Michael Verney was on Monday’s OTB AM and spoke about the brilliance of TJ Reid.
While Kilkenny lost by a point to Galway, their first loss in Nowlan Park in the championship for 70 years, you couldn’t fault Reid’s performance.
“He’s an animal in every aspect. There’s nothing he doesn’t have.
“He has all the talent, he’s physically brilliant but he’s probably one of the best foragers we’ve seen in the game. He works phenomenally hard, all over the field,” Verney commented.
Verney, a former inter-county hurler for Offaly, spoke about the difficulty he had in marking Reid in his first appearance for his county.
“I actually marked TJ when he made his debut. Richie Hogan made his debut in ‘08 so I was actually marking him for his debut and I ran around after him for 55 minutes, which was tough.
“Then this fresh 6'2'' absolute animal came onto me and just ran everywhere,” Verney said.
Reid’s ability to create space for himself with his footwork was lauded by the panel, which is something he showcased on many occasions against the Tribesmen.
“He’s just so good at planting his feet. You think he’s going to turn left, he plants his feet and he gets a shot at goal. He’s unbelievable.
“People talk about speedwork and acceleration. His ability to decelerate unbelievably quickly, he just goes from ten to almost zero in one go and the momentum brings players past him,” Verney explained.
While Kilkenny did suffer a historic home loss, there was plenty of positives to take from their performance, as they were down to 13 men at the end of the game.
“Looking at the Kilkenny bench yesterday was very, very encouraging. It’s been the opposite of the last couple of years…. They’re going to get better to me the longer they go on.”
“Galway were hanging on at the end and the difference between winning and a draw is huge for them. You could see the relief etched all over their faces afterwards,” Verney said.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
