Senior Hurling Club Championship 2015

[Keyser Söze]

i think there should be more tournaments for adult teams to enter like there was back in the day. that would give the likes of Ballyfin/Colt/Clonaslee a chance at good hard games of a higher grade and be up against teams from other counties.

Isn't the Palmer Cup for this sort of thing? There were more walkovers than games this year!

[finbar o tool]

Thats the league basically, every county has a league and a championship. I mean 1 or 2 day tournaments, with teams from various counties like they had in the 60s and 70s.
Just a thought is all!

[Keyser Söze]

Thats the league basically, every county has a league and a championship. I mean 1 or 2 day tournaments, with teams from various counties like they had in the 60s and 70s.
Just a thought is all!

Good idea. And would ye be wanting county players made available for this?!

[finbar o tool]

I thought IF such tournaments were to get up and running, it might benefit the senior A teams, not too many county players at senior A level i can tell ya!

[redsetanta]

So B/K best Rathdowney/Errill tonight. Tough game against Clogh/Ballacolla in Q/F. Both Ballinakill and Abbeyleix will be happy with the draw.

[finbar o tool]

BK 1-21 RE 1-20. A cracking game, especially the 2nd half. I called it wrong but BK showed they have some fight in them tonight, a huge win for them that might just galvanise their push for the county final!
They were the better team throughout, they worked harder and deserved the win. I thought Joe Campion would be a loss to them especially with Paddy Purcell back for RE but they held out well. Neil Foyle had a decent 1st half but did nothing in the 2nd before going off injured. The young Dunphy twins are showing their worth now with Aaron starting and contributed well, while Stephen came off the bench and banged in a crucial goal with his first touch. A good all round performance by BK.
The 2 Purcells, Joe Fitz and Brian Campion shone for RE, Dowling looked lively too when he was introduced, and these 2 matches will stand to them going up against a CB team who aren't quite firing at the moment.
At the moment i can see RE progressing which would probably mean a semi final date with Camross, and possibly Ballinakill will have just enough to get over Abbeyleix to meet BK. Although both quarter finals are fairly hard to call.

[Keyser Söze]

B/K surprised me tonight I would have to say.
Very mature performance.

I can see quarter final wins for R/E and Ballinakill.
Leaving semi finals of Camross v R/E and B/K v Ballinakill.
Hard not to see a third meeting between R/E & B/K before the year is out!

[redsetanta]

I was reading that PJ Scully has 3-34 amassed from 3 games. That's serious shooting.

[Uisce]

That is serious scoring.. I don't think he missed a free all night except the 65 at the end.. There was another play so he was lucky!!  It was a good game which R/E came back into well. Surprised they left Paddy Purcell in full forward almost the entire game. He did look dangerous when the ball went in but I wonder was he carrying some injury that they didn't bring him out.

Glad to see B/K get the win. Rely a lot on PJ though and that could be worry for them. Quarters should be interesting the way the draw worked out. Hard to pick a winner in either game but if they swapped around you would be confident enough of C/B and R/E getting through.As it is I will go for R/E and Ballinakil to progress.

[merman]

Relegation Play-Off
7:15 Saturday
Castletown vs The Harps

The Harps have had a thoroughly forgettable year and if they're not prepared for a battle than this could be ugly. I do think they have been unlucky in how the draw has worked against them but they simply haven't been good enough and I know there are a lot of worried Gaels around Durrow and Cullohill.
Castletown, for their part, have competed well throughout the league and will be somewhat more optimistic after a spirited performance against Abbeyleix. They will know what needs to be done and with Paul Cuddy likely to feature at some stage, they start as justifiable favourites.
I think there will be a kick in The Harps but if they don't have the stomach to win one at the wire then Castletown won't be denied.
I have a feeling we might see a draw here and both teams agony will be extended...

Quarter-Finals
Sunday

5:45
CB vs RE

Has the potential to be the game of the weekend.
If CB don't perform then despite League/Palmer Cup successes, this year will be seen as an out and out disaster. They'll have sleep-walked through a championship without any performance of note and missed out on a semi-final for the first time since 2007 I believe. Have they a performance in them?
RE have Ross King to factor in now too. He was injured before his J1 in the States and they'll be hopeful more so than convinced that he is 100% fit and ready for championship. I think they will start him and he is such an incredible talent it is likely that he will quickly come back to being their go-to forward. He has tormented CB over the last few years and he could well be the difference.
I've laid my stall out all year that I think RE and BK are the teams to beat. I expect RE to advance but I hope we see a great game and if CB fire then they have every chance.

7:15
Ballinakill vs Abbeyleix

An incredibly hard game to call I feel.
Abbeyleix play a nice brand of hurling but they just don't carry enough of a threat in their inside line. Oisín Carroll will likely come back into contention and he's a great defender who will be key should Ballinakill shift Cha in closer to goal.
Ballinakill have impressed me this year and had plenty of chances to punish Camross last time out, some of their wides were poor and they can't afford to be so wasteful again. They have a couple of square pegs in round holes and John Walsh will be a big loss if he doesn't make it.
I'd give Ballinakill the most hesitant of nods....

That would leave my projected semi-finals:
Camross vs RE and Ballinakill vs B/K

[Keyser Söze]

All 3 games are very hard to call this weekend. Don't think any of the three possible results in any of the three games would be a shock to anyone.
Suppose this underlines the competitiveness of the  championship if nothing else.

Despite that I'll go for narrow wins for Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and Ballinakill.

Castletown to fight like hell on their backs.

Rathdowney Errill to have the talent and (more importantly) cohesion to take Clough Ballacolla. Rathdowney Errill have hurled two highly competive games since Clough Ballacolla beat The Harps in 3rd gear.

Cha to come good after 2 anonymous enough games by his standards and notch a decent personal tally to see Ballinakill over the line. These are two very well matched teams and to me it's the most likely of the 3 to end in a draw.

Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and Ballinakill treble pays almost 5/1 with PP.
Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and a Draw pays almost 25/1 with PP.

But again any combination of results would be no huge shock here.

BTW- Ballyfin hammering Shanahoe was mildly surprising (to me), I would have had them as much of a muchness. Anyone at it, are Ballyfin decent enough?

[Mossy Bruce]

I'm thrilled about the results of The Harps v. Castletown match.

Could anyone offer any details of this match? Thanks.

[finbar o tool]

Great win for the Harps last night, wasnt at it though so dont know the details! Castletown in trouble...

I was at the games tonight, 2 strange games, both were fairly dead.
I guess we should have known CB would pull out all the stops to try beat RE but the big story for me tonight is how bad RE were! Especially their forwards! They were brutal, but at the same time CB backs were very good and very tough. Kavanagh got 6 inches of the hurl into the ribs after 3 seconds and didnt want to know about it for the rest of the match. Apart from the frees. Joe Fitz the old reliable for RE, surprised he wasnt told to follow Hyland. Willie did a bit of damage when he was moved off Joe. after the draw, i think BK forwards will struggle with CBs physicality! BK do have speed though if they use it right.
Should be a good semi final! CB to come through by 3 or 4 pts.
Ballinakill and Abbeyleix was a bit 'Meh'. Nothing to get excited about, again after the draw, Camross will put someone on Cha to do a job and that will be the end of Ballinakill, they have no one else realistically. Camross to win that by 8 pts or more.
Not a great championship so far IMO.

[Keyser Söze]

All 3 games are very hard to call this weekend. Don't think any of the three possible results in any of the three games would be a shock to anyone.
Suppose this underlines the competitiveness of the  championship if nothing else.

Despite that I'll go for narrow wins for Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and Ballinakill.

Castletown to fight like hell on their backs.

Rathdowney Errill to have the talent and (more importantly) cohesion to take Clough Ballacolla. Rathdowney Errill have hurled two highly competive games since Clough Ballacolla beat The Harps in 3rd gear.

Cha to come good after 2 anonymous enough games by his standards and notch a decent personal tally to see Ballinakill over the line. These are two very well matched teams and to me it's the most likely of the 3 to end in a draw.

Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and Ballinakill treble pays almost 5/1 with PP.
Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and a Draw pays almost 25/1 with PP.

But again any combination of results would be no huge shock here.

BTW- Ballyfin hammering Shanahoe was mildly surprising (to me), I would have had them as much of a muchness. Anyone at it, are Ballyfin decent enough?

I won't give up the day job just yet.

Fair play to The Harps. Castletown were dreadful. As bad as they are it's difficult to see anyone beating them in Senior B next year (unless Portlaoise are still there).

Rathdowney Errill didn't fire at all but in fairness to Clough Ballacolla they proved me wrong and for the first time this year played as a team. Rathdowney Errill's panel looks a lot shallower than at any time since they joined up. Still they will be back as strong as ever next year.

Ballinakill deserved their win and one prediction I did get right was for Cha to hurl his best game to date. It just goes to show how important winning your first game is. The way the draw worked out, its not a massive jump to say that had Castletown beaten Ballinakill they would probably have lost to Camross but could well have beaten Abbeyleix and be preparing for a semi final v Camross. Instead they are relegated. First game in this structure is season defining.
Abbeyleix will feel this was a game they should be winning to continue on their upward curve. In reality they are probably about to hit a bit of a plateaux. I don't see anything coming through in the next 2-3 years that will take them to the next level. They could be facing a surprise relegation battle in the next year or two.

To the semi finals, I heard some remark "typical Camross, lucky again" when the draw was made. In this case you certainly make your own luck, they keep winning games, no matter the opposition. I think I am right in saying that Arien Delaney's championship record is Played 11 Won 9 Drawn 1 Lost 1. Some record, especially considering where they were coming from. They have beaten Clough Ballacolla (3 times I think), Portlaoise three times, Abbeyleix, Ballinakill and Borris Kilcotton. They have beaten all the top teams bar Rathdowney Errill, who are now gone. It's remarkable consistency over 3 years of championship.

The other semi is a bit iffy. I wrote Clough Ballacolla off prematurely. I'm going to go against them again. Borris Kilcotton have the talent, the panel and the manager. Have they the balls? They have no distractions. Senior Bs are gone, Junior As are gone, Minors are gone. I can't think of any loss to injury or emigration. Are Clough Ballacolla able to reproduce tonights intensity?
This semi final should produce the champions, but I'm not sure the boys from the mountain are listening.......

[Dave like the tv channel]

All 3 games are very hard to call this weekend. Don't think any of the three possible results in any of the three games would be a shock to anyone.
Suppose this underlines the competitiveness of the  championship if nothing else.

Despite that I'll go for narrow wins for Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and Ballinakill.

Castletown to fight like hell on their backs.

Rathdowney Errill to have the talent and (more importantly) cohesion to take Clough Ballacolla. Rathdowney Errill have hurled two highly competive games since Clough Ballacolla beat The Harps in 3rd gear.

Cha to come good after 2 anonymous enough games by his standards and notch a decent personal tally to see Ballinakill over the line. These are two very well matched teams and to me it's the most likely of the 3 to end in a draw.

Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and Ballinakill treble pays almost 5/1 with PP.
Castletown, Rathdowney Errill and a Draw pays almost 25/1 with PP.

But again any combination of results would be no huge shock here.

BTW- Ballyfin hammering Shanahoe was mildly surprising (to me), I would have had them as much of a muchness. Anyone at it, are Ballyfin decent enough?

I won't give up the day job just yet.

Fair play to The Harps. Castletown were dreadful. As bad as they are it's difficult to see anyone beating them in Senior B next year (unless Portlaoise are still there).

Rathdowney Errill didn't fire at all but in fairness to Clough Ballacolla they proved me wrong and for the first time this year played as a team. Rathdowney Errill's panel looks a lot shallower than at any time since they joined up. Still they will be back as strong as ever next year.

Ballinakill deserved their win and one prediction I did get right was for Cha to hurl his best game to date. It just goes to show how important winning your first game is. The way the draw worked out, its not a massive jump to say that had Castletown beaten Ballinakill they would probably have lost to Camross but could well have beaten Abbeyleix and be preparing for a semi final v Camross. Instead they are relegated. First game in this structure is season defining.
Abbeyleix will feel this was a game they should be winning to continue on their upward curve. In reality they are probably about to hit a bit of a plateaux. I don't see anything coming through in the next 2-3 years that will take them to the next level. They could be facing a surprise relegation battle in the next year or two.

To the semi finals, I heard some remark "typical Camross, lucky again" when the draw was made. In this case you certainly make your own luck, they keep winning games, no matter the opposition. I think I am right in saying that Arien Delaney's championship record is Played 11 Won 9 Drawn 1 Lost 1. Some record, especially considering where they were coming from. They have beaten Clough Ballacolla (3 times I think), Portlaoise three times, Abbeyleix, Ballinakill and Borris Kilcotton. They have beaten all the top teams bar Rathdowney Errill, who are now gone. It's remarkable consistency over 3 years of championship.

The other semi is a bit iffy. I wrote Clough Ballacolla off prematurely. I'm going to go against them again. Borris Kilcotton have the talent, the panel and the manager. Have they the balls? They have no distractions. Senior Bs are gone, Junior As are gone, Minors are gone. I can't think of any loss to injury or emigration. Are Clough Ballacolla able to reproduce tonights intensity?
This semi final should produce the champions, but I'm not sure the boys from the mountain are listening.......

Good post. Looking forward to these semifinals. I'd love to see BK make the breakthrough this year.