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9th April 2018
06:56pm BST

"TJ can do it all. What I like most about him this year is his leadership ability. He dragged Kilkenny through that first half on his own. He got three brilliant points from play," began the legendary Kilkenny full back. "He's just a talisman there for Kilkenny. He doesn't just score himself, he makes a lot of other plays as well. He looks like he has so much time on the ball, turns around and looks, he looks like he's in the school yard playing the game.
"Himself and Walter Walsh are just showing the young guys around them what to do."Like many greats of the black and amber jersey, TJ didn't just slot in seamlessly upon first arrival to the panel. Famously, he nearly quit in 2012 due to frustration at his failure to nail a spot on the team. Delaney feels that Brian Cody treated TJ slightly harshly in those early days. He saw TJ's confidence, his ability and he was intent on drawing the very best out of him.
"We knew about TJ before he came into the Kilkenny panel. He was always a brilliant hurler. He's very confident in his own ability, and I think, Brian saw that early on, and he kind of laid down a marker to TJ. "He could have been a small bit harder on him than another guy coming in, but that was only because he knew how good he could be.Being a club mate of Henry Shefflin's also might have helped him along the way.
"He would have grew up in Ballyhale and he would have seen the work that Henry was doing as well. TJ had all the skills in the world, but he wasn't the best worker, he'll admit that himself, but I suppose looking at Henry down through the years, he seen he had to up his game and his work-rate. "Now, he's probably the best hurler in Kilkenny and in Ireland, because he's not just a scorer, he's not even just a provider, but he's a worker and his ability to win his own ball is second to none."There's no doubts about that. You can listen to this chat about TJ and much more from Monday's GAA Hour Hurling Show right here. https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/tjs-magic-tipps-problem-and-premature-bubbles
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