GAELIC GAMES/National Hurling League final/Kilkenny v Waterford:Kilkenny captain Henry Shefflin returns to lead the team for the first time this season in tomorrow's Allianz National Hurling League final at Semple Stadium. There had been conflicting speculation about the role the reigning Hurler of the Year would play but manager Brian Cody has decided to start him.

In a reshuffled attack Shefflin, who had missed the campaign until now due to his club Ballyhale's All-Ireland campaign and then his wedding, comes in for Eoin Larkin but is named at right corner forward against Waterford, as the holders bid for a third successive League title.

Justin McCarthy's statement that tomorrow's final wouldn't be "the be all and end all" of Waterford's season was on one level an obvious enough observation.

On another level it was maybe clever to ease the pressure on the team going into a national final but to many people it creates a comfort zone the team don't really need.

The one element of Waterford's performances that needs to be developed is the capacity to come out on top of must-win matches. Turning down whatever heat there is going into tomorrow's match doesn't seem like a priority.

It won't have escaped many people's attention in the south east that tomorrow's opponents Kilkenny have been their main obstacle in so many big matches down the years: Waterford's last three All-Ireland finals and two of their four recent semi-finals have been against their neighbours and only the 1959 All-Ireland ended up in their favour.

The historical precedents aside, Kilkenny are the current benchmark in the game and, even if they mightn't be in championship gear, their record in the league - going for a fifth title in six years - and standing in the championship have greatly added to the status of the competition.

There is also a question mark over the extent to which it's true that the league final can be treated as a subsidiary issue.

It's an interesting phenomenon that tomorrow's match completes a set for Kilkenny. It means that they will have played all five of Munster's hurling counties in their NHL finals this decade.

Looking back at what happened to those teams beaten by Kilkenny at this stage of the season doesn't make great reading for Waterford if the intention is not to get too worked up over it all.

None of the beaten finalists have thrived in the following championship and in all cases seemed to deflate a little after defeat whereas Kilkenny thrived.

Last year was another perfect example. Limerick went into the final after a campaign of real achievement including a draw with Kilkenny but although they didn't appear to lose much caste in defeat, conviction drained from the team and they endured a largely horrendous championship.

Waterford come into this with the best championship credentials of any of Kilkenny's above opponents. They have the benefit of two hard matches against Tipperary and Cork and can match the holders for physical strength and won't be pushed around. They also share their opponents' capacity to build rapid scoring sequences.

Kilkenny had a far easier passage against an error-prone Wexford in the semi-finals but also have a number of selection issues ahead of the championship.

The team shows four changes from that which won the All-Ireland with James McGarry, in goal, Michael Kavanagh and James Ryall in the backs and Eoin Larkin making way for PJ Ryan, Brian Hogan and JJ Delaney.

How the new defence copes with the prowess of Dan Shanahan under dropping ball and the pace of Eoin Kelly and John Mullane will be a central consideration.

The other change since last September sees James Fitzpatrick playing at full forward with Willie O'Dwyer coming in at centrefield.

There is no room for either of the Reids in the starting line-up but, if the match needs it, Kilkenny will make changes and replacements will get the chance to make an impact. Anyone playing well tomorrow is going to be in pole position for the championship even though it's a while away.

Waterford made hard labour of putting away Cork two weeks ago and unless they improve their accuracy will be in trouble because Kilkenny's forwards have a more varied menace than Cork.

Bearing that in mind and the belief that Kilkenny's defence will come through a demanding test the preference here is for the holders to rack up a third title on the spin.

KILKENNY: PJ Ryan; N Hickey, B Hogan, JJ Delaney; J Tyrrell, J Tennyson, T Walsh; D Lyng, W O'Dwyer; E Brennan, M Comerford, R Power; H Shefflin (capt), J Fitzpatrick, A Fogarty.

WATERFORD: C Hennessy; E Murphy, D Prendergast, J Murray; T Browne, K McGrath, A Kearney; M Walsh, S Molumphy; E Kelly, S Prendergast, S Walsh; J Mullane, D Shanahan, J Kennedy.

Referee: Séamus Roche (Tipperary).