Hurling 2024

[Milltown Row2]

Hosting Kilkenny this weekend, hopefully they are allowing their Ballyhale players some time off, while we bring back the Dunloy lads back in..

Wasn't a great Walsh cup by all accounts but should see a decent effort at Corrigan at the weekend. Wexford Galway probably the tightest match to call

[imtommygunn]

Pauric Mahoney retired. He was a good one.

[johnnycool]

Pauric Mahoney retired. He was a good one.

At 31.

Wonder if he wasn't prepared to buy into Davy's uber negative style of hurling.

[seafoid]

There is no downtime in between the league and the championship and there are more games so counties have to be ready from the start or else ignore the league.

[imtommygunn]

Pauric Mahoney retired. He was a good one.

At 31.

Wonder if he wasn't prepared to buy into Davy's uber negative style of hurling.

I wondered exactly the same.

I don't think the hurling league holds the same weight as the football. If there was one division 1 it'd be different.

[Milltown Row2]

There is no downtime in between the league and the championship and there are more games so counties have to be ready from the start or else ignore the league.

Teams peak for championship and the good ones peak for the latter stages of the championship, the league is and always will be a place to blood and tweak the team, It's important but its not the be and end all.

With how the set up is now, the better teams will always be in a top division, its the Westmeaths and Antrim and Laois's of the leagues that are using it to get players up a level and maintain status, they will only grow when they have a sustained period in top flight

[mouview]

Hosting Kilkenny this weekend, hopefully they are allowing their Ballyhale players some time off, while we bring back the Dunloy lads back in..

Wasn't a great Walsh cup by all accounts but should see a decent effort at Corrigan at the weekend. Wexford Galway probably the tightest match to call

Should be a few competitive matches in the opening round. Wexford will be mad keen to add a Walsh Cup trophy in their biggest game yet under the new lights, but Galway are coming with a lot of good, new(ish) players and will be ultra-competitive. (Hopefully none get injured during this week's Fitzgibbon round). Cork, under a new manager, will be eager to get off to a good start at home against a Limerick team who don't always do the league well. Both Waterford and Dublin are also under new / returning management so both sets of players should be trying to impress their masters.

[seafoid]

National Hurling League Division 1B county-by-county guide
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2023/02/01/nhl-division-1b-county-by-county/

Derek Lyng facing a difficult assignment as Kilkenny begin life after Brian Cody


Gordon Manning
Wed Feb 1 2023 - 19:00

Antrim
Manager: Darren Gleeson (4th season)

2022 record: Finished bottom of Division 1B, but beat Offaly in a relegation playoff to retain their top flight status for 2023. Joe McDonagh Cup winners. Beaten by Cork in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.

Opening fixture: Saturday v Kilkenny, Corrigan Park, 2.0

Antrim lost all three of their Walsh Cup fixtures in January – to Dublin, Westmeath and Galway. They open their league campaign against Kilkenny this weekend, but the reality is Antrim's most significant game over the coming weeks will be their round four showdown against Laois.




Kilkenny
Manager: Derek Lyng (1st year)

2022 record: Finished top of Division 1B, with four wins and one defeat. But were beaten by Cork in a league semi-final. Leinster champions. Lost to Limerick in the All-Ireland final.



Opening fixture: Saturday v Antrim, Corrigan Park, 2.0

Kilkenny folk are still getting used to life after Brian Cody. It remains to be seen how the post-Cody era will shape up in 2023, but Derek Lyng will at least be hoping to start the league with a win over Antrim, before welcoming Tipperary to Nowlan Park next week.


New Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng keeps an eye on his charges during the Walsh Cup clash against Laois. Lyng has a difficult act to follow as he takes the managerial reins from the legendary Brian Cody. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Tipperary
Manager: Liam Cahill (1st year)

2022 record: Finished fourth in Division 1B, with three wins and two defeats. Lost all four of their Munster SHC round-robin fixtures and finished bottom of the table.

Opening fixture: Saturday v Laois, FBD Semple Stadium, 5.0

Liam Cahill has appointed Noel McGrath as his captain for 2023 with Ronan Maher as vice-captain. The new Tipp boss has named a squad that includes youth and experience, including stalwarts Seamus Callanan and Patrick 'Bonner' Maher. Padraic Maher has joined Cahill's backroom team.


Laois
Manager: Willie Maher (1st year)

2022 record: Finished fifth in Division 1B, their one victory, over Antrim, enough for Laois to remain in Division One. However, they lost all five of their Leinster SHC round-robin games and have been relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup for 2023.

Opening fixture: Saturday v Tipperary, FBD Semple Stadium, 5.0

Maher has a challenge on his hands to keep Laois in Division One, with the round four game against Antrim likely to decide which of those teams finishes bottom of the group and ends up in a relegation playoff. Maher has former Waterford player Dan Shanahan in his management team.



Waterford
Manager: Davy Fitzgerald (1st year)

2022 record: League champions. Waterford finished second in Division 1B, but beat Wexford at the semi-final stages and ultimately Cork in the final to win the Division One title. Managed just one victory, over Tipperary, from their four Munster SHC games. Finished fourth in the table.


Opening fixture: Sunday v Dublin, Fraher Field, 2.30

Pauric Mahony's retirement is a blow for Waterford as Davy Fitzgerald is already planning without Shane and Kieran Bennett, who are away for the year. With Walsh Park undergoing development work, Waterford won't have their usual home ground for all of their scheduled home games this season. They begin their league campaign in Fraher Field in Dungarvan on Sunday against Dublin. This is Fitzgerald's second crack at the Waterford job.

Dublin
Manager: Micheál Donoghue (1st year)

2022 record: Finished third in Division 1B, winning three games, losing one and drawing one. Failed to progress to the All-Ireland series, finishing fourth in the Leinster SHC with three wins and two defeats.

Opening fixture: Sunday v Waterford, Fraher Field, 2.30

Micheál Donoghue has said there are 10 players from last year's panel unavailable to him in 2023 for various reasons. Among those he won't be able to call upon are Liam Rushe, Chris Crummey and Cian O'Callaghan. But Eoghan O'Donnell, who linked up with the Dublin footballers last summer, has committed to the cause with the hurlers again for the 2023 campaign. After a few seasons of little movement, this is a big season for Dublin.

[Blowitupref]

Fine comeback win for Cork against Limerick. 8 points behind at half time.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Thankfully game sparked into life in 2nd half. Fair play to Cork. Some turnaround.

[Milltown Row2]

Stayed away from having a bet on this cause anything could happen, I turned over soon into second half, thought Limerick had that in the bag

[clonadmad]

Fine comeback win for Cork against Limerick. 8 points behind at half time.

could be a costly win with what looks like a serious injury to Robbie O'Flynn

A very underrated Hurler

[clonadmad]

There is no downtime in between the league and the championship and there are more games so counties have to be ready from the start or else ignore the league.

Teams peak for championship and the good ones peak for the latter stages of the championship, the league is and always will be a place to blood and tweak the team, It's important but its not the be and end all.

With how the set up is now, the better teams will always be in a top division, its the Westmeaths and Antrim and Laois's of the leagues that are using it to get players up a level and maintain status, they will only grow when they have a sustained period in top flight

Munster Teams dont have that luxury

[johnnycool]

Fine comeback win for Cork against Limerick. 8 points behind at half time.

could be a costly win with what looks like a serious injury to Robbie O'Flynn

A very underrated Hurler

He'll do well to get back for championship, didn't look good...

Limerick arse boxing again, only four weeks of training done.
Not sure Cork showed enough to be a force when the sod dries up

[clonadmad]

Fine comeback win for Cork against Limerick. 8 points behind at half time.

could be a costly win with what looks like a serious injury to Robbie O'Flynn

A very underrated Hurler

He'll do well to get back for championship, didn't look good...

Limerick arse boxing again, only four weeks of training done.
Not sure Cork showed enough to be a force when the sod dries up

Dowling said they were 6 weeks further down the road than they were last year

A good competitive second half

I expect the chasing pack (cork galway Clare and Kk) to close further on Limerick this year whether they catch them remains to be seen