Hurler of the Year in-waiting TJ Reid has confirmed that he almost quit the Kilkenny hurling team three years ago.

In his recently-published autobiography, Henry Shefflin revealed how he had to talk his Ballyhale Shamrocks club-mate out of quitting after Reid was dropped for the All-Ireland quarter-final against Limerick.

"I came into the set-up as a young man," Reid said after receiving the Opel GAA/GPA Players of the Month award for September yesterday.

"The Kilkenny team was evolving and Brian Cody was evolving as well in terms of having a ruthless streak in him. I was competing against lads at the peak of their powers - Henry Shefflin, Martin Comerford, Eddie Brennan, Richie Power was there before me, Eoin Larkin was there before me, Derek Lyng and so on. So it was hard to break into it.

"I don't like talking about it, as all of that is in the past. But I was frustrated, I suppose.

"I was being taken off and getting dropped here and there. As a player, as a young hurler, you just want to be hurling. I was getting annoyed about it. For that game against Limerick I was dropped, and I was annoyed over it. I was thinking about retiring.

"I would be very good friends with Henry. He sat me down and spoke to me. So it was my choice then. I suppose what turned it was that I loved it so much and it would have been hard to walk away from it. I think it was a stepping stone for myself."

 

Tweet

Most Read Stories