NHL 2016

[seafoid]

I dunno AZ. They should be way better in terms of putting it up to Kilkenny but all they have to show for the last 7 or 8 years of effort is that one win that killed the drive for 5. I thought they would kick on after that and they didn't, which was a real pity.
Last year they were very disappointing.  And hurling needs them to be better.
The game is not in great shape tbh. Offaly and Cork are badly missed.

Tipperary/Kilkenny/Cork delenda est.

I feel sorry for Cork at this stage. That strike was immensely damaging

[AZOffaly]

Corks touch is appalling. We berate Tipp and Galway for not being able to stand up to Kilkenny's white heat, but what is happening in Cork is worse. Harnedy was exceptional in at full forward against Kilkenny, but out the field their ability to control a ball on the hurl, jab lift at full pace, strike cleanly off either hand is just poor. Poorer than I've seen a Cork team ever. And I noticed the same thing with the U21s last year against Waterford.

Kilkenny will out physical you all day if that needs to be done, but at the end of the day they are excellent at the skills. Watch how many times a Kilkenny man picks a ball up, under pressure, first time into the hand. Tipperary, for all their faults, can also boast several players like that. Galway the same, Waterford too. To be fair, the new breed of Clare hurler has that in his locker as well. Limerick, Dublin and Cork would be a bit behind in that area at this stage, and half a second or a second for a fumbled pickup is a killer.

[deiseach]

I dunno AZ. They should be way better in terms of putting it up to Kilkenny but all they have to show for the last 7 or 8 years of effort is that one win that killed the drive for 5. I thought they would kick on after that and they didn't, which was a real pity.
Last year they were very disappointing.  And hurling needs them to be better.
The game is not in great shape tbh. Offaly and Cork are badly missed.

Tipperary/Kilkenny/Cork delenda est.

I feel sorry for Cork at this stage. That strike was immensely damaging

No, I'm going with Cato the Elder on this one. Ploughing salt into the ground is the least we should do.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Niall Burkes hurling (stick work) was terrible yesterday, in that I mean he struggled with the ball in and around his feet, very few clean lifts and smothered all the time, granted he took two great points in the second half one after the other, but as you say Ronan Maher had a field day and you'd need someone doing the donkey work, stopping Tipp launching attacks from that area and Niall wasn't doing that.

I would still consider the Galway fullback line a bit weak in the aerial exchanges and that's something they need to sort out when it comes to meeting the Tipps and Kilkenny's during the summer months.

On that, the Cork lad who took a mad lash at the overhead pull as TJ Reid went to catch in the Saturday night game in all probably was the cause of the goal that won Kilkenny the game. He'd no chance of getting the ball, TJ's too cute for that and TJ was already turned and on his way with your man off balance, granted a miss-hit shot made its way back to TJ, but he should have done better in the initial aerial battle.
Cork are now reliant on Harnedy and Lehane and Harnedy in particular exposed the aerial weakness of Holden when left one and one in and around the house..

I wouldn't agree with that Johnny. I remember one instance where Niall Burke let the ball run past him but not much else in terms of sloppiness. Imo the problem was that he was repeatedly beaten in the air(tho he can be quite good in the air on his day) and lacked work-rate, but I thought he showed a lot of class and some tidy stickwork for his four points. He seems to be able to get his shot off, even when surrounded as he was a couple of times. I always think if he had a bit more aggression and work-rate, he could be a superstar. As the yanks would say, he has all the tools.
Some of our hurling was fairly sloppy though and it was a series of mistakes that let Tipp back into it at the end, as much as anything Tipp did.

I think Niall Burke is the best pure ball striker in the Galway team (after Joe, possibly Jason Flynn) but for a big lad he doesn't really throw his weight around. He's a far superior stickman to Johnny Glynn but doesn't have Glynn's ferocious physicality, ball winning ability or work rate. He made Ronan Maher look like an all-star centre-back (which he isn't). That said some of the points he hit from out the field were fantastic. Galway can't expect him to do Glynn's job this year though. Two big lads but completely different players.

[cicfada]

That result  against Tipp really hurt our lads as they now face a nail biting relegation match against cork. I believe Galway are a better team these days than cork and would expect them to win but Cork are due a win and any things possible in a one off match especially if it's played on sat week night, if Cork win the toss for venue. From what I've seen of Galway so far, there's a bit of spirit there . I mean there's 7 out through injury and/ or absence, they are Callinan, Coen, Mannion, Daithi Burke, Glynn, Donnellan and Conor  Cooney. You put those lads back in the mix along with the catching up in training they need, they'll be all right . I just hope they're switched on in the Cork match. Div 1b is not a place to be, just ask Limerick!

[manfromdelmonte]

If Antrim keep going they'll be relegated next year

[waterfordlad]

Good game in Walsh Park yesterday. The ground was hard after recent dry weather which made it easier to hurl than earlier league games. I thought Galway would win with all the changes Waterford made but Waterford did well and some new players have put themselves in the frame now. Waterford were holding a 2 or 3 point lead all most of 2nd half but Galway hit 4 points in a row to go ahead going into injury time but a superb long range point by Gavin O'Brien levelled it. Waterford missed a chance to win it after that. Shane Bennett was superb with 0-6 from play. Paraic Mahony came on with a few minutes to go for his first game in 10 months after his leg break last year.

[AZOffaly]

Great to see Paraic Mahoney back.

Good performance from Tipp yesterday as well. Cork would want to be careful. To me, they look like Offaly looked maybe 12 years ago.

[seafoid]

There should be 8 teams in D1

[johnneycool]

There should be 8 teams in D1

why?

[AZOffaly]

Yes, Why? The current structures bring a lot of bite. Limerick v Clare was a genuinely big game yesterday. Cork v Galway will be the same next Sunday week. Offaly, Wexford and Laois all see Clare and Limerick as beatable, or at least a decent match. Kerry obviously see the likes of Laois and Offaly as beatable.

The only thing I'd change is the quarter finals. To have Offaly and Wexford involved is a bit mad. I'd have the top 2 in 1A into a semi final, to play the winners of 3rd and 4th in 1A versus 1st and 2nd in 1B.

[Asal Mor]

There should be 8 teams in D1

The league's gotten much better and games have been taken more seriously since it went to 6 teams. When teams had 7 games instead of 5 a lot of them were half-assed. Now they're about three-quarters assed which is a fair improvement. Some say that the new format doesn't allow teams to experiment enough with new players, but too much experimentation equals meaningless games.

[manfromdelmonte]

There should be 8 teams in D1

I disagree.

Get rid of promotion/relegation playoffs.
Why isn't there one between the top two divisions?

[seafoid]

There should be 8 teams in D1

why?

Cos 5 matches isn't enough

[johnneycool]

There should be 8 teams in D1

why?

Cos 5 matches isn't enough

But there's more than 5. We're into the quarter finals, so if you're good enough you'll get another 3 games of high intensity rather than 7 dead rubbers!