An assessment of Gearóid Hegarty's performance in the All-Ireland final from Brendan Maher and Michael Duignan referenced "a player for the big day", with a hurling intelligence that sets his apart as one of the best of his generation.
Hegarty scored 1-05 in a player-of-the-match performance as Limerick completed a hat-trick of senior titles at Croke Park on Sunday. After a somewhat below-par showing in the semi-final win over Galway, the 27-year-old certainly took the game to Kilkenny, firing in a brilliant goal after four minutes.
Maher, speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, heaped praise on Hegarty's contribution in the decider and, in particular, his decision making on the field of play.
"I'd love to see his heat map of his movement. He's probably the most economic mover, if that makes sense. He takes his break. he's not always moving. The timing of his runs for puck-outs is impeccable. He's not that fella that's always really eager and makes a run; makes it too early and then he's standing still when he receives it. All the stuff that goes on, that isn't seen, that's what makes him so good."
Gearoid Hegarty rockets the ball into the top corner of the net to give Limerick the ideal start. Live now, highlights on #sundaygame from 9.30pm
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