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The obvious thing to do would be for Tyrell to complete a full transfer from Camross to Coutwood or any other football-only club.

He could then hurl with Camross as an isolated player and Camross could still enter a football team if they'd like.

There was a hurling committee up until a couple of years but I don't think there has been one for a while now. I could be wrong but I'm from a predominantly huring club and know of no delegate from my club involved.

I'd be more worried by the lack of a Coaching and Games Committee. I appreciate there is a Games Manager now but I still think a committee of volunteers from outside the County Board/GDA side would be a real positive.

Anyone know how often the Hurling Development committee meet or what have they done?

I don't believe there is a hurling development committee.

Rathdowney/Errill

Worthy champions. I'd give them a real chance on Sunday. I think they'll have a good following too.
Looking forward, a couple of players have a lot of miles in the legs but they have a core group right in their prime and they have decent depth just below their starting 15.
Will likely start next year as favourites again.

Borris/Kilcotton

Solid year but will feel they needed more from some of their star-forwards. Very reliant on PJ Scully and when teams shut down goals; they aren't scoring enough from play. Be interesting to see will their management team stay on as I know they're highly-regarded and this is still a group of players that have more championships in them.

Camross

Another league but an underwhelming year. They, alongside The Harps, have the best underage structures in place and the look like having a raft of players to break through over the next 3-5 years. I'm not quite as convinced that they are as strong in the immediate future and I think they're a little behind the top 2.

Clough/Ballacolla

Desperately unlucky to lose arguably their best defender and forward when push came to shove. Have struggled to put two solid performances back-to-back and worryingly, have struggled to put two good years together.
At the start of the year, I felt they were a team in decline and in transition; they had another kick in them. Maybe they have one more.

I'm afraid I pretty much agree with others that the next 4-8 teams (including the top Senior A sides) are just at a different level.
Castletown would be most-likely to break in but with the Championship Format and seeding as it is; it's hard to see anyone outside of the established 4 making a final.
Rosenallis will be a breath of fresh air and I think they'll stay up next year.

As others have alluded to, there is a legitimate concern about the sociological make-up of our county in relation to hurling. Areas like Ballinakill, Cullohill, Errill, Clough, Ballacolla, Killadooley, Camross, Killanure, Shanahoe, Trumera, Raheen are very small rural areas and are subject to cycles of population surges and declines; and I think far more the latter than the former moving forward.
They would all house relatively small primary schools with the majority of the large schools in our county in the urban areas where hurling is struggling.
Laois needs a specific plan to target hurling in the county. That might not be popular in some areas of the county but the way our strong hurling areas are contracting is a definite worry.
Clubs like Park-Ratheniska and Portarlington who are bucking the trend need to become the norm and not the exception.

Best of luck to RE today.
I'll be travelling over feeling very confident. They've enough firepower to win this one and I think there are a couple of big performers in some of their star men.

Really looking forward to the game this Sunday.
I'm hopeful of a good game; my two concerns are the weather and the referee. We've no control over the former and to be fair, there weren't a lot of alternatives for the latter. I hope the game is let develop and isn't decided by frees.

Anyway, the two best teams are meeting in the final; I'm pretty certain of that.
Clough/Ballacolla and Camross are in this same bracket but through injuries (Keenan, Mortimer, Dunphy, Maher and Cleere), they just don't have the same strengths as RE and BK. Injuries aside, I still think both of RE and BK are slightly ahead at this moment anyway.

RE have been my team to beat since the summer. Their county contingent came bouncing back from a great year with Laois and they had the experience and nous to navigate the problems associated with an 'easy draw'. They were very nearly pipped by Camross...but they weren't. And it was telling the way that winning goal clinched it. James Ryan had the ball but he understood his role; a 'provider' for a 'finisher'. And that's what RE have in abundance, they have finishers in King, Purcell and Kavanagh and they have providers/workers in Ryan (pun avoided), Keane, McCane and Dollard. The balance looks really good and they'll be heartened to have gotten over the Camross test without their key marksmen having great performances. I think they'll target the BK full-back line and that could well be the winning and losing of this game.

For BK, I was actually impressed with their dismissal of CB. They learnt their lessons from the group game and completely nullified the CB goal-threat after the first 20 mins. They have become a little reliant on Scully but there have been signs that Campion and the Dunphys are coming into a bit of form. I disagree that Scully doesn't need special attention; it was noteworthy how close Darren Maher followed him the last day. CB were willing to take him out of the full-back spot and that in itself caused issues for them. Do RE have someone to do a similar job? I'm not sure.
Similarly, Aaron was man-marked by young Conway who had the speed to stick with him. If both Scully and Aaron start in the full-forward line, it will really test RE. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jack Kelly or Eric Killeen dropped back in such a scenario. Those match-ups will be interesting; if either side get the right players isolated 1v1 in their full-forwad line; I could see them going for goals early and often.

Midfield is another interesting area to keep an eye on. I think we have seen a lot of teams seeking to flood that middle area and it could turn into a bit of a battle. BK will have come up against that in 3 Championship games whereas RE struggled to assert themselves in the final having been untested beforehand. RE should come on from that semi-final, they'll need to.

As regards a prediction, I'm loathe to change horses mid-race but I do have a feeling that BK might just edge this. Scully won't miss from frees and that guarantees them a decent starting-point. I think both teams have chinks in their armour in the full-back line and I'd imagine a lot of thought and planning will have gone in to how best to target, exploit and protect same.
I think it'll be high-scoring and I'm going to go with BK to edge it by the minimum: BK 2.22 - 1.24 RE

From a county perspective, I think we have seen a few players come into consideration even though I dont think the championship has been brilliant. Most of the names are from the semi-finalists and finalists and that's probably as much an issue with recency-bias as anything else.

Definites for me:
Joe Campion (Would be an automatic starter for me)
Diarmaid Conway (Looks like he will be in a couple of years)

Strongly Like to See:
Stephen Phelan
James Ryan
Ronan Broderick
Aidan Corby
Paddy Whelan
PJ Scully
Sean Downey
Garoid Bourke
Dwane Palmer

Wildcards:
Brian Corby
Robbie Phelan
Conor Kilbane
Jordan Walshe
Podge Lalor
Steven Finan

I've probably forgotten a few players but I dont think that would be a bad bunch to start with in looking to reinforce our panel. I'm also aware that a lot of the above have been asked in before and either declined outright or were in and left. Just throwing the names out for discussion I suppose.

Rosenallis are very strong, and cant see them being bet in the final.

Not sure where Merman is from, but couldn't agree with his assertions on Colt- they have the smallest pick from the 4no teams in the semi's.

I'm not really sure what you disagree with.

My concern for Colt is that we don't have huge numbers coming through. Realistically, they're a couple of players short of being competitive at this grade (despite topping their group) and there isn't a whole lot coming through to supplement the current team/panel.

To be fair to Scully, a lot of the frees he scored are the result of his own work. He gets special attention because he is such a prolific finisher.
I think it was telling that the CB foul-count was so high in spite of the referee trying to let things go; certainly moreso than in the second game. The final will be a more open game and I think that might suit BK.

Delighted for Ross. What a moment. An incredible finish.

On the whole, the standard wasn't hectic. Not that BK or RE will care. It has the makings of a brilliant final.

BK were deserving winners in the first game. CB were game and there was no capitulation but once BK got on top in the second half, there was no feeling that they had a counter-punch in them. To be fair, the loss of Cleere and Picky were big but I still feel BK had the winning of the game regardless.
Scully was superb on places balls and never looked like missing. Even the sideline he scored, I almost felt it was inevitable. Him aside, however, the BK forwards are still not clicking. Stephen Dunphy was better than he has been but they'll need more from Aaron, Campion and Foyle.

The second game wasn't a great spectacle either and RE sleep-walked into a game they really should have lost. Their big players didn't deliver and the game was slow and pedestrian. In the end, it was a moment of individual brilliance that decided things but they'll need a hell of a lot more the next day.

On the final, I'm not sure who RE will put on Scully. Darren Maher had a fine game on him yesterday but I'm not sure who for RE could replicate it. Perhaps Jack Kelly might need to be redeployed with Corrigan coming out.
At the other end, I think RE will ask greater questions of the BK rearguard. CB didn't commit bodies forward whereas I think RE will really go for it.
I've fancied RE all year but on yesterday's showing, I'd be inclined to lean against them.

From a county perspective, there were a couple of players who put their hands up.
Scully would be an addition but his lack of physicality remains an issue and if he's not a starter, he's not going to stick around as a panelist. Defensively, I thought Stephen Phelan and Diarmuid Conway were excellent and look like they could have something to offer.

Rosenallis were outstanding.
Colt just never got close enough to them. Too fast, too powerful and too many scoring options.

Good year for Colt but huge concerns about how consistent they can be at sustaining even this level.

The Harps have really gotten their house in order.
Good people involved, great numbers coming through, huge investment into their coaching in both primary schools and they're remaining committed to both football and hurling at juvenile level.

A bright future ahead.

Delighted for them.

A couple of weeks ago, I felt Colt had a chance of an upset. Preparations were going well and the Group Format saw them find a bit of form and players had fitted into positions that were really suiting them. They were hitting scores from distance and were tightening up at the other end, though concerns still persisted.
However, Rosenallis' obliteration of Mountrath put down a serious marker and I'm not sure how they'll be stopped in this one. They have scoring threats all over the pitch and barring a Football hangover, I think they'll have too much.

Rosenallis by 8.

Ballyfin should be leggy. The heavy going and hectic schedule should be telling but the closer I get, the more I think they have a chance here.
The caveat is that in Podge Delaney, The Harps have the classiest operator in this division. He's capable of dominating this game and if he does, The Harps win. If however, Ballyfin get a sniff and take the game to The Harps, their power and athleticism might strangle this game and negate the sweeper. If that happens, they could test The Harps defence severely and I think there are frailties there.
The Harps should win. They're the best team in the competition but I've a feeling they might come up just short...

Ballyfin by 2.

The sodden pitches might help the outsiders this weekend.
Bookies siding with RE and BK and I think that's fair giving what we know about all 4 teams. Injuries might be telling and I think 3 of the 4 might be short players from the semi-finals.

CB are playing to a very defined system and are getting huge numbers into the middle third. They've been intelligent with their use of the ball but the pressures of a semi-final and the conditions will challenge them. Still, they'll bring a physicality that BK won't enjoy and the message will be to keep goals out.
BK haven't caught fire yet and with the exceptions of Scully and Campion, their forwards have been pretty lacklustre. Its hard to imagine they don't have a sting in the tail and I just think individually, they might have the edge.
BK by 3.

RE should win this. All form lines tell us that but the question is, how prepared are they for the battle they are facing. RE are going to play a semi-final; Camross are going to war. I dont think Camross are going anywhere near as well as they have been but if Zane is back, he could reignite things.
RE, however, have physicality and pace in all the right areas and I just cant see them not getting in for a couple of goals.
They've been the team to beat all year and I think this match will sharpen their focus and set them up for a Final berth as worthy favourites and dark horses for Leinster.
RE by 7.

"As regards the other 2 clubs,unfortunately they contribute little in terms of mentors or input,even though they were always welcome to come over to watch us train their players in Clonad but we have to look after the needs of our own club first."

It's great to see how you've come around to appreciating all the work that your Park/Ratheniska friends are doing. It was only back in 2016 that you were claiming they offer little to the Clonad/Park Ratheniska arrangement.

They are indeed doing great work.

Rosenallis should turn over Mountrath but if I had to back an outsider, this is where I'd look. I do like where Mountrath are going. Physically, they'll trouble Rosenallis but it's their lack of scores from play that will likely be their undoing. Rosenallis are the Senior A team best equipped to tackle The Harps but I'm not convinced they're going as well as they were last year.

Rosenallis by 3

Eh.....