Kilkenny's classy defender JJ Delaney is adamant that the Cats won't be burdened by talk of their bid for a three-in-a-row of All-Ireland hurling successes which is now within touching distance following their magnificent semi-final performance against Cork. No sooner had the dust settled on Kilkenny's All-Ireland final victory over Limerick last September than hurling supporters' minds began to wander towards this year and the Cats' bid for a three-in-a-row of Liam McCarthy Cup wins. Not since Cork in 1978 has any team achieved such a magical feat, though both Cork and Kilkenny have come close in recent years. The Rebels denied Kilkenny in 2004 of what would have been their first three-in-a-row in almost a century, while two years later, the Cats got their back on Cork when they put paid to their hopes of a place in the record books. Casting his mind back to 2004, JJ Delaney admits that Kilkenny may have been a bit uncomfortable about talk of the three-in-a-row, but insists that isn't the case now. "I don't think it's such a sensitive subject anymore. Hype is something we have to live with in Kilkenny and we can't hide away from the fact that we are going for the three-in-a-row this year," the former Hurler of the Year says. "You can put yourself under a lot of unnecessary pressure when it comes to something like this and we're determined not to allow that to happen this year. We were caught by Wexford in the 2004 Leinster semi-final and even though the back door was there for us, it was a long way back and in the end, the All-Ireland proved a bridge too far for us. "Our policy this year has been to take each game as it comes. We weren't looking beyond Offaly or Wexford in the Leinster championship and we weren't looking beyond Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. If we're to achieve the three-in-a-row, we'll have to take on board the lessons of four years ago and hopefully there won't be any slip-ups," he adds. Kilkenny's ruthless annihilations of Offaly and Kilkenny en route to their 65th Leinster triumph, coupled with their stunning victory over Cork, would suggest that Waterford will have it all to do to stop them from rewriting the history books on September 7. They defeated Offaly by 18 points and had 19 points to spare over Wexford in an entirely predictable provincial decider which attracted just 18,825 spectators to Croke Park. In both games, the All-Ireland champions were given a searching examination in the first half before they came out after half-time and blew the opposition away. Wexford gave their long-time tormentors a right rattle in the opening 35 minutes, and must have fancied their chances of causing an upset when they trailed by just two points at the break. But within seven minutes of the restart, Eddie Brennan had hit them for 2-1 and it was just a question of how much Kilkenny would win by after that. After a quiet first half by his standards, the All-Star corner forward burst into life when he somehow squeezed the ball past Damien Fitzhenry and a posse of Wexford defenders for his first goal. If that had been a scramble, his second was a thing of beauty. An easy point presented itself from 25 metres, but not content with that, he placed a precision shot in the top right corner of the Wexford net and suddenly Kilkenny were 11 points to the good and out of sight. Richie Power also got among the goals in the 50th minute and Aidan Fogarty capitalised on a mistake by James Tonks to ram home a fifth (Henry Shefflin netted a penalty in the first half) to put the seal on a 10th provincial win in 11 years. Cork were expected to ask more serious questions of the Cats in the All-Ireland semi-final, but they had no answer to the power, skill and craft of the champions. After an evenly contested opening period, Kilkenny gradually pulled clear and an Eoin Larkin goal helped them to a 1-12 to 0-7 interval lead. There was no let up from Brian Cody's charges in the second half as they coasted to a 1-23 to 0-17 victory. Reflecting on the performance, a modest Delaney says: "It was a good team effort but it won't count for anything if we don't beat Waterford. I can't remember a cup being given out after that game." PJ has been impressed by Waterford's steady improvement under Davy Fitzgerald and insists they pose a serious threat to Kilkenny's three-in-a-row ambitions. "Despite the fact that they were the underdogs against Tipperary, I gave them a 50-50 chance because there is a lot of experience in that side. They're on a roll after coming through the backdoor series and will have benefited from being involved in so many tight games. "We're expecting a huge test from this Waterford team which has waited a long time to play in an All-Ireland final. We won't begrudge them of anything if they beat us." Delaney rejects criticism of the Leinster hurling championship which has been accused of lacking competitiveness with a huge gap now clearly existing between Kilkenny and the chasing pack. "People can say what they like about the Leinster championship, but it's something we never grow tired of winning," the Fenians clubman says. "It's got a lot of stick over the past few years and we're no different to the other counties in that we'd love to see a good, competitive Leinster championship. I think the signs are encouraging when you see the progress the other counties are making. "Offaly are rebuilding a nice side, Dublin are coming with a good crop of young lads who have tasted plenty of underage success, and Wexford will always be there. They are a fierce proud county and always give us a hard game. "There's been talk about Galway and Antrim joining Leinster and I think that would be good for them and for hurling in the province." The 26-year-old, who has been long regarded as one of the outstanding half backs in the game and filled in for the injured Noel Hickey at full back of during the Leinster campaign, claims Kilkenny manager Brian Cody remains as hungry as ever for success. "He has great hunger," JJ says of the man who has delivered five Liam McCarthy Cups since taking up the managerial reins almost a decade ago. "He's a genuine hurling person as well. That comes out naturally. If he wasn't training Kilkenny, it would be an under 14 club team. That genuine love for hurling. "He just has a hunger there every year. Once the All-Ireland is over, he looks at it for a couple of weeks and that's it, he's looking forward to next year. "He doesn't live in the past. All the players know that as well. If you are an All-Star last year and aren't hurling well, it doesn't make a difference, you won't be playing. "There is a great presence about him. He is a big man. A great man to speak in the dressing room as well. That hasn't changed at all." Hailing from Johnstown, JJ was born into a family that has a long association with the local hurling scene. His father Shem Delaney played for Kilkenny before him, as did his uncles Billy Fitzpatrick and Pat Delaney, and his cousin PJ, who was the scoring hero of the Cats' 1993 All-Ireland final victory over Galway. Since making his senior debut in 2001, JJ has won four All-Ireland and seven Leinster championship medals. He missed the 2006 All-Ireland triumph over Cork after tearing his cruciate ligament just five weeks before the final, but afterwards many of the Kilkenny players were quick to dedicate the success to him. JJ's best year in a Kilkenny jersey was undoubtedly 2003 when he won the Texaco, Vodafone and GPA Hurler of the Year awards. He hasn't been as successful at club level, although Fenians have improved in recent years and reached the county semi-final last year, only to lose to St. Martin's after replay. They are currently managed by the aforementioned Billy Fitzpatrick, while another Kilkenny great Ger Henderson, is a selector. JJ is employed by Athy-based Tegral Building Products as an area sales manager, covering counties Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford. The company is synonymous with Kildare GAA, having sponsored the county teams for over a decade. Tweet

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