Adrian Mullen ready to make the most of positive Kilkenny momentum

Kilkenny attacker Adrian Mullen is hopeful that finally earning a long-awaited knock-out win over Limerick can help elevate the Cats to the next level as they prepare for Saturday's league final against Clare in Thurles.

Since making his debut in May 2019, the Treaty County have loomed large over Mullen and his team-mates. Nine top-tier national finals have been played in the time since (Kilkenny and Galway shared the 2021 league title without playing) and Limerick have won seven of those.

The two exceptions were the 2022 league final – Limerick failing to get out of the group stages – and the 2019 All-Ireland final where the Cats failed to build on their semi-final win over Limerick as Tipperary had 14 points to spare en route to lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

For Mullen, they cannot let the momentum of another semi-final win over Limerick slip away having ended a five-year wait for that very honour two weeks ago.

"I suppose beating Limerick in a league semi-final was obviously a huge lift to the team," the 2019 Young Player of the Year said at an Allianz event promoting Saturday’s final.

"It just brings a huge lift to the county because obviously Limerick have been so good the last few years. So anytime you get a win over them it has to be a huge bonus and a huge plus.

"Now we get to face into a final against Clare. Again, that will be another huge test. It can only be a good thing really."

"Any team you play a number of times you're going to learn how to play against them, how to set up against them, try different things and see what works best for you," he added of playing the Treaty men over the years.

"I'd say Limerick are after learning from playing against us as well.

"We definitely tried a few things. A few of the