Tipperary boss Colm Bonnar said that Ronan Maher was out to prove a point after driving the team to victory over Kilkenny.
Newly-appointed skipper Maher was held in reserve as Bonnar showed faith in the fringe players that featured in the opening day win over Laois but he made an immediate impact when introduced in the second half, scoring a point from distance and setting up another from his first two plays.
Tipp went on to secure a 1-19 to 1-18 victory over their fiercest rivals to go top of Division 1B.
Bonnar said: “Ronan obviously was very disappointed he wasn't starting from the start.
“Our first home game and him as captain, he would have loved to have lead the team out onto the field but we just felt the likes of Dillon Quirke and Barry Heffernan, they played very well against Laois and it was an opportunity for them to keep their development going.
“When Ronan came on, there was such a roar behind me from the crowd and then his introduction and what a score. It says, 'Here I am, so don't forget about me'.
“That's what we want, we want players coming on and making a contribution and having that kind of attitude.”
With this being the first year of the split season proper, Bonnar said that he needs to find out about as many players as he can with the Championship opener against Waterford on April 17 fast approaching.
“These players we're looking forward, the likes of Dillon Quirke and all these fellas.
“They want to play these big games, they want to show they've something to offer Tipperary, they've something to bring.
“We have 33 very dedicated lads and every time I announce the team, there's a lot of them very disappointed.
“You saw the quality of some of the players we were bringing in there as well into the game.
“We're building. It's about building a team and that's what we're doing. We're eight weeks away from Championship.
“As nice as it is to win, we need to get players onto the field, we need to see what they're about, let them experience a match like today and keep building for the first round of Championship.”
He added: “We’ll have to move it on a bit because that’s the second day we’re after putting out the same team, so we’ll change it up a bit because there’s other players going as well in training.
“As a management team, we have to make a few hard calls, but the bunch of lads there are tight and becoming more of a team as the games go by.”
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