Former Kilkenny centre-back Brian Hogan believes yesterday's hat-trick goal hero against Wexford, Ger Aylward, can keep his place in the squad despite well-known names competing for starting places.
Hogan and ex-Tipp star Eoin Kelly joined us on Off The Ball to look back on a big weekend in the Munster and Leinster championship, and turning to the Cats' mauling of Wexford, Hogan says Kilkenny manager Brian Cody will keep Aylward in the team as long as he is still performing adequately.
"The way Brian's looking at it is, 'Ger, you have the jersey now' and if Ger can maintain that performance level, he's not interested in the names he has on the sideline. He's interested in the team. He's made that explicit over the years," he said, before adding that stalwarts like Colin Fennelly and Richie Power face a fight for starting places.
"It's ideal for Brian because as Richie and Colin start coming back into the fold, they're now in a situation where they're not going to walk straight into the team. There's not a case where 'ah, we're struggling in a position, we need to get the guys back'. They can come back now and they'll have to sit on the bench if Ger maintains that form."
Hogan and Kelly also looked gave their take on both Kilkenny and Wexford on tonight's analysis.
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