Laois Senior Hurling Championship 2019

Started by The PRO, February 28, 2019, 09:53:24 AM

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redsetanta

R/E game being televised. Hopefully the lads can perform and win this one. It's great to have Laois teams on the national broadcaster.
The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. VinceLombardi

TheGiantSquid

Now that the dust has settled on the Laois SHC. Id like to give a quick summary of the champo; team by team.

R/E: Deserved champions, inter county quality in every line. Achilles heel is still their goalkeeper. Came through the "soft" group with ease. Had a scare and a bit of fortune vs camross but blew B/KK away in the final.

B/KK: They have an awful flaw of peaking oo early in the group stages. In crunch games they rely too heavily on PJ to score every free and a few from play. Joe campion was immense. Need to find 2 or 3 more over the winter if they are to win Bob O Keefe again. One championship for this crop would be an underachievement.

C/ballacolla
A resurgence of sorts under Canice Coonan. Topped a very tough group. Injuries to Picky and Lee Cleere really hurt them. Saved their worst performance for the biggest game of the year.

Camross
Took several steps back this year and never looked like a 3 in a row team. There wasnt any toughness or steel you would associate with a Camross team. Will have to blood 5/6 of that intermediete team in and say goodbye to some great servants.

Castletown
Made great strides this year and several hurlers coming of age. definitely the best of the rest. Need to find a few more forwards and get a big scalp next year to progress.   

Ballinakill
Plodded along. Not much more expected of them. Like Arles Kilcruise in the football they do have to be admired for extracting everything on such limited resources. Rumours of Cha leaving for Austrailia could cripple them next year and leave them in a dogfight.

Abbeyleix
Very poor showing from Abbeyleix who have stagnated the last 2/3 years. Drawn in a bad group but never threatended in the group games,Will need to turn underage sucess into adult hurlers soon to avoid the drop in the next few years.

Portlaoise
What a fall from grace it has been for this former superpower. Key injuries to Tommy Fitz and Cahir didnt help but they have to find some hurlers QUICK or risk turning into a football town. 27000 population should equal a senior team. Will struggle to get back up.

Thoughts from the group?

blueandwhite1

Quote from: TheGiantSquid on November 13, 2019, 07:18:30 PM
Now that the dust has settled on the Laois SHC. Id like to give a quick summary of the champo; team by team.

R/E: Deserved champions, inter county quality in every line. Achilles heel is still their goalkeeper. Not sure I agree. Damian Madden a fine shot stopper and accurate on the puck outs. Made a high profile mistake in the final but recovered from it. First year at senior and was a problem for RE that they now seem to have solved. I think their Achillies heel is the lack of quality subsCame through the "soft" group with ease. Had a scare and a bit of fortune vs camross but blew B/KK away in the final. Underage talent coming through? Not a lot to replace their older stars

B/KK: They have an awful flaw of peaking oo early in the group stages. In crunch games they rely too heavily on PJ to score every free and a few from play. Joe campion was immense. Need to find 2 or 3 more over the winter if they are to win Bob O Keefe again. One championship for this crop would be an underachievement. Their underage tap seems to be stuck in the off position, need to recover what they did when they were dominant at that level

C/ballacolla
A resurgence of sorts under Canice Coonan. Topped a very tough group. Injuries to Picky and Lee Cleere really hurt them. Saved their worst performance for the biggest game of the year. Same comment - not that impressive underage in recent years. A worry for Laois when some of the big areas are not producing strong pipelines

Camross
Took several steps back this year and never looked like a 3 in a row team. There wasnt any toughness or steel you would associate with a Camross team. Will have to blood 5/6 of that intermediete team in and say goodbye to some great servants. I would guess that 2019 was a blip for them. Some serious underage teams in the last few years. I think they are most likely to be the dominant team in the next 5 years

Castletown
Made great strides this year and several hurlers coming of age. definitely the best of the rest. Need to find a few more forwards and get a big scalp next year to progress. Have good talent coming through but I wonder have they enough. Small area to pick from. Would have helped if the Slieve Bloom amalgamation stuck.

All intermediate sides below with dubious futures in the next 5 years. The pick of them wouldn't compete with the top 4. Sorry.

Ballinakill
Plodded along. Not much more expected of them. Like Arles Kilcruise in the football they do have to be admired for extracting everything on such limited resources. Rumours of Cha leaving for Austrailia could cripple them next year and leave them in a dogfight.

Abbeyleix
Very poor showing from Abbeyleix who have stagnated the last 2/3 years. Drawn in a bad group but never threatended in the group games,Will need to turn underage sucess into adult hurlers soon to avoid the drop in the next few years.

Portlaoise
What a fall from grace it has been for this former superpower. Key injuries to Tommy Fitz and Cahir didnt help but they have to find some hurlers QUICK or risk turning into a football town. 27000 population should equal a senior team. Will struggle to get back up.

Thoughts from the group?

Laois Rising

There needs to be a hurling specific GDA employed within Portlaoise to work with the schools and club to reinvigorate hurling within the town. The club need a bottom up approach/strategy with meaningful long term goals-set clear/obtainable targets e.g have underage teams all playing at and competing for titles at A championship level by 2024. The demise of Portlaoise hurling is not a quick fix.

It is disappointing that a town of now well over 20,000 cannot supply one current inter-county hurler to starting county team or be at least competitive at senior level within Laois. Cahir is 34 next year and coming off serious injuries- he has been the last really noteworthy hurler that Portlaoise has produced.   

blueandwhite1

Quote from: Laois Rising on November 14, 2019, 12:14:25 PM
There needs to be a hurling specific GDA employed within Portlaoise to work with the schools and club to reinvigorate hurling within the town. The club need a bottom up approach/strategy with meaningful long term goals-set clear/obtainable targets e.g have underage teams all playing at and competing for titles at A championship level by 2024. The demise of Portlaoise hurling is not a quick fix.

It is disappointing that a town of now well over 20,000 cannot supply one current inter-county hurler to starting county team or be at least competitive at senior level within Laois. Cahir is 34 next year and coming off serious injuries- he has been the last really noteworthy hurler that Portlaoise has produced.

Fully agree.

Cian Taylor and Aaron Bergin are worth a mention though in terms of senior prospects. Both have plenty about them and would do well with a couple of years under Eddie Brennan.

Neutralobserver

Quote from: blueandwhite1 on November 14, 2019, 01:38:19 PM
Quote from: Laois Rising on November 14, 2019, 12:14:25 PM
There needs to be a hurling specific GDA employed within Portlaoise to work with the schools and club to reinvigorate hurling within the town. The club need a bottom up approach/strategy with meaningful long term goals-set clear/obtainable targets e.g have underage teams all playing at and competing for titles at A championship level by 2024. The demise of Portlaoise hurling is not a quick fix.

It is disappointing that a town of now well over 20,000 cannot supply one current inter-county hurler to starting county team or be at least competitive at senior level within Laois. Cahir is 34 next year and coming off serious injuries- he has been the last really noteworthy hurler that Portlaoise has produced.

Has the move from beside o moore park to well outside the town in rathleague affected  the club in anyway as now juveniles cannot get out unless they are driven by their parents and in this fast hectic society maybe parents cannot get out with the kids either,

beside o moore park it was within walking and cycling distance for them and now the senior teams are been affected?

oneflewoverthecuckoonest

Giant Squid a very fair summary of the 2019 season.
my titbits
R/Errill....will remain the team to beat for the next 3 or 4 years.

B/Kilcotton...the single most important player in that side is Joe Campion...he had a very good 2019, bit others need to step up to the plate or they could be one hit wonders.

C/B...the hot and cold team, sad to see them limping out after a terrific group stage run....what is the problem, are they too cocky or alternatively lack belief?

Camross....tried to be a bit too smart this season, mixing the senior and intermediate squads, and had they held on against R/E in the semi, they would have won the county final...will be a factor for the next 2 or 3 years, years 5 to 10 down the line, they could be totally dominant in the senior grade given the raw material they have coming through as opposed to others.

Castletown...should be pleased with their year, almost maximising their resources. they have not got the forward firepower to win a title in the next 5 years, so I think they will be the Ballinakill(2012-18) of the next 4 or 5 years, reaching the odd semi final without ever threatening to win a championship.

Ballinakill...nosediving towards Senior B, and it will be a long time before they contest a Senior A semi final again.

Abbeyleix...will be happy to survive, if getting a kinder draw in 2020 it might energise them and I think they could be a surprise package in the coming years, and reach a semi final.

Portlaoise...a very poor 2019...no guarantees they can instantly bounce back in 2020.

blueandwhite1

Quote from: Neutralobserver on November 14, 2019, 02:31:31 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on November 14, 2019, 01:38:19 PM
Quote from: Laois Rising on November 14, 2019, 12:14:25 PM
There needs to be a hurling specific GDA employed within Portlaoise to work with the schools and club to reinvigorate hurling within the town. The club need a bottom up approach/strategy with meaningful long term goals-set clear/obtainable targets e.g have underage teams all playing at and competing for titles at A championship level by 2024. The demise of Portlaoise hurling is not a quick fix.

It is disappointing that a town of now well over 20,000 cannot supply one current inter-county hurler to starting county team or be at least competitive at senior level within Laois. Cahir is 34 next year and coming off serious injuries- he has been the last really noteworthy hurler that Portlaoise has produced.



Has the move from beside o moore park to well outside the town in rathleague affected  the club in anyway as now juveniles cannot get out unless they are driven by their parents and in this fast hectic society maybe parents cannot get out with the kids either,

beside o moore park it was within walking and cycling distance for them and now the senior teams are been affected?

I think that was one of the findings of the review done last year on GAA participation in Portlaoise. I think there was a plan to set up a juvenile facility in the town for that purpose explicitly? In fairness, kids in rural clubs have to be driven to training etc. but you would have to think that there are huge advantages to having a club in walking distance to all the housing estates in Portlaoise and having a visible presence in the town. The reality seem to be that very few people in Portlaoise identify with the GAA, especially hurling. In almost every rural town and village there is a very strong GAA identity. Even when Portlaoise were strong in hurling it was the same families and faces you saw in the crowd (under the scoreboard).

clonadmad

#173
The strategic review made a number of recommendations for portlaoise and hurling in particular.

None have been implemented.

There hasn't been an issue with numbers traveling out to Rathleague,the issue is mainly in getting hurling mentors on board to coach juvenile teams.

They had a powerful u15 team this year who won the A.

I'd fancy them to go well with the lads who won the minor b this year in the minor A next year and possibly win it in 2021.

It's at u13 and u11 where they are very weak.

And that's before you even address the town itself where probably 3/4% of the kids in any age group are actually playing hurling in any shape or form.

merman

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.

Mossy Bruce

Great year-end commentary, here. Much appreciated.  :)
LAOIS! LAOIS! LAOIS!

Ogie

Merman, good report / comment as usual,
Just wondering why you think The Harps & Camross have the best underage structures in place?
I think both benefit from big populations coming through & definitely in Camross case Hurling is the only show in town
The Harps are having good success  at U13 level but I don't see much change in their coaching structure ?

Spiritof1915

Quote from: Ogie on November 15, 2019, 06:27:21 PM
Merman, good report / comment as usual,
Just wondering why you think The Harps & Camross have the best underage structures in place?
I think both benefit from big populations coming through & definitely in Camross case Hurling is the only show in town
The Harps are having good success  at U13 level but I don't see much change in their coaching structure ?
Sorry to cut across Merman but
Camross winning 2 minors and an u20 in recent times and in todays u20 final, in addition to winning feile final this year.
The Harps won u11 (2 years in a row), u13 and minor this year. They won u19 last year and also got to minor and u21 finals.
Not too many clubs would turn that down.

Mad Mentor

The run of minor finals and wins that Borris Kilcotton had, has only yielded one senior title so far. Rathdowney Errill by contrast, haven't won a minor for quite a while. We won the u21 a few years ago, and an u16 in 2016, but not much else. That u16 team lost out on a chance at minor when the age groups changed to the odd years, but of that squad of players, no one has yet hurled senior championship and only two have made any senior appearance. The senior squad has had no more than one or two added to it per year. There is a huge difference between minor and senior. Sometimes teams that have won all the way up through the grades just reflects the relative poor quality of the competition in that year. However this year's minor championship should be the most competitive in years, going by the same group of players from u15 two years ago.

clonadmad

Quote from: Mad Mentor on November 16, 2019, 07:17:44 PM
The run of minor finals and wins that Borris Kilcotton had, has only yielded one senior title so far. Rathdowney Errill by contrast, haven't won a minor for quite a while. We won the u21 a few years ago, and an u16 in 2016, but not much else. That u16 team lost out on a chance at minor when the age groups changed to the odd years, but of that squad of players, no one has yet hurled senior championship and only two have made any senior appearance. The senior squad has had no more than one or two added to it per year. There is a huge difference between minor and senior. Sometimes teams that have won all the way up through the grades just reflects the relative poor quality of the competition in that year. However this year's minor championship should be the most competitive in years, going by the same group of players from u15 two years ago.

At the same time if you aren't putting out competitive teams who are winning the odd juvenile competition,it doesn't bode well for any clubs future either.