Kilkenny boss Brian Cody has admitted Dublin’s progress to the Division 1 final of the Allianz Hurling League is fully deserved, believing there is 'absolutely massive potential' in Anthony Daly’s side.
Cody, speaking to RTE Radio 1’s Sunday Sport programme, was full of praise for the Dubs after they set up a meeting with the Cats on Sunday week with victory over Cork.
The Kilkenny manager said: 'I’ve been talking about this Dublin team and the talent they have for the last three years.
'They’ve been let down by the occasional poor performance where they have got a bad beating but you could see the improvement is there and the opportunity and talent is very much there this year.
'They’ve really put good performances together one after the other and they are without doubt deserving to be in the league final.
'I heard someone say they won’t fear us and I would say that is for certain. We look forward to having a terrific crowd there supporting Kilkenny and Dublin. To me, I am thrilled to see the quality of hurling in Dublin and I would love to see every county playing the same quality to what they are playing.
'I am not even remotely surprised at their level of and the progress they have made because I think there is absolutely massive potential in the team.'
Kilkenny saw off the challenge of Offaly on Sunday to ensure their place in the Croker decider. Cody was pleased with some aspects of their performance but feels his players need to find their form for longer spells in a game.
'We have been pretty inconsistent in matches so far. We’ve had good parts of games and periods of the game where we were not very dominant. Today, in the first half, we played decent hurling and got a decent score of 1-15.
'But we didn’t hammer it home in the second half. We allowed Offaly back into it, they got a goal and pulled it back to about six points. I suppose the worrying part of it for us is we got a couple of injuries.
'It looks like John Dalton and Aidan Fogarty could have serious injuries picked up. But overall it was one of our better performances at the same time.
'It has been stop start with players coming in and players going out. There is genuine uncertainty over the availability of players even at this stage and that is disappointing.
'When we see who is available, they are all panel players. It is part and parcel of the game so I don’t concern myself too much about it as it something I have no control over.'
Cody is now targeting more silverware for Kilkenny when they meet the Dubs in the final.
'The league final is another great game for us, that is for certain. We’d love to win the league and it is also huge preparation for the Championship and it gives the opportunity to players to sample real big match atmosphere.'
