Hurling: Ian O'Riordan on Kilkenny's quest for a unique treble-double of League and All-Ireland titles

It was typical of Brian Cody to react to hurling statistics with the disregard of a gambling man being told the odds were against him. With the curtain about to open on the new intercounty hurling season the Kilkenny coach was reminded yesterday that his team is attempting to do what no other has done before - and it was as if he didn't want to know about it.

Having won the league-championship double for the past two years, Sunday's opening round of the Allianz National Hurling League marks the first step in Kilkenny's quest to achieve a league-championship treble. Tipperary were the last to win three successive league titles back in 1959-60-61 but no county has ever combined that with three All-Ireland titles in the same period.

So has this resulted in any extra pressure for Cody? "Well no," he said, "because I just wasn't aware of that statistic until now."

What is certain is several counties will be out to capture Kilkenny's league crown, including Waterford, their first-round opponents at Nowlan Park on Sunday. Tipperary, beaten finalists for the past two years, would also relish another shot at the champions.

"Of course it will be a huge task for us this year," added Cody. "It's going to be very, very difficult. All we can do is approach things in the same way. Waterford at home is a great game to be starting off with, and we'll be going out to be as competitive as we can.

"But I've always said that the league is a hugely important competition. And we'll be trying our utmost to win it again. I've no problem either with the league format and I think the best preparation for matches are matches. Ideally I would love to have a match every fortnight."

Cody has already announced his initial panel, but reiterated yesterday the door was still open for other players. One name doing the rounds in the county is Nigel Skehan, whose free-taking for O'Loughlin Gaels on Sunday kept alive their interest in the club championship. Club captain Andy Comerford is also awaiting a possible recall. Yet Cody wouldn't be drawn on individuals.

"I know all those players very well. The club has had a strong representation on the county panel over the last few years. And I know there are players there that could possibly still make the breakthrough."

The matter of the Kilkenny captaincy also remains unresolved, with the final nomination yet to be announced by O'Loughlin's. Either Martin or Andy Comerford will get the nod, but the club is clearly eager to avoid a repeat of last year's situation where Charlie Carter, nominated by Young Irelands, failed to nail down a starting place, and eventually quit the panel.

"Well I wouldn't say we had any real problem last year," said Cody. "The captain does the job he is asked to do, and we had a captain for every game. Lucky enough we had a winning captain for all our matches, and my ambition for the new captain is that he does the same thing.

"So the captain will be nominated by O'Loughlin Gaels, and I will fully respect that decision. They're happy enough to wait until they're finished in the club championship and I'm happy with that."

Other county managers will be making their league debuts this Sunday, including Pad Joe Whelahan in Limerick and Humphrey Kelleher in Dublin.

For Whelahan, who starts out with the visit of Munster rivals Cork, the move from club management in Birr to county management in Limerick has so far proved seamless.

"So far I can say it's exactly the same," said Whelahan. "You train the players, you go into the dressing-room, and you play matches. It's the same thing, only a higher profile job.

"And I'd always said I give it one crack with a county team. I'd been offered a good few counties down through the years, but I said I'd take my time and pick the one I wanted. And that's what I've done. But it's a two-year job, and I think anything I do this year will be a bonus for next year."

While Whelahan describes the issue of dual players in Limerick as "over with", Kelleher will have dual star Conal Keaney available for his league opener against Galway at Parnell Park, but what happens next is out of his hands.

"Players like Conal Keaney are simply exceptionally talented," said Kelleher. "If they decide to play any particular sport then anything I say is not going to make one bit of difference.

"But if I had a choice and a preference I feel their added value to the hurling team would be far greater than it would be to any other sport. But whatever they wish to play will be their choice, and not mine. Conal will be available for our first match, and I'm expecting him to remain part of the panel. But after that we'll just have to take it as it comes."

Kelleher is not making any grand predictions about Dublin's league campaign: "We are going through a transformation in Dublin at the moment and it's going to take a while, a number of years in fact. If you look back at Dublin hurling over the last 40 years there have been some great days, and some miserable days. But mostly more miserable days.

"What we want is some consistency in performance, and that's what I've set out to do. But we have the desire, we have the commitment, and the bunch of hurlers involved now are as good as any involved for the past 25 years."

He also feels if a player born outside the county wants to play hurling for Dublin he should be given every chance: "You would have to look at what allows that person to be eligible for a county, but if that criterion is fulfilled then certainly Dublin should look at them."