Eoin Larkin says the Kilkenny panel showed its strength in depth during the league.

The Cats made little of the absence of a host of key men as they marched to a 15th NHL crown and team captain Larkin told The Kilkenny People that their sense of togetherness got them through:

"If you are not driving each other, you are lost. Even the young lads who came in were brilliant.

"We have five or six lads out injured, players who might be starting. The young players who came in were fantastic. To see them playing as well as they did was most encouraging.

"We don't think about the players who are out injured because we can't. Brian is always saying that one man's loss is another man's gain.

"That is what happened with us. The lads were out injured. Young lads came in and did a job.

"These guys will drive on again, hopefully. As we keep saying, the intercounty careers are very short - some shorter than others. We have to knuckle down again.

"We are back to the clubs for two weeks and after that we will be back in for three or four weeks' hard training for the Leinster semi-final." Tweet

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