Kilkenny selector Martin Fogarty is recognised as a top hurling strategist. And he hopes he, along with the rest of the Cats, can figure out how to beat Waterford. The legendary Christy Ring once said that hurling is only half-dressed without Tipperary. And while Kilkenny selector Martin Fogarty doesn't begin to besmirch the view of the great Cork hurler, he reckons this year's All-Ireland SHC final will be no less dandy without Tipp. Fogarty insists Kilkenny and Waterford will be togged out in their finest garb in the national decider, as the country's two top teams, and, as such will feature in the final on merit. Significantly, the suggestion that Kilkenny supporters were rubbing their hands following Tipp's defeat by Waterford in their semi-final clash is rebuked: "I don't see where those Kilkenny fans were coming from if that was the case," Fogarty declares, "because Waterford beat Tipp and are in the final and so have to be considered among the top two teams in the country right now. "Waterford were in absolutely brilliant form in their semi-final but they have been a great team over the last five years or so which meant their win over Tipp wasn't a great surprise. "At the start of every year, people are wondering who'll be in the shake up at the end of the year and Waterford are always mentioned as being a team who'll be there or thereabouts. "I think this year they might have got the rub of the green that they missed out on in other years and, as every team knows, you need to get the bounce of the ball sometimes." Waterford's appearance this year on All-Ireland finals day at the GAA's citadel will represent the latest challenge to Kilkenny's undeniable rating as the best team in the country. Forgarty reckons Waterford have a "serious bunch of forwards" but the team's strength lies in their resilience, their ambition and their ability to bounce back from consistent setbacks. "It's hard to gauge one Waterford team from the next but this present panel is as good as I've seen and even before Davy Fitzgerald came along, they had a lot going for themselves. "They've always had a great spirit about them and have been one of the teams we'd have worried about over the last few years in terms of getting to the All-Ireland (final). "Every year the likes of Galway are strong candidates to get to the All-Ireland final because, just like Waterford, it's irrelevant what sort of barren period they're going through. "It doesn't matter how long it is since Waterford won the All-Ireland because we're dealing with the current team, not any of the teams who missed out for years and years." The Castlecomer clubman has been one of Kilkenny's vaunted sideline strategists since coming on board with Brian Cody in the 2003/04 season. Over the years he has come to appreciate all that is ingenious and skilful about the Cats' locker and he accepts the black and amber Class of 2008 are "slight favourites." He points out though that in 2006, Kilkenny were written off ahead of their final joust with Cork but the Leinster champions pulled off an unexpected triumph. And while conceding that tradition - and the nation's bookies - favours another triumph for the Cats, he says coming out on top between the whites lines is what will dictate matters. "Not a lot of people remember but our recent run of success in the All-Irelands came after two defeats in the finals of 1998 and 1999 so we've had to learn from those. "I don't know how the betting is going but tradition counts for nothing and this Waterford team won't be carrying any baggage of previous defeats into this year's final. "Waterford are an experienced outfit and they've been in Croke Park often enough now to feel at home there so we know we're going to be up against it. "They're a battle-hardened side too and as they showed against Tipperary in the semi-final they're very determined and have a great work ethic." Hunger is the greatest sauce of all, it is said, but the Kilkenny selector scotches any notion that Waterford's all-consuming desire to make the top table will create the tastier dish. No team in an All-Ireland final could possibly lack hunger, Fogarty opines, and when the opening whistle is blown such psychological babble invariably becomes an irrelevance. "Every player dreams of featuring in an all-Ireland final at Croke Park so the idea that he's less than 100% fired up is a nonsense. Every player is as hungry as the next to do well. "There's huge incentives there for every player this year; the same for Kilkenny's players as there are for Waterford and if there's a player in our panel that's not 110% geared up for the battle, then I don't know him." And the spectre of the reigning champions completing a famous three-in-a-row is not something the Kilkenny players will rely on to whet their appetite for another title triumph. "Players try and play to the best of their ability on the day and that'll be the case in this year's final but there's no hiding the fact that we're going for our third consecutive title. "Having said that, it's mostly a media thing and we'll not be approaching this year's final any differently than we did in the past two years. "If a golfer is faced with a putt that could net him one million pounds, would he approach it differently if the putt was worth two million?" Credited with being a pivotal figure in shaping Kilkenny's tactics over the course of their time at the top, the approachable Kilkenny mentor has no truck either with the view that the Cats' odds on landing the glittering prize shortened after Tipp were ousted from the competition by Waterford. Instead, he reckons Waterford present the "greatest danger" to Kilkenny's bid to underpin their latter-day dominant position. "Waterford proved in the semi-final against Tipp that they were the strongest team; simply better than Tipp so we're definitely meeting the best of the two of them." Reflecting on the champions' victory over Cork last time out, Fogarty says the major positive to come out of the game "was getting into the final." The team's performance against the Rebel County was "good but nothing less than we expected," he explains, before baulking at the invitation to compare the two semi-finals: "It's difficult to know how the intensity of the two games compared when you're standing on the sideline. I think you've a better understanding of the intensity of a match from the stand. "We had to be at our best to get into the driving seat because Cork came into the match on a bit of a roll and it was important for us to get into our stride quickly. "Some people have said that the two semis were probably two of the best games there's been for a few years but I'm not so sure whether I'd go along with that. "Both games were full-blooded affairs and were nip and tuck in the first half which that made for very exciting games but we don't know if the final this year will be a classic." An integral part of the winning formula that is Kilkenny, Fogarty's humility is such that he readily deflects the bouquets directed towards him. In that regard, he generously praises the Kilkenny County Board, team-manager Brian Cody, his fellow backroom team members and, especially, the squad of players. "These are a tremendous bunch of players; everyone of them with their feet firmly on the ground and honest, good hurlers who just want to achieve the best the can in the game. "Everyone of the 33 squad players support each other and they have respect for each other and that all adds up when it comes to trying to shape a winning team. "They're decent blokes who are first and foremost team players whether they're All-Stars or not. I've seen some of the biggest name players left off our team but you see them immediately get behind the other lads, driving them on to give of their best." Now that the clamour for the Liam McCarthy has become a two horse, the difference between winning and losing can often turn out to be nothing more than a short-head. Fogarty isn't one for engaging in a spot of crystal-ball gazing and so unashamedly declares that "I don't know whether the final will be close or not. "All we can do is prepare for the match as well as we can and hope that we can get the breaks on the day. "A one point win will do us. If it's a great game of hurling, well that will be a bonus." Tweet

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