'You Could Never Imagine Yourself Doing That': Richie Hogan Explains How Austin Gleeson Blew Him Away In 2016

It was a tad controversial when Austin Gleeson beat Tipperary duo Seamus Callanan and Padraic Maher to win Hurler of the Year in 2016, having been knocked out in the semi-final stages with Waterford.

Tipperary supporters argued that a split vote was the reason their duo were beaten to the top gong.

Fellow players voted for the GAA/GPA players of the year back then as they do now, but the system initially worked off votes for first preferences only.

It has since changed to proportional representation where instead of voting for just their first preference, players now vote for their second and third preferences for the award as well, to avoid splitting the vote.

Waterford lost the semi-final to Kilkenny after an epic pair of games, the first in Croke Park and the second in Semple Stadium. Derek McGrath's Déise led for the majority of the first game but were pegged back by a 69th minute goal by Walter Walsh and drew 0-24 to 1-21.

Mount Sion dynamo Austin Gleeson was man-of-the-match in the drawn game having scored five points from play, ruling the skies under the puck-outs before demonstrating his vast array of skills, scoring points from all rangles and angles.

The 21-year-old continued in that vein of form in the replay seven days later.

He soared high to make an incredible catch from Stephen O'Keeffe's first puck-out of the day, beating a number of Kilkenny men with the skill they prided themselves on, aerial ability.

He ligt a spark in Semple Stadium moments later with the game's opening goal.

Michael 'Brick' Walsh won possession along the sideline before hand-passing to an onrushing Gleeson. He was tightly marked by Conor Fogarty but managed to shake him off with a quick solo before lashing past Eoin Murphy with a snappy strike. He followed it up with Waterford's first point moments later, linking up well with Stephen Bennett, lifting the Waterford crowd once more.

Colin Fennelly struck back with a quickfire brace of goals for Kilkenny and Brian Cody's team held onto win by 2-19 to 2-17, setting up an All-Ireland final with rivals Tipperary.

Seamus Callanan bossed the final with 0-13, 0-9 from play and many felt he was the Hurler of the Year in waiting. But Gleeson won the award as well as the Young Hurler gong.

It was a surprise to many but speaking on Off The Ball on Thursday night, Richie Hogan explained just how impressive Gleeson was in the semi-final.

"He's one of the only players I've ever played against, who I've looked at on the pitch and thought 'Jesus,' in terms of the stuff he did on the pitch," Hogan said.

"We played them in the 2016 All-Ireland semi-final replay and he played in the forwards in the first half, and he was playing in defence in the second half.

"I remember looking at him catching the ball and the height that he was able to get and the timing that he had.

"He was catching balls over TJ Reid and Conor Fogarty and Michael Fennelly and all of these incredible players that we have who are very strong in the air and this guy was just towering over them.

"I just thought to myself, you could never imagine yourself doing something like that."

"He's one of the only players I've ever seen where his heights and standards are incredibly high when he's playing at the top. Getting there all the time is the challenge," added Hogan.

🗣"He is their most talented player."

🗣"He's one of the only players I've ever played against..."

Richie Hogan has the highest of high praise for Austin Gleeson.#GAA pic.twitter.com/BxDJS1AHWN

— Off The Ball (@offtheball) May 1, 2025

Gleeson returned to the Waterford panel this year having sat out last season. He missed much of their league campaign through injury but having come on as a sub in their win over Clare last weekend, he's named on the bench for Saturday's clash with Limerick, with Waterford fans hoping their talisman can make a big impact on the game.