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The issue is not that Joe Mac finalists are getting to play in the "real championship". The issue is that they are being asked to do it 6/7 days after the final itself. If that continues, it's not hard to see what the trend is going to be.

I do agree, though, that the gap is narrowing. I feel that if Laois has played Wexford in the Joe Mac final, it would have been a very close game.

...hurling "experts" from Munster counties who think we have no business being here and would much prefer if Galway and Waterford were playing Cork and Wexford today. Don't forget that last year they attempted to remove the link between the Joe McDonagh finalists and the All Ireland series...

Bastards

Since it came in with the round robin in 2018

There has been 13 of these preliminary quarter finals

The Joe MacDonagh team has won just 1

The winning margin before yesterday was an average of 22 points

I'm all for the promotion of hurling but Joe Mac teams playing 3rd in Leinster or Munster 6/7 days after the final is a complete mismatch and waste of time

The Joe MacDonagh should be a standalone competition with more media coverage,2 semi finals and spread out so that the final is the curtain raiser to the All Ireland Final

Fully agree.

Don't disagree that it's not what you'd want from senior players but there were plenty of opportunities to give Lee Cleere a game. I agree Willie Dunphy hasn't as much cause for complaint although he is more proven in big games than some others. Anyway, you're right - there's not much point in talking about it now.

In fairness, I think both could've had a bit more game time. Lee Cleere in particular didn't seem to get much of a chance although he's a reliable back

Well said.

Just my opinion. The appointment surprised me when I first heard about it. It seems it took a few by surprise

https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2023/10/27/news/justin_mcnulty_s_antics_leave_sdlp_assembly_team_deeply_frustrated_says_party_source-3734345/

Fair enough. But that article would give some credibility to the idea that Justin was not terribly happy with the SDLP in the first place. Neil Blaney's comments about Justin being "forced out" might suggest that the relationship there wasn't good before the Laois job ever came along. I don't know any of these details but I'm quite sure he's able to weigh his options up fairly sensibly.

I have to say, you're not giving the man much credit for being able to make good decisions about his own affairs, about which he presumably knows more about than you do!

Yes but the Russians eventually won that battle.

https://x.com/laoisgaels/status/1695799683371671760?s=46&t=grubKL1RsOWb2cojdN51-Q

It shouldn't be too much for the Laois GAA website to publish these results as a matter of course.

Maybe I'm getting my wires crossed but didn't someone on here say not long ago that we have a very talented bunch of u-15s this year?

   Arrabawn B QF   

   Galway 1 v Laois   
   Galway 2 v Dublin 2   
   Dublin 1 v Tipperary 2   O'Toole Park Crumlin
   Kilkenny 2 v Offaly 1   
      
  i dont think you understand what is need in Laois Hurling . keyboard warriors are not the answer . putting half truths out to there thinking this is a answer is dreaming .sorry in my late reply i am just back from coaching two hurling sessions to juveniles. i was involved with this current team but had to leave due to time commitments . the player you speak of was never even in the top 5 while i was there just like other members of his family he decided Laois was not what he wanted . he wasn't begged back as why should he be ?? the management moved on and built a stronger team . he certainty wasn't a team player .

my interest in the future of Laois Hurling. just seen this some time ago and it drives me mad when people put half untruths up to suit there agenda ??  this team(the first team) yes have lost to limerick and dublin in challenge game but gone on to beat limerick in limerick and galway in galway,destory antrim in antrim although i am not involved i still keep a keen eye on this squad . there second team are not bad hurlers but find it hard to string win together , you should really contact Shane keegan because i know this management panel are always looking for help to drive thing on

Was listening to Eamonn O Shea the other night about trying to create the idea that the county team should be elite at all levels and the players should feel it. While I applaud people like yourself for the time you are putting in, the post above doesn't seem like an elite way of managing young players (and I'm saying this without knowing any of the details or the people involved).

So if everything this Board do is shrouded in secrecy (the result of which only benefits themselves) why would potentially interested candidates buy into that? Why would anyone devote their precious time to an Administration that don't want us to know anything? Are we meant to trust them? I don't. Are we meant to trust the process that keeps them there? I don't. And are we supposed to accept that these people are the best people to drive Laois GAA forward? I don't. 

The very fact that they close ranks and don't stand down is odd to me. It makes me suspicious, and I'm afraid to say their media ban does nothing to dampen that suspicion. They will eventually make a concession to try and muster support and open the gate a little, but it's gone too far for me. We deserve the opportunity to try something different and make things better for Laois GAA. Things really couldn't be any worse than they are just now. As always, nothing personal, however the County is bigger than those who administrate it

I have to agree with all this. A basic pre-condition for generating a broad-based support is to have real transparency in the debates and decision-making. It really is very counterproductive if basic information is being obscured.

I think people are looking at Sugrue's time with Laois through rose tinted glasses. Granted we achieved back to back promotions in the league and made a Leinster final (playing division 4 sides) but when we stepped up to face a half decent side we were blown out of the water by each of these teams too. In the division 3 league games that we got promoted we played in Croker twice and on Croker's open and firm pitch we were easily defeated by Louth and Westmeath in those games. If memory serves me correctly Louth could have taken us for a half dozen goals that day. In the bigger championship games, Cork blitzed us for 5-19 and Monaghan probably should have put up a similar score line the year before only for an unbelievable goal saving display by Graham Brody. He recorded 6 one-on-one saves that day. Meath also walked in 3 goals against us in a Leinster semi-final and probably left a further 3 goal scoring chances behind them as well. That Laois side of 2018/2019 is probably also stronger than the Laois side at Billy's disposal in 2023 with players like Attrite and Gareth Dillon available at the time.

The argument that if we had a different management in place it would improve Laois dramatically doesn't stack up when you look at the evidence. Laois simply don't have the players to compete at a high level at the moment. A new management team might improve things  slightly but regardless of who is managing us it is lunacy to think that we could have gone toe-to-toe with an in form Down team. Need to put all our efforts into revitalising the underage set-up in the county at both club and school level and meaningfully look to tackle the Portlaoise problem where a town of 20000 plus is a GAA wasteland if you drill into the actual participation numbers.       

This is our flagship team - the one that will encourage and inspire young lads in Portlaoise and elsewhere to come out and play. Are we really saying that we can't expect more than to be beaten by Wicklow, draw with London and be hockeyed by Down in the Tailteann Cup. I followed the team through all these years and I don't ever remember that we were at such a low.

I am not arguing that we shouldn't focus on the younger teams as well. This is perfectly obvious. But if we're not able to create a proper setup for our senior team, are we really imagining that the underage teams will be properly prepared??

Just a reminder that Down finished 3rd in Division 3 and were beaten 4-10 to 0-12 points by Armagh in the Ulster championship. Sure, they're a decent young team but hardly world beaters.