NHL 2014

[cicfada]

What a wonderful League final with the only downside being the incorrect umpiring decisions favouring KK. We now have a wonderful Summer of hurling to look forward to with  any 1 of 6 teams having a chance to win it, KK, Clare, Tipp, Cork, Dublin and Galway. Limerick have their own issues, Waterford have terrible injuries and Wexford and Offaly are a wee bit behind the other teams but  still with the ability  to create 1 shock. While Kilkenny may have won on Sunday, I was not blown away by them with 1 forward only playing well and that's Richie Hogan. Their backs are solid out  but a worry for them would be  that only Padraig Walsh stands out as the only real genuine find  among their new players. Yes they're better than last year but I wonder  will their lack of scoring (from play) hurt them later in the year?? Tipp really needed to win  as they have now lost 5 or 6 times in critical matches to the cats since the 2010 final win. They are improving though and players like , Padraig Maher at 3,Brendan Maher at 6 and Bonner Maher at 11  provide a real spine to them this year. Clare are of course the champions and with so much competition for places are the team to beat. Forget about their league exit, they will be a lot better on the dry sod. Fitzgerald will have them primed and ready and isn't the Munster Championship now  an enthralling prospect? Cork needed to find a few forwards in the league and to my mind, having seen them 3 times this year, they only have Alan Cadogan as a find. He plays for something like 10 teams between college, club, and county in both football and hurling. He is good though and expect him to make an impact this year.he return of Paudie Sullivan is a boost to them  as well.  More concerning for Cork would be a shaky half back line, imho, Christopher Joyce is not a centre back and this could be the Achilles heel of the team,  Eoin Cadogan is more of a wrestler than a hurler but might be drafted in there  to do the job.If  Cork had a few more players like Seamus Harnedy they would  be in much better shape, he is   a fabulous player with great heart. Dublin and Galway have a lot in common, every second year seems to be good and bad for them  and the pressure is on Dublin  now to follow on from  last year  and  there is a real pressure on them to reach the AI final, seeing as they were so close and a bad refereeing decision away from doing that last year.   The draw is set up for them to reach the Leinster  final this year so we have to wait and see I guess! Galway- my own county, the most exasperating team to follow, capable of absolute brilliance 1 minute and awful mediocrity the next! They look to be more settled this year and  seem to have found a 3, R Burke, 6 Daithi Burke and Brehony in midfield. Add to that Conor Cooney and young Mannion in the corner. I just worry about the lack of pace in that forward line, plenty big enough  allright but are there too many players of a  similar ilk playing in that forward line? A big year for joe Canning this year, quite simply he has to produce the goods. The challenge is to use him to his maximum effectiveness while not depending on him. I hope he his given licence to roam as well, he is too easily marked at 14 and Cooney is doing well at the frees as well, Maybe Joe can take the long range ones and those 20 metre frees.  If he has been watching Reid and Nash, there is full licence now, it would seem to bring the ball in as far as you like before hitting it!
A potentially great year of hurling to look forward to, let's hope the weather stays somewhat dry for it!!

[AZOffaly]

Hogan only came on in Extra Time, or near the end of normal time I thought? He was warming up in front of us for most of the game. Jackie Tyrell was centre back for most of the game on Sunday. (He's a huge man by the way, I never realised that).

I think you're right about Shefflin. Maybe his fitness is not right yet, but he looked like an old man there on Sunday.

[johnneycool]

Hogan only came on in Extra Time, or near the end of normal time I thought? He was warming up in front of us for most of the game. Jackie Tyrell was centre back for most of the game on Sunday. (He's a huge man by the way, I never realised that).

I think you're right about Shefflin. Maybe his fitness is not right yet, but he looked like an old man there on Sunday.

You're right, Tyrell was centre back there and did ok in fairness.
TBH I think Cody will go with him there as he likes his big strong men in there to prevent people running through the centre of the defense and is experienced enough a leader as he may need to nurse some of the defenders through.
Kennedy will hold onto his corner back berth, I think he's handy enough, The younger Walsh will probably be drafted back into his older brothers position with Buckley on the other side. That'd give them a fair bit of pace to counteract the speedsters from Clare and where ever.
I still liked the cut of Lester Ryan in there, but too many changes at once won't be good for them. JJ and Jackie will get 3 and 6.

[Asal Mor]

Good analysis there boys. Re the TJ free taking thing, I'm guessing that's something TJ worked on over the winter. I don't think he ever took them like that before?

[johnneycool]

Good analysis there boys. Re the TJ free taking thing, I'm guessing that's something TJ worked on over the winter. I don't think he ever took them like that before?

Reid was hitting the penalties on the 14 yard line, but wasn't able to generate the same power as Nash, scored both them though.

[mouview]

What a wonderful League final with the only downside being the incorrect umpiring decisions favouring KK. We now have a wonderful Summer of hurling to look forward to with  any 1 of 6 teams having a chance to win it, KK, Clare, Tipp, Cork, Dublin and Galway. Limerick have their own issues, Waterford have terrible injuries and Wexford and Offaly are a wee bit behind the other teams but  still with the ability  to create 1 shock. While Kilkenny may have won on Sunday, I was not blown away by them with 1 forward only playing well and that's Richie Hogan. Their backs are solid out  but a worry for them would be  that only Padraig Walsh stands out as the only real genuine find  among their new players. Yes they're better than last year but I wonder  will their lack of scoring (from play) hurt them later in the year?? Tipp really needed to win  as they have now lost 5 or 6 times in critical matches to the cats since the 2010 final win. They are improving though and players like , Padraig Maher at 3,Brendan Maher at 6 and Bonner Maher at 11  provide a real spine to them this year. Clare are of course the champions and with so much competition for places are the team to beat. Forget about their league exit, they will be a lot better on the dry sod. Fitzgerald will have them primed and ready and isn't the Munster Championship now  an enthralling prospect? Cork needed to find a few forwards in the league and to my mind, having seen them 3 times this year, they only have Alan Cadogan as a find. He plays for something like 10 teams between college, club, and county in both football and hurling. He is good though and expect him to make an impact this year.he return of Paudie Sullivan is a boost to them  as well.  More concerning for Cork would be a shaky half back line, imho, Christopher Joyce is not a centre back and this could be the Achilles heel of the team,  Eoin Cadogan is more of a wrestler than a hurler but might be drafted in there  to do the job.If  Cork had a few more players like Seamus Harnedy they would  be in much better shape, he is   a fabulous player with great heart. Dublin and Galway have a lot in common, every second year seems to be good and bad for them  and the pressure is on Dublin  now to follow on from  last year  and  there is a real pressure on them to reach the AI final, seeing as they were so close and a bad refereeing decision away from doing that last year.   The draw is set up for them to reach the Leinster  final this year so we have to wait and see I guess! Galway- my own county, the most exasperating team to follow, capable of absolute brilliance 1 minute and awful mediocrity the next! They look to be more settled this year and  seem to have found a 3, R Burke, 6 Daithi Burke and Brehony in midfield. Add to that Conor Cooney and young Mannion in the corner. I just worry about the lack of pace in that forward line, plenty big enough  allright but are there too many players of a  similar ilk playing in that forward line? A big year for joe Canning this year, quite simply he has to produce the goods. The challenge is to use him to his maximum effectiveness while not depending on him. I hope he his given licence to roam as well, he is too easily marked at 14 and Cooney is doing well at the frees as well, Maybe Joe can take the long range ones and those 20 metre frees.  If he has been watching Reid and Nash, there is full licence now, it would seem to bring the ball in as far as you like before hitting it!
A potentially great year of hurling to look forward to, let's hope the weather stays somewhat dry for it!!

Don't necessarily think KK are better than last year; they also won the league then but got slower and more tired as the c'ship progressed, and their old players, of whom they have a few, are now a year older again. Individually, their forwards aren't always hectic and Henry is getting to the stage where the opposition are hoping that he is picked. The thing about KK, Man Utd-like, is that they're often greater than the sum of their parts.

Daithi Burke only played one game at no. 6 as far as I saw, but he's a great addition and is sure to be a part of the HB line in some position. HF line is the big imponderable now, with a happy balance of ball-winning and hurling ability crucially required. Think JC could play most of his hurling there this year, should also remain on frees, still the best around when tuned in.

[Asal Mor]

I'd still be very wary of the KK forwards. I'd agree that Henry won't be a major threat anymore, but they've still got Hogan, TJ, Fennelly, Larkin, Walter Walsh and Richie Power. Some of them might not be in the best form of their careers but they're still potentially the best attack around.

Cooney's done a great job on the frees during the league mouview. I'd say no harm in letting him have them and then switching Joe onto them in the unlikely event that Cooney misses a few. IMO Canning is not as consistent as some other top freetakers, like Horgan, Ryan or potentially Cooney.