From afar: Cody cared for nothing but winning, regardless of the cost and by any means fair or foul. Ruthless, he ran his teams like a drill sergeant and psyched them into every game as if they were going into actual battle.
At their height, around 2008, I saw them as the most brilliant team playing any sport in the world. Their destruction of Waterford in that 2008 final was the most merciless display I have ever witnessed.
That Cody was man of the match says it all.
For me the root of his brilliance was his abilty to recognise and find the exact type of character that he wanted in his team. KK players with skill being relatively plentiful in his era, he pinpointed those with the mindset and resilience to treat every game as real war. No surprise there were army lads in the iterations of his successful teams.
And Jackie Tyrell....I mean the lad was an actual dog of war.