“He’s in the shape of his life” | John Kiely full of praise for unstoppable Gillane

From scoring 2-6 as recently as last Saturday, to hitting 1-11 in the Munster final, Gillane moved into the top 15 on the all-time scoring charts this year.

It has been a tremendous year so far for Aaron Gillane, with the Patrickswell man having so many memorable outings already this year. His scoring exploits has the electric forward as front runner for the Hurler of the Year award.

From scoring 2-6 as recently as last Saturday, to hitting 1-11 in the Munster final, Gillane moved into the top 15 on the all-time scoring charts this year, and will be hoping he can crown 2023 with another Liam MacCarthy cup.

It was another mercurial display from Gillane on Saturday, as the electric forward downed the Tribesmen, scoring a pair of goals from play to book his side a spot in the All-Ireland final.

His goals were not just impressive, but also crucially timed, with the game at a critical juncture for each strike. His first was a tremendous display of strength, as he fended off Daithi Burke to catch a Tom Morrissey delivery and ruthlessly fire home.

Gillane’s second goal came from a rebound of his original strike, which hit the crossbar. Lucky enough to have a second go, Gillane lashed a strike from the ground past Eanna Murphy to send Limerick four points clear.

Speaking after the game, John Kiely was full of praise for his star man, but stressed that Gillane will continue to strive to improve.

“He’s been in super, super form, he’s in the shape of his life, and he’s just in a really good space. He’s got such fast hands, good in the air, good on the ground, left and right, a really top class player, great forward. He’ll still come out of today saying there was a couple of chances that got away from him today. The good pieces we will acknowledge, the pieces that can be better, we will go back and will work hard on.”

In the aftermath of the victory, Gillane finds himself in the running for the Hurler of the Week award, and remains the outright favourite for the Hurler of the Year.

Named in the latest GAA.ie Team of the Week, the Patrickswell man has had an amazing year, and will hope there is one more big day for his side, when they clash with Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.

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