Hurling Championship 2019

[manfromdelmonte]

There was plenty opportunities for both at the end to win it in fairness, for an interest I backed a draw midway through second half 

Couple of observations on the game, there were four pulls on the ground,  3 of them went to the opposition.
The weight of the ball in windy conditions reduced the scoring, as would a heavier ball BTW. Goal keepers in Hurling should just puck the ball out and stop shots at goal, shooting aimlessly from 90 yards is completely wasting your skilled forwards chance to score.

Davy is a nut job but I love his passion.

The last 15 minutes made up for the football though

A heavier ball wouldn't tail off due to the wind

There was nearly more scores in thge football in Castlebar on Saturday

Can't win! Complaining about too many scores now not enough! Jeeze tough gig

The Wexford goalie went for scores on 3 occasions from inside his own 45 and hit them over the end line.

Yes I put that on my post! Goal keepers mimicking football keepers! There was a strong wind in fairness but you'll lose accuracy over distance, I'm sure you'd know that from your own playing experience

Goalies should play where they are picked, in goals.

[johnnycool]

There was plenty opportunities for both at the end to win it in fairness, for an interest I backed a draw midway through second half 

Couple of observations on the game, there were four pulls on the ground,  3 of them went to the opposition.
The weight of the ball in windy conditions reduced the scoring, as would a heavier ball BTW. Goal keepers in Hurling should just puck the ball out and stop shots at goal, shooting aimlessly from 90 yards is completely wasting your skilled forwards chance to score.

Davy is a nut job but I love his passion.

The last 15 minutes made up for the football though

A heavier ball wouldn't tail off due to the wind

There was nearly more scores in thge football in Castlebar on Saturday

Can't win! Complaining about too many scores now not enough! Jeeze tough gig

You never throw out a wet ball when playing against the wind?

And there's me thinking you Frankies were cute hoors!

All in all I thought that was a poor enough game in Galway. Neither will be happy with the draw but the Galway forwards aren't standing up to be counted without Joe amongst them.

No leaders there, I can see Kilkenny take a Leinster title at this rate.

[AZOffaly]

Good win for Offaly at U20 last night v Westmeath. At this stage we'll grasp any straws.

[johnnycool]

Good win for Offaly at U20 last night v Westmeath. At this stage we'll grasp any straws.

Is club hurling now king in Offaly?

The reason I ask is that Kilcormac Killoughey, Coolderry and St Rynaghs have all made decent inroads into the Leinster club champions, but Offaly county teams don't mirror that standard at all..

[AZOffaly]

That's the frustrating thing. At club level we have a lot of decent/strong clubs but they are either not clicking when they play county, or some of the lads are not committing. In fairness Coolderry had a lot of older lads, with the Bradys and Brian Carroll etc.

[seafoid]

There was plenty opportunities for both at the end to win it in fairness, for an interest I backed a draw midway through second half 

Couple of observations on the game, there were four pulls on the ground,  3 of them went to the opposition.
The weight of the ball in windy conditions reduced the scoring, as would a heavier ball BTW. Goal keepers in Hurling should just puck the ball out and stop shots at goal, shooting aimlessly from 90 yards is completely wasting your skilled forwards chance to score.

Davy is a nut job but I love his passion.

The last 15 minutes made up for the football though

A heavier ball wouldn't tail off due to the wind

There was nearly more scores in thge football in Castlebar on Saturday

Can't win! Complaining about too many scores now not enough! Jeeze tough gig

You never throw out a wet ball when playing against the wind?

And there's me thinking you Frankies were cute hoors!

All in all I thought that was a poor enough game in Galway. Neither will be happy with the draw but the Galway forwards aren't standing up to be counted without Joe amongst them.

No leaders there, I can see Kilkenny take a Leinster title at this rate.

I think it could be like 2012 with the roles reversed. KK need a Leinster title more than Galway.
KK were operating some way off top speed in the 2012 Leinster Final and Galway hosed them.
But KK won the all Ireland . And nobody remembers the Leinster.   

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/jackie-tyrrell-just-when-they-look-to-be-coming-dublin-freeze-1.3886531
"Carton House, Maynooth, Co Kildare. That stunning drive from the entrance gate up to the 18th century Manor House. Passing sun-drenched golfers as they shoot the breeze. Down over a lovely hump-back bridge, around the bend with a beautiful view out in front of you as the sun bounces off the roof of the boat house. A peaceful and stunning setting.
Yeah. Good luck with that, lads. I'm three years retired this year and I haven't set foot in the place and I have no plans to. Carton House to me always meant hell. It was where Kilkenny went for a pre-championship training camp and it wasn't about spa treatments or nice robes or comfy slippers.
We went there to work and that meant going to war with each other. I have a clear memory of our trip there in 2012, a couple of weeks out from playing Dublin in Portlaoise in the Leinster semi-final.
On the Tuesday night, the last thing Brian Cody said at training was, "Kilkenny jerseys are up for grabs". Well, maybe it wasn't exactly the last thing but it was the last thing any of us took in. By Friday, it was the only thing that mattered.
Arriving at Carton House, some lads had one hand on a jersey, others had full possession. I was barely hanging onto mine with my fingertips. I knew the weekend was going to be torture but that suited me. It was going to be ridiculously hot – if the weather didn't make it that way, the intensity of the competition between us would. I needed that torture in order to be ready physically and mentally for Dublin."

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/lohan-says-clare-hurlers-lacking-proper-support-from-the-county-board-1.3907622

Lohan says Clare hurlers lacking proper support from the county board
'You need a more dynamic county board than what is there' says former star
about 4 hours ago
Ian O'Riordan


Anyone familiar with Brian Lohan and his own inimitable style of hurling might understand why he chose a GAA Legends Tour launch to issue a gentle broadside against his own county. Lohan was never soft or superficial and certainly not fashionable.

He still speaks like he played, straight up and no gobbledygook, and even if retired since 2006 Lohan still has strong views on Clare hurling.

They haven't won a Munster title since he was lording full back in 1998, and their 2013 All-Ireland win aside, he reckons Clare's chance for more tangible success may well have passed them by.

Lohan isn't glorifying his own era either, at least not when it comes to Davy Fitzgerald, the current Wexford manager and the player who stood directly behind him in the Clare goal throughout those thick and thin years of the 1990s.

"Generally relationships are very good amongst everyone, bar one player," Lohan says of Clare's All-Ireland-winning team of 1995 and 1997, making no effort to conceal who that one player is.

Lohan was referenced by Fitzgerald in his latest book At All Costs, published last year, after they crossed paths in a Fitzgibbon Cup quarter-final, Lohan then manager of UL, Fitzgerald manager of LIT.

"I really don't have anything to say about him to be honest," says Lohan.

What does he make of Fitzgerald's openly passionate style of management? (Last Sunday he was sent to the stand for contesting a decision in the Wexford-Galway championship match).

"I don't know if it's genuine passion. We're all passionate about the game. We show it in different ways. So, you know, he has the way he does things and people have to kind of fit into that. But I think some of the antics, they're not great."


Lohan's passion for Clare hurling comes across as more muted, if no less telling, and he openly questions the county board and the sort of support he feels is necessary to win back another Munster title.

"It's a poor record in Munster really. They've got to the final for the last two years alright. But when it was knockout, we'd a poor record in Munster. Even though we did win that All-Ireland in 2013, we lost the first round badly against Cork. Then a couple of poor performances in the Munster Championship, albeit they did turn it around.

Really isn't good enough for young fellas having to wait before they get their expenses because, you know, they do have to live
"The problem now is Tipp had a bit of lull last year after a couple of successful years. They had that lull, had that mental break when they weren't involved in big games. They're back now, and seem to really be at the pitch of it.

"Cork are a good quality team, they're one of the traditional big three, and they're not going to stay losing All-Irelands forever. They've got such quality that it's difficult. When you have Tipp and Cork down, you have to make hay because they're not going to stay down."

More dynamic
Lohan also won four All Stars in his time, was 1995 Hurler of the Year.

Now, speaking at the launch of the 2019 Bord Gáis Energy GAA Legends Tour Series, along with Donegal footballer Eamon McGee, he pointed to a few lasting shortfalls in the Clare hurling structures.

"Look, there's great clubs, there's really good people involved at both club level and at county level. Sometimes I think they're a bit let down by the county board. That would be my own opinion on it.

"I think you need a more dynamic county board than what is there. There has been a couple of controversies there recently in relation to the county board. There is a lot of money involved in it [the game] and I think you have to have that level of professionalism within that structure . . .to to assist the teams and get the most out of the county teams. I don't know if that's there.

"I think last year, before the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway, that Friday night is the first time the players got their expenses for the whole year which just really isn't good enough for young fellas having to wait before they get their expenses because, you know, they do have to live.

"That wouldn't have been accepted back when I was playing 20 years ago, whereas it seems to be accepted now. It's just things like that that have to be improved.

"But they had a great campaign and were unlucky not to be in the final and that's credit to the whole set-up that that was never an issue. They just got their business done."

Clare welcome Tipperary to Ennis on Sunday, in the third round of the Munster championship round-robin, a game which may well decide a place in the final. Lohan is torn between Clare and Liverpool FC this weekend, the club he supports; he'll be in Madrid on Saturday for the Champions League final, still waiting on that ticket to come through.

"I don't know, competition is very challenging, there's a lot of counties doing an awful lot right," he says of Clare's chances this summer.

"Cork seem to be doing their business right, Kilkenny are doing their business right, Galway are doing their business right, you know, Limerick. You have a lot of good teams out there, good structures and good resources as well, while we have a good team we have reasonable structures – but we don't seem to have the resources."


He's more positive however about the current joint management team of Donal Moloney and Gerry O'Connor.

"They've done a great job, worked well with the players, they seem to know exactly what their roles are and they seem to be working great".

Might he ever consider Clare management, jointly or otherwise?

"I haven't really thought about it. Not with the present county board."

Anyone familiar with Lohan will know he won't be easily turned either.

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/jackie-tyrrell-mentally-soft-limerick-learn-hurling-world-a-fickle-place-1.3909746

Jackie Tyrrell: Mentally soft Limerick learn hurling world a fickle place

Even the All-Ireland champions must accept that distractions can get to everyone
about 3 hours ago

Jackie Tyrrell

0


The nature of this year's league actually did Limerick no favours. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho


On this Sunday nine weeks ago, we had the ultimate Phoney War take place in Croke Park when Waterford and Limerick met in the league final.
Go back and watch it and that's what strikes you, how it rivals those early months of World War II for its lack of intensity, savagery and real purpose. A national title was on the line but you wouldn't know it.
Limerick and Waterford played out a timid and lacklustre league final that day. It had an inevitability about it long before James Owens blew up. Limerick did what they had to do and did it for long periods in third gear, almost yawning as they went.
The hurling world is a fickle place. Nine weeks ago these were the top two teams in the league. All their plans were running like clockwork, everything they wanted out of the spring had come to pass. That's partly why we saw such a nothing game in the final – Waterford were happy enough, whatever happened. And Limerick were happy enough to take advantage.
The concerning thing from the Cork game wasn't just that they lost
Look at the two of them now. Both of them are staring down the barrel of the gun. Limerick really need a win, Waterford really, really need a win. Losing just isn't an option for either of them.
We constantly get reminders not to get too carried away in sport, for good or for bad. In the space of seven days, Cork turned their performance levels upside-down and went to the Gaelic Grounds and nailed Limerick to the wall. That's in just seven days – imagine what can happen in nine weeks.
Think of where Limerick were after they left Croke Park that day nine weeks ago. They were after walking a league title. Everyone kept telling them they were the best team in the country, that they had handled being All-Ireland champions perfectly, that they had the deepest panel and the fiercest competition for places. What could possibly go wrong?
Now look where they are. Going to Waterford needing a win, first and foremost. But needing as well to arrest the doubts that have to have crept in after the Cork game. Maybe it was only a blip but they don't know that for sure yet. If they're not doubting themselves at this stage, if they're questioning everything, then they're in real trouble.
No favours
The nature of this year's league actually did Limerick no favours. It was diluted from start to finish. Once nobody was getting relegated and nobody was getting promoted, everybody went into it easing off on the throttle. If it had been one of the hell-for-leather leagues like we've had for the past five or six years, then Limerick would have been stress-tested more than they were.
As it was, they lost one game at home to Cork and were held by Clare on the last day of the group stage when they were already guaranteed to top Division 1A. After that, they beat Laois, Dublin and Waterford to lift the trophy.
How many dogfights were they in? How many games did management come away from knowing they have this problem or that problem to solve? How could they know, one way or the other, where they were at going into the Munster championship?
One thing jumped out at me, screaming mental softness
The concerning thing from the Cork game wasn't just that they lost. It was that Cork were able to dismantle Limerick's simplistic but highly-effective gameplan. Limerick's half-back line is the most crucial line on the team and the source of so much of their power and momentum. But this was the poorest I have seen them perform in a number of different categories.
They never created the platform on which to build attacks. They did not deal well with the deep roaming roles of Daniel Kearney and Luke Meade. They didn't drop back to cut out the space for Patrick Horgan and Alan Cadogan. Most surprising of all, they were so poor under the high ball which is their bread and butter.
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These are mental errors. They come from poor communication, a lack of focus, switching off. If Daniel Kearney has found space in a pocket by drifting away from Diarmaid Byrnes, it's because Byrnes hasn't got onto his midfielder or wing-forward to make sure Kearney is being picked up. Same with Luke Meade on the other wing.
Mentally soft
Limerick were mentally soft in this game. There's no other way to describe it. It really looked like they went in believing their own hype. That's understandable, given how well everything had been going for them, but only up to a point. Waterford have to be alive to any sign of it on Sunday. If it's still there, Limerick are in trouble.
Here's how it translated to the pitch. One thing jumped out at me, screaming mental softness. Think back to the start of the second half and a couple of routine long puck-outs from Anthony Nash. These weren't the laser missiles from Nash that go 70 yards at head height, they were just ordinary long puck-outs coming out of the sky midway between the 65 and the edge of the D.
Job number one for Limerick  is to recalibrate mentally, to head down to Walsh Park as the hunter again
The first one bounced about 30 metres out. Alan Cadogan came out from corner-forward to collect it and after a short solo run, he played a nice handpass to Luke Meade who was looping out around him. Simple score for Meade.
Now, that can happen. It's no big crime to lose your positioning for a puck-out once in a while. I rewound it a few times to try and work out whose mistake it was and I actually couldn't tell who was supposed to be attacking the ball in the air – that told me that their initial set-up was the problem. Okay, fine. Just fix it for the next one.
The next one was the killer. It came less than a minute later and it landed in exactly the same spot on the pitch in exactly the same way. Nash went long, the ball bounced, and Cadogan was out to it again. This time he wheeled to his right and took his own score.
Alarm bells
That second point rang huge alarm bells for me. Limerick's half-back line is usually so imperious, so full of leaders and organisers and communicators. How could they let something like that happen twice in the space of a minute? It felt to me like cast-iron proof that they weren't mentally prepared for the game.
Those mistakes weren't happening last year when Limerick were ravenous in every match, in every contact, on every puck-out. The only thing that has changed in the meantime is they've become All-Ireland champions.
Hype is like the devil. There's a bit of it in everyone. It happens in every successful career at some stage because everyone is human. No matter how hard you try, a part of you ends up thinking you have it sussed. But you never have this game sussed.
In 2012, we got blown away in a Leinster final by Galway. Hype wasn't the only reason it happened but it was in the mix. We were All-Ireland champions, we had hammered Dublin a few weeks beforehand and we were invincible. But not for long.
In time, Limerick might come back and tell us that the Cork game was the best thing that happened to them. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Galway blitzed us. We didn't know what was going on. I didn't know who I was marking, I didn't know where I was meant to be on the pitch. Tommy Walsh hit two of the craziest sidelines balls of his life straight to Galway players. Think about that – one of the greatest players in the game making such a basic mental error.
We were punch drunk, all over the place, completely run ragged. Before I knew where I was, I was sitting in the Crowne Plaza looking at a beef dinner I didn't want wondering what the Jesus happened in the last few hours.
When you are All-Ireland champions, it's so hard to keep that edge. It's so difficult to be always in that mind-set of hunting teams down and proving points to people. At a certain stage, you feel you don't have anything left to prove.
How could Limerick feel otherwise after last year? They won one of the best All-Ireland championships there has ever been. They were tested at every turn and they came through it all. Then they strolled through the league. Imagine how hard it would be to convince yourself you still have something to prove after that.
Exceptional requests
It took me years to work out the best way of approaching it. Striving for the extra per cent, keeping the head down and staying out of the spotlight is impossible. So you have to limit it to exceptional requests and circumstances.
Everywhere you go, you're the person people want to talk to. In a small gathering, you're the main focus – or you feel like you are. At the All Stars, in your work environment, you're in situations where nobody is asking you to prove anything when it comes to hurling. All they want is their own small connection to an achievement that is already in the past.
You get asked to all sorts of events, weddings, parties, functions. You're now a pin-up in hurling terms whether you like it or not. You could go around with a scissors in your pocket cutting ribbons and opening businesses if you wanted. All distractions. And all the way through them, everyone is nice to you and nobody is testing you.
Look at Shane O'Donnell, who had to deal with all manner of crazy sideshows after the 2013 All-Ireland. That's the world you're in now and it's great and you owe it to yourself to embrace it. But you have to come back and hurl to following year too.
It takes a mental toll. No two ways about it. Going all those months without hardship, without anyone testing your hunger, it can absolutely make you mentally soft without you knowing it. All the advice in the world from former players only tells you the half of it. You have to go through it to understand it.
We find it very hard as a society to say no to requests for our time. We live in small counties in a small country and everyone knows everyone so we all worry what people will think of us. What I found over the course of my career was that saying no became a very important skill I was able to develop.
"Sorry, no, I just can't do it." It might sound harsh and to some people in the outside world, it might come across in a way that you don't mean it to. But it's your time and your career and nobody will look after it if you don't. Otherwise, any mental slip you make has a habit of showing up at the worst possible time.
None of this has to be fatal for Limerick. Far from it. In time, they might come back and tell us that the Cork game was the best thing that happened to them. They will have had some harsh conversations and even harsher training sessions over the past fortnight. Job number one for them is to recalibrate mentally, to head down to Walsh Park as the hunter again.
If they do that, they can get their season back on track. If they don't, I wouldn't rule out a surprise from Waterford.

[manfromdelmonte]

So much for clamping down on illegal handpassing

It's rampant in Limerick v Waterford

[GaillimhIarthair]

How can the ref justify a yellow for Shanahan?
He hit him with the hurl! Terrible decision.

Yup, should have been a straight red.
Waterford are rudderless and could ship a big beating here from Limerick

[imtommygunn]

No chance of relegation from Munster doesn't incentivise much when you are out of contention for the final. Bottom should require a playoff with Leinster.

[Farrandeelin]

Tier 2 for Waterford.

[kerryforsam19]

Tipperary  should win handy enough. Put 50 on limerick, Tipp and kildare

[From the Bunker]

Tier 2 for Waterford.

Tier 2 for definite. Can't be having these mismatch games!

[manfromdelmonte]

Tipp getting frees so much handier than Clare
It's like two sets of rules