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That's disappointing to hear Sean Moore has stepped away. Billy gave him every chance in the O'Byrne Cup.

The Tailteann Cup is still there to be won-there isn't really anything much between any of the teams in the competition. If Westmeath were to beat Kildare in a Leinster semi-final that would take them out of contention as well-I would have them as favourites to win the T.C. if they do end up in the competition.

It's funny what a favourable couple of draws in the opening rounds of the competition can do for a team's morale and confidence. You'd be hopeful that with the likes of Kelly, the two Kingstons etc. back fully fit that it will provide a badly needed impetus to that Laois side. The likes of Lillis, O'Loughlin, Timmons, Finn and Munnelly are probably in their final year as inter-county footballers. Surely the opportunity to win a national title at the end of their careers with Laois will drive them to give this competition a right crack. You'd nearly hope that the senior players in that Laois side would take it on themselves to take control of what is currently a sinking ship and put some semblance of order on things.

Injuries have taken the wind and momentum out of the Laois sails this year. It is a pity. The age profile is still good for a lot of our players going forward and with some very decent U20s stepping up over the next couple of years it could be a job with potential for someone. Tommy Fitz would be an excellent shout if he wanted the job. He has served his time as selector and is surely gaining valuable experience with St. Thomas' in Galway coaching one of the top club sides in the country. If he sets up teams to play hurling how he hurled himself it would also help bring the supporters back to O'Moore Park.

Now that Laois footballers won't be playing Meath as part of a double header with hurlers game with Wexford you think some common sense would prevail and switch the minor to be the curtain raiser.

This forum is a copy and paste job of the 2021 Leinster championship forum. We are just unfortunately in a bad cycle at the moment. Our underage isn't as bad as what is made out. At u20 level the last 4 years our teams have been relatively competitive (outside of competing with Dublin) and have put in some impressive displays. It's time to rebuild in division four next year with a side predominantly 25 and under.

As a county we really do lack players who enjoy the physicality side of things and being touch tight, dogging with their opposition number. Aidan Fennelly and Cahir Healy were great examples of players who really made life difficult for the man they was marking and their opponents really had to fight to get on the ball. Those lads sacrificed a part of their own game for the good of the team.  Wicklow must have kicked half a dozen points where ball was simply handpassed on to one of the forwards who just swung the ball over with his marker half heartedly throwing his hands up in the air trying to block the ball. Pathetic stuff. Too many of our players love being in possession of the ball and going forward but don't really want to commit to the hard part of the game which is tackling and defending and making life difficult for your opponent. 

It's a real pity that this Laois team had key players that were injured coming into this game along with a couple of guaranteed starters who were unable to commit to U20s this year as well. It's an opportunity lost. Very talented bunch of players over the last two years but unfortunately didn't achieve that big scalp that we hoped they would get.

After the strong showing by our u21s last year and with a number of those lads involved again this year you'd be optimistic that this team will be highly competitive against any side in Leinster (perhaps with the exception of a very strong Galway side).  Missing the likes of Burke, Mahony and possibly Keyes as well is a big blow to perhaps taking a scalp in this year's championship. However, some very decent players filtering through with potential to add to the Laois senior squad in the next couple of years.

I wanted to give Billy Sheehan some pass as he has a number of players who didn't commit or were injured throughout league. However, as a good Longford GAA friend of mine told me during the game as I brought this defence out at half time, Billy O'L is working without the following mainstay players in Longford who were not available to him:

Gary Rogers (centre-back), Donal McElligot (wing/corner back), John Keegan (midfield), Rian Brady (centre forward),Daniel Mimnagh (corner forward), Liam Connerton (full forward).

Pretty much the spine of the Longford team for the last few years and best club players within county. It's probably the same for most smaller counties the levels of non-commitment. It's about getting the best tune out of the players you have. Billy certainly isn't doing that at the moment. In the modern game when kick outs and kick out strategies are of huge importance to the winning and losing of the game we were shambolic in this department against Limerick, Fermanagh and again yesterday. I know Chris and Billy want to play a traditional kicking game but they need to address this deficiency before start of Leinster championship and Tailteann Cup. 

Now that the new GPOs are coming on board there is certainly more opportunity to promote Laois GAA. Obviously, not enough time this year to do it but perhaps next year. On the Sunday of the final home league game (when weather/pitches are hopefully decent) run a fun U13 blitz for the clubs in the county in the centre of excellence that morning starting at 9am and finishing at 1pm. Then hand out participation certs/medals and some snacks to children. Bring each of the participating teams and mentors into O'Moore Park for the league match (hopefully division 2 game where a win promotes us to division 1-we can dream!!). I would also provide each participating juvenile with free adult ticket for the game. In that way you are giving the children a fun day out, connecting them with the county team and ensuring a very positive, feel good atmosphere around the ground with a decent support to boot. 

What has happened that Crettyard are no longer in with Na Fianna Og. Thought things were going well there with good success at minor and U20 last year.

Our three main forwards from the Laois U20 teams that made it to consecutive Leinster finals were Ronan Coffey, Mark Barry and Diarmuid Whelan. You would like to think that those three would be starting to establish themselves on the senior team now that they are hitting 22/23 years of age. Unfortunately, so far only Barry has had any real involvement with the senior set up. Throw in Jake Foster, Colm Murphy and Jack Owens if he could add consistency to his game- all players of huge potential-we are definitely not getting the most out of the young attacking talent that is there within the county. Look at Mayo and how Horan has brought in plenty of youth the last couple of years. Those players through game time, training and sustained S&C and are now in a position where they have developed and can physically compete against the top players and sides.

Billy has pretty much stuck with the same starting team since the O'Byrne Cup semi-final. I do think he should shake things up a little and make 4-5 changes the next day and keep things competitive within the squad. The fact he made no change until the 60th minute and with that made only 3 changes (one of them was to bring in Ross) would send a message to the rest of the squad outside of the 15 that he doesn't have huge faith in their abilities. Antrim had four or five subs in well before Laois made their first change. If he continues to operate the way he is doing, expect more lads to walk away and lads within the squad to lose interest and motivation.

Unfortunately other counties will have taken note of Laois' frailties when players with power and pace run at them. The red sea didn't open up as quick for Moses as the Laois defence did on Sunday for the Waterford players. A rethink of our defensive strategy is required. As the ground hardens up, you'd be fearful of even more damage being inflicted.

Watching Naas go all the way in the intermediate championship and Kilmoley of Kerry make the final, it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for a club like Abbeyleix (if they were to win Laois this year) to give the Leinster intermediate championship a right rattle. They have a good age profile and with some experienced campaigners to boot, 2022 should be a year that they really target getting everything right and everyone on board. Clough Ballacolla showed what Laois clubs are capable of on the Leinster stage with a bit of confidence, determination and drive.

Laois showed promise and definite progression from last season. However, still plenty to work on- shooting was poor at times, lost too many of the physical battles for possession and some of the starting 15 didn't hit the standards you would normally expect of them. I would say that defensively, Cheddar will be somewhat happy-Tipperary are a side who score plenty of goals and that didn't happen at the weekend. Also when we were down to 14 players, Tipperary were unable to open the floodgates-Laois continued to battle and matched up well right to the final whistle. You can see though why Cheddar opened the door for Cha to return last season. His ability to win 50/50 battles and strike from distance was badly missed on Saturday. There are about 10 players realistically vying for 6 starting berths in the forward line. I would imagine Cheddar will rotate over the next couple of games and each player will have the opportunity to stake a claim for starting position come the start of the championship. Outside of Maher, those who started in the forwards on Saturday will know they need to put in a much improved performance the next day out.

Westmeath are a couple of years further down the road than this Laois team. After their debacle when Kingston scored a hat trick of goals to defeat them in championship football a few years ago, they brought Cooney in as manager and has he has done an excellent job rebuilding Westmeath. Our midfield has been a problem area for a long time now. It is a real pity Sean Byrne isn't available this year. He is the sort of player that we badly need around the middle third to partner James Finn.