended for Fennelly — with another Celtic Cross and a first Allstar award after a campaign in which he left no doubts about his importance to the Cats.

It started with a quiet ultimatum from the man at the top. Fitness isn’t an attribute in which you’d expect an army man to be lacking but Fennelly knew himself that there was plenty of room for improvement.

He’s based in Kilkenny barracks along with team-mates Eoin Larkin and Paul Murphy. Adding an extra bit of endurance work to his daily workout was never going to be an issue.

“Cody said at the start of the year that fitness had to improve or you won’t be able to start,” he explained as the focus switches to club Ballyhale Shamrocks and the pursuit of another Leinster title against Kilcormac/Killoughey this afternoon.

That was crucial for myself. I’d no problem sprinting for 100 yards but it was after that, what happened?

“Then he said my striking had to improve, hitting a ball off the wall every day. A 5 year-old does it every day and I had to do it too. That certainly improved my game.

“Looking back over games last year, I was pretty embarrassed looking at balls that I was mis-hitting that I shouldn’t have been mis-hitting. I didn’t mis-hit them this year. It’s a huge confidence thing as well.”

The results are indisputable. Fennelly scored 2-20 in the Championship, all from play, the highest return on the team with the exception of free-taker TJ Reid.

But the impact was just as visible at the other end. Better fitness means a better workrate off the ball, and without that, there was no way that Fennelly would have closed the gap on Graeme Mulcahy in the All-Ireland semi-final and intervened with a perfectly-timed block.

It was highlighted as one of the tackles of the year in John Mullane’s championship review, a category which was topped again by a master of the art: the recently retired JJ Delaney for his hook on Seamus Callanan in the All-Ireland replay.

“That’s probably coming from Cody straight away,” Fennelly adds, “getting my fitness up for the half-forward line, and them sort of things bring me into the game.

“I was talking to JJ Delaney during the year and he was saying you don’t need to get a score to get into the game — get a hook or block, it’s just as good.

“They’re the kind of things they say in the dressing-room, that if you do get a block in, it will get you into the game.”

– Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) v Kilcormac/Killoughey, 2pm, Portlaoise (live on TG4)

Praise for JJ from Kilkenny teammates, hurling opponents and Gaelic footballers

There’s one last game on in Páirc Uí Chaoimh this Sunday before it shuts its doors

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