“He’ll be missed on the sideline, and that Avonmore peaked cap will be treasured forever.”

There was a six week gap between Ballyhale's Leinster club final win and their All-Ireland semi-final against St Thomas and during that gap, TJ Reid was told not to train.

So he didn't. He did some light jogging and striking on the week of the game and then that Saturday, under the lights in Semple Stadium, he scored 2-5, including that unforgettable free with the last puck of the game. TJ had torn his groin in the county final and then, with mind ruling matter, he played the whole Leinster campaign on one leg. He says that wasn't the smartest move and for his troubles, and to complicate things even further, he picked up osteitis pubis as a result. Yet watching on you wouldn't have known a thing. TJ was still Ballyhale's main man right up until the All-Ireland final, where he scored 0-8, and despite being heavily hampered, he was still as good as ever. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1485301564868857857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1485301564868857857%7Ctwgr%5Ea084b278183804cd83e96d07fe3a991a2829bb8c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Fgaa%2Ftj-reid-breaks-st-thomas-hearts-moment-make-247593 Inevitably, the injury troubles carried over into the county season and for once, you could see it taking its toll. TJ played well against Westmeath and Laois but he was off-the-pace in the Cats' Round-Robin loss to Galway in Salthill, where he was whipped off at half-time. From then until the end of the season, it was business as usual. He was, at 34, and despite all those injury troubles, at the very top of the game. And that's why he's one of the greatest ever. "Look, I managed it quite well," TJ tells us.