Ger `Sparrow' O'Loughlin (Clare left corner forward)
Paul Shelley (Tipperary right corner back)
Age: 30. Height: 5' 11["]. Weight: 12st.
Club: Clarecastle.
Honours: All-Ireland SHC 1995, Munster SHC 1995 and '97, Longest-serving current Clare hurler.
Championship Debut: v Tipperary 1987.
Appearances 1997: Four. Substituted 1997: v Cork (injured, 70 mins).
Scored 1997: 1-9 (0-2 v Kerry, 0-3 v Cork, 0-3 v Tipperary, 1-1 v Kilkenny).
Reaction To The Season? "Very satisfying for me personally. I moved to full forward and things went well in the second half against Cork. I was close to being taken off at half-time so it could all have been a different story."
Most Memorable Match This Season? "Beating Tipperary down in Pairc Ui Chaoimh was a great day for the whole of Clare and we were tremendously happy with it."
Most Difficult? "Any day you win, you feel the day has gone well. Every day we've gone out this year, we've won and that's all that matters."
Best Of The Rest? "I feel that Cork were the next best team. I only saw Tipp's match with Wexford on the television, so it's hard to judge, but I thought Cork's quality of hurling had improved tremendously and I felt that they are a team that will have to be reckoned with soon.
League And Championship Reforms? "I think we took advantage of the League system. It probably got us fitter in February, April and March than we would have been. There also came a time when we had to take the foot off the pedal and concentrate on the championship and that probably cost us staying up in Division One. Our total focus was on the championship although probably having to do a lot of travelling in Division Two next year isn't such a nice thing. For the system to work, they'll have to have the final over by April so that teams can get a break before the championship.
"My personal view on the championship changes is that I don't agree with them. You have a right to be up in Croke Park if you win your Munster championship or Leinster championship or any other provincial championship, but the hierarchy decided differently and you've got to put up with it."
Inside View: Ger Loughnane (Clare manager) - "He's a really intelligent fella, that's the first thing. Also he has an unbelievably competitive instinct and I think he looks on this as his last year - though he's looked on a lot of years as his last. This year he's taken on a great leadership role, which is just what's been needed in the full-forward line especially. Although he's not that strong - he didn't get the name of the Sparrow for nothing - he's as tough and as brave, not a nerve in his body. We wouldn't be in the All-Ireland final but for the Sparrow."
Outside View: Nicky Brennan (outgoing Kilkenny manager) - "He's been a key forward, a good ball winner and has a good pair of hands. I don't think he's set the world on fire this year, compared to 1995, but he's contributed well. He got 11 early on against us, but Eddie O'Connor held him after that. If Liam Simpson had been playing (at full back), he would have commanded the space better. I'm not saying they wouldn't have won, but I don't think we'd have conceded that goal."
