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Messages - bottlethrower7

#1
Quote from: theskull1 on March 11, 2012, 06:42:13 PM
Fantastic game of hurling. Can you imagine watching that Armagh match afterwards

nope, left after the hurling!
#2
well done to Mount Leinster Rangers. A fine, skillful team who have overcome 2 very good in the last 2 rounds. Will take some beating in the final.
#3
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on August 08, 2011, 12:06:27 PM
I wouldn't be a very knowledgable hurling man but to me KK looked like they were playing within themselves yesterday and once they got the early cushion they kind of switched off a bit.

rather than play within themselves I think it was more a case of keeping waterford at arms length.

It was a very economical performance. Perfect for Kilkenny in fact. There'll certainly be no problems with media hype this year. Tipperary will have the pleasure of that this year.
#4
Hurling Discussion / Re: Qualifier - Cork v Laois
June 22, 2011, 06:03:44 PM
agreed Bud, you'll always need that bit of luck on your side. Like the Offaly team of the 90s. Arguably the most naturally gifted collection of hurlers ever to take the field together in the history of the game. What were the chances of them all coming along at the same time, in a non-traditional hurling county like Offaly.

Whether it be a lucky bounce of the ball or a lucky twist of fate, no one has ever won big without that rub of the green.
#5
If Galway play like they played against Dublin I reckon they'll beat Clare. Clare were really shown up at the business end of the game against Tipp. Through no fault of their own, mind. The lack of regular intense games obviously told and they really faded badly. As the game wore on they made more and more mistakes.

As bad as Galway were against Dublin you never fully felt the game was completely gone from them. If Galway are atrocious and are anything less than 10 points down with 20 minutes to go, I'd expect they'll be able to overhaul an energy-sapped, error-prone Banner, despite all the bluster and passion they're obviously capable of.

Playing hurling in division 2 has killed Clare's chances of any kind of championship success. In my opinion they've already gotten more than I expected of them out of the year. Their sights need to be set on a longer-term goal and they're certainly headed the right direction.
#6
Hurling Discussion / Re: Qualifier - Cork v Laois
June 20, 2011, 11:03:19 AM
Quote from: deiseach on June 20, 2011, 10:43:00 AM
Quote from: bottlethrower7 on June 20, 2011, 10:08:28 AM
- the power-base shifting back to hurling teams (as opposed to the so-called hatchet clubs).

The wha'?

no more clash of the tash
#7
Hurling Discussion / Re: Qualifier - Cork v Laois
June 20, 2011, 10:40:05 AM
Quote from: AQMP on June 20, 2011, 10:37:10 AM
Quote from: bottlethrower7 on June 20, 2011, 09:51:06 AM
well done Cork. The spirit of Christy Ring was alive and well in this demolition of Laois.

doin their bit for hurling in the weaker counties.

Its only a little bit disappointing that they didn't get another 7 or 8 goals in the first half.

again, well done Cork. Exceptional day for our sport.

You can't blame Cork for anything.  You can only play who's in front of you.  It's up to others to bring Laois up to the standard of Cork not for Cork to go easy on the opposition.  You wouldn't expect McIlroy to deliberately fluff a few putts to make the golf more competitive.

they didn't need 10 goals. They could have tapped over points. Just like Kilkenny did to them in the league 2 years ago.
#8
Hurling Discussion / Re: Qualifier - Cork v Laois
June 20, 2011, 10:08:28 AM
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2011, 09:22:48 PM
And I dont buy this small pools of players rubbish. If you can get kids in Dalkey and Blackrock playing hurling - you could sell hurling in any county in Ireland- tradition or no tradition.

If you're referring to Cuala, most of those lads came through Clonkeen, not Blackrock. Its still exceptional to see anyone come through that school and play hurling any way competitively. The vice-principal of Clonkeen is a former Dublin football selector (his name escapes me) and pushes the games quite hard (theres a couple of ex-inter county players teaching there that are taking the school teams - Tracey, Gough, Schutte, etc came through there). So the strength of GAA in the areas you mentioned is based on tradition. Maybe not tradition of the area itself, but moreso the traditions of people in those areas who are in a position to exert influence.

Theres no doubt that more money is being pumped into the game in Dublin than anywhere else, but as magpie seanie said, its money well spent. Other counties should be following the lead, not chastising Dublin.

When Mick O'Grady took over the county team he demanded that the county board pump the same resources into the hurling team as they were pumping into the football team. They did and somewhat of a spike in fortunes resulted. Unfortunately the players just weren't good enough to kick on (we all remember the hiding Kilkenny gave them in Parnell).

Remember too that there was a highly-publicised 'director of hurling' position opened in the county shortly after. I can't fully recall who got that job (Diarmaid Healy maybe?) but it was quickly reduced to a part-time position and eventually done away with. Then Humphrey Kelleher was rather bizarrely appointed manager on the back of getting Naomh Mearnog promoted from division 2 to division 1 (mostly because they 'imported' the then journeyman, Gordon Glynn, from Galway). That was a ridiculous period for Dublin hurling with lots of crazy things happening (recall Kevin Flynn and Liam Ryan heading off to America following defeat to Offaly, a week before a qualifier against Tipperary).

Tom Naughton restored sanity to the setup, mostly because the players respected him (he had been a selector previously, either to Jimmy Grey or to O'Grady).

The point being, over the last 10-15 years, the county board were pumping variable amounts of money into the county senior team, and it quickly became evident that this was not the best use of the money. The county team do need to be looked after but the main focus needs to be elsewhere.

A couple of things that have majorly contributed to the progression of the Dublin hurling team;

- the primary schools
- the combined colleges team
- the power-base shifting back to hurling teams (as opposed to the so-called hatchet clubs). Specifically Ballyboden, but also the improvement in clubs like Cuala and Lucan, as well as Kilmacud putting more effort into their hurling setup again.
- the coaching structure (I doubt theres a club in Dublin without a full-time coach at the moment).

Theres still a lot to do but they're on the right road.



#9
Hurling Discussion / Re: Qualifier - Cork v Laois
June 20, 2011, 09:51:06 AM
well done Cork. The spirit of Christy Ring was alive and well in this demolition of Laois.

doin their bit for hurling in the weaker counties.

Its only a little bit disappointing that they didn't get another 7 or 8 goals in the first half.

again, well done Cork. Exceptional day for our sport.
#10
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on May 17, 2011, 06:06:49 PM
Quote from: bottlethrower7 on May 17, 2011, 01:31:07 PM
right, he could have waited til the next time OLG get to the final

I'd say a fully fit sub could have taken his chance and been more effective than Comerford was on the day, that's a fair enough assessment surely? It being a team sport it's more about the collective rather than the individual,

Obviously it's tough on any player, though there are plenty of instances were players have been injured early on in games or before the game and have played through the barrier, sometimes (rarely) it works. Kerby broke a hand in the All Ireland final against Offaly played on but.......


which sub?
#11
right, he could have waited til the next time OLG get to the final
#12
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on May 14, 2011, 04:09:43 PM
He was great for his club team this year until the semi against Loughgiel and wasn't great in the final.

he played the final with a broken hand
#13
this isn't really a surprise. People in KK knew several weeks ago that this was coming.

Hes a big loss alright. Bowing out of the game with 6 all-Ireland medals to his name is no mean feat.
#14
Hurling Discussion / Re: Kilkenny Suspensions
May 05, 2011, 12:39:57 PM
Kilkenny players have gone back to the clubs for the next 2 weeks for the first couple of rounds of championship. The KK panel won't train again together until after that.
#15
Quote from: nrico2006 on May 03, 2011, 09:07:33 AM
Was JJ not playing on Sunday?  Dublin were missing players too.

Dublin had everyone available to them that they'll have this year. Boland, Rushe, McCrabbe and Treacy were all on the return from injury so wouldn't have been 100% (though Rushe and Boland were probably close enough).

Kilkenny are missing Power, Comerford, Tennyson, Fogarty, Shefflin, Walsh, Fennelly. Of these Power, Tennyson, Shefflin and Comerford have played no part in the league. Walsh and Fogarty have had poor leagues (many feel Walsh's injury a blessing in disguise as he looked jaded in some of the games he played). Fennelly was the biggest loss.

Dublin were streets ahead in their level of preparedness for sunday's game. They wanted to win that league more than anyone and that was clear to see through how fit, sharp and driven they were on sunday. They've played some of the best hurling in this year's league, but were also prone to some off-days. A measure of their progress is how they managed to pull out victories on those off-days.

But this isn't really a flash-in-the-pan. But for a dropped ball by the keeper in Limerick 2 years back, Dublin would probably have contested that final too. Last year Dublin possibly believed the hype from the previous year a little too much and but for the strike in Limerick they'd have been playing division 2 hurling this year.

2 years ago Dublin clearly gave the league more priority than championship. Last year was a forgettable year all round. This year it remains to be seen. The league victory is a huge achievement and the year can already be considered a success. But, if Dublin don't challenge in a serious way for Leinster honours this year, then I for one will be disappointed. Dublin need to start thinking bigger.

Its no coincidence either that Dublin's emergence has come at a time when the balance of power within the county has shifted more towards clubs that actually want to play hurling. The dominance of certain clubs, both in the local championship as well as representation on the county side, 5/6 years ago, was very unhealthy for the game in the capital. The longer those types of teams stay down the better.