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Yer man at 20:42 liked a burger.

Lillis said in the interview
I don't know,  I don't know what happened
Mick your the manager,  FIX IT

He didn't say, "I don't know what happened and I don't know what I'm going to do".

Things happen on the field and managers may have prepared perfectly for the match, but it all falls flat. Sh*t happens. Let's see what the reaction is.

Haven't lost to Fermanagh since 1993

You'd expect one of the junior clubs to win this again.......PR or Rosenallis.

Draws made last night for the 2016 Championship

Rathdowney Errill v Camross
Abbeyleix v Borris Kilcotton
Ballinakill v The Harps
Portlaoise v Clough Ballacolla

The thing that stands out about our senior championship these days is that there really is nowhere to hide. All 8 teams will see themselves as having a tough game, whether they are fighting for survival or to go on to contest a final. Great that 4 out of 7 league games will include county players, will make things even more competitive. Already looking forward to an exciting year of hurling.

Which is what should be done with the SFC. The CB should simply relegate a load of teams and tighten things up.

Struggling to get my head around this one? Ballyfin are only going to play practice matches between now and the first championship game? This is only going to end up in one place!

It's different anyway.

Who from slieve bloom would they have that would be useful for senior football. Benconroy os the only one i can think of offhand though he's injured at moment?

The group teams only apply for the SFC/SHC/SHCA, so Ben Conroy being injured right now won't matter too much.

I see both Arles,s have already given walkovers after only one round. It indicates the plight of both these clubs regarding player numbers ....both should eat humble pie and amalgamate to secure the future of football in the area.

Probably too late anyway. Ballylinan Gleanmore are increasingly irrelevant at underage football, so the bitterness that divided them when they both could be considered a threat has now consumed them whole and instead of a rich (recent) history of county titles, we have Portlaoise laughing all the way to the proverbial bank as La Decima looms.

The Combined Laois Juvenile team had a huge win over Kilkenny CBS last Friday... 7-10 to 3-5 with Kilkenny getting two goals in injury time.

Do you have the team (and schools?)

Football in the midlands is in a very sorry state.

Div2
Laois.

Div3
Offaly, Westmeath, Longford & Kildare.

Div4
Carlow.

Can't remember it this poor before.

That's a bad beating by Dublin, we really have to up our game at minor level if we are to have any future for our teams moving forward.

Just to say, Laois had two teams v the Dubs one. At the end of the 'firsts' game, Laois were winning. Dublin let loose in the 'second' game.

County Board too inept to think up something like this. Even when it's drafted as a proposal and put under their noses, they can't see it.

The SFC should be cut...by 4 or 6 or 8. At least two divisional sides or a few amalgamated teams (ie new clubs) should join the ranks. Get rid of the deadwood from the SFC and make the wannastays become wannabes. Make that cut in one year.....if it's 8, you take the 8 quarterfinalists. If it's 4, you take the 4 relegation teams.

I just don't see it happening though. It's too far outside the spectrum of safe-thinking.

[should]

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.

That's a very long wait at this time of the year. Why is it so long?

I liked Huey as he always had his own opinion on all things Laois and he was a very knowledgeable guy as far as Gaa was concerned.
Huey, if you are around let yourself be known and bring back the banter to this forum...

You have to chant his name backwards, in front of a mirror at midnight to invoke his Hueyness.