Gavin Cummiskeysays holding on to the number six jersey in Kilkenny puts Brian Hogan in a special club
WE ARE struggling to find a chink in the Kilkenny armour.
Same old scenario really.
When it comes to facing Wexford again this Sunday in the Leinster hurling final all we can do is hark back to the 2004 semi-final when a late goal from Michael Jacob memorably sunk Brian Cody to his knees.
That he was standing, way out of bounds mind, just a few feet from the Hill 16-end goal when Jacob struck made it all the more dramatic.
The real surprise that day was Kilkenny's lowly 1-16 total. Brian Hogan had just been drafted in that season from the most feared B team in the country. The team that pushes the current All-Ireland champions midweek at Nowlan Park training.
"I was in the half-back line in 2004. I was getting pulled all over the place. It was a bad day. But, the better team won. They were hungrier. They just tore into us and we weren't good enough that day. That was my first championship match. It was a baptism of fire.
"2004 set us all back a bit, just in terms of the loss. It knocked us a bit. We went through the back door then. It's a long road. But, every season is different. 2005, I was pushing for a place and then 2006 - younger guys came in."
Cha and Richie Power immediately spring to mind.
"John Tennyson got the place then. That's just the way it is in Kilkenny. Every year is different and you're hurling on your current form. The other years, guys are hurling better but that's the way it is."
Holding off Tennyson is some achievement but keeping the number six jersey in Kilkenny puts Hogan in a special club of fine hurlers. With that comes responsibility. And with that comes immense pressure.
"There's pressure. I know centre back is a pivotal position. You can tell by the guys that hurl there. You can't really let that get to you. You can only worry about your own game and keep your performances to the required level. I know there's competition there.
"But it's the same for any of the positions. There's two or three guys breathing down your neck and that's the way you want it."
They all say that in Kilkenny and in most cases it is true, but Hogan appears to have a decent lock on the centre-back position.
"No. You never have any position nailed down. From an injury point of view, things are out of your control. You don't know what could happen.
"But, just from your own performance point of view; you just need to keep your own head focused and your own game up.
"There's no one really that's guaranteed their position. Maybe one or two lads. But, generally speaking, he (Cody) always says that every match we're starting with a clean sheet and the team will pick itself in the training leading up to it.
"You have to believe that I have no God-given right to be there. You mentioned two of the lads (PJ Delaney, John Tennyson) there - they're serious hurlers. It's not that I'm superior to them. There's nothing in it really between us all."
