"I Don’t Care": Rhys Shelly Defends His 'Antics' In Tipperary's All-Ireland Final Win

Tipperary goalkeeper Rhys Shelly has defended his vocal and animated style of play, insisting he won’t be changing for anyone, even after drawing criticism for his antics between the posts.

Shelly, who regained the number one spot for Tipperary’s crunch Munster SHC clash with Clare, ended the year as an All-Ireland winner and is expected to pick up an All-Star award next month.

But despite playing a crucial role in the Tipperary resurgence, he says some people still take issue with his presence in goal. Shelly noticeably clashed with Cork's Patrick Horgan towards the end of the first half in the All-Ireland final.

People still come at me for my antics in the goal, being loud, being vocal.People get a bit upset for telling them to ‘watch the post’ and ‘don’t mishit it’. I don’t think it’s anything offensive.

I don’t care. If I want to be annoying, I’ll be annoying.

Rhys Shelly says he’s dialled things down compared to a few years ago but has no intention of changing his personality to please others.

Back in the day, I was probably a bit worse. I did tend to lash out a bit more. I just try enjoy it and try not to let it get to me anymore.

It doesn’t bother me really, so I just go with the flow and do my own thing. I’m not really bothered by what other people think of me. The lads from the club are used to it by now, they just laugh at it.

Rhys Shelly became the first goalkeeper to score a point from play in an All-Ireland final, and now finds himself in a battle with Barry Hogan to secure the Tipperary number one jersey for 2026.

The two times I had it was mid-season, so that probably would be a big thing for me.A big driver going into this year is to try and lock down that jersey.

The Moycarkey-Borris man also revealed that he’s never modelled himself on any one goalkeeper, but cited Anthony Nash’s puck-outs and Eoin Murphy’s shot-stopping as standout influences.

Rhys Shelly was speaking as Tipperary GAA and Fiserv launched their new jersey for the 2026 season.