Draws made last night for the 2016 Championship
Rathdowney Errill v Camross
Abbeyleix v Borris Kilcotton
Ballinakill v The Harps
Portlaoise v Clough Ballacolla
Great draw for Ballinakill and The Harps.
The Harps are the one team who needed a favourable draw and though Ballinakill will fancy their chances; they don't carry the same threat as one or two others.
Tough draw for Portlaoise. Two years ago, they should have beaten Camross in the first round and went on to be relegated. They will know the importance of getting off to a good start but that's as tough an opener as they could have asked for.
CB have been slow starters in recent years but will be satisfied with that draw.
B/K will start as favourites against Abbeyleix and if they play as many feel they are capable, they should come through. Tough draw for Abbeyleix; a loss could see them struggle.
RE and Camross is the undoubted tie of the round. RE have edged these battles for a while now and it is a year ending in an even number but Camross will relish a crack at them and it really could go anyway.
Cheddar has agreed to release players for 4 of the 7 senior league games. I think these are rounds 2,3,4 and 5. I can't speak for any other divisions.
U21s are to be released for all games where possible but no minor will be allowed play any adult hurling until Laois exit the championship.
Quote from: merman on March 04, 2016, 11:02:25 AM
Great draw for Ballinakill and The Harps.
The Harps are the one team who needed a favourable draw and though Ballinakill will fancy their chances; they don't carry the same threat as one or two others.
Tough draw for Portlaoise. Two years ago, they should have beaten Camross in the first round and went on to be relegated. They will know the importance of getting off to a good start but that's as tough an opener as they could have asked for.
CB have been slow starters in recent years but will be satisfied with that draw.
B/K will start as favourites against Abbeyleix and if they play as many feel they are capable, they should come through. Tough draw for Abbeyleix; a loss could see them struggle.
RE and Camross is the undoubted tie of the round. RE have edged these battles for a while now and it is a year ending in an even number but Camross will relish a crack at them and it really could go anyway.
Cheddar has agreed to release players for 4 of the 7 senior league games. I think these are rounds 2,3,4 and 5. I can't speak for any other divisions.
U21s are to be released for all games where possible but no minor will be allowed play any adult hurling until Laois exit the championship.
Decent review I'd say Borris are delighted with that draw but abbeyleix on the other hand will be delghted they avoided R/E and C/B
Portlaoise will know they will have to improve to get close to Ballacolla but getting C/b early is the only time to beat them.
Quote from: Ogie on March 04, 2016, 09:59:45 AM
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.
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on March 04, 2016, 12:20:01 PM
Quote from: Ogie on March 04, 2016, 09:59:45 AM
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.
Weekend Predictions:
R/E vs Camross -
Camross to nick it with R/E without the services of Mark Kavanagh & Liam O'Connell, Reports of Zane hitting a patch of form too.
Abbeyleix vs Borris Kilcotton -
B/K to win but Abbeyleix could give them a big scare. Could be game of the weekend
Ballinakill vs The Harps -
Ballinakill should come out on top with The Harps struggling and Cha on fire in the league.
Portlaoise vs Clough Ballacolla -
C/B will be expecting to win but Portlaoise will fancy an upset with Picky stateside for this game.
RE vs Camross
Cant wait for this one. Camross have been the most consistent team in Laois over the last three years but they haven't cracked RE yet. Mark Kavanagh is a loss but I still fancy them to come through, if they can keep Keenan quiet.
RE by 4...
Abbeyleix vs BK
There's nearly always a shock in the first round...but I don't think this will happen here. If BK defend with discipline then I don't see Abbeyleix scoring anywhere near enough. BK to win by 8; championship favourites for me right now.
CB vs Portlaoise
CB should have too much firepower but are missing three guaranteed starters and struggled a bit in the league. I feel success for Portlaoise would be staying up this year and though I can't bring myself to completely rule it out, I can't see them claiming a win here.
CB by 5...
Ballinakill Gaels vs The Harps
B/Kill should not be written off as championship darkhorses. Cha is capable of dismantling any defence and I just don't see how The Harps can hold him. If they do, maybe doubling 2 Dunnes on him then they might have a chance here. This could be closer than some think but on the balance of probabilities, it's hard to go against Ballinakill, I'll say by 2...
R/E, Abbeyleix, CB and Ballinakill all to win, Ballinakill to be only team with 3 or more points to spare at the end.i expect the other 3 games to be tight. Abbeyleix to be the "shock" result.
Clough Ballacolla are an absolute certainty to win.
Rathdowney Erill are almost as definite. They are a very good side. Has Zane not been in US for past few weeks?
Abbeyleix will put it up to Borris Kilcotton but won't win.
I would not be at all shocked if The Harps beat Ballinakill. It's the least certain result IMO.
All just my opinion- we shall see. Interesting weekend ahead!
Fantastically competitive championship. Seems like a long time ago since we had 2/3 matches in each round won by 12-15 points.
The only people suffering are the clubs ranked 10-13 in the county- Mountrath, Colt, Ballyfin (in whatever order!). When are they realistically going to get a chance to hurl Senior again with this system?
Quote from: Keyser Söze on July 21, 2016, 07:50:25 PM
Clough Ballacolla are an absolute certainty to win.
Rathdowney Erill are almost as definite. They are a very good side. Has Zane not been in US for past few weeks?
Abbeyleix will put it up to Borris Kilcotton but won't win.
I would not be at all shocked if The Harps beat Ballinakill. It's the least certain result IMO.
All just my opinion- we shall see. Interesting weekend ahead!
Fantastically competitive championship. Seems like a long time ago since we had 2/3 matches in each round won by 12-15 points.
The only people suffering are the clubs ranked 10-13 in the county- Mountrath, Colt, Ballyfin (in whatever order!). When are they realistically going to get a chance to hurl Senior again with this system?
Sure what do i know!
Great win for Camross, great game by the sounds of it!
Any reports from last nights double header?
2nd Round Draw
Borris/Kilcotton vs Ballinakill Gaels
Clough/Ballacolla vs Camross
Rathdowney/Errill vs Abbeyleix
Portlaoise vs The Harps
Impressed with Camross, Borris/Kilcotton, Ballinakill and Abbeyleix.
CB and particularly RE with plenty of room for improvement.
Portlaoise gave CB plenty of if and they'd have to be favourites to see off The Harps.
Can see only see a winner coming from R/D Camross or maybe B/K after the weekend.
Harps are certs for the drop.As Portlaoise will beat them and so will Abbeyleix.
R/D will get stronger and could yet meet Camross in the final.
Ballinakill v B/K will be a decent game to look at.....
Quote from: Goku on July 21, 2016, 11:48:24 AM
Weekend Predictions:
R/E vs Camross -
Camross to nick it with R/E without the services of Mark Kavanagh & Liam O'Connell, Reports of Zane hitting a patch of form too.
Abbeyleix vs Borris Kilcotton -
B/K to win but Abbeyleix could give them a big scare. Could be game of the weekend
Ballinakill vs The Harps -
Ballinakill should come out on top with The Harps struggling and Cha on fire in the league.
Portlaoise vs Clough Ballacolla -
C/B will be expecting to win but Portlaoise will fancy an upset with Picky stateside for this game.
Not too Far off with my Predictions, If only i put money on it :(
Camross and Ballinakill will be most happy after the first round but with B/K and C/B due back some big players for the next round it makes for an exciting 2nd Round..
Jesus its all football on here lately, hurling side of things is very quiet! :-X
Just getting the predictions going for the coming weekend:
Ballinakill vs BK
im gona say BK here, unfortunately Ballinakill seem to be a one man show. BK should be able to keep that man to a minimum and if they use the ball a bit better than the last day they will win with a few points to spare.
Portlaosie vs The Harps
Portlaoise were impressive in patches the last day and i think they will win this win by 4/5 points. Harps are struggling.
Camross vs CB
should be the game of the weekend, CB were impressive in patches too vs Portlaoise the last day, Willie Dunphy inparticular looked very sharp. something about Camross though, they seemed to always win the mental battles and come out on top in the end. will be very tight, im going for a draw here.
Abbeyleix vs RE
RE for me here, i can see Abbeyleix putting it up to them for 45 minutes but RE to pull away from there. could be a nervy start from RE though so unless Abbeyleix can get a really good start, i dont think they have enough to see it out.
hope there is a couple of good quality games this weekend to get the crowd going. atmosphere was fairly dead in the first round.
Ballinakill v B/K: Borris did well to hold off Abbeyleix the last day and they should have enough experience at the back to keep Cha quiet. Borris by 6.
Portlaoise v The Harps: Portlaoise showed well against CB where as The Harps are struggling at the moment. I can't see them having enough scoring power to win this. Portlaoise by 4.
R/E v Abbeyleix: Both teams would have been hoping for at least semi final places at the start of the championship and now one will be in a relegation final. This should be a dogfight but Rathdowney look the stronger of the two. R/E by 3.
C/B v Camross: C/B were less than convincing against Portlaoise, unless they make huge strides forward I fancy Camross to win again. Camross by 4.
B/K V Ballinakill
BB/K should come through this, especially if Joe Campion and Patrick Whelan are back ? Ballinakill have a strong, experienced half back line and a good pairing in midfield too. Eamon Jackman showed some good form against The Harps and if he can repeat that and Cha cuts loose then they might be in business. Conor Dunne did a good job man marking Cha the last day but he sacrificed his own game totally in doing so and never got a puck himself, which is not how you want your centre back hurling.
B/K should return Neil Foyle to the forwards, they missed his target man qualities against Abbeyleix. If there is to be an upset this round this match could be it, but as has been said B/K have the strength in depth that Ballinakill don't and should get through by 3-4 points.
Portlaoise V Harps
Portlaoise showed great determination against Clough Ballacolla, which couldn't be said for The Harps who seemed to accept their lot a bit too easily against Ballinakill. However Harps have put Ballinakill and Castletown down in recent years and will surely put up a better fight this weekend to avoid another relegation final. Portlaoise should have enough to win by 4-5 points.
Abbeyleix v Rathdowney Errill
Didn't see R/E play Camross but they will be favourites here. Abbeyleix like Ballinakill don't seem to have the panel depth yet and have 2 or 3 forwards who blow hot and cold. If these 2/3 lads catch fire they have a chance with Mark Kavanagh and Liam O'Connell big losses for R/E. Questions about Abbeyleix's belief against the 'big 4' too after last year when they lost from a winning position against R/E (as they did against B/K in first round). R/E to win by 6.
Clough Ballacolla v Camross
I thought Clough Ballacolla lookd very slick at times V Portlaoise and always looked like they could get the scores when they needed them. A bit casual though and almost got caught at the end by a determined Portlaoise. For me C/B are the team to beat from what I saw in first round even though they were not at their best. Didn't see Camross, but wouldn't be surprised if these two wound up in the final.
On another note, I am not a fan of the current format. With 8 teams, two groups of 4 would give everyone 3 matches before knockout. Top two teams in each group into semi finals, bottom two in each group into relegation semi finals should ensure no dead rubbers. Also, if playing in O'Moore park two matches needed on same day to get a bit of a crowd into the place
I hear that B/K might be missing a few players on Friday as they are on holidays,that might give Ballinakill the edge in the match.
Home I couldn't disagree more the current format is working well, all the games are competitive and in comparison to our county football championship the hurling works perfectly. I do agree that two games should be played a night, bigger crowds generate better atmosphere!
Quote from: County baller on August 04, 2016, 07:29:50 PM
Home I couldn't disagree more the current format is working well, all the games are competitive and in comparison to our county football championship the hurling works perfectly. I do agree that two games should be played a night, bigger crowds generate better atmosphere!
I agree. Every single game has something to play for, either a chance to progress or survive and the margins between survival and progression are tiny. With 2 groups of 4, if you lose your first 2 games, the last game will likely be a dead rubber. There are no dead rubbers in the current format. It is a little convoluted but the level of competitiveness is making a huge difference.
And under the current system every team is guaranteed 3 competitive championship games. With the finalists, top and bottom, getting 4. For years there were plenty of dead rubbers which did nothing for the weaker teams.
Seems I am in the minority on this, but I just feel too much depends on the luck of the draw for me under the current system. Maybe that adds to the excitement for some.
For e.g. I may be wrong, but last year R/E beat Abbeyleix in R1 and were subsequently knocked out after being drawn against CloughBallacolla and Borris Kilcotton I think. Abbeyleix went back to play Casteltown in losers group and were drawn against Ballinakill in QF. So you could argue R/E would have been better off losing to Abbeyleix because of the luck of the draw.
Also, for two teams you are looking at two matches in a fortnight and out of the Championship after 6-8 months preparation.
Another e.g., if C/B were drawn against R/E and Camross v B/K the losers of these two matches could be playing each other to avoid relegation final.
As it is I'm not sure the big guns are overly concerned with R1 if draw in March is 'kind' with some players going abroad and coming back for R2.
With two groups of 4 and two sets of semi finals the only real dead rubber would arise if two teams arrived into last match both having lost or won both matches.
It's not a perfect system but two groups of 4 with two separate sets of semi finals would generate just as much
excitement, would give most teams an extra match and remove some of the luck element.
The current system is better than before I would agree, and is not the biggest problem we have in Laois hurling.I would be more worried about the standard in the Senior B which apart from Castletown is not good. Also, the hurling in Divsion 1 B league this year was more like Junior hurling than Division 1 B or Senior B.
Also, dead rubbers in a two groups of 4 system could be avoided by pairing Round 1 winners together and Round 1 losers together for Round 2.
home boys home
you are in a minority of one, when it comes to wanting to ditch the current system and revert to two groups of 4.....over the years no matter what you done in terms of game order, there were always dead rubbers and this resulted in one team gaining and another losing due to the group format and it failed to ignite the interest of spectators.
there may only be room for 8 teams under the current system, but that is the right number as it is ultra competitive. to extend to 10 or 12, all you are doing is bringing in non competitive teams that will be cannon fodder.
I note, you do refer to "luck of the draw" being a factor in the current format, and I suspect that you may be from abbeyleix, because they seem to have been dealt the weakest hand "draw wise"............an open draw is a fair lottery system, sometimes it favours you, other times not. In most people's eyes Abbeyleix are about seed number 6, they should be embracing the challenge of moving up the ratings by beating a higher seed, rather than complaining about the "bad draws".
this weekend
I think B/K will just have a little too much for ballinakill,
C/Ballacolla v Camross, comes down to the CB attitude...if they are not 100% tuned in, then Camross may shade it.
I think Rathdowney/E v abbeyleix will be entertaining, with R/E pulling away in the final quarter.
Portlaoise v Harps. most are making this a win for Portlaoise, I will swing the other way.....P/L did not impress me at the Senior B ranks last year, and I felt they were flattered by C/B, who looked to be going through the motions. The Harps were awful v Ballinakill, but in 2015 they pulled a massive performance out of no where to hammer castletown. I think the Harps have the better players and if you are into odds, the 5/2 about them beating Portlaoise is very tempting. This Portlaoise side struggles big time when it comes to scoring goals, and such teams in hurling are always vulnerable.
I'm actually with Home Boys Home on this one.
I'd love a group stage and have articulated this consistently over the last couple of years.
The current system is very good, don't get me wrong, but I want more games and I want our strongest players hurling competitively at Championship level over a longer period of time.
I think it would benefit club and county to have a championship game in May, June and July before moving on to the knockouts in August.
Anyway, the current system is working well as seen by how difficult it is to pick any winners from this weekends matches with confidence.
In order of confidence I'll go with
1. Rathdowney/Errill
2. Portlaoise
3. Clough/Ballacolla
4. Ballinakill
Quote from: oneflewoverthecuckoonest on August 05, 2016, 12:56:00 PM
home boys home
you are in a minority of one, when it comes to wanting to ditch the current system and revert to two groups of 4.....over the years no matter what you done in terms of game order, there were always dead rubbers and this resulted in one team gaining and another losing due to the group format and it failed to ignite the interest of spectators.
there may only be room for 8 teams under the current system, but that is the right number as it is ultra competitive. to extend to 10 or 12, all you are doing is bringing in non competitive teams that will be cannon fodder.
I note, you do refer to "luck of the draw" being a factor in the current format, and I suspect that you may be from abbeyleix, because they seem to have been dealt the weakest hand "draw wise"............an open draw is a fair lottery system, sometimes it favours you, other times not. In most people's eyes Abbeyleix are about seed number 6, they should be embracing the challenge of moving up the ratings by beating a higher seed, rather than complaining about the "bad draws".
this weekend
I think B/K will just have a little too much for ballinakill,
C/Ballacolla v Camross, comes down to the CB attitude...if they are not 100% tuned in, then Camross may shade it.
I think Rathdowney/E v abbeyleix will be entertaining, with R/E pulling away in the final quarter.
Portlaoise v Harps. most are making this a win for Portlaoise, I will swing the other way.....P/L did not impress me at the Senior B ranks last year, and I felt they were flattered by C/B, who looked to be going through the motions. The Harps were awful v Ballinakill, but in 2015 they pulled a massive performance out of no where to hammer castletown. I think the Harps have the better players and if you are into odds, the 5/2 about them beating Portlaoise is very tempting. This Portlaoise side struggles big time when it comes to scoring goals, and such teams in hurling are always vulnerable.
Don't mind being in a minority, but don't use arguments I never made to reason against me !
Tow groups of 4 with matches in right order greatly reduces chance of dead rubbers. I never suggested increasing it to 10 or 12. (As it happens, I would actually prefer 10 teams but accept that argument is lost for now). We never had a group system with just 2 x 4 teams.
Yes I am from Abbeyleix. I was not "complaining about bad draws", just pointing out the luck/anomaly element. In case it escaped your attention I also mentioned R/E last year and how their reward for beating Abbeyleix in R1 was a much tougher subsequent draw than Abbeyleix's.
As you say, it is a lottery system.
I'm going go for a few upsets
Harps to beat Portlaoise
Ballinakill to beat Borris
R/D will beat Abbeyleix but not by much
Camross to beat Ballacolla by 6 plus
we 100% did have the system of 2 groups of 4 in the past, in the 90s....did not work in that era.
Yes, but the problem, as has been mentioned, is what happens to the teams just below the senior level - Ballyfin, Colt, Shanahoe, etc. I agree that the eight team system works well, but it means they have nothing really to aim for - the team coming down will always be too strong for them. Bar they amalgamate, which, in my opinion, isn't the answer either.
Quote from: oneflewoverthecuckoonest on August 05, 2016, 04:50:02 PM
we 100% did have the system of 2 groups of 4 in the past, in the 90s....did not work in that era.
I don't remember there just being 8 teams in senior during the 90's . Maybe groups of 4 but wiith 12 teams? fair enough if it was 8 back then, but it doesn't mean it wouldn't work now, especially if every team was either in a relegation or championship semi final and two R1 winners and losers play each other in R 2. That would mean r3 could not feature teams who have won or lost both games.
Borris and Ballinakill played out a lack lustre affair tonight and loser would have still been in Championship. Wasn't a dead rubber, but not far off.
Castletown will walk the so called senior b this year and Harps, Abbeyleix or Portlaoise will go back and walk it next year. Ballyfin, Mountrath, Colt, not to mention Rosenallis And Clonad are going backwards at rate of knots . A ten team senior championship would give those teams at that level something to strive for. If they go back down after a few beatings, they are back in the mix again, but with a years senior experience
For fucks sake lads, after tonights match, and the 1st round matches, i think the format is the least of our worries!! Desperate! ::)
without digging too deep
1999 laois senior hurling championship
2 groups of 4....
group a
castletown, rathdowney, clonad, camross
rnd 1
castletown drew with camross, rathdowney bt clonad,
rnd 2
castletown bt clonad, rathdowney bt camross
rnd 3
castletown bt rathdowney, camross bt clonad
if memory serves, the last game was a dead rubber, and it was one of the few(if only) times that camross were eliminated at group stage.
the harps and portlaoise came out of the other group.
so yes, there you have proof that there did exist 2 groups of 4 as a format in the laois senior hurling championship.
I don't buy the rubbish about extending the senior to ten teams to help mountrath, colt etc.....if they are not good enough and not going to be competitive, all you will be doing is dragging others down to their level. the onus should be on these clubs to improve and strife to join the elite on merit and be competitive.
I admire what abbeyleix have done in hurling now and of late, great work and time being invested in the sport in the town. however I find your attitude on the senior hurling format a little defeatist....what you want for abbeyleix, is to increase the number of senior teams to 10, so that your club will always be safe from relegation and each year have at least one handy game, and perhaps one year get a pudding of a group draw with as many as 3 of the makeweights!.....never mind, if you happen to lose your next 2 games, you will have plenty of handy games at senior b next year, if easy winnable games is the endgoal.
I think you are missing the point there a little Cuckoo.
Also regarding 1999 Laois Senior Hurling Championship.
The following were all Senior at the time
1. Castletown
2. Portlaoise
3. The Harps
4. Clonaslee Gaels
5. Rathdowney
6. Camross
7. Clonad
8. Clough Ballacolla (Intermdiate winners 1998)
Were Errill & Ballinakill Gaels not Senior also?
The fact is that at the moment there is no incentive for the teams ranked 10-15. The gulf is too big and tbh it is designed to be kept that way.
8 teams is a nice round number etc and the current format is competitive but that doesn't mean you forget about the teams 10-15.
As an examply- Hurling is dying in Mountrath.
It's actually in a desperate state (irrespective of whether they win, lose or draw v Castletown tomorrow).
Take a look at juvenile results on the Laois website. Minors hammered by Rosenallis in league (6-17 to 3-6) and again in the final (3-17 to 0-4). Beaten by Slieve Margy in championship semi final the other night. They have no U16 team, so they send players to Camross (rumour has it that some won't be returning). U14s won no game in the B league (Slieve Margy, Ballinakill & Camross). They beat Slieve Margy in the Championship and lost to Rosenallis. Play Ballypickas next.
Ballyfin isn't a whole pile better.
Rosenallis, Colt and Clonad are making efforts at juvenile level.
Clonaslee to a certain degree.
There is nobody outside of the current Top 9 going to hurl Senior in Laois with the current format. That cannot be healty.
You can put all of the work you want in at juvenile level but you are at nothing if the system is stacked against you.
Castletown (back in the early 90s) and Clough Ballacolla (back in the early 00s) benefitted from being able to come up Senior and establish themselves. If the current system had of been in place they would have been held back from doing so.
Abbeyleix more recently around 2012 came up and had a realistic chance of staying up, but were relegated. This benefited them.
What is the benefit of having Rathdowney Errill, Abbeyleix, The Harps or Portlaoise hurling Senior A next year?
Quote from: oneflewoverthecuckoonest on August 06, 2016, 12:42:08 PM
without digging too deep
1999 laois senior hurling championship
2 groups of 4....
group a
castletown, rathdowney, clonad, camross
rnd 1
castletown drew with camross, rathdowney bt clonad,
rnd 2
castletown bt clonad, rathdowney bt camross
rnd 3
castletown bt rathdowney, camross bt clonad
if memory serves, the last game was a dead rubber, and it was one of the few(if only) times that camross were eliminated at group stage.
the harps and portlaoise came out of the other group.
so yes, there you have proof that there did exist 2 groups of 4 as a format in the laois senior hurling championship.
I don't buy the rubbish about extending the senior to ten teams to help mountrath, colt etc.....if they are not good enough and not going to be competitive, all you will be doing is dragging others down to their level. the onus should be on these clubs to improve and strife to join the elite on merit and be competitive.
I admire what abbeyleix have done in hurling now and of late, great work and time being invested in the sport in the town. however I find your attitude on the senior hurling format a little defeatist....what you want for abbeyleix, is to increase the number of senior teams to 10, so that your club will always be safe from relegation and each year have at least one handy game, and perhaps one year get a pudding of a group draw with as many as 3 of the makeweights!.....never mind, if you happen to lose your next 2 games, you will have plenty of handy games at senior b next year, if easy winnable games is the endgoal.
On your last two paragraphs;
You might disagree with someone else's opinion, that doesn't make it rubbish.
Neither do you know what I want for my own club. I have said in earlier posts that the argument for 10 teams was lost for the moment and also that my views on the format of the Laois SHC are not based ensuring "handy games" for my own club. I don't know why, but for some reason you choose to ignore this and post the above again.
Camross laid down a marker last night. They were hungry, physical and made sure second half against the wind was played on their terms. Clough Ballacolla played some nice hurling in first half against the wind, but couldn't get any traction in the face of Camross determination and aggression in the second half. Brendan McEvoy and Tom Delaney are being missed. Shane Hanlon aslo didn't play - is he injured ?
Camross have a strong panel too, able to bring in the likes of Dean Delaney and Mattie Collier and are probably favourites now. Clough Ballacolla have the talent to recover and are possibly still the best bet to pip Camross, question is have they hunger to go for it again.
Anyone at the BAllinakill v BK game. Was a draw a fair result or could/should one of them have won it?
Decent result for Ballinakill.
Portlaoise and the Harps also drawing.
Quote from: Unlaoised on August 05, 2016, 04:43:28 PM
I'm going go for a few upsets
Harps to beat Portlaoise
Ballinakill to beat Borris
R/D will beat Abbeyleix but not by much
Camross to beat Ballacolla by 6 plus
I was a whisker away from my predictions being right
Going to go with the Harps tonight!
Portlaoise a Tad fortunate to win last night by two points I thought the Harps were the better team overall...
Harps had to work a lot harder to get frees I thought whereas some of Portlaoise's were of the soft variet in saying that when Portlaoise ran at them they cause them all sorts of problems in the latter stages.
The Harps missed a Peno with a few minutes to go which would have probably won the game for them.
Great win for Ballinakill tonight. Cha must be doing his thing!
Im afraid going by tonight the bottling gene in abbeyleix is spread beyond their senior team, how they drew that game ill never know they were much the better team
Where does the Gaels come from ? was Liam Delaney playin or is he still injured
Think they have a few from ballypickas on it which is suprising considering delaney (who i felt was excellent tonight) and a few others were poached off them by abbeyleix. I was probably a bit harsh earlier on but it really was a game that should of been won by by 10-15 points especially after cranny got the goal. All thinggs going well we'll finish the job in the replay
Quote from: Laoiseabu on August 15, 2016, 10:16:42 PM
Where does the Gaels come from ? was Liam Delaney playin or is he still injured
It is Abbeyleix with 3 players from Ballypickas. Liam Delaney was playing.
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on August 16, 2016, 12:29:17 AM
Think they have a few from ballypickas on it which is suprising considering delaney (who i felt was excellent tonight) and a few others were poached off them by abbeyleix. I was probably a bit harsh earlier on but it really was a game that should of been won by by 10-15 points especially after cranny got the goal. All thinggs going well we'll finish the job in the replay
You are right, you were harsh earlier, they are young lads doing their best.
"Delaney and a few others were poached off them by Abbeyleix" is a pretty one-eyed and exaggerated view at best.
Look im a football man first and foremost and nobody was too disapointed to see those lads leave for abbeyleix but it is something that has happened a lot in the last few years and there is no point saying it doesnt happen, it benefits both us and abbeyleix and i think the results are starting to show this year and further progress will be made over the coming year.
Was anyone else at the match last night id be interested to hear it from a neutrals perspective
Quote from: Home Boys Home on August 16, 2016, 09:33:18 AM
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on August 16, 2016, 12:29:17 AM
Think they have a few from ballypickas on it which is suprising considering delaney (who i felt was excellent tonight) and a few others were poached off them by abbeyleix. I was probably a bit harsh earlier on but it really was a game that should of been won by by 10-15 points especially after cranny got the goal. All thinggs going well we'll finish the job in the replay
You are right, you were harsh earlier, they are young lads doing their best.
"Delaney and a few others were poached off them by Abbeyleix" is a pretty one-eyed and exaggerated view at best.
Did he and others transfer from Ballypickas and elsewhere at some stage? Genuine question!
Also there appears to be very little recognition that it is a "Gaels" thing on Abbeyleix Facebook page and on some of the signs around the town. That is very disrespectful to Ballypickas.
Whilst Ballyroan Abu was harsh, it is fairly unforgivable to be 10 points up in a final with 15 minutes to go & lose the game.
Clough Ballacolla are game and have managed to put a bit of a run together. There is an awful lot more in Robbie Phelan. As good as Cillian McEvoy is, I was very surprised that Abbeyleix Gaels allowed a 1v1 situation on the full forward line for the entire second half. Despite a plentiful supply of ball- Robbie did very little until the last 5/6 minutes.
Whilst Abbeyleix Gaels are much more balanced team (and I would have tipped them to win this final), Clough Ballacolla have the two best players on the field. I don't think Abbeyleix Gaels will be able to establish as big a lead early on the next day, but they should still have enough to win what has been a very competitive championship. That's 3/9 games that have finished level after normal time.
Was a neutral at the game and I thought Abbeyleix Gales had it wrapped up at half time.
They were by far the better team all round but I thought Liam Delaney was the main man in mid field.
Think they might have put too much emphasis on marking Robbie Phelan and took their eye off the ball in every sense of the word.
Would expect more from Jake Cranny next time round
Has there been a date set for the replay? from what i know the minor football final is moved to next week and both ballacolla, abbeyleix and ballypickas are hurling at the weekend so it could be a while before this game is refixed depending on results at the weekend. From what i could see from last night ballacolla are very reliant on cleere and phelan(which is no disrespect to the other ballacolla players as they are fantastic young players) whereas abbeyleix were more of a team and seem to have more scoring options
Thought I'd kick off the predictions for this weekend.
Clough/Ballacolla v Rathdowney/Errill- Ballacolla were poor against Camross and seem to lack leaders on the pitch. Rathdowney have bounced back from their opening weekend defeat and I think they'll win here. R/E by 5.
Borris/Kilcotton v Portlaoise- While Borris put in a lacklustre performance against Ballinakill they should have enough big name players to beat a Portlaoise team who will be happy to have avoided relegation. Borris by 4.
The Harps v Abbeyleix- The Harps have been clear favourites for the drop all year yet could've avoided it with a win against Portlaoise. Abbeyleix will be disappointed to have ended up in a relegation final and should pull through. Abbeyleix by 6.
Very hard to see past Rathdowney/Errill and Borris/Kilcotton.
Clough/Ballacolla have been poor all year and don't look have to have that steely resolve needed to go back to back.
RE will have revenge on their mind after last year's humbling and I'd fancy their defence to hold strong. Up front, Ross King always causes CB problems and he should fire them through to a semi-final against Ballinakill.
Portlaoise have been decent so far but BK is a big step up and I can't see them holding BK's forwards out. BK, for their part, looked disjointed and lethargic against Ballinakill but should have the firepower up front now that they have a fuller hand to play with.
I have a sneaky suspicion The Harps could upset Abbeyleix however. Abbeyleix aren't built to score goals and I fancy John Brophy to nab 1 or 2 at the other end. Could be decisive.
RE by 4
BK by 6
The Harps by 2
I think its the Harps turn to go down, i think Abbeyleix will start quick and Harps will chase the game unsuccesfully til the end. Abbeyeix by 2.
I think CB wil also win by 2/3. They always find an extra gear when they play RE and theres a big performance in them yet.
BK should win this. But they have had no shape, no purpose and no drive yet this year, and if that continues, i wouldnt be overly surprised if Portlaoise snatch a win here!
Quote from: finbar o tool on August 17, 2016, 11:29:08 PM
BK should win this. But they have had no shape, no purpose and no drive yet this year, and if that continues, i wouldnt be overly surprised if Portlaoise snatch a win here!
Says the BK man! There is no way they can/will lose to Portlaoise!
I agree with previous posters that RE will beat CB. They should. But games between these two tend to take on a life of there own.
RE are still a serious team. They are currently 7/2. I think that is crazy generous.
The CB team seems to lack the necessary hunger/personality to go on and dominate for a year or two within the county.
I have tipped The Harps twice this year. They were woeful the first day, and slightly better the next two. But I think Abbeyleix is a step up on Portlaoise. Will they beat them? I don't think they will. They have survived twice recently when Ballinakill and Castletown didn't turn up. They can't keep getting lucky.
Quote from: Keyser Söze on August 18, 2016, 12:04:27 AM
Quote from: finbar o tool on August 17, 2016, 11:29:08 PM
BK should win this. But they have had no shape, no purpose and no drive yet this year, and if that continues, i wouldnt be overly surprised if Portlaoise snatch a win here!
Says the BK man!
???
[/quote]
There is no way they can/will lose to Portlaoise!
[/quote]
I thought the same thing before both Ballinakill matches!
Portlaoise have some lively forwards, and the Harps match will stand to them.
C/B are current champs, they didnt turn bad overnight, they wont fear RE and they havent played well yet, the all or nothing situation might wake them up a bit!
Ballinakill have scorers. Portlaoise do not. Simple.
Possibly, although Portlaoise have out-scored Ballinakill so far in the championship!
Quote from: finbar o tool on August 18, 2016, 01:13:00 AM
Possibly, although Portlaoise have out-scored Ballinakill so far in the championship!
Down to the quality of opposition!
Quote from: Keyser Söze on August 18, 2016, 12:04:27 AM
I agree with previous posters that RE will beat CB. They should. But games between these two tend to take on a life of there own.
RE are still a serious team. They are currently 7/2. I think that is crazy generous.
R/E were flying during the league but have been poor in the championship to date. Abbeyleix challenged them right through until the last quarter. CB will raise their game for sure and these two teams have plenty of history in recent years. 50/50, could go either way.
Good game in O' Moore Park last night with Rathdowney/Errill edging out Clough/Ballacolla by 2 points; 3.13-2.18.
CB had their chances, hit some brutal wides from play and placed balls and then probably should have snatched it at the end but were denied a goal by a great block from I think Noel Brennan in the goal.
All that said, I think the better team on the night won. RE were clinical for 45 mins and then spurned 3 great chances late on when trying to kill the game when in hindsight, points would have probably been enough. They played the smarter game and looked to have a better set-up and cohesion about them.
None of CB's main players really got going and in fact, some of their worse moments were perpetrated by their leaders. Lee Cleere and Tom Delaney proved huge losses and throwing in the continued absence of Bill Duggan, they just looked a physical presence or two short in that middle third.
CB couldn't live with Paddy Purcell, he dominated the first half amd struck decisively at moments in the second. They hit some fine scores up front and some of RE's younger players really came of age with Jack Kelly, Jake Creagh and Eric Killeen all having good performances. I'm also continually impressed with Tadgh Dowling who puts in a huge shift every game and always slots over a couple of scores. Clearly, missing Mark Kavanagh weakens them but Ross King is, as ever, the main man and he could be the one to fire them to the championship.
Should Borris/Kilcotton defeat Portlaoise, then RE will go in as definite favourites against Ballinakill. Regardless of the draw, they look the team to beat and a 6th title in 11 years would propel them well ahead of their rivals in the bragging stakes.
Shows how difficult it is to win back to back championships in Laois at the moment. I just hope that whoever wins they will acquit themselves in Leinster.
Regardless of the draw, they look the team to beat and a 6th title in 11 years would propel them well ahead of their rivals in the bragging stakes.
[/quote
Surely Camross have to be considered favorites atm, they have already beaten rathdowney/errill and destroyed ballacolla in particular, where they looked extremely fit and clinical
Yes, I agree with that.
God the ref in the Abbeyleix / Harps match was shocking tonight . Missed so many frees . His lack of decision making almost incited a melee . Surely for such an important match , these two teams deserved better ?
Quote from: Sanny on August 21, 2016, 11:14:58 PM
God the ref in the Abbeyleix / Harps match was shocking tonight . Missed so many frees . His lack of decision making almost incited a melee . Surely for such an important match , these two teams deserved better ?
Your name would lead me to think you are an Abbeyleix man!
He was very poor in fairness. In my opinion he is usually fine, so I'd be wondering if visibility was poor or something.
I'd also be of the opinion that whilst he was poor, Abbeyleix benefitted more from it.
There should have been 5+ minutes added for Rowlands frees alone and then in stoppage time a Rowland free plus an Abbeyleix "injury" should have seen another minute or so added.
But overall The Harps deserved to lose. They looked really poor between the 20th & 50th minute. Abbeyleix dominated this period- but were lucky enough in the end!
Quote from: BallyroanAbbey on August 21, 2016, 02:43:30 PM
Regardless of the draw, they look the team to beat and a 6th title in 11 years would propel them well ahead of their rivals in the bragging stakes.
[/quote
Surely Camross have to be considered favorites atm, they have already beaten rathdowney/errill and destroyed ballacolla in particular, where they looked extremely fit and clinical
[/quote
Camross will need to keep improving. R/E were poor against them and lost by a point and have improved quite a lot since then. Should be a massive game and can't see much between them.
predictions for Sunday??
Mine is a B/K R/E final.
I feel rathdowney are timing their challenge nicely and may prove too strong for camross, in a tight call. this game a bit like Dublin/Kerry is in effect the final.
I fear borris will beat ballinakill in the second game...fear because if borris make the final, I expect another bottle job..ballinakill would provide a more entertaining final, though no doubt lose it.
Weather forecast is fairly brutal so could be a pair of slogging matches.
With the weather as it is I'd fancy camross and Ballinakill to grind out results. Borris seem to lack bottle and Camross have been so good this year they deserve the win!
Harsh on Borris Kilcotton.
They have failed to perform on a few occasions but haven't really lost any games they were considered overwhelming favourites for.
People read alot into the 2013 final loss to Camross. But in retrospect Camross were/are a serious outfit.
I cannot see them losing to Ballinakill on Sunday.
I'm probably being slightly harsh. I think that the current Borris team have a huge amount of talent and on paper are better than Ballinakill, but from watching them play I'm not sure if they have the same drive that Ballinakill or Camross have shown this year. That being said if they keep Cha quiet they certainly have the ability to win.
Quote from: County baller on September 08, 2016, 10:03:06 PM
I'm probably being slightly harsh. I think that the current Borris team have a huge amount of talent and on paper are better than Ballinakill, but from watching them play I'm not sure if they have the same drive that Ballinakill or Camross have shown this year. That being said if they keep Cha quiet they certainly have the ability to win.
One thought I have is that it is very hard to get optimal motivation to beat the same team twice. Much easier for R/E and B/K to motivate themselves as both will be hurting from earlier defeats. Could be important in two very close games. Saying that, Camross have lost so many big games they are not short of drive.
Ballinakill are having a good year, & are a tough nut to craic, they have some fine club hurlers in John Walsh, James Walsh, Brian o Meara, Eamonn jackman, Seamus still bossing things from the middle, & Young Downey improving beside him,& of course Cha!
They lost to Castletown in a practice match last week & spent last Saturday in Carton House being coached by Cheddar, their going all out & will fancy their chances,
I just can't see Borris Kilcotton be as bad again & the move of Foyle back up front should make the forwards a lot more potent,
BK beat Kilcormac & drew with Clareen in the last fortnight, I think their improving at the right time if it's good enough to get over this battle, posters here don't seem to think it will be.
I'm going with Borris Kilcotton
Rathdowney Errill are improving as the year goes on and are masters at peaking at the right time, while I do feel this is a lot weaker team than have won previous titles their 'old' guard are still class acts & have the big match experience, RE have drew with Birr & beat Castlecomer in the last few weeks, their forwards putting up big scores
Camross have been brilliant this year & deserve massive credit, especially their manager, they are so well driven & well organised, if they get any lead up they will retreat & shut up shop thrive on the hooks, blocks & tackles needed then, Camross have travelled further afield to Dublin & Wexford for games, I do believe the county champions will come from this game, like said previously here I just think RE will be more motivated this time around & have more scoring forwards to get the win.
Got to agree with Ogie on the Borris/Kilcotton game. I can't see them wasting this opportunity.
I understand things came to head a few weeks ago and there has been a huge improvement at training since; if they are ready and focussed then they should have enough to hold Ballinakill at arms length. I'm glad to hear Foyle is back in the forwards, utter madness to have been playing him wingback.
I honestly can't call the second game. I was impressed with RE against CB, even more than I was with Camross, but you've got to feel Camross won't be as naive as CB were. If they can get a handle on Paddy Purcell then they will go a long way to winning this game. Man for man I believe RE have the stronger personnel but Camross have that cohesion and steely belief and in Arien Delaney, they have the best manager in Laois over the last few years.
BK by 7
RE and Camross to draw
2 other things:
Removing the seeding from the Semi-Finals was moronic! The draw should be Camross-BK and Ballinakill Gaels-RE. For Ballinakill or BK to reach a final without beating CB, RE or Camross just doesn't seem to make sense. Repeat pairings should have been avoided where possible.
Can Ballinakill Gaels go on to represent Laois in Leinster if they do go all the way? I doubt they can.
Once again james young and clonaslee have disgraced themselves tonight, regardless of his stature the man deserves a lifetime ban and the club should be suspended for a year
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 10, 2016, 08:59:06 PM
Once again james young and clonaslee have disgraced themselves tonight, regardless of his stature the man deserves a lifetime ban and the club should be suspended for a year
I take it there was a row in OMP? Any clarity on what happened?
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 10, 2016, 08:59:06 PM
Once again james young and clonaslee have disgraced themselves tonight, regardless of his stature the man deserves a lifetime ban and the club should be suspended for a year
Plus 1.
They are just a different breed of people.
One or two others could/should have been sent off earlier- might have prevented what happened.
In fairness to the Castletown player who was sent off for getting involved after it must be very hard to hold your head with what started the row.
The man is a disgrace.
Quote from: Keyser Söze on September 10, 2016, 10:34:46 PM
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 10, 2016, 08:59:06 PM
Once again james young and clonaslee have disgraced themselves tonight, regardless of his stature the man deserves a lifetime ban and the club should be suspended for a year
Plus 1.
They are just a different breed of people.
One or two others could/should have been sent off earlier- might have prevented what happened.
In fairness to the Castletown player who was sent off for getting involved after it must be very hard to hold your head with what started the row.
The man is a disgrace.
It was pretty bad tonight particularly after what happened in Sligo during the week. The last thing Laois GAA needs is headlines for the wrong reasons. As usual Clonaslee are the main culprits but at least one Castletown player started flaking with the hurley. At one stage Clonaslee players seemed to have started fighting with each other.
Quote from: Downtheroad on September 10, 2016, 11:01:06 PMAs usual Clonaslee are the main culprits but at least one Castletown player started flaking with the hurley.
You are correct. The guy sent off deserved to be. But in fairness, it is difficult not to react to these things....
Aren't Clonaslee under some sort of bond with the County Board? Huge suspensions to follow I think.
What age is James Young? Do lads not simply grow out of these things?
This all bodes well for Ballyfin on the other side of this final...
Quote from: SCFC on September 11, 2016, 08:38:45 AM
Aren't Clonaslee under some sort of bond with the County Board? Huge suspensions to follow I think.
Hopefully, but I thought the bond was up.
Quote from: Dave like the tv channel on September 11, 2016, 11:54:07 AM
What age is James Young? Do lads not simply grow out of these things?
You can't outgrow bad breeding.
I think its best we don't get personal here. But if reports are correct from last night hopefully the county board comes down on them like a ton of bricks, that sort of crap ruins it for everyone.
Quote from: Dave like the tv channel on September 11, 2016, 11:54:07 AM
What age is James Young? Do lads not simply grow out of these things?
He's 36 going by the age in this old headline
http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/garda-investigated-over-alleged-assault-at-match-26692220.html (http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/garda-investigated-over-alleged-assault-at-match-26692220.html)
Jesus I would've thought he was more than 36. Clonaslee have plenty of history with this sort of thuggery. Time to bite the bullet and ban them from all competitions, even juvenile because they are just as bad that level too. Unfortunately the young lads think it's normal to behave like mammy and daddy!!
Quote from: south Laois on September 11, 2016, 02:47:50 PM
Jesus I would've thought he was more than 36. Clonaslee have plenty of history with this sort of thuggery. Time to bite the bullet and ban them from all competitions, even juvenile because they are just as bad that level too. Unfortunately the young lads think it's normal to behave like mammy and daddy!!
I think it's unfair to say they're as bad at juvenile. I've been involved in many games against them and they're no worse than other clubs. However at senior level I do believe that firm action needs to be taken. They can't continue with this despicable behaviour if a 1 year ban needs to be taken against them entering teams then so be it, hopefully the better lads in the club will oust the thugs and we will see a huge change in the club.
well we didnt get the rain that was predicted but the wind made up for it! Really affected both games. You could tell at half time in the first match that a 9 point lead wasn't going to be enough, a lot of nervous BK people at the break! They just cant seem to get it together and hurl as a team. Ballinakill stayed chipping away and slotted the frees when it counted. Neither team were great to look at though and it hasn't changed the majority view that the winner will be from the other side.
Camross got out of jail big time, shouldn't have happened though as Dean Delaney should have got a red card, or at least, his 2nd yellow. a disgrace by the officials, the whole of O'Moore park seen him strike a player with his hurl but the ref or linesman, 10 yards away, didn't see it?? Bollox, they bottled it. As for Damien Keenan, hes a liability every day he goes out, headless! RE bet themselves though the way they set up, extra man and about 5/6 points up and they decide to sit back? John Purcell was on his own in the full forward line most of the second half, why?? I dont think they won one ball in there the whole second half. I think they had their chance, Camross to win the replay, cant call the other one, ive given up trying to guess between them!
A bad weekend for hurling, from the ugly scenes on Saturday night, that needs to be punished hard by the county board, both clubs,
I know the wind had a massive affect on the games yesterday but I thought the standard was poor, especially in the first game
And again the thuggery that Camross brought to yesterday's game, they survived & Keenan will be back the next day, should have got a straight red & Delaney also survived,
Rathdowney Errill still look the class act, fitter and more game smart than any of the others left
We seem to be going back to the bad days instead of progressing with hurling in this county
Agree that the games at the weekend were pretty poor. What went on Saturday night sounded awful.
Sundays games were poor enough. R/E will be kicking themselves they aren't in a county final. It was criminal they let Camross back into it. A man up and with a strong wind. They looked the better team but didn't have the fight the Camross lads had.
2 weeks is a fair break for the replay. Think it should be sooner than that. Who cares about playing a match in O'Moore park or not if it's a conflict with the football that is pushing out the championship for 2 weeks.
Its a pity it took Saturday nights incident to get a mention of the Senior B championship.
Both games Saturday evening were scrappy affairs and whats more worrying for Castletown surely is the fact that Clonaslee really should have beaten them was it not for Youngs mistake which in turn led to the madness. Its probably unfair to blame all the Clonaslee club here. Youngs actions were disgraceful no argument but to blame the whole club for one or two individuals is not entirely fair and this is not coming form a Clonaslee club person.
I am right in assuming there will be a triple header on the 25th?
Clonaslee have been involved in incidents like this many times over the years so it's definitely more than one or two individuals. Its like it's in their DNA or something!!!
Quote from: Ogie on September 12, 2016, 09:43:36 AM
A bad weekend for hurling, from the ugly scenes on Saturday night, that needs to be punished hard by the county board, both clubs,
I know the wind had a massive affect on the games yesterday but I thought the standard was poor, especially in the first game
And again the thuggery that Camross brought to yesterday's game, they survived & Keenan will be back the next day, should have got a straight red & Delaney also survived,
Rathdowney Errill still look the class act, fitter and more game smart than any of the others left
We seem to be going back to the bad days instead of progressing with hurling in this county
TBH the sideline werent much better . Disgraceful to see what went on with them
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 10, 2016, 08:59:06 PM
Once again james young and clonaslee have disgraced themselves tonight, regardless of his stature the man deserves a lifetime ban and the club should be suspended for a year
what stature, never seen him do much in his inter county days apart from taking frees. as for disgraced himself he didn't lick it off the ground ::)
Bad weekend overall for Laois hurling. Interesting to see what action the CB take.
Both Senior B semi finals were shocking poor. It doesn't really matter who wins it- they will most likely be in for a short stay at Senior.
I disagree that BK did not have a large enough lead at half time. 10 points in a sizeable lead for an experienced team to hold.
Ballinakill just will not go away!
Camross lost the plot completely and I'd imagine that the ref thought they were f**ked and just didn't bother sending more off. Their line had to sense to take lads off who looked like they were going to join Keenan. RE well and truly blew an amazing position.
I don't understand the sense in a two week gap to the replays. A double header next Saturday in Mountrath at 3 & 5pm would have attracted some crowd!
Just be careful with with you're saying on here lads. The written word is easy to track.
Quote from: Thewildcat on September 12, 2016, 06:10:30 PM
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 10, 2016, 08:59:06 PM
Once again james young and clonaslee have disgraced themselves tonight, regardless of his stature the man deserves a lifetime ban and the club should be suspended for a year
what stature, never seen him do much in his inter county days apart from taking frees. as for disgraced himself he didn't lick it off the ground ::)
Although he mightnt of contributed more than frees during his intercounty days he is probably the most renouned name nationally of a laois hurler in the last 15 years along with willie hyland, interestingly hes manager of slieve bloom who happen to be playing castlletown in a junior semi final as if that game needed any more tension
Quote from: Keyser Söze on September 12, 2016, 06:40:06 PM
Camross lost the plot completely and I'd imagine that the ref thought they were f**ked and just didn't bother sending more off. Their line had to sense to take lads off who looked like they were going to join Keenan. RE well and truly blew an amazing position.
i certainly hope the ref didnt think anything like that! what bullshit!
A lot of negativity about matches but have to say Cha and Zane were both brilliant despite being at least double marked
Quote from: finbar o tool on September 12, 2016, 09:01:27 PM
Quote from: Keyser Söze on September 12, 2016, 06:40:06 PM
Camross lost the plot completely and I'd imagine that the ref thought they were f**ked and just didn't bother sending more off. Their line had to sense to take lads off who looked like they were going to join Keenan. RE well and truly blew an amazing position.
i certainly hope the ref didnt think anything like that! what bullshit!
Why do you think he didn't send them off then?
Do you think if Keenan hadn't already of been sent off would Delaney have survived?
What i meant was its bullshit from Lawlor, those thoughts shouldnt be entering his head, hes getting paid to do a job. he bottled it, for whatever reason. Broughan the same. Delaney deserved a red card, i think it was Daryl Dooley hit Joe Fitz too, could have been another red.
Poor games but the weather spoiled things a bit too, we just didnt get to see the games flow. i think on a normal day both RE and BK should win as they have the more skillful players overall. But both waste a lot of ball too and Camross and Ballinakill are dogged and dont give in.
Quote from: Keyser Söze on September 12, 2016, 06:40:06 PM
Bad weekend overall for Laois hurling. Interesting to see what action the CB take.
Both Senior B semi finals were shocking poor. It doesn't really matter who wins it- they will most likely be in for a short stay at Senior. The same was probably said of Portlaoise this year and Ballinakill before them. A team needs the exposure of senior hurling at the very least pretty lazy statement from you to be honest
Ballyfin Man Jimmy P ????
Yes that I am?
Quote from: Keyser Söze on September 12, 2016, 06:40:06 PM
Bad weekend overall for Laois hurling. Interesting to see what action the CB take.
Both Senior B semi finals were shocking poor. It doesn't really matter who wins it- they will most likely be in for a short stay at Senior.
I disagree that BK did not have a large enough lead at half time. 10 points in a sizeable lead for an experienced team to hold.
Ballinakill just will not go away!
Camross lost the plot completely and I'd imagine that the ref thought they were f**ked and just didn't bother sending more off. Their line had to sense to take lads off who looked like they were going to join Keenan. RE well and truly blew an amazing position.
I don't understand the sense in a two week gap to the replays. A double header next Saturday in Mountrath at 3 & 5pm would have attracted some crowd!
Co Board are dead right to put on a double header in O'Moore Park. I expect a minimum crowd of 3000 which can bring in €30,000 which is nothing to be stiffed at. Logistically, Mountrath cannot cope with such numbers and throw in the Irish weather.
For a new pitch, Mountrath is surprisingly wet in patches. No, it definitely couldn't cope w/ a senior double-header.
Quote from: Jimmy P on September 13, 2016, 09:56:45 AM
Quote from: Keyser Söze on September 12, 2016, 06:40:06 PM
Both Senior B semi finals were shocking poor. It doesn't really matter who wins it- they will most likely be in for a short stay at Senior. The same was probably said of Portlaoise this year and Ballinakill before them. A team needs the exposure of senior hurling at the very least pretty lazy statement from you to be honest
Possibly,
Who do you expect to win the final?
What are the views on the upcoming weekend?
B/K will probably feel they have another gear in the first game and R/E will be hoping that they are playing into a strong wind in both halves the next day ;)
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on September 19, 2016, 12:04:50 PM
What are the views on the upcoming weekend?
B/K will probably feel they have another gear in the first game and R/E will be hoping that they are playing into a strong wind in both halves the next day ;)
Surely ballinakill have to be favorites for this, borris played them 3 times and couldnt beat them, ballinakill have mcdonald from slieve margy the next day i believe, are a physically stronger team, more dogged team and mentally are a mile ahead of the borris team who have repeatedly misfired since they joined
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 19, 2016, 01:40:48 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on September 19, 2016, 12:04:50 PM
What are the views on the upcoming weekend?
B/K will probably feel they have another gear in the first game and R/E will be hoping that they are playing into a strong wind in both halves the next day ;)
ballinakill have mcdonald from slieve margy the next day i believe, are a physically stronger team, more dogged team and mentally are a mile ahead of the borris team who have repeatedly misfired since they joined
Where was Lir up to this point?
Quote from: Don Draper on September 19, 2016, 02:46:17 PM
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 19, 2016, 01:40:48 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on September 19, 2016, 12:04:50 PM
What are the views on the upcoming weekend?
B/K will probably feel they have another gear in the first game and R/E will be hoping that they are playing into a strong wind in both halves the next day ;)
ballinakill have mcdonald from slieve margy the next day i believe, are a physically stronger team, more dogged team and mentally are a mile ahead of the borris team who have repeatedly misfired since they joined
Where was Lir up to this point?
Suspended in minor final, mussed junior c finaal replay for margy
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 19, 2016, 01:40:48 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on September 19, 2016, 12:04:50 PM
What are the views on the upcoming weekend?
B/K will probably feel they have another gear in the first game and R/E will be hoping that they are playing into a strong wind in both halves the next day ;)
Surely ballinakill have to be favorites for this, borris played them 3 times and couldnt beat them, ballinakill have mcdonald from slieve margy the next day i believe, are a physically stronger team, more dogged team and mentally are a mile ahead of the borris team who have repeatedly misfired since they joined
Certainly seem to have the edge in terms of tenacity and attitude but Borris have better hurlers around the field. If they click they will win easily but never seem to be able to. Teams that depend on one man for scores are always going to be vulnerable but there is nobody would doubt Ballinakill's drive and teamwork.
I see James young got banned for 24 games, at senior level only! What a f**king joke. He shouldn't be let near a hurling field again for the rest of his life. And €500 fine for the club, another joke!
If there an incident at the junior semi final saturday the county board will have a lot to answer for
If Young could only be suspended in the grade he was playing in then how was Lir McDonald sent off in a minor game but suspended for Jhc c final and senior cship games with Ballinakill Gaels??? Someone explain that to me please!
An absolute farce, scandalous that this is the punishment handed out to culprits & clubs involved in this behaviour in this day & age
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 20, 2016, 07:20:05 PM
If there an incident at the junior semi final saturday the county board will have a lot to answer for
I don't think the club (s) involved could blame the County Board if something happened. People need to take responsibility for their own actions and decisions. Clubs have a duty to control their players and supporters to.
I read in the Leinster Express that they had contacted the Garda Ombudsman for comment. That, to me, is going too far.
He did what he did on a GAA field, let the GAA sort it out. His hurling days are done and his reputation is in tatters. Interfering with his career is a step too far (IMO).
The man assulted someone repeatedly with a hurl it wasnt too just a malee he attacked someone with intent to seriously hurt them, not for the first time.
The reason i bring up the county board is that he shouldnt be allowed to be there saturday, its like putting a red rag to a bull, although in fairness i do agree with you that people are responsible for their own actions,in this case though the punishment was far too lenient
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 20, 2016, 11:35:18 PM
The man assulted someone repeatedly with a hurl it wasnt too just a malee he attacked someone with intent to seriously hurt them, not for the first time.
The reason i bring up the county board is that he shouldnt be allowed to be there saturday, its like putting a red rag to a bull, although in fairness i do agree with you that people are responsible for their own actions,in this case though the punishment was far too lenient
I'm not disagreeing with you really just I wouldn't be jumping to excuse any lunatic who started something at Saturday's match. Whatever about him being there, it would probably be better if a close relative of his wasn't- he'd be quite likely to start something.
I'd expect the game to pass without incident.
Jesus I don't know Keyser. Surely we as a society must expect some base level of conduct from our Gardaí? If it had been a primary school teacher, would a parent have a valid concern?
It's a debate much bigger than this one incident but I think we have moved away from this notion that 'what happens on the field, stays on the field.' All players must be responsible for their actions; no one more so than a Guard.
Slieve Bloom are in an interesting position now. They must surely be considering whether they need this added distraction for what will already be a charged and potentially volatile occasion? If it was me, I'd be inclined to ask him to stay away.
On the senior games; I'm again (reluctantly) siding with Borris/Kilcotton to edge Ballinakill Gaels. They still have the better hurlers and sooner or later that has to count....I think...
I'll also plump for Rathdowney/Errill in the second semi-final. It's for much the same reasons to be honest; I think if they bring their A-game then Camross could find their firing power a little too much.
Finally, I'm going to go with the underdog in the Senior B. Ive a sneaky suspicion Ballyfin Gaels could edge Castletown.
Any incident involving a Garda and misconduct will be brought to the attention of the Garda Ombudsman, it may even be the responsibility of the Garda himself to do so. The Express are only doing their job, researching and reporting the news.
Quote from: merman on September 20, 2016, 11:46:06 PM
Jesus I don't know Keyser. Surely we as a society must expect some base level of conduct from our Gardaí? If it had been a primary school teacher, would a parent have a valid concern?
It's a debate much bigger than this one incident but I think we have moved away from this notion that 'what happens on the field, stays on the field.' All players must be responsible for their actions; no one more so than a Guard.
Slieve Bloom are in an interesting position now. They must surely be considering whether they need this added distraction for what will already be a charged and potentially volatile occasion? If it was me, I'd be inclined to ask him to stay away.
On the senior games; I'm again (reluctantly) siding with Borris/Kilcotton to edge Ballinakill Gaels. They still have the better hurlers and sooner or later that has to count....I think...
I'll also plump for Rathdowney/Errill in the second semi-final. It's for much the same reasons to be honest; I think if they bring their A-game then Camross could find their firing power a little too much.
Finally, I'm going to go with the underdog in the Senior B. Ive a sneaky suspicion Ballyfin Gaels could edge Castletown.
+1
the two semi final replays are difficult to call. after the last day, the omens are that camross have their name on the trophy, so I will nominate camross and just about borris/kilcotton.
I am shocked after his performance in the camross/rathdowney-errill game that john lalor has been rostered to ref another semi final...a right slap in the face to all the other refs out there.
on the issue of the noteworthy junior semi final on Saturday, outside of the senior games, this is the one hurling game in the county that has been waited with in some anticipation for some time, and as others say events of late adding extra fuel. given that this tie is likely to draw a crowd that would match a senior semi final, why has the fixtures committee decided to place it in mountrath. surely a smarter call would have been to place it in o moore park, where the county board themselves could police the game. the two intermediate semi finals on Saturday are going to attract a smaller attendance than the junior game, and it might have been wiser to put the junior game on before them at o moore park and make it a treble header.
ps I hear cheddar is remaining at the helm for the senior team, no other candidates were sounded out, par for the course with the current executive.
Cheddar will have to shake it up a good bit next year. Davy Fitz or Donal og could be asked to join the team.
i dont think there will be any incidents at the junior game, players will want to get on with the job and try get to a county final, and if James Young has a brain cell in his head he'll keep himself out of trouble. IF.
Quote from: oneflewoverthecuckoonest on September 21, 2016, 01:36:17 PM
ps I hear cheddar is remaining at the helm for the senior team, no other candidates were sounded out, par for the course with the current executive.
super ::)
its not about results or progression with our county board. like i said before, they're happy now they dont have to do anything and Cheddar will spend his own money too which is great for the county board.
the whole coaching system from U14 to Senior needs an overhaul in this county. but they dont give a shit.
super ::)
its not about results or progression with our county board. like i said before, they're happy now they dont have to do anything and Cheddar will spend his own money too which is great for the county board.
the whole coaching system from U14 to Senior needs an overhaul in this county. but they dont give a shit.
[/quote]
What is it with the County Board?
Do they not care? Is it the money Cheddar pumps into the team?
Cheddar has done his best for Laois hurling but in fairness if the County Board are not going to do something about level of coaching going on from U14 upwards the man is wasting his time and money IMO.
They let anyone who shows any sort of interest in taking over a team work away and much as you have to admire them for giving up their time what background in coaching have they got.
I do think this years minor team is a typical example of this and if the County Board dont do something soon hurling in Laois
is only going to get worse and we have no hope of lads giving up their time if some effort is not made to get decent coaches in
Are the right numbers of decent coaches (and finances) there in Laois at the minute to allow decent club coaches to head off to take well supported development squads? Similar issue in regard to low levels coaching numbers in Antrim. I don't think the county board can take the blame for too few people deciding to commit to coaching teams at the right level. Any suggestions on how you could rectify a shortfall in decent men looking to get involved?
In fairness if Cheddar is using his money as has been suggested surely the County Board could fund some coaching .
Yes we do have a shortage of coaches both club and county but maybe if more of an effort was put in more might get involved.
At the moment at underage its usually the fathers who get involved (and fair play to them) at club level, usually with no proper training themselves
We always seem to have excuses in Laois, no money, no coaches,no hurlers committing, .
A clear out of the outdated County Board Committee is badly needed IMO
look the top 5 positions on the county executive are filled by football minded individuals. it may be a case that nobody from the hurling area has any interest in getting involved or perhaps from a numbers(in voting aspect), it may be now impossible to beat the football voting block and unseat them.
as mentioned, cheddar doing all the work suits the executive down to the ground and this dependency is not good.
I fear after about 5 years of competitiveness at minor level, the next five may see you dip to "b" standard again.
we can all share the blame for lack of effort in coaching, however, if the leadership at the top of the pyramid is non existent, those further down the chain are entitled to step aside and not get involved.
it may look great to outsiders that the county now has a training centre, if the talent on the playing side is being wasted, then the fixed assets are of little benefit.
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on September 20, 2016, 11:35:18 PM
The man assulted someone repeatedly with a hurl it wasnt too just a malee he attacked someone with intent to seriously hurt them, not for the first time.
The reason i bring up the county board is that he shouldnt be allowed to be there saturday, its like putting a red rag to a bull, although in fairness i do agree with you that people are responsible for their own actions,in this case though the punishment was far too lenient
its funny with all his years hurling senior with laois i dont think he had a record of been a dirty player or a hard man , i suppose hurling the likes of the wexford and offaly plus kilkenny teams of the 90s if he pulled a dirty stroke he would be picking his teeth out of his s.it monday morning.
He was put off a few times, all the same.
Quote from: oneflewoverthecuckoonest on September 21, 2016, 04:24:57 PM
look the top 5 positions on the county executive are filled by football minded individuals. it may be a case that nobody from the hurling area has any interest in getting involved or perhaps from a numbers(in voting aspect), it may be now impossible to beat the football voting block and unseat them.
Id put someone like cheddar as the top man in the county board, then have 2 sub committees, 1 for hurling and 1 for football. Absolutely hound and humiliate croke park for more funding. Whatever it took. Whatever money we get is split evenly between hurling and football. And the camogie and ladies football deserve theirs too. I heard recently that the ladies footballers have to go out and get their own individual sponsors, €250, for their training gear! Unfuckingreal! The lads wouldnt be asked to do that!
Theres loads of things the CB could do to promote and attract new coaches and they could get up off their holes and look at how other progressive and successful counties are approaching their coaching set up from juvenile up. They could be more transparent about what their doing and have a good informative and interactive website for all too! At the moment they seem to be doing nothing!!
I think everyone agrees that more needs to be done. Most people seem to be content to leave it at vague statements like that rather than doing something about it.
Some of those most critical (of Cheddar for example) seem to have little to offer in the way of practical ideas on how to improve.
Begging Croke Park for money is stupid talk. These are hardened business men,you can beg them all you like- you'll get no more than you were going to get. Splitting this imaginary funding in half won't go very far. What's half of f**k all again?
The Camogie and LGFA (while deserving of support) have remained outside of the GAA umbrella by their own choice and their own choice alone. Whilst you can respect that decision, you can't expect the GAA to fund them then.
I wasn't condoning Young's actions, and I wasn't looking for a return to the days of "what happens on the field stays on the field", but I just think someone's career is a sacred thing.
Also some of the posters building up Castletown & Slieve Bloom- they met last year in the championship also!
Quote from: finbar o tool on September 21, 2016, 11:03:37 PM
Id put someone like cheddar as the top man in the county board, then have 2 sub committees, 1 for hurling and 1 for football. Absolutely hound and humiliate croke park for more funding. Whatever it took.
Cheddar has done this. More than once over the past 10 years. The last time was shortly after the two narrow defeats to Galway. He and Zoom went cap in hand, with a plan, to drive hurling on again in the county. They prostrated themselves at Croke Park. The plan was taken from them, they were told thanks very much. And that was that.
Its plain to see, Croke Park don't want to help us. There's c***ts up there that would laugh at us, and I'm thinking of one particular ****. Either we drag ourselves up, or we stay where we are, where we've been for the vast majority of the existence of the GAA.
Its as simple as that.
What I find more incredible is, that after that rejection, Cheddar is still there. Zoom is still there. To their own cost. Its not critiquing them we should be doing, its rowing in behind them. These men listen, if you have something to say, go say it. They want you to help them. They'll inspire you. Do it now.
To be honest I dont think anyone can say anything about Cheddars committment to Laois hurling .
We can talk about Croke Park all day but where's are the County Board in all this.
Well now we know the final 2.
Ballinakill will be sick today. They were probably 10 points the better team but couldn't score. Converted about 20% of their chances . Felt for Jimmy Walsh, if he hadn't have thrown his hurl it would have went to extra time. They probably need another 3 or 4 scoring forwards to have a realistic shot at winning honours. Have to admire their relentless bravery though. Borris Kilcotton looked extremely flat and will have to be a different team in the final to have a chance. Huge talent but as is always said about them, they don't get the most out of it. Will suit them going into final as underdogs and won't be afraid of Rathdowney Errill who they beat last year in the championship.
The second game was a pit of intensity from start to end. Camross deserved their half time lead and Rathdowney Errill lived dangerously at times. When it mattered though, R/E went through the gears and made some important switches to shade the last 5-10 minutes of the game. Felt more like a county final than a semi. R/E had a lot of key players that didn't perform and will feel that they have to step up again in the final.
Decent crowd and 3 games for a tenner was good value. Pitch held up well despite all the games over the weekend and the rain.
Decent games as right ...Thought the ref could have given Ballyfin a chance to get an equalizer or just blew it up when they equalized as time was up.
They gave castletown a better game than everyone expected.
Ballinakill threw the second game away with the wides they had but maybe its the monkey of borris's back to get that win in O'Moore park as they struggle to put their talent in to use in the county ground.
Rathdowney Errill will be hot favourites after their win again Camross in what was a higher intensity game than the first one.
The final will be interesting I think all the neutrals would love to see Borris win it.
Anyone see the intermediate games??
Ballacolla were good and skilful on the poor underfoot conditions, and their forwards didn't miss much, even if a couple of their goals were from defensive errors. One beauty of a point: the wing forward controlled a high ball on his hurl on the far sideline and, without taking it in his hand, just swung it over the bar. Their defence was a bit vulnerable when Clonad ran at them in the first half, but tightened up after half-time. It was a very impressive display from last year's junior champions, and Rosenalis wouldn't want to take them lightly. Still and all, they should beat them in the final. They had Camross beaten early on, and though Camross got a goal just before half-time, they were hardly able to score at all in the second half. They tried to drag Rosenalis down to their level, but it didn't really work.
On the senior semis - Ballinakill should have beaten Borris, and I was sorry they didn't. However, it was a poor game, and the Camross/ RE one wasn't a whole pile better, either. I hope Rathdowney-Errill win the final, because I think they'd make a better fist of it in Leinster.
I dont get this "Ballinakill will be kicking themselves" or "Ballinakill threw it away" lark. They were both as bad as eachother, both missed a lot of chances, BK should have been out of sight at half time with the chances missed in the first half. Ballinakill have 1 player really and its just not good enough. Everything they do, open play, puck outs etc goes through Cha, and as good as he is he cant carry the team. They need more. BK have better hurlers all around but they just dont play as a team and waste a lot of ball. Few players on each team played well but over all the match was very poor.
The other semi wasnt great either but their was a slightly better quality to it as expected. That Camross team not as strong as the last few years and their dogged style can only get them so far without a few other quality players. The 2 best teams (in the semis) came through in fairness. Just.
Cant see RE being stopped from continuing their tradition of winning every 2nd year! They are strong defensively and i think that will win them the game, and have some very lively forwards that will do damage the other end. If they can keep King close to the goal he will win it for them. Unless as someone mentioned, the Ballinakill monkey is off BKs back and they can somehow kick on and get it together. Anything can happen on the day i suppose!
Glad to see to hurling teams in the final if bk turn up should be a good final hope they pick the right ref as we know there are very poor refs in the county John lalor being one of the best at least I think he will let the game flow he dose not seem to think he is the most important man on the field as some of the think they are
I happened to see all 5 games in OMP over the weekend.
Clough Ballacolla were impressive enough in beating Clonad, especially as the promoted team. But it is quite a weak championship.
Rosenallis are quite slick and in fairness they are pretty much a pure hurling team, in the mould of Declan Conroy, who seems to have put alot of time into the club in the past number of years.
I reckon they'd pull a senior team out of them in next few years if they sidelined football.
They are a very impressive club on and off the field. I don't think Ballacolla will be able for them.
Senior B- Castletown got their- just. Had a slice of fortune to get the win,but they were probably the better side. And, despite what I said last week, they are able to compete at Senior level going on the results of the last few years, and this years league.
Senor- Borris Kilcotton fell over the line. They had to beat Ballinakill eventually. I think it's harsh to say that Ballinakill have one hurler. James Walsh, Seamus Dwyer and Eamon Jackman are among the best hurlers in the county, albeit the wrong side of 30.
In Podge Lalor, John Walsh and Seán Downey they have fellas that would make any team in the county.
They are short in numbers, but make great use of what they have. It's also great to see how active they are at juvenile level. Unfortunately those players won't arrive in sufficient numbers quick enough to replace those who go in the next 4/5 years, but they are a fantastic club all the same.
Rathdowney Errill showed fantastic resilience. Not just in coming back from 3 down, but also in stopping Camross from getting 4 ahead on a couple of occasions. They are a brilliant hurling team and I think beating Camross (especially given the circumstances of the drawn match) will be a big lift.
Nevertheless the final s no more than 60/40 in favour of R/E. It will be a game of hurling and I think B/K will prefer to be playing R/E than Camross.
Very impressed with Rosenallis, Camross tried every trick in the book to try and bring Rosenallis into a dog fight but Rosenallis played hurling right trough the game and did not allow Camross to drag them down. The Camross player that was red carded certainly deserved to be sent off the player in question was completely out hurled by John Lennon. the most sickining thing was the way a certain Camross mentor was clapping him in the back as he left the field. Thought the referee and his assistants were quiet good and especially the manor in which the referee let the play run.
County Final Next Weekend,
Rathdowney will surely be favorites and rightly so having looked far more impressive so far in this years Championship. Although B/K will still fancy there chances of an upset i cant see it happening.But they have got this far without performing well and may be due a big performance. They Will need a full fit PJ Scully firing as they found scores hard to come by the last day against Ballinakill with him clearly struggling. Neil Foyle not performing for them either this year. Ross King and Paddy Purcell have been excellent in this years championship and B/K will need to find a way to handle them if they are to compete. Hoping for an exciting Game.
So does nobody give Borris Kilcotton a chance then?
Quote from: Ogie on October 05, 2016, 10:23:09 AM
So does nobody give Borris Kilcotton a chance then?
I wouldnt under estimate B/K . They havent played well yet but I would expect a dramatic improvement in them Sunday.
R/E wont have it all their own way but at the same time I think R/E have that little bit extra going for them.
The fact that most seem to think R/E will win will most certainly be in B/K's favour
I think its a hard one to call all things considered.
RE will be favourites and rightly so. They've had a tougher route, they have players coming back in that were out injured, or at least 1 player anyway in Shane Dollard. On paper they are slightly stronger and in general they have been playing better hurling than BK. BK have not performed this year, they had the easier route to the final and still struggled. Missing Pj Scully and Stephen Phelan are 2 big loses. Especially Scully.
Then you can look at it a different way, getting to a county final without playing well can be a good thing, have they one big performance in them? Have RE burned a lot of energy getting past tougher opposition over the last 3 games they had? And, as weve seen before in sport, when a team has everything falling into place nicely for them and everyone expects a win from them, thats when things can go belly up! The 2013 final should be fresh in the mind for a lot of the BK players and they wont want to get caught in the headlights again. 2 teams that will try go out and play good attacking play will hopefully serve up a good match.
It will probably come down to individual performances like Ross King, Joe Fitz, Joe Campion, Neil Foyle and who can gain control around midfield.
Very hard to not go for RE to win though, its kind of theirs to lose.
Quote from: Ogie on October 05, 2016, 10:23:09 AM
So does nobody give Borris Kilcotton a chance then?
It's a final, of course they have a chance.
For R/E -
Tough route to final - C/B and Camross x 2.
Know how to win - 5 titles in 10 years.
Have shown great form in some of their games - played like champions
Some great hurlers
For B/K -
Hunger to win their first
Surprise element - not expected to win
Some great hurlers
I hear that Pj Scully is defo out for Borris that is a massive blow to their chances but surely a few of there other promising hurlers can step up to the mark.
I'd love to see them win it but I just can't see it!
On a side note the coverage of our local Gaa matches in the papers & radio is very poor, I've said it before about the championship launches & throughout the year, & now again with final build ups,
Looking at the Offaly final this week they've had press nights & analysis on the matches already, papers like the Tipp Star, Limerick Leader have pieces on each club, managers, players at the start of the year, & pull outs on the finals, & much more extensive coverage throughout the year.
Surely the likes of the Leinster & the Nationalist would increase their sales with coverage of all local matches, photographs etc from U12 upwards, Junior, Intermediate, Senior people locally would go and buy the paper, even if it's just a report & photgraph from one of the clubs PRO's.
I just can't understand how they don't put more effort in, it's not like the papers are full of much else.
Agree with the above, coverage has got worse over the last few years. Very little really about the senior final, Not a word about junior or Intermediate all year, not a word about the upcoming finals. RE are going for 2 finals Sunday, C/Ballacolla won Junior A last year and are in the Intermediate final this year. I didnt see the Nationalist so maybe there was something in that but definitely very lazy from the Leinster Express.
I suppose the Intermediate is in effect the Junior final - a third grade competition. Rosenalis will win it if they didn't celebrate too hard after the football win. Mind you, Ballacolla are good enough to give them a game of it, though their backs are suspect when being run at. Their good forwards will hardly make up the difference, so I expect Rosenalis to win by six or so.
I'd fancy Slieve Bloom in the junior final.
The point regarding the media is an interesting one-there is definitely apathy in the county towards hurling and football. You look at media coverage in other counties at this time of year regarding their club finals and you could have entire sports sections of papers giving over to previewing and discussing the upcoming games. In Laois it gets minimal coverage and the fact Midlands radio is spread over three counties dilutes the the coverage even further. There seems to be little talk or hype around the county in the build up to county finals the last couple of years. The interest has certainly waned.
Its worth noting that the Clubs dont help themselves either. They dont want to say anything more, or do anything more than they have to. Only a few years ago I was told the captains of the senior teams refused to even do a photocall, a simple bloody photo of them both holding the trophy!
Quote from: Ogie on October 05, 2016, 10:23:09 AM
So does nobody give Borris Kilcotton a chance then?
I think they'll edge it actually.
They have to be coming in fresher than RE and this is the Final they wanted, I dont think they'd be as confident if Camross had come through.
I don't think this has been a great championship (we haven't had one for a few years really) but I'd be hopeful we have a decent final.
We will have nearly 15 players with senior inter-county experience on show and a few more minor/U21 prospects.
The issue with apathy is that is often is generated from intelligence. In this case, the intelligence to realise that in the greater scheme of things, our club teams are not good enough.
Whoever wins tomorrow will go into Leinster and probably lose........and these are amalgamated/parish teams!
Intermediate Hurling Final was a very one sides match Rosenallis were very comfortable winners. They have a number of very good hurlers No. 7, 13 and 16 were
the outstanding players. C/B had a few good individuals but did not perform as a team
the score line was a fair reflection of the game. Referee was good but it must be said that he had very little to do with the exception of late on when two C/B players got yellow cards for trying to take John Lennon out of the game.
Yes, indeed, Rosenalis were much, much better. They were first to the breaking ball, they were stronger, and they were fitter. However, they also hit some horrendous wides, and pucked quite a lot of ball into the Ballacolla goalie's hand. Both sides are capable of better, but Ballacolla, especially, were a big disappointment. Rosenalis were always going to win this championship, and I don't think any of the other teams in the grade would have got any closer to them.
Rosenallis were by far and away the best team. They are an excellent side.
They have built a great club for themselves up there in the last 6/7 years and had great support both last Sunday and tonight.
They are extremely mobile and play an excellent brand of hurling.
I can't decide who will win tomorrow. I think this is a huge opportunity for B/K. There's very little hype or expectation. They will be allowed to "hurl" tomorrow.
Rathdowney Errill had two seriously intense battles with Camross and another with Clough Ballacolla prior to that. A win tomorrow would be a fantastic way to win a final- they'd have beaten all the big boys in knockout hurling in the one year.
We could well be back again next Saturday!
A hearty congratulations to Rosenallis on their intermediate win. when those two loyal servants of laois hurling, Seamus Dooley and Declan Conroy retired from the inter county scene, they decided to go back to grass roots and in the past dozen years they have developed the underage structure and yesterday's result was an example of long term planning producing results.
we should get two good hurling games today.
I note the junior semi from last weekend, the local derby, was not covered in the leinster express, despite drawing one of the biggest hurling attendances of the year. ben conroy gave an exhibition in that game. slieve bloom will be hot favourites in this game, their potential problem is the anticlimatic aspect, because for all the world the semi final had all the ingredients normally associated with a final. Rathdowney/errill did win a first round clash between the sides by a point, but conroy was suspended for that match. I think this will be a high scoring encounter, and if like last weekend, conroy could be unmarkable, and a bit like Cha Dwyer clock up a huge personal tally and edge his side to victory. Of course, some will note, this game will feature a return to O Moore Park for James Young!.
The big game should also be a shootout. On all form to date Rathdowney deserve to be favourites having accounted for the other big guns in Camross and C/Ballacolla, whereas B/K have really only beaten Ballinakill.
This R/E team is not as good as the 2012 or 2014 versions, yet have a number of players capable of proving match winners on a given day. Plus they have plenty of experience to use from the bench as we saw in the semi final.
Looking at B/K I don't think they have improved much under Hogan....for my money Tommy Buggy got a better tune out of them the first year...this game will be the real test of Hogan as a trainer....to date he has got nil out of Foyle.
Joe Campion strikes me as the B/K player showing form and his performance will be critical for B/K.
A worry for B/K is free taking, with Scully sidelined, the way Quinlan took the 2 late frees against Ballinakill(missing one and scrapping the winner inside the post), it would not recommend confidence in him under pressure.
On the balance of season form R/E get the nod, yet B/K will fancy taking them more so than opponents such as Camross...B/K believe they can win, and it will be some classic if it is very close come the dying stages.
Finally on the county manager scene........my sources say.......ex Limerick manager...TJ Ryan has put himself forward for the job and working hard to influence our executive to take him on..........his overall record in Limerick not good, Limerick in particular looked a damp squid in the 2016 championship....I suppose if he gets it, Ger Cunningham will remain as coach.
wow!
/discussion
just back from the laois county hurling final ..absolutely brilliant game of hurling from both sides.Best game i have seen in years...The scores were top class..a draw was a fair results..who said that laois hurling was dead....
Quote from: oneflewoverthecuckoonest on October 09, 2016, 12:23:45 PM
Looking at B/K I don't think they have improved much under Hogan....for my money Tommy Buggy got a better tune out of them the first year...this game will be the real test of Hogan as a trainer....to date he has got nil out of Foyle.
Foyle didn't do too bad today when it mattered. 2 well taken goals, the first one probably one of the best in championship this year. Absolutely fantastic game great game for neutral. Rathdowney/Errill will be happy with a draw as they were chasing it for most of it. Tadhg Dowling super game today has been filling the void for Mark Kavanagh with ACL injury. Big winner today: county board. Great attendance today and should be similar next Saturday (most likely).
Good to see Slieve Bloom do the business in Junior A. Will surprise a few in Intermediate in 2017.
exhibition hurling from both sides To Day in the Snr. hurling final what a Classic.
Quality of hurling was top class and a joy to witness certainly puts pride into Laois hurling. Hope there was some prospective county managers there to witness what can be got out of Laois if the players commit. R/E will be the happier of the two with the result B/K just could not put them away. Referee did not deserve the booing from certain so called supporters at the end of the game. Overall I feel that referees are letting the game run a bit more this year than the did in the past, this is contributing to better hurling and less frustration from players.
I.H. Final last night also showed some future county hurlers.
James Young certainly got the best out of Slieve Bloom and they will be strong contenders for the Intermediate Championship next year.
Been going to hurling matches in Laois a long time now and honestly cant remember a better game. Some of the scores from play from both sides where brilliant to watch. Dowling with 3 beauts in a row to draw R/E back from the death. Foyle finally turned up in this years championship with 2.2 from play and a goal of the championship contender. If the replay is half as good i would be happy.. Hard to know who is favourite now. B/K looked the more likely to win today but can they produce the same performance the next day? Any idea when the replay is??
Rumours abound that it may be an All Ireland record for a senior county hurling final. 52 white flags, 56 scores, 64 total points. Simply sensational.
I wonder was gaa beo from tg4 there today videoing. To show the rest of the country that we have decent hurlers. Hopefully the replay will be half as good as today!
What was really impressive was the quality of the scores from both teams.
On TG4 tomorrow evening at 8.30pm. The replay is October 23rd.
Outstanding display yesterday from both teams! And couldn't have come at a better time! A lot of depressing shite talk going on about our hurlers in this County. Plenty of ability here if we can get them together and get the best out of them.
Nearly impossible to pick a MOTM in that match! Something finally clicked for BK and they produced a performance they were always capable of. And RE responded with a performance to match! One of THE best matches ive ever witnessed. Credit to both teams. Great atmosphere too!
Really hope they both do the same again the next day!
An unbelievable display from both sides on Sunday. Restores some faith in Laois hurling/.
Weather conditions perfect, and ref did a good job.
Whilst BK rose above all expectations RE have to be admired the way they held their composure and came from 5 pts down to draw the match while in reality at the end of 60 mins of hard tough hurling both teams should have been knackered
The quality of points taken under pressure in injury time were unreal
Super game on Sunday, unreal skill & hurling from both sides,
I thought we had it when Foyles huge point went over.
Rathdowney Errill just wouldn't stop coming, some team and character.
Hard to know who will take most from the day, Rathdowney Errill will feel they've taken BK's best punches & are still standing
BK will fill up with massive confidence after that performance.
I'll no doubt get criticised for it, but I can not see how John Lawlor played on after the last puck out, time was up when the ball went over the bar, 73 minutes had passed before Fleming hit the puck out.
And the second point of criticism, John Lawlor doesn't understand the advantage rule,
It's hard to know what to expect the next day, I suppose a lot will depend on weather conditions, and whatever management try to do to each team to tighten it up in defence
To be fair BK goalie had been warned about time wasting so its at refs discression to add time on or not.
I can see why BK fans might have been angry but in fairness they were 2 pts up in injury time and didnt hold the lead so cant blame ref for that.
I would agree about advantage rule but very few refs can get it right.
From a neutrals point of view it was a fair result and heres hoping for the same again on the 23rd
The sign for three minutes additional time went up after 58 minutes. People need to remember that the phrase is "at least xxx minutes". After the sign went up there was a yellow card and two instances of timewasting. Perfect refereeing.
Once, only once, did he wave at Fleming to hurry on, and that was on the last puck out, the same as every keeper would do, according to radio it was 72:55 before the free was struck, so then find an extra 43 seconds, it's grand that it was a brilliant game but that's not worth a lot to BK if their beaten the next day
It gets overlooked when it's a draw and especially when it was a great game, but time up is time up, not just take the easy option,
On the advantage rule, Ross King was pulled back by the jersey, then released and allowed go on and strike at goal, then when ball went wide he pulled it back for free, he had the advantage got he was allowed & able to strike, advantage over,
Just before I'm finished giving out/whinging, the county board/organisation was very poor on Sunday, U17 final should never have been fixed for O Moore Park on same day, Junior match ran well over time, and I think half time in the senior was 20 to 25 minutes long due to presentations
I know lads will jump down my throat here, but it is frustrating when it's so close.
The match was unreal and super for everyone there and great to have positive press about Laois hurling again, I'd imagine there will be a huge crowd for the replay
Look I can understand your frustration but in fairness there was a bit of time wasting going on and he was warned (by my reckoning twice).
As for the advantage rule is that not the way it goes?. Advantage given if no score free awarded? I personally think its a ridiculous rule and not used properly but in this instance it was right. Jersey pulled, free (advantage 1st).
As a BK supporter you can see things you felt went against ye but Im sure RE people would have some gripes also.
Would agree with you about half time. The most ridiculous time given and to be honest most people were talking about the 1st half and not paying attention. Very unfair on both teams who Im sure were chomping at the bit to get back out
Fair enough LG, fully accept there will be different opinions! That's what we're on here for!! 😀
To get back to the hurling, what would people do to your team for the next day to get the win? Or how would you prepare between now and then?
Most of it will fall on management to get the players back down after such a game and then build again for the replay, I actually think we have a good chance of another shoot out as I don't think either team works well defensively/sweepers etc,
RE have to think about stopping Foyle
BK have to think about how to stop King, and someone else will be the heroes the next day
TBH Ogie the worst thing would be if both teams started to over think things too much.
Both good teams to be fair, and I would hate if either decided to play a defencive game next time.
BK came out with all guns blazing and were the talk of the place because they havent played like that all year but to be fair to RE they did the same but to hold their nerve in the last 10 mins and get a draw was something else.
Yea agreed theres no need to over think things, the caliber of shooting and attack play was unreal, but both defences actually played fairly well too IMO!
Both managements will just be aiming to keep their lads sharp and fresh and tend to any injury concerns.
It might come down to which defence can tighten things up a bit from the last day. RE seemed to defend in packs more than BK, there is pros and cons to this but BK will need to get tighter to King and Dowling to close down their efforts if they are not defending in packs. On RE, if they continue to defend in packs then they need to be prepared for BK to be able to get a handpass out to a runner or free man. This is where BK improved the most i think, not wasting possession and recycling a lot better. their 2nd goal is a perfect example of this. Quinlan was being hounded but still got a great handpass out to Foyle who had snuck in behind everyone. Joe Campion was able to get passes off with 4 RE lads on his back a few times! I think RE would be better served by keeping O'Connell on the edge of the square for as long as possible, they lost a threat when he went out the field.
I was kind of surprised to see King getting the nod for MOTM in the papers. Yes he had a great game and he got the equaliser but Dowling was the saviour for RE, unbelievable scores near the end to drag RE back into the game, hes been in great form all year and he will need to be kept some way quiet.
Aaron Dunphy showed his talent fully at last and will be full of confidence for the next day, if he can play as well again and have Scully back nearer to 100% BK just might edge it.
So much to look forward to in the replay! It might not be THAT high scoring a game again but i do expect a lot of scores!
Quote from: Zooming around on October 12, 2016, 10:28:45 AM
The sign for three minutes additional time went up after 58 minutes. People need to remember that the phrase is "at least xxx minutes". After the sign went up there was a yellow card and two instances of timewasting. Perfect refereeing.
I'd have to agree that in my opinion what Lalor did and what Zoom says above is spot on. There was at least an additional 30-40 seconds accrued from the 58th-63rd minute. The All Ireland Football final and Maurice Deegan springs to mind.
Quote from: Ogie on October 12, 2016, 09:35:39 AM
And the second point of criticism, John Lawlor doesn't understand the advantage rule,
Quote from: Ogie on October 12, 2016, 10:29:09 AM
On the advantage rule, Ross King was pulled back by the jersey, then released and allowed go on and strike at goal, then when ball went wide he pulled it back for free, he had the advantage got he was allowed & able to strike, advantage over,
I'm don't think Lalor is a particularly brilliant ref, but as far as I know, his interpretation is correct in a situation like you described above. Otherwise how can a referee decide whether the player in question is capable of scoring? He'd have to assess who it was that had the shot and whether they were likely to score or not.
I have a couple of problems with the advantage rule. It is applied very differently for backs and forwards. If a forward is fouled and goes on and pucks it wide, it's called back for a free.
If a back man is fouled and clears under pressure to nobody in particular (or an opposition back) it's play on.
Also, what happens if a forward (after being fouled and waved on for advantage) stands still and drops the ball in order to win a scoreable free. Is the player "allowed" to "call" the free like this? Haven't seen it happen yet, but I'd imagine coaches, especially those with excellent free takers, in tight games or poor weather conditions would be at least considering giving this instruction?
I think the advantage situation were all thinking about is RE 2nd last score from a free, a free given via the advantage rule. Advantage lasts for 5 seconds, id like to see the incident again because King seemed to carry the ball after he was fouled for longer than 5 seconds, i think thats the problem here, Lawlor seemed to let play carry on a bit too long before calling it back for a free. Could be wrong as thats just from memory.
As for the extra 40 seconds or so, right or wrong, i think any team would feel aggrieved in that situation. And emotions were high after such a thrilling game!
Thats the problem with time added on. Depending on situation each team could have a problem with it.
If RE hadnt scored that last point they probably would say more should have been added for time wasting so really
you're not going to please both teams at the end of the day
Is Paddy Purcell ok for the replay. Looked like a bad ankle injury that forced him off
Who will referee the replay??
Quote from: finbar o tool on October 16, 2016, 07:52:08 PM
Who will referee the replay??
There is precedence there for Lalor to do it again.....
Brochan O'Reilly
I heard he was supposed to get the first game, but maybe that's not true.
How do people think the replay will go on Sunday I have R/E still as favourite B/K will have to play as well again to win,I don't think that they are capable to put two good performances back to back.Having Dollard back is a big boost to R/E and I think they will win by at least 6pts.
I actually think RE will have to play as well again to win, i think they will run out of steam quicker than BK will Sunday. BK obviously need to perform very well again too, thats a given, but i think they will, i think the monkey is off their backs now and they can look forward to Sunday with full confidence.
Will Shane Dollard even start? If Paddy Purcell is fit, and id say he is, i think Dollard will be on the bench, he didnt look up to the pace when he came in the last day but to be fair, hes missed a few games and that was a pretty intense and fast game to be thrown into the last day! I dont know how anyone could say either team will win by at least 6 points after the last day, i think it will be close again. Very hard to call. Hope its a cracker again!
I think Borris Kilcotton will win. They lost nothing the last day and gained the knowledge and confidence that they can perform on the biggest days, against the best teams.
The draw won't be as beneficial to Rathdowney Errill, in my opinion.
R/E have more miles on the clock and there route to the final has been so so tough.
Of course it would be no surprise really no matter the result on Sunday but I'd be leaning towards B/K. The extra week will of help to get over the initial "left it behind us" feeling.
Id still have my concerns about borris in that as well as they played the last day the one thing that they couldnt do and have never been able to do is see out a game, you would always have the feeling that no matter how much of a lead they have rathdowney will still have a chance whereas if rathdowney have a 4/5 point lead going down the strech they can see it out
Where does this not being able to finish out a game opinion come from BA??
I actually think Borris Kilcotton have left it behind them, think Rathdowney Errills experience will see them across the line
Well they had a 10 point lead against Ballinakill the first day in the semis, ended up drawing it, had an easy free to kill ballinakill off in the replay drove it wide ballinakill equalised, then when they had a chance to tap over a winner after it they inexplicably went for goal luckily for them one of the ballinakill players threw there hurl, and in the final they held a 5 point lead going into the last 10 minutes and a 2 point lead in injury time and rathdowney got the draw. There is examples in there last 3 matches never mind the 5 years they have been together. They dont have the ability to hold down a lead on the home strech, there is no killer instinct there
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on October 20, 2016, 08:37:40 PM
Id still have my concerns about borris in that as well as they played the last day the one thing that they couldnt do and have never been able to do is see out a game, you would always have the feeling that no matter how much of a lead they have rathdowney will still have a chance whereas if rathdowney have a 4/5 point lead going down the strech they can see it out
I understand and accept what you are saying- but this applies to all teams until they win a final!
Well done Borris Kilcotton! Great to see the amalgamation bearing fruit and a good crop of talent on show today. Hard luck to Rathdowney Errill. Borris Kilcotton much the hungrier team today and hopefully they'll give a good account of themselves in a fortnight against Cuala or Kilmacud Crokes.
They'll be on the beer until then! Fair play to them, though!
Delighted for BK. RE amalgamated 10 years ago but had almost instant success. BK have been a coming team, with the 4-in-a-row minors, but they needed the breakthrough. They were the superior team yesterday and if I'm not wrong, they were never led in the whole game.
Matthew Whelan's understated 'celebration' at the final whistle belied someone who had been through so much on the field over the past few years and who had played such a huge part in bringing the title back to that parish for the first time in over 40 years.
Lets hope they take the Leinster challenge seriously.
Congratulations to Borris-Kilcotton and commiserations to Rathdowney Errill.
Two great battles but best team won out in the end.
Rathdowney sorely missed Mark Kavanagh and a fit Paddy Purcell yesterday. As someone intimated last week, the string of tough games caught up with them more.
Best of luck to BK in Leinster.
Massive congratulations to Borris/Kilcotton who are deserving champions for 2016. They were hungry again yesterday and you could almost feel the crowd willing them on towards the end. Huge celebrations over there; I'd say there'll be plenty from the different clubs over tonight.
I've tipped B/K here over the last couple of years and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them add a couple more championships over the coming years.
Great work going on in their juvenile setup and a good, strong young team there who could well be the team to beat moving forward.
They have a tough draw in Leinster but I'd hope they could make a serious impact there too. Adding the U21 Championship would cap off an incredible year for them.
Commiserations to RE. They've been the best team in Laois for a decade now and I'm sure they'll be there or thereabouts next year too.
Quote from: merman on October 24, 2016, 11:53:49 AM
Massive congratulations to Borris/Kilcotton who are deserving champions for 2016. They were hungry again yesterday and you could almost feel the crowd willing them on towards the end. Huge celebrations over there; I'd say there'll be plenty from the different clubs over tonight.
I've tipped B/K here over the last couple of years and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them add a couple more championships over the coming years.
Great work going on in their juvenile setup and a good, strong young team there who could well be the team to beat moving forward.
They have a tough draw in Leinster but I'd hope they could make a serious impact there too. Adding the U21 Championship would cap off an incredible year for them.
Commiserations to RE. They've been the best team in Laois for a decade now and I'm sure they'll be there or thereabouts next year too.
You'd have to be delighted for B/K. I was reasonably confident of them winning the first day and even more so yesterday. They may well add a few more titles, but I actually think that things are a bit bleak underage at the moment.
They weren't hectic at minor, and all there teams below that from U16 to U10 were pretty poor this year.
The 3 strong minors they had all featured at senior this year and two started yesterday.
They were headed for trouble if they didn't win yesterday and I don't really see any additions to the current team coming in the next 4-5 years. It'll be interesting to see how they react to winning. Matthew and Brian Stapleton are going to be needed for a long time yet!
Well done to BK.
Had potential to be as good a game as the first day but I felt ref didnt let the game flow as well as he could.
Quote from: LOVEGAA on October 25, 2016, 09:19:13 AM
Well done to BK.
Had potential to be as good a game as the first day but I felt ref didnt let the game flow as well as he could.
Harsh on Broken I thought he did a good job was one R/E free he might have got wrong near the end where Borris got a point but looking back on the TV last night it looked like both players slipped .
Great game of hurling again and well done to Borris/Kilcotton
Just thought towards lalor he was a bit quicker to blow and could have let it go a bit better. Would also think he's not as good to keep up to the play as he was but think he might have been injured earlier in year,
Quote from: Unlaoised on October 25, 2016, 10:52:41 AM
Quote from: LOVEGAA on October 25, 2016, 09:19:13 AM
Well done to BK.
Had potential to be as good a game as the first day but I felt ref didnt let the game flow as well as he could.
Harsh on Broken I thought he did a good job was one R/E free he might have got wrong near the end where Borris got a point but looking back on the TV last night it looked like both players slipped .
Great game of hurling again and well done to Borris/Kilcotton
Harsh?? Are you joking? He was septic. Everything in the first half was a free, no flow to the game at all. Every time two lads touched off each other a free was given. That coupled with his inability to keep up with the play meant he was miles off the standard set by Lawlor. Lawlor and Stapleton are by far the best in Laois.
Quote from: Zooming around on October 25, 2016, 11:38:13 AM
Quote from: Unlaoised on October 25, 2016, 10:52:41 AM
Quote from: LOVEGAA on October 25, 2016, 09:19:13 AM
Well done to BK.
Had potential to be as good a game as the first day but I felt ref didnt let the game flow as well as he could.
Harsh on Broken I thought he did a good job was one R/E free he might have got wrong near the end where Borris got a point but looking back on the TV last night it looked like both players slipped .
Great game of hurling again and well done to Borris/Kilcotton
Harsh?? Are you joking? He was septic. Everything in the first half was a free, no flow to the game at all. Every time two lads touched off each other a free was given. That coupled with his inability to keep up with the play meant he was miles off the standard set by Lawlor. Lawlor and Stapleton are by far the best in Laois.
We didn't learn much though. Very similar to other games he has reffed. In fairness though, nobody in Rathdowney / Errill would say that he influenced the outcome in any major way.
He wasn't good in general and to be fair to players if ref cant keep up with play he should be there
Quote from: Zooming around on October 25, 2016, 11:38:13 AM
Quote from: Unlaoised on October 25, 2016, 10:52:41 AM
Quote from: LOVEGAA on October 25, 2016, 09:19:13 AM
Well done to BK.
Had potential to be as good a game as the first day but I felt ref didnt let the game flow as well as he could.
Harsh on Broken I thought he did a good job was one R/E free he might have got wrong near the end where Borris got a point but looking back on the TV last night it looked like both players slipped .
Great game of hurling again and well done to Borris/Kilcotton
Harsh?? Are you joking? He was septic. Everything in the first half was a free, no flow to the game at all. Every time two lads touched off each other a free was given. That coupled with his inability to keep up with the play meant he was miles off the standard set by Lawlor. Lawlor and Stapleton are by far the best in Laois.
I thought he was very fussy too. There was a cameo in the second, where I thought RE had a free on the sideline, but he gave BK the sideline ball. The sideline was cut in and another free to RE was waved on, and BK tapped the ball over the bar.
Not a good performance. Maybe he was afraid of things getting out of control.
Missed a few quite obvious frees IMO. BK got a free at one stage that had everyone perplexed but obviously it was advantage but seemed to be called late enough.
Lads that train hard all year deserve to have a ref that can do a good job and more importantly keep up with play
Saw the team of the year find it hard to fathom how dowling wasnt on it being honest, was also suprised to see 8 borris lads on it but you couldnt really argue with too many either to be fair, i suppose its a bit like the all stars selections the finalist particularly the winners tend to dominate selections and contributions from players earlier in the championship tend to be forgotten, was a simular stoey with the football team, who do people have as player of the year?
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on October 25, 2016, 11:19:35 PM
Saw the team of the year find it hard to fathom how dowling wasnt on it being honest, was also suprised to see 8 borris lads on it but you couldnt really argue with too many either to be fair, i suppose its a bit like the all stars selections the finalist particularly the winners tend to dominate selections and contributions from players earlier in the championship tend to be forgotten, was a simular stoey with the football team, who do people have as player of the year?
Given that Borris were pretty poor up to the final I would personally give it to Ross King who was massively influential throughout the championship.
Ross King wouldnt be a bad choice over the course of the championship. Usually the Player of the year comes from the county champions and if Picking a B/K man id nearly go with there Goalie Eoin Fleming. Cant remember him having a bad day this year!! Great win for them Sunday. Hopefully the put in a good performance against the Dublin Champs
In fairness if player picked from BK team it will have to be based on the 2 games played in the final as they had been brutal up to that. You would imagine if thats the way it goes PJ Scully would be in with a shout based on his free taking
Roddy King without doubt the best player in the championship
Great win last week for BK, RE can have no complaints. They got a scrappy goal with 15mins to go, other than that they might have been bet by 10! BK defended a lot better and RE defence had no answers.
I see Cuala won in Dublin by 3, tough task for BK but doable if they stay performing the way they have been the last 2 games. Their U21s won by 20 odd points today too so they are on a high.
The player of the year award will go to BK, right or wrong, as they are champs, and i would agree with Goku, i would like to see Fleming get it. Goalkeepers don't always get the recognition but he has been BKs most consistent player all year, and got better as the year went on, he had a fantastic game last Sunday.
Should be brought into county panel especially if reilly is gone anyway, probably less error prone than him or rowland
enjoyed the final replay on 23rd October 2016, congratulations to Borris-Kilcotton
below is a link to a blog with some pictures of the replay at O'Moore Park
http://laoishurlingfinalreplay2016.blogspot.co.uk/
Some great photos there.
Change of manager for the County Senior Hurling Champions in 2017
Hogan gone back to Tipp
Is there much news or change on he club management scene for next year?
Heard slieve bloom have no real interest in going with ballinakill, would prefer castletown and ballinakill are looking at ratheniska now
Ballinakill are looking at Ratheniska at adult level?
Maybe its juvenile level they are considering an approach.
At juvenile at certain ages and as a gales team for adult too, i know that spink and ratheniska were together at u16 and u21 last year, so considering that spink/ballinakill is essentially the same arrangement as ballyroan abbey/abbeyleix its not a major shock
Quote from: Ballyroan Abbey on November 24, 2016, 07:37:03 PM
At juvenile at certain ages and as a gales team for adult too, i know that spink and ratheniska were together at u16 and u21 last year, so considering that spink/ballinakill is essentially the same arrangement as ballyroan abbey/abbeyleix its not a major shock
I spoke to someone well connected in Ballinakill last night and there has been no approach to Ratheniska with regards to a Gaels team.
got told otherwise by a player, i know that the juvenile option is real, i heard too that timahoe werent putting in a hurling team and that the players were either going to clonad or ballypickas, possibly as an amalgamation with the latter, and wherever they went they were all going together
One of the Ratheniska teams at underage has amalgamated with Ballinakill,that's what I was told by the official last night,There has been no official contact from Ballinakill to Ratheniska at Senior level regarding a gaels team.