Gaelic Games

JJ Delaney to make first Kilkenny appearance of the year

Cats manager Brian Cody makes seven changes, Dubs include Cuala’s Simon Timlin

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has made seven changes for the Waterford game. Photograph: Tommy Grealy/Inpho
Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has made seven changes for the Waterford game. Photograph: Tommy Grealy/Inpho
Sat Mar 22 2014 - 01:01

Henry Shefflin and JJ Delaney, making his first appearance for Kilkenny in this year's league, both start for Kilkenny in tomorrow's final divisional match against Waterford.

In another much-changed line-up, manager Brian Cody makes seven changes to the team that lost to Dublin last week for this weekend's fixture, which can confirm Kilkenny's place in next week's league quarter-finals.

Waterford IT’s Fitzgibbon Cup-winning captain Eoin Murphy is named in goal and Brian Kennedy, Jackie Tyrrell, Pádraig Walsh and Mark Kelly also come into the team.

Galway, who travel to Ennis to take on All-Ireland champions Clare, make just one change to the team that beat Tipperary last week. Niall Healy returns at centre forward in place of Gearóid McInerney.

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Manager Anthony Cunningham doesn't include any of the Portumna players who won last Monday's All-Ireland club final but this year's county captain Joe Canning is expected to make an appearance at some stage.

Dublin make one change in defence for the trip to Tipp for a match with a major bearing on the relegation picture in Division One A. Simon Timlin comes in at corner back for his Cuala club-mate Cian O’Callaghan.

Anthony Daly’s team are two points ahead of bottom-place Tipperary and level with Waterford, Kilkenny and Galway.

A win puts them into the quarter-finals of the league but a defeat throws open the prospect of being dragged into the relegation play-off.

KILKENNY (NHL v Waterford): E Murphy; P Murphy, JJ Delaney, J Holden; B Kennedy, J Tyrrell, C Buckley; P Walsh, R Hogan; W Walsh, C Fennelly, H Shefflin; J Farrell, M Kelly, E Larkin. Subs: D Herity, T Keogh, M Walsh, C Fogarty, T Walsh, B Hogan, K Joyce, L Ryan, R Power, TJ Reid, A Fogarty.

GALWAY (NHL v Clare): C Callinan; F Moore, R Burke, J Coen; D Collins, I Tannian, Daithi Burke; David Burke, P Brehony; A Harte, N Healy, J Glynn; C Mannion, C Cooney, N Burke.

DUBLIN (NHL v Tipperary): G Maguire; N Corcoran, P Kelly, S Timlin; S Durkin, L Rushe, M Carton; J Boland, J McCaffrey; C Cronin, C Keaney, D Sutcliffe; D O’Callaghan, R O’Dwyer, McCrabbe.

LIMERICK (NHL v Laois): N Quaid; S Walsh, P O’Loughlin, T Condon; P O’Brien, W McNamara, D Morrissey; C King, P Browne; C Allis, J Ryan, D Reidy; G Mulcahy, K Downes, M Ryan. Subs: A Murphy, R McCarthy, M Carmody, A Dempsey, T Ryan, D O’Grady, W Hickey, T O’Brien, S Dowling

OFFALY (NHL v Antrim): Conor Slevin; D Mooney, S Gardner, J Rigney; B Harding, C Egan, M Egan; D Morkan, K Brady; C Doughan, S Dooley, Ciarán Slevin; C Coughlan, S Cleary, S Quirke.