KYLE HAYES was just 18 years of age when drafted into the Limerick senior squad a season ahead of the breakthrough season of 2018.
The player who now chooses his moments and attacks brilliantly made his championship debut against Clare in the Summer of 2017.
12 months later, the still teenager prodigy of Kildimo/Pallaskenry (K/P) emerged as Man of the Match (and later Young Player of the Year) with a healthy haul of four points in the All-Ireland final defeat of favourites at Croke Park.
Back then, Hayes was the preferred choice at centre-forward but fast forward a little and he is even more at home in the near unbeatable half-back line.
The three-time All-Star career scoring total is 12 goals and 60-odd points. In Championship 2023, he has chipped in with crucial points, including a lovely brace against Galway a fortnight ago.
On the club front, he was instrumental in helping K/P win the Intermediate Championship in 2017 and the Premier Intermediate Championship three years later.
K/P are viewed as dark horses in the 2023 Senior Hurling Championship.
