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Do you want to see 8 extra games brought in that will delay the club championships in 4 counties or are you happy to commit to a new structure for three years, which will sideline the CPA and whatever proposals they bring to the table?

Note that the motion to bring the date of the All Ireland finals back to August is a completely separate motion and is in no way linked to this Super 8 motion.

Outright Betting:
Westmeath 11/10
Wexford 5/2
Limerick 7/2
Carlow 14/1
Wicklow 16/1
Leitrim 16/1
Waterford 18/1
London 150/1

To be Promoted:
Westmeath 2/5
Wexford 4/5
Limerick 11/10
Carlow 4/1
Leitrim 5/1
Waterford 11/2
Wicklow 11/2
London 33/1

It'll be a travesty if we don't win this division, you'd imagine Banty will have Wexford fired up to give us competition for the title. History would dictate we'll be on the move again this year as since the current league format was introduced in 2008 we have only once competed in the same division in successive years.

2008 Div 2
2009 Div 1
2010 Div 2
2011 Div 3
2012 Div 2
2013 Div 2
2014 Div 1
2015 Div 2
2016 Div 3
2017 Div 4

So unless Kilkenny are opening up Div 5 we should be going up this year.

Heading to Ennis in a couple of weekends, anyone recommend kid friendy hotel/self catering with access to a pool for a couple of young ones? Close enough to walk to the town but not sleeping over the nightclub, etc.

Breffni Park, Saturday the 25th at 5pm. Westmeath are familiar enough having played Cavan away in the league this year and in the championship last year. Beaten both times though. Struggling to remember us winning at the venue, were beaten by Donegal there in the old division 2 semi finals in 2006. Garrycastle lost the AI club replay there as well.

Fermanagh have beaten us in the two encounters we have played to date in 2002 and 2013 so Westmeath have it all to do. Still, great chance to get the wagon back on the road.

Westmeath team named for Sunday is:

                   Darren Quinn
Killian Daly, Kevin Maguire, Paddy Holloway
   Paul Sharry, John Gilligan, James Dolan
          Ger Egan (Capt), Daragh Daly
Ronan Foley, Ray Connellan, Denis Corroon
Kieran Martin, John Heslin, Shane Dempsey

Couple of surprises in there with Foley and Corroon starting. Corroon especially as he's only back from abroad 3 weeks ago. They must be going well in training. Lots of possibilities as to how that team could take to the pitch but if they line up like that there are too many changes from the game against Louth and a lot of that team wouldn't have league game time under their belt in their selected position.

Wexford are an unknown quantity this year. They got relegated, which is unusual under an incoming manager (who has a bit of pedigree, albeit at underage), and the dual players are concentrating on hurling this year. But they will have no fear of us after trouncing us in championship in Wexford Park in 2011 and they still have the likes of Ciarán Lyng, Ben Brosnan, Brian Malone, Shane Roche, Anthony Masterson and Adrian Flynn. We will miss Callum McCormack for this game no doubt but on the positive for Westmeath Kieran Gavin should be involved at some stage on Sunday and great news that Paul Greville is back involved on the panel. Overall optimistic about our chances but a lot will depend on what team takes to the pitch and more importantly the mentality of the group. We have to go back 7 years to 2008 to find two winning championship victories put back to back so all to do.

Iarmhí Abú.

Can't believe a championship match is actually going to go ahead in Drogeda but how and ever. Westmeath team is:

                       Darren Quinn
      John Gilligan, Kevin Maguire, Killian Daly
   Paddy Holloway, Kieran Martin, James Dolan
                Darragh Daly, Ger Egan
    Paul Sharry, Ray Connellan, John Stapleton
Callum McCormack, John Heslin, Shane Dempsey.

Hard to know how that team will line out, endless possibilities. Louth will be ready for us as they always are. This game could go any direction and the rain will turn the pitch back into February. We weren't too bad in February actually, here's hoping.

Discuss.

Might as well start a Div 2 thread as well. Very competitive this year, most counties could be promoted or relegated and all within a short spin of each other. Well apart from Galway and Down. Kildare would be my favourites for the title but not a whole lot of daylight between them and any of the others.

Galway v Meath
Pearse Stadium

Roscommon v Cavan
Kiltoom

Westmeath v Laois
Cusack Park

Kildare v Down
Newbridge

Be afraid Cavan, be very afraid...

Westmeath manager Paul Bealin is in an upbeat mood ahead of his side's All-Ireland qualifier against Cavan at Breffni Park on Saturday afternoon.

Despite suffering relegation in the league and a defeat to Louth in the opening round of the Leinster SFC, Bealin is adamant that Westmeath will come out all guns blazing against Cavan this weekend.

"I'm naturally a positive and confident person and I want to win every game, just like our players," Bealin told the Westmeath Examiner.

"And we can all relate to any level of disappointment in the ranks among supporters. At the end of the day, we all want to see a very good Westmeath side and one which wins as often as it loses.

"But I also think people need to be realistic about what our largely young and inexperienced panel faced this year. I don't think any manager in the country, past or present, could have done much more for Westmeath in this year's league."

Saturday, February 1st (7pm)

Division 1: Derry v Tyrone; Dublin v Kerry
Division 2: Down v Monaghan
Division 3: Cavan v Fermanagh

Sunday, February 2nd (2pm)

Division 1: Cork v Westmeath; Kildare v Mayo
Division 2: Laois v Donegal; Louth v Armagh; Meath v Galway
Division 3: Longford v Roscommon; Sligo v Limerick; Wexford v Offaly
Division 4: Carlow v Tipperary; Leitrim v Antrim; Waterford v Clare; Wicklow v London

Friday, February 7th (8pm)

Division 2: Armagh v Down

Saturday, February 8th (7pm)

Division 3: Fermanagh v Sligo

Sunday, February 9th (2pm)

Division 1: Cork v Kildare; Kerry v Derry; Tyrone v Mayo; Westmeath v Dublin
Division 2: Galway v Donegal; Louth v Laois; Monaghan v Meath
Division 3: Limerick v Longford; Offaly v Cavan; Roscommon v Wexford
Division 4: Antrim v Wicklow; Clare v Leitrim; London v Carlow; Tipperary v Waterford

Sunday, February 16th (2pm)

Division 4: London v Clare

Saturday, March 1st (7pm)

Division 1: Dublin v Cork
Division 2: Down v Louth; Laois v Galway; Meath v Armagh

Sunday, March 2nd (2pm)

Division 1: Derry v Westmeath; Kildare v Tyrone; Mayo v Kerry
Division 2: Donegal v Monaghan
Division 3: Longford v Fermanagh; Roscommon v Limerick; Sligo v Offaly; Wexford v Cavan
Division 4: Antrim v Waterford; Clare v Wicklow; Leitrim v Carlow; London v Tipperary

Friday, March 7th (8pm)

Division 1: Dublin v Kildare

Saturday, March 8th (7pm)

Division 1: Armagh v Laois
Division 3: Cavan v Sligo

Sunday, March 9th (2pm)

Division 1: Cork v Derry; Kerry v Tyrone; Westmeath v Mayo
Division 2: Donegal v Meath; Galway v Down; Monaghan v Louth
Division 3: Fermanagh v Roscommon; Limerick v Wexford; Offaly v Longford
Division 4: Carlow v Antrim; Tipperary v Clare; Waterford v London; Wicklow v Leitrim

Saturday, March 15th (7pm)

Division 2: Armagh v Monaghan; Laois v Meath

Sunday, March 16th (2pm)

Division 1: Derry v Dublin; Kildare v Kerry; Mayo v Cork; Tyrone v Westmeath
Division 2: Down v Donegal; Louth v Galway
Division 3: Limerick v Fermanagh; Longford v Cavan; Roscommon v Offaly; Wexford v Sligo
Division 4: Carlow v Wicklow; Tipperary v Antrim; Waterford v Leitrim

Saturday, March 29th (7pm)

Division 1: Dublin v Mayo
Division 2: Meath v Down
Division 3: Cavan v Roscommon

Sunday, March 30th (2pm)

Division 1: Cork v Tyrone; Derry v Kildare; Westmeath v Kerry
Division 2: Donegal v Louth; Galway v Armagh; Monaghan v Laois
Division 3: Fermanagh v Wexford; Offaly v Limerick; Sligo v Longford
Division 4: Antrim v London; Clare v Carlow; Leitrim v Tipperary; Wicklow v Waterford

Sunday, April 6th (3pm)

Division 1: Kerry v Cork; Kildare v Westmeath; Mayo v Derry; Tyrone v Dublin
Division 2: Armagh v Donegal; Laois v Down; Louth v Meath; Monaghan v Galway
Division 3: Fermanagh v Offaly; Limerick v Cavan; Roscommon v Sligo; Wexford v Longford

Division 4: Antrim v Clare; London v Leitrim; Tipperary v Wicklow; Waterford v Carlow

Must be a Longford man who makes out these fixtures. By this time next year Westmeath will have had four away games in 2014, 2013, 2010, 2009, and 2008. That's 5 seasons out of a possible 7 (since the current format has been in operation that we have 4 league games away from home. A tough task just got even tougher. 

As expected, same team as the last day:

              Gary Connaughton
Mark McCallon, Kieran Gavin, Kevin Maguire
    Doron Harte, Paul Sharry, John Gaffey
            David Duffy, John Heslin
Kieran Martin, Callum McCormack, James Dolan
    Ger Egan, Denis Glennon, Dessie Dolan

Needless to say have to hit the ground running Saturday evening as Jim Gavin will look to hurt us early as he did in the U21 match last year. In that match Dublin had 1-3 on the board before we knew the game was under way. A similar start for us will be fatal.

That said there is no pressure on us whatsoever. Dublin have every possible advantage going in to this and the bookies have the spread at 7 points so no excuse for not putting in a performance. Looking forward to it, been a good few years since we were really competitive in Leinster.

G Connaughton;
M McCallon, K Gavin, K Maguire;
D Harte, P Sharry, J Gaffey;
D Duffy, J Heslin;
K Martin, C McCormack, J Dolan;
G Egan, D Glennon, D Dolan

Good team, few positional changes from the league so will be interesting to see how they get on. Gaffey's good form sees him rewarded in a new position at wing back, will be interesting to see how he gets on. Coroon and Curley can consider themselves unfortunate but I feel it is imperative to have Dessie there from the start.

Great to have a Leinster game back in the Park, will be a good few days, Up Westmeath.

Westmeath team for Sunday against Louth

Gary Connaughton; Mark McCallon, Kieran Gavin, Kevin McGuire; Michael Curley, Paul Sharry, Doron Harte; Paul Bannon, John Heslin; Ger Egan, Callum McCormack, Kieran Martin; Ronan Foley, James Dolan, Denis Glennon.

Not bad, wouldn't expect them to line out like that. Dessie out injured, time we beat this shower in the league.

Seeing as there's a football one up and running might as well do the same with the hurling. It's a week in so if you have aspirations of winning the car you would want to have filled out last week.

www.allianzleaguespredictions.ie

The league is called 'gaaboard - hurling' and the code is UK6j1woQYR6n.

Again, a warning, your name and club shows up so if you want to remain anonymous use your board name.

Was there any need for the subtitles?

Fair play Brian, some dedication, looking forward to The Commute now. Amazing the lengths some lads go to to keep the link going with their club at home.

http://www.hoganstand.com/Westmeath/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=157145&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Westmeath captain to feature in RTE documentary


Westmeath hurling captain Brian Smyth will feature in a new television documentary entitled 'The Commute', which will be screened on RTE1 next Monday at 9.30pm.

A son of former Westmeath and The Downs football star Donie Smyth, Brian has been commuting from London, where he works as a teacher, on an almost weekly basis over the past year to captain his county and to also represent his clubs Raharney (hurling) and Killucan (football). On hearing of his remarkable dedication to the GAA, the documentary makers selected him as one of five long-distance commuters who will feature on the hour-long show.

"The cameras were with me constantly for four days," Smyth says in this week's Westmeath Topic.

"They followed me around to see what my average weekly schedule is like. They came to my rented accommodation in South London and talked to my flat-mates, who also happen to be Irish. They then came with me to school on Friday and followed my commute, which every week starts on a Friday at 3.15pm as soon as the school bell goes.

"I grab a train to the airport, fly to Dublin and travel home to go straight to training usually, and on that Friday, the crew came with me on the flight and accompanied me to St. Loman's grounds, and from there they followed me home to my family home in Killucan."

The cameras continued to roll until 6am the following Monday - just a matter of hours after Brian played a starring role for Westmeath in their Leinster SHC first round victory over Carlow in Dr Cullen Park.

Definitely a team in transition but didn't get out of Div 2 or win a championship game in the two years he was in charge, not a great record. Thought he would give it one more year though myself.

Westmeath team V Wexford - Connaughton; Boyle, Gavin, Finnan; Egan, Martin, Harte; Daly, Corroon; Sharry, David Glennon, Lynam; Dessie Dolan, Denis Glennon, Greville
Bench - Darren Quinn, John Gaffey, James Dolan, Michael Curley, Michael Ennis, John Heslin, Brendan Murtagh, Conor Jordan, Callum McCormack, Peter Tormey, Alan Giles

Wexford unchanged from Offaly win - A Masterson; J Wadding, G Molloy, B Malone; A Flynn, D Murphy, A Doyle; R Quinlivan, D Waters; S Roche, C Lyng, B Brosnan; C Morris, E Bradley, R Barry.

Good to see Dessie made it, hope he's fit. That team could do with Natchie and Duffy too for the experience, it's very young, especially between the 40's. Natchie will get a good reception and give the team a lift when he comes in. I think Finnan going to corner back and Martin coming in at center back is a good move, hopefully it will tighten us up at the back as we were a bit loose there during the league. Both midfielders making their championship debuts and they'll find it tough against Quinlivan and Waters. Daly like Egan last year has been coming hard and fast recently and hopefully he can make an impression here. I'd settle for breaking even in midfield.

This has the potential to be a very open game, both teams strengths lie in their forwards. Need to keep Lyng, Barry and Brosnan under wraps. Lyng tore us apart in Mullingar in the league and Barry is the one who makes Wexford tick. Brosnan took some fine long range points the first day out. Will be traveling more in hope than expectation, I'd imagine we'll be hugely outnumbered by the locals, a two hour drive and five o'clock on a Sat is not much help to those who have to work. That said looking forward to the hurling afterward. Up Westmeath.

Gonna add a poll to this to see how accurate or not we are. Have included an option for our estranged 6 county friends who want to have their vote counted. Just vote for the no.1 you've already given or intend to give later on.

Poll added. If I forgot an option let me know. The United Left Alliance (ULA) is an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicans in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping consists of three existing political parties, the Socialist Party, the People Before Profit Alliance, and the Workers and Unemployed Action Group, as well as former members of the Labour Party.

Good program on Sean Boylan last night, well worth a watch

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1091390