TJ Reid says Kilkenny may have to break with tradition and deploy a sweeper in the future.

Manager Brian Cody has never played a sweeper system, but Reid believes they will have to consider it in the wake of conceding 4-22 against Clare in the recent Allianz League semi-final.

"We'll have to definitely look at it," the reigning Hurler of the Year said at the launch of Cúl Heroes, the official trading cards and magazine of the GAA/GPA.

"We've never had a sweeper, and even against a strong breeze we've never had a seventh defender but yeah, I definitely think it's something we'll have to implement in training and get our heads around it.

"Just to try and have a game plan and make sure we're not hitting their seventh defender and we're not looking around asking questions. So we'll have to sit down and try to have a tactic on the day."

Reid feels the absence of five key players was a big factor in the Cats' unusually poor showing against the Banner.

"On the day, they beat us fair and square, we have no question marks over it. On the day, we weren't good enough, but we were missing five starting figures - Paul Murphy, Mick Fennelly, Conor Fogarty, Colin Fennelly and Eoin Larkin. Five big players to be missing against a good Clare team. 

"If we had those players, it could have been a different scoreline."

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