RTÉ Sport analyst Shane McGrath believes that Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng should seriously consider handing free-taking duties to Billy Drennan for this year's All-Ireland Hurling Championship.
TJ Reid – top scorer in two of the last four championship seasons – is regarded as one of the greatest dead-ball specialists to ever play the game, but has yet to feature for the Cats this season as he took time off to overcome a few niggles after Ballyhale claimed the All-Ireland club title at the end of January.
That has opened the door for Drennan and he has kicked it off the hinges coming through it.
His return of 1-13 from 14 dead-ball situations in Sunday’s semi-final win over Cork brings his overall league tally to 2-65 with 1-52 coming from frees, 65s and a penalty.
Eoin Cody and Aidan Tallis also pointed frees during the run to the final, but it’s Drennan who provides Lyng with real food for thought.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, McGrath said that handing Drennan the duties is not an admission that Reid is no longer capable but, using Tipperary 2019 as an example, he said that it could lead to a better outcome all round.
"I might use Séamie [Callanan] as an example. In 2019, Jason [Forde] was taking a lot of frees and sometimes that maybe takes the pressure away and Séamie was Hurler of the Year then.
"Sometimes if that pressure is taken away from you a small bit, of being the free-taker, it can go one way or another.
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"Some players need to be on the ball but for me personally, I don’t think TJ needs to be on the frees. If they need him to be on the frees, that’s fine. I think TJ doesn’t need to be on them.
"Billy Drennan is new, he’s young, he’s going to get a lot of attention now in the championship. I won’t say he’s an unknown lad, but to the greater hurling world, a lot of people this year are only really hearing about Billy Drennan whereas hurling people will know him from minor level, from colleges level, from his club Galmoy and from what he did with the under-20s last year.
"Obviously Derek Lyng has huge trust in him, and now the rest of us can see how good he is at it.
"TJ doesn’t need to be on the frees. I think keeping Billy Drennan on the frees would be better for Billy Drennan and Kilkenny, keeping him on the ball.
"Let’s be honest, if TJ’s not in the game the first 10 or 15 minutes that’s not an issue. If Billy Drennan is not in the game the first 10 or 15 minutes, then that becomes an issue in championship when someone’s at him.
"As a team, as a half-back up the field, knowing that if I get this ball, take my three or four steps and burst past a tackle, if I win a free within 80 yards, Billy Drennan is scoring this. That’s another thing to have in the head.
Billy Drennan or TJ Reid on frees for @KilkennyCLG for the championship?
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) March 27, 2023
As problems go, this is not a bad one for Derek Lyng.
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"At the moment, on stats and everything, he’s the best free-taker in the country. It’s a great headache for Derek Lyng."
While Drennan’s 100% return against Cork garnered plenty of attention, McGrath said that his performance in the rain against Waterford the previous week was a sign that he could do it in all conditions as the Cats prepare for a league final against Limerick on 8 April.
"The week before [against Waterford], I spoke about the weather that week and how he was nailing them.
"I think it’s a great argument. Who is going to be taking the frees? It’s like having Ronaldo and Messi and saying 'who is going to take the penalties?’
"He [Drennan] stands back from it, his standing style is a little bit different. The TJs or the [Aaron] Gillanes are standing over it, even Henry [Shefflin] in his day, Eoin Kelly Tipp – his [Drennan’s] style is a little bit different, he’s standing behind it and looking at it.
"I don’t know what it is, how much he is putting in on his own, it’s phenomenal his ball striking."
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