Waterford ... 0-12 Kilkenny ... 4-11 All is well in Cody land. Kilkenny, again the county that the rest are chasing, ushered in the fresh season in much the same vein as they crowned the last.
As the game fell into an almost gentle close, the sense and depth of the Black and Amber supremacy was crushing.
This is a tough score-line for Waterford to countenance. They toiled with ferocity to hold the champions to just six points, three from play, after 50 minutes.
But it was the goals they leaked in the same period that snuffed them. Kilkenny seemed to summon the goals on demand.
"Well, the goals gave us a nice cushion," reflected Cody when it was all over.
"Especially on a day like this with the wind swirling. Hurling is tough at this time of year when nobody's touch is perfect."
And true, there was a lot of wayward striking and fumbling on the soft pitch at Walsh Park.
The home team were weakened by an injury list approaching double figures and opted for a complex and adventurous series of positional changes.
Still, Waterford settled into the rejig and in the opening period enjoyed the better exchanges around midfield, with Pat Fitzgerald and Michael Walsh crowding the Kilkenny duo off the ball. But the talismanic Ken McGrath was dispatched to the edge of the square and thus denied the central role that saw him light up Waterford's trail through Munster last summer.
Dave Bennett, a lively presence down Kilkenny's left, knocked over a free after 13 minutes to give the home side a 0-4 to 0-3 lead. It would be their last.
A minute later, DJ Carey stripped the ball from James Murray's stick and slipped a pass for the poaching John Hoyne for goal number one.
Six minutes later, only Stephen Brenner's exceptional reflex save denied Eddie Brennan a second, but on the half hour, debut forward Diarmuid Mackey, a prospect reminiscent of Charlie Carter, guaranteed a late night in Mooncoin with a glorious solo goal.
His score preceded Waterford's most telling passage, when they rattled over three points in a row and almost breached the Kilkenny line. Trailing 0-9 to 2-5 at halftime, they marched off for oranges in front of an enthused local following of 10,000.
What followed was deflating.
Not for the first time, it was Carey who executed the defining strike. Henry Shefflin's appetite for the bread and butter stuff is often overlooked but for Kilkenny's third goal, he made something out of nothing and slipped a perfect pass for the waiting DJ. Carey controlled the ball on the stick and fired a gorgeous goal from the most slender of angles.
Waterford reacted poorly.
Defender Brian Flannery was booked as the visitors celebrated and seconds later left the field after whacking Martin Comerford on the back of the legs with a blatant and foolish swing.
Kilkenny's Thomas Walsh, impressive all through, enjoyed the space afforded as Waterford's remaining men fell back to endure a miserable closing passage.
Derek Lyng and Peter Barry had by this time quelled the mutiny in the crowded central area and Richie Mullally hurled an excellent game on the wing. Eddie Brennan enjoyed a goal in the sunshine as Shefflin put his team-mate through.
Up 4-6 to 0-11, Kilkenny augmented their modest points tally with a string of late scores .
"Well, the goals were disappointing but there were some pleasing aspects to our play," said Justin McCarthy before departing.
"I suppose when you lose as many players as we did, you are going to struggle against a team of Kilkenny's quality. We still want to make the play-offs and our next game against Laois is paramount."
With 10 of last September's side on show, Kilkenny have strength in depth to make the other contenders shudder. "I am not concerned with personnel just now, as long as we keep on winning games," said Cody.
They have started as they mean to go on.
WATERFORD: S Brenner; A Kirwan, T Feeney, B Flannery; E Murphy, M Walsh, P Queally; J Murray, P Fitzgerald (0-2); B Phelan (0-1), K McGrath (0-4, 2 frees), E Mcgrath; P O'Brien, D Shanahan (0-1), D Bennett (0-4, 2 frees). Subs: C Watt for B Phelan (59 mins).
KILKENNY: J McGarry; T Walsh, A Cummins, P Larkin; P Mullally, P Barry, JJ Delaney; D Lyng (0-1), S Dowling; J Hoyne (1-0), H Shefflin (0-4, frees), M Comerford; D Mackey (1-2), E Brennan (1-1), DJ Carey (1-2). Subs: A Geoghegan for S Dowling (half-time), B Dowling (0-1) for D Brennan (63 mins).
Referee: G Harrington (Cork).
