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Yes that I am?

[The same was probably said of Portlaoise this year and Ballinakill before them. A team needs the exposure of senior hurling at the very least pretty lazy statement from you to be honest]

Bad weekend overall for Laois hurling. Interesting to see what action the CB take.

Both Senior B semi finals were shocking poor. It doesn't really matter who wins it- they will most likely be in for a short stay at Senior. The same was probably said of Portlaoise this year and Ballinakill before them. A team needs the exposure of senior hurling at the very least pretty lazy statement from you to be honest

Its a pity it took Saturday nights incident to get a mention of the Senior B championship.

Both games Saturday evening were scrappy affairs and whats more worrying for Castletown surely is the fact that Clonaslee really should have beaten them was it not for Youngs mistake which in turn led to the madness. Its probably unfair to blame all the Clonaslee club here. Youngs actions were disgraceful no argument but to blame the whole club for one or two individuals is not entirely fair and this is not coming form a Clonaslee club person.

I am right in assuming there will be a triple header on the 25th?

How in good jasus is Malachy McNulty being even mentioned for this? Chap only in his 2nd year coaching at club level and as someone has already stated coaching probably the most dominant club side in Laois's history with a massive number of players at his disposal. Let him get at least 5 good years under his belt then mention him

Ballyfin decided not to play the league is where my issue starts and stops.  I don't agree with it and I don't think I can be persuaded that this is a good thing.  Ballyfin have some great footballers in Moore, Finn & Connolly plus others I am not aware of.  If all they are going to get each year is 2-3 games of football how can this be a good thing for Ballyfin football or Laois football.  Good Luck to you against Crettyard, however maybe you should be asking the question how far can this team go with the right structures around them. 

Personally I think any team that has been in 2 out of the last 3 Leinster club  finals only to be beaten by the All Ireland Club champions each time is a pretty exceptional club team to have in any championship.  I may be wrong.

I don't think there is anything wrong with Laois Senior Football Club Championship.  My comparison is Ballyroan and Abbeyleix both are in similar stages in development.  I just feel the Football Senior Championship gives teams abit more time to find form and themselves.  Whereas the Hurling is too tough too early.  Some teams take 3-5 games before they are hitting peak and I feel in hurling you don't get this chance but in football you do. If the hurling championship structure  is so strong why has no Laois Club had any success in Leinster Club Championship while even if Portlaoise are not so good, does a Laois Club Football team regularly qualify for Leinster Finals.

I think the standard of club football in Leinster is quite poor to be honest. Lets not forget here that Portlaoise, outside of the Dublin superpowers are probably the biggest club population wise in Leinster and as such are well equipped to swat away the majority of what the province has to offer until they ultimately meet the Dublin champs. There arnt many county towns which have only one club but alas that story has been told more than once at this stage!

Too tough too early?? I think the football layout in its current format encourages mediocrity of which we are witnessing constantly. We need a competitive championship to improve standards to in turn improve the county setup.

Ballyfin were not the outstanding favs for relegation as long as they have players like Moore, Finn, Connolly etc however whats the point in having a senior team if avoiding relegation is the most you aspire to ? Portlaoise are an outstanding team not that the rest are all that bad just Portlaoise are exceptional.

What a result for Ballyfin yesterday! all the keyboard warriors choking on their lattes this morning!!Few points in relation to you BallyroanAbu as you have had enough to say about Ballyfin over the past couple of months.

Championship is where it matters and league performance or participation does not have much bearing on football in August / September just ask the Heath that. I'm sure they would swap a league cup for a relegation semi final at this stage.

And I think in only our 2nd year ever at senior level, consolidating our  status and avoiding relegation is ambitious enough considering over half that team also hurl at a very high level similar to only 2 other clubs in the county , Clonaslee and Portlaoise. 

Finally I also disagree with your comment on Portlaoise being an outstanding team. To think Emo could have won a county final last year kind of sums up the standard of football in Laois. The structure is shocking and really needs to follow the hurling model of a senior and senior B championship. To have 16 "senior" teams is a joke. Portlaoise miles ahead of everyone but always get found put against any sort of quality in Leinster. There are at least 8-10 teams in Laois not at senior level our own club included. A competitive senior B and Intermediate championsjip could only improve the standard?

Is that the same Tyrell that was over Emeralds (Urlingford) when they relegated last year?

Quick question then. Who has been the most consistent or successful club in Leinster over the past 10 years?

St Vincents of Dublin.

3 Leinsters since 07 and an all Ireland victory also coming out of an extremely competitive championship also.

I suppose we may agree to disagree.

My point was Portlaoise dominated in stages yet could never get ahead and put distance between themselves and Boden. To answer your question also having been at the 3 games yes the Longford and Carlow champions were shite. Sarsfields could have possibly beaten them to and were a much sterner test .

Surely a more competitive home championship would have gotten them over the line in Leinster at this stage? You say Boden couldnt live with them but were they (Ballyboden) ever in any serious bother?They would have been IF Portlaoise converted half their chances but they didnt and against lesser teams you get away with that. Against quality opposition you do not.

9 in row is an achievement but IMO is somewhat being tarnished by their lack of success outside of the county. 2 Leinsters and no All Ireland's in that time confounds this. Look at what Cross have done in the same time. And my original point was Portlaoise had no one to stay with McCauley and I stand by that point. He was immense in fairness but I think he really exploited Portlaoises lack of physicality in the middle. If he done what he did to Whelan against Cross do you think he would have sauntered in to set up a score? Extremely doubtful

I think that is nonsense.
Portlaoise had lots of chances to win this game; if they won it no one would say it was handy. They were clearly the more natural footballers and dominated for long spells. It isn't the best Portlaoise team; there are certainly some weaknesses but what they are is a great unit.
Hats off to them, they can hold their heads high.
No one can deny they have been the most consistent team in Leinster in the last ten years.

And having read that I feel that is nonsense! Ballyboden had lots of chances also and took the majority of them. Would that Portlaoise team have won 9 in a row in Dublin? Absolutely not. They win a championship of reduced quality year in year out and are always found out against real quality. I have nothing personally against Portlaoise and to win 9 in a row anywhere is an achievement but my point is that it is actually this success that is their downfall.

Hats off to them they gave what they have but ultimately it was not enough. They have been consistently been the best team in Laois over the last 10 years but to say the most consistent team in Leinster is rubbish. 2 wins from 9 appearances with no All Ireland's? Hardly a consistent return

I suppose we may agree to disagree.

My point was Portlaoise dominated in stages yet could never get ahead and put distance between themselves and Boden. To answer your question also having been at the 3 games yes the Longford and Carlow champions were shite. Sarsfields could have possibly beaten them to and were a much sterner test .

Surely a more competitive home championship would have gotten them over the line in Leinster at this stage? You say Boden couldnt live with them but were they (Ballyboden) ever in any serious bother?They would have been IF Portlaoise converted half their chances but they didnt and against lesser teams you get away with that. Against quality opposition you do not.

9 in row is an achievement but IMO is somewhat being tarnished by their lack of success outside of the county. 2 Leinsters and no All Ireland's in that time confounds this. Look at what Cross have done in the same time. And my original point was Portlaoise had no one to stay with McCauley and I stand by that point. He was immense in fairness but I think he really exploited Portlaoises lack of physicality in the middle. If he done what he did to Whelan against Cross do you think he would have sauntered in to set up a score? Extremely doubtful

I can't help but agree with Woolys assessment on Newstalk last night that Portlaoise generally suffer when a game needs to be closed out. They are never challenged in Laois and got a soft run to the Leinster final this year apart from maybe Sarsfields. That may not have been a vintage Boden team either however they were a lot more street smart than the town. McCauley was immense and Portlaoise had no one to live with him.

Really don't know if there is an answer for Portlaoise. Too good for Laois not good enough for Leinster unfortunately. They will be sick but hard to blame Cahillane on his own. Even after that miss Boyle had a somewhat easy chance in front of goals but managed to drive that wide to along with Brodys 45.

Unconfirmed retirements from the senior panel: Tommy Fitzgerald , John A Delaney , Dayne Peacock , Joe Fitzpatrick

"Brody, Seale, Cotter, Healy, Lillis, Boyle, Smyth, Dillon, Cahillane and Rodgers would all be valuable additions to the Laois squad this year. Here is hoping Lillis can get these lads on board. "

Boyle and Brody and Dillon were there this year were they not? Not really an addition then.

Of the rest Healy will hurl away Id imagine. Smyth would be worth a look along with Cotter and Seale however Rogers and Cahilane have been in before and offered nothing. Neither that young anymore either  and generally if they havnt established themselves by now as inter county they they are not going to make it. Same goes for Lilis but im sure his father will be anxious to give him another go.

Portlaoise are playing Meath Senior champions Kiltale in the semi final. Kiltale are 9/2 second favourites to win Leinster outright and beat Ballinakill in the semi last year before losing by 3 points to Mullinvat of Kilkenny in the final. They ousted Conor McDonalds club of Wexford in the last round and will probably be too strong for Portlaoise. Bennettsbridge are hot favourites to win a second Leinster crown in two years having won the junior equivalent last year and to win junior and intermediate championships back to back in Kilkenny is some achievement. Too long a gap for Portlaoise without any competitive hurling will be their downfall

Think they've seen Ballyfin's history in both codes this year, and with Ballylinan being no angels either, they might need their best ref to keep them from killing eachother.

A bit of a snide remark to be fair. If Kinsella had to be reffing the Josephs game then maybe we would have had no "history" at all as you say yourself.

On the game itself there wasn't one dirty stroke in it a testament to both teams. Ballyfin did their best to lose it with Sean Moore missing an easy free to put us 5 up but we just about held. Gary Walsh looked extremely dangerous any time he got the ball which unfortunately for Ballylinan wasn't enough.

Delighted for the lads. Horan, Finn and the 2 Moores all played massive games. Delighted for the lads to stay up. Another year will benefit them no end