Messages

You have a point.

But I disagree.

The Harps are not long up.
Going down the last time was a disastrous few years for them.

The trick will be for one of those 3 to appear in semis & finals year after year.
A semi final here or there is good fortune/luck of the draw.

Semi finals every year is progress.

Teams don't come from nowhere to win finals.
The first step is being at the business end every year.

This is going to come across a bit shitty, but...

It would have been a set back for Laois hurling had The Harps been relegated again instead of Ballinakill.

Too much talent there/coming through to be hurling anywhere but senior.

You'd have to wonder why it isn't translating.

Very close to breaking through in the late 1990s under John Bourke and not too far away under John Taylor in the mid 2010s. But when both teams fell short they fell away badly.

I do think it will take somebody from outside to eventually inspire a breakthrough.
I wonder would Tullaroan direction provide someone!

I wouldn't underestimate how difficult it is to put county championships back to back in either code in any county! Winning a county final does not appear to be beyond Port. Talk of stringing a few together consecutively is nonsense.

"Nonsense" indeed.

How long did that take you to find? Busy man.

I'm glad you kept the timestamp in.

On the 6th August 2020, talk of winning several in a row was nonsense.
Indeed, I don't think Port would have won one had they been talking like that back then.

aye, sack the men who got the best man available. by god.

That's exactly what I said Pat.
You're good at the old reading.

Looks that way.
It certainly didn't go how I thought it would.
CB goal chance came out of nowhere.

16 mins gone.
0-7 to 0-4
But I think goals are going to come for Camross based on what's happening so far!

Definitely agree that CB's 2nd team will stay up at PIHC.

After the way last years final finished, I'd imagine Ballacolla would have preferred the same ref again!

Interesting that Camross/Castletown rivalry mentioned.
But often in these cases people go out of their way to show they aren't taking sides!

It's not the point.
There was sufficient time to get the right man.
Nobody is suggesting rushing for the sake of it/giving the job to anybody at all who wants it.

But

You'd hope that the selection committee and CB are at least privately acknowledging that the process ran on too long.
Identifying why.
Intending that this won't happen the next time etc.

Anybody involved who cannot acknowledge that the length of time it took (& the public manner in which Maher was offered the job) made the process look very amateurish/desperate shouldn't be involved again.

Is it a secret? Who is injured?

Camross impressed me against RE. But you'd have to wonder if RE had started with the 15 they finished with how it would have all gone.
But Camross are solid, well set up and typically very very tenacious. Their forwards and their level of tackling will be key here.

Will they allow the CB back 9 time and space to feed quality ball to their 6 up front.
Robbie Phelan causes havoc dropping deep and carrying.
Expect him to hit a few obstacles early on as he carries.

With any team on a run like CB are there is usually a day when things don't fall into place.
In truth they have been freewheeling this summer.
Fair enough Castletown threw the kitchen sink at them for 40 minutes but I think all present knew what the outcome was going to be.

I do think Camross will sneak this one. Their forward line is growing more & more dangerous over the last 18 months.
They are shaping into a decent outfit who will be around about county finals for a long time to come.

If Zane is right & plays the full 60 minutes Camross will win.

[Rathdowney Errill v Camross]

In fairness it's kind of lose-lose for the relegated team. Almost every year they have stumbled along & bar The Harps & Portlaoise have come straight back every time.
It's that sort of grade.
Playing decent teams.
You are seen as beatable.
Motivation levels aren't what they should be.
Tricky one.

Rathdowney Errill v Camross
Still tricky.
Camross always more than the sum of their parts. But those parts alone are pretty impressive now. Some very dangerous forwards, some very cute backs.
Lots of industry thrown into the mix.
Camross scored 4-26 and 3-21 v the weaker sides in their group.
Only managed 0-15 v Clough Ballacolla, albeit in bad weather.

Rathdowney Erill posted 5-22, 2-26 and 2-23 against teams at least as good as the two weaker in Camross' group.

I almost always tip RE , and they let me down at some stage most years. It could be here.
One thing that sways me is the damage Ryan Mullaney was allowed cause when Camross played Castletown.
This was in a game when his 5 forward companions made very little inroads.
They won't have the luxury of having to worry about 1 man today.
RE by 5.

Can't call Rathdowney Errill v Camross.
Will stew on it!

Castletown have a much stronger panel than they have had for a while. I think they were very short by the time their last game came around last year. That's surely a good sign and a sign of heading in the right direction.
Think this will be a mental hurdle for them. They aren't capable of winning the game in my opinion, but surely capable of a better performance than what had come very the last few encounters with the big teams.
Nothing to gain here for Clough Ballacolla, a stumbling win might be the best possible scenario for the champions to refocus for a final.

Abbeyleix & Clonaslee to reach the intermediate final.

He's been offered the job but will wait to the weekend to make a decision. The situation with player unavailability will surely come into his thinking . A regular common problem is this county

https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/gaa/900510/willie-maher-offered-laois-senior-hurling-job.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1VRMW-XfMIFgB3h8N1N6kgqD3j7aP4Pk5x_SiIqujUlZ8rXhM7VrTDINA

Does this not seem a very strange way to do business?
Was it a full county board meeting or a sub committee meeting?

Surely you establish interest, interview, decide, offer, get a commitment and then go to a CB meeting to have it ratified.
Is that not the way it has been everywhere for the last 30 years!

Maybe I'm reading too much into this and maybe he has already agreed to accept, but it's a strange way to go about things and a potentially damaging one at that!

This has worked out better than it looked like it was going to (if true!).

Local involvement will be interesting to watch.
There are a few individuals of an age profile, ability and experience level  where involvement in a good set up could pay rich dividends for years to come.
They would have to be trusted and listened to of course for this to happen.
At times in the past there has been token involvement.