That's all from me on a magical day for Kilkenny at Nowlan Park. The Black & Amber are still a force to be reckoned with - why do we ever doubt them? Thanks for following our Tracker during the league ... we'll be back for the championship.

Another league win for Kilkenny over Tipperary. Reid with fifteen points; Forde with 2-12 for the losers. A ninth league title for Brian Cody and first since 2014.

HL1 final full time: Kilkenny 2-23 Tipperary 2-17

Kilkenny win the league for the 18th time, having lost their first two games of the campaign. Stunning performance today from TJ Reid, Walter Walsh and Paddy Deegan in particular.

Tipp go for goal but there are is no way through those 13 defenders!

Tipp win a '65' on 70 minutes as the Kilkenny defence stands firm.

Sixty seconds plus injury time... Eoin Murphy clears his lines.

Two minutes of normal time to go...

Goal!

Forde stands up to address a Tipp free and goes for goal. His shot is half-blocked but the sliothar bobbles onwards and over the line: 2-23 to 2-17 with five minutes left!

Goal!

Substitute Conor Fogarty hares through the Kilkenny defence and smashes a powerful shot to the net - game over! 2-23 to 1-17!

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-23 Tipperary 1-17

Forde chips over from the sideline - they are making those look ridiculously easy these days!

Eight minutes left; seven between them.

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-23 Tipperary 1-16

Walter Walsh with a stunning brace. He makes the game look very easy when he's on form. Inches wide from Deegan from tremendous distance.

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-21 Tipperary 1-16

Paudie Maher gets the head down and runs into a few Kilkenny players. Free is awarded and Forde whips it over.

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-21 Tipperary 1-15

I make that 1-10 for Forde as he nails the '65'.

Forde's shot is deflected out for a Tipp '65'.

Superb defending by Tipperary!

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-21 Tipperary 1-14

Reid again, another free, as the Cats start to pull away.

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-20 Tipperary 1-14

As we pass the three-quarters mark, Reid (free) smacks over his 14th point.

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-19 Tipperary 1-14

Sub Liam Blanchfield cancels out Forde's free.

TJ Reid again as Forde taps over a free at the other end.

HL1 final: Kilkenny 1-18 Tipperary 1-13

Padraic Maher harshly penalised for too many steps and Reid nails a simple free from in front of the posts.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-13 Kilkenny 1-17

Reid's low-trajectory free finds the target, as they invariably do!

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-13 Kilkenny 1-16

Forde makes no mistake as he fires over a free.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-12 Kilkenny 1-16

Reid sends over another free - four in a row for the hosts!

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-12 Kilkenny 1-15

Three between them now as Reid sweeps over another free and Donnelly gets his second.

Save!

A wondersave from Eoin Murphy as he gets down low to his left to deny John O'Dwyer!

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-12 Kilkenny 1-13

John Donnelly quickly replies to Forde's soft free.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-11 Kilkenny 1-12

John McGrath replies.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-10 Kilkenny 1-12

Reid's free creeps inside the post.

Goal!

What a start to the second half for the Cats as Walter Walsh tears through to bang to the net inside 20 seconds - 1-11 to 1-10!

17,608 in attendance as Tipp finally reappear.

Tipp remain in the bowels of the stadium. John O'Dwyer will be in for the second half if and when they do re-emerge.

The Cats have the breeze behind them now, attacking the O'Loughlins end of Nowlan Park.

Kilkenny out first for the second half. Who will take the silverware? Will extra time be needed? Don't count it out!

Analysis:

It has been a tame enough affair so far. Forde's goal and Reid's three wonderful points from play have been the highlights so far. I'm expecting both sides to step it up a notch or two when the action restarts.

HL1 final half time: Tipperary 1-10 Kilkenny 0-11

Forde's goal is the difference between the teams at the break. He got 1-6 and Reid (0-8) isn't too far behind him. The game caught fire in the last 15 minutes before the break.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-10 Kilkenny 0-11

Reid on the run with his third fantastic point from play as the half ends in a flurry of scores!

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-10 Kilkenny 0-10

A second successive free from Forde but Martin Keoghan hits back in the 35th minute. Seamus Kennedy then arrows over Tipp's tenth.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-8 Kilkenny 0-9

Forde converts the free so the fist-pumping was not in vain!

Fist-pump frenzy!

An outburst of fist-pumping sweeps through the Tipp ranks as they win a free!!!

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-7 Kilkenny 0-9

Reid was under immense pressure but he got back up onto his feet after winning the ball and then slotted his point with tremendous aplomb.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-7 Kilkenny 0-8

McGrath loses his man to fire a lovely shot over his shoulder and over the bar in the 29th minute.

Cillian Buckley deservedly gets a free-out after the referee changes his mind.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-6 Kilkenny 0-8

Great score from Richie Leahy who pulls it back to a one-point game.

HL1 final: Tipperary 1-6 Kilkenny 0-7

Reid replies from another trademark free.

Goal!

In the 24th minute, Forde takes the pass from John McGrath and drills the ball low past Murphy to the net. Sean Curran follows up with a point and it's 1-6 to 0-6!

A Tipp effort is contentiously waved wide by the umpires.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-5 Kilkenny 0-6

Reid's fifth point (free) has the Cats in front for the first time with 22 minutes played.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-5 Kilkenny 0-5

Showing no ill effects of that early thump, Reid helps himself to a delightful score from play!

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-5 Kilkenny 0-4

A Forde free from a tight angle on the left has the Premier back in front.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-4 Kilkenny 0-4

Reid nails a free from distance and we move into the second quarter.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-3 Kilkenny 0-3

Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy punishes the foul on Deegan by bombing over a long-range free.

Scores surprisingly hard to come by so far.

Brilliant defending by Kilkenny corner back Paddy Deegan!

Richie Leahy was sure that shot was over but it's waved wide.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-4 Kilkenny 0-2

No way in the world was that a foul but Forde doesn't mind as he sweeps over the Tipp free.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-3 Kilkenny 0-2

Reid taps over a routine free.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-3 Kilkenny 0-1

Reid opens the Black & Amber account with a supreme finish from a sideline cut on the right wing in the tenth minute; Willie Connors replies.

James Barry bats the ball out of Walter Walsh's hand.

Wide from Alan Murphy. No score for the Cats in the first eight minutes.

Scrappy stuff as possession is keenly contested. Wide from Tipp.

Real concern for Kilkenny as TJ Reid goes down with an injury. He's back on his feet but looks shaky.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-2 Kilkenny 0-0

Forde calmly slots the sliothar over the bar.

A free to Tipp from 65 metres and I'd expect this one to sail over...

To the right and wide from Kilkenny's Alan Murphy. That was a good move.

HL1 final: Tipperary 0-1 Kilkenny 0-0

No surprise to see Jason Forde open the scoring!

Tipp attack first but no joy.

Game on!

Galway's Alan Kelly gets us started. Both teams as selected.

The national anthem rings out. There's nothing like Tipp and Kilkenny in the hurling...

They're only parading around a bit of it; a few shortcuts taken.

It's a beautiful day for the players to be parading around the shrine. Here's looking forward to an epic contest!

Conditions are ideal. The sun is out and the pitch appears to be in fantastic nick.

With ten minutes left before throw-in, the players are finishing their preparations. The general consensus is that another Tipp-Kilkenny classic could be in prospect.

Transition

Fourteen of the 30 players who started the 2016 All-Ireland final are named in the starting XVs today. Some turnover in 18 months!

It has already been a successful league campaign for both Tipp and Kilkenny, both of whom have bedded some new talent in and look to be in good stead heading into the championship. But neither side will want to lose today, with silverware up for grabs, bragging rights at stake and a trip to Australia for the winners as an added bonus.

Less then 20 minutes to throw-in at Nowlan Park. Tipp trying to bridge a ten-year gap, while the Cats only have to go back four years to their last HL success.

I'll be back before throw-in with a build up to the game and the latest team news and some other warbling followed by text commentary on the HL1 finale.

Weather watch:

After the prolonged, bitter winter, spring and summer seem to have arrived simultaneously. It's a perfect day for sport.

Kilkenny (Allianz HL final v Tipperary): Eoin Murphy; Joey Holden, Padraig Walsh, Paddy Deegan; Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley, Enda Morrissey; Richie Leahy, James Maher; Martin Keoghan, TJ Reid, John Donnelly; Bill Sheehan, Walter Walsh, Alan Murphy.

Tipperary (Allianz HL final v Kilkenny): Daragh Mooney; Alan Flynn, James Barry, Michael Cahill; Barry Heffernan, Padraic Maher, Ronan Maher; Brendan Maher, Seamus Kennedy; Sean Curran, Billy McCarthy, John McGrath; Michael Breen, Jason Forde, Willie Connors.

Tipp toppers

But Tipperary lead the Roll of Honour with 19 league crowns to date, two ahead of second-placed Kilkenny. Today, the Premier County aim for a first league win in ten years.

No.9 for Brian?

Brian Cody is bidding to lead the Cats to the title for the ninth time, having overseen their all-conquering 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014 campaigns.

A final to relish

At 3:30 today, old rivals Kilkenny and Tipperary will lock horns at Nowlan Park in the 2018 national hurling league Division One final. It has the makings of an unforgettable decider and we will be providing LIVE text commentary on all the action as the extended league season comes to a close.