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I would imagine the final will be in a neutral venue unless the two sides agree to a coin toss to decide who gets home advantage. Last year, Offaly and Kildare's final was played in Portlaoise. Would Nolan Park be the most realistic neutral venue for a final? I wouldn't mind if final was in Dr. Cullen. A final deserves to be played in front of a decent crowd-adds to the spectacle and occasion. If final was in Nowlan Park would do well to get 1500 at the game.   

Looking back now, that Tipperary minor winning team deserves even more credit that they possibly get. The Dublin team that they defeated that day was considered one of Dublin's finest ever minor teams and many of them went on to backbone the all conquering 6 in a row All-Ireland side. Kilkenny, Mannion, McCaffrey, McDaid, Costello, Lowndes and Small were all starters on the team and Niall Scully was only a sub. It was an incredible feat looking back now. Thanks to Covid lockdowns they were able to get some of the stars of that team back for the year they won Munster. A nice reward for those mentors and coaches who invested so much time, energy and commitment into underage football in Tipperary during the mid to late 00s and early 2010s.

       

Looks like some talent coming through the schools system which is nice to See, Knockbeg, Portlaoise CBS and Mountmellick did well this year.

I would say its a positive improvement but the reality is that Portlaoise CBS with the attachment area and numbers available to them should be able to do what Naas are now achieving. Obviously it would take a lot of time, dedication and effort and plenty of support from Laois GAA to get Portlaoise CBS to that standard as they have fallen back massively in the last decade. . 

Knockbeg are a strong Leinster A standard side without ever getting making a final. They are always just that rung below the team that eventually wins it (Naas CBS for the last 5-6 years). I think it was 2007 and the team of Donie Kingston that they last appeared in a final.

In the last ten years, three different Westmeath schools, two Offaly schools and two Wexford schools have all managed to make finals. Laois GAA should really start putting more work into supporting our GAA schools-it is having a very positive impact in both Westmeath and Offaly at underage level and now at senior level as well (U20 All-Ireland success for Offaly and a very good Leinster championship run in 2023 and Westmeath making very good progress over the last couple of years with Tailteann Cup success, excellent league campaigns and were hugely competitive in last year's All-Ireland series). Players are filtering through the system with a confidence and a winning mentality and doing well at schools level all plays an important part in this. 

Wexford is a different case in that many of those players who lead the schools team are hurling first and football second players. However, there is talent in Wexford if they can get the buy in. With a little more luck (Leitrim game) they would be well in the running to join Laois in promotion from division 4 this year.
 

This management team are going to live or die by the sword based on the team's Joe McDonagh performances. Both Offaly and Westmeath are really giving the Division 1 league a right craic at the moment. Very opposing approaches being taken by Laois to their main challengers for the Joe McDonagh. Hopefully the management's approach pays dividends for Laois and we see a fit, fresh Laois team peaking at the right time for the game with Offaly.

What we don't want is Laois needing 20/30 minutes of the opening game struggling to get the the pitch of the game against a sharper Offaly team flying out of the blocks. I see the likes of Ravenhill, Screeney etc. have been fast tracked into the starting team and getting plenty of Division 1 hurling experience. This Offaly team will come into the start of the Joe McDonagh with plenty of confidence if they continue to perform as they have in the previous two games. If Laois continue to performance as they have in the opening three rounds, very hard to build momentum, confidence and a positive squad of players. I hope the rumours of disgruntlement are short lived and the squad that is there pull in the right direction for the rest of the year. 

Tipperary got back on track with a good win in Longford - Semple Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for Laois in recent years. Leitrim tripped up Laois last year and will be hopeful of a repeat. Laois V Carlow is a local derby where form goes out the window. Wexford are still capable of claiming one the the top spots. I would not rule out any of those 5 teams at this stage and indeed Longford could still be in the running if they win all their remaining games.

Could you sit anymore on the fence with your predictions Boy Wonder. Hardly looking for a job as an analyst on GAA with RTE?

Seriously though, it was great to see the passion in Doctor Cullen Park with the last minute goal to seal victory over Leitrim. It is a real pity these games are not giving more time/consideration in the Sunday night show. Considering that the games that do get most air-time were already shown on RTE or TG4 live already it would be nice to see more focus to the stand out game in the lower divisions.
 

It was one of the most dubious penalty decisions you will ever likely see that cost Wexford in the end. I'm not sure what the referee thought he saw. With the head to head rule it pretty much now ends Wexford's promotion push for this year which is unfortunate for them.

At the end of last season, it looked like the wheels were starting to come off for Leitrim and with a few of their better players not available this season I thought they would struggle to be in the shape up for promotion. Glad to see I was wrong with three wins from three to start the league.

Laois only had five starters to team that lost to Down in Tailteann Cup. Chalk and cheese to compare this year's side to last year in terms of structure, game play and buy in from players to what McNulty is trying to achieve. 

The fact you are ranking the referee's meaning and inferring that you see those lower down on your list as inferior in standard to others is casting them in a negative light. The pool of referees is small in the county and anyone who does takes on this largely thankless role has my upmost respect.

This thread is dangerous if one or more posters decides to air their grievances with a referee's performance after a club championship game. 

Two big wins for Laois at the beginning of the league. Should have too much for Carlow, Waterford, Leitrim and London and with Tipperary in re-build mode I'd expect them to finish the campaign with seven wins and 14 points. The real test of this Laois side to see what kind of improvements have they made will be in the Tailteann Cup when they face some of the higher ranked sides. 

Welcome back Bruce.

Did you manage to get over to Durrow?

I heard it said by many that the demise in Laois hurling over the last couple of years can be attributed to Mossy Bruce disappearing off the scene. Now that you are back, I expect Laois' fortunes to take a turn again.

Good to have you back Bruce. Hopefully we will have some success to celebrate on the forum in 2024.

We have a good mix of talented young players joining the panel and chomping at the bit to make their mark combined with very realistic and tangible expectations of winning silverware this year to create a feel good, buzz to Laois hurling for 2024. A positive and winning environment will hopefully help bed in the young talent coming through. A year of Division 1 losses and bad beatings in a Leinster championship could have knocked the players development, interest and enthusiasm. Barely missing out last year when we were the strongest Joe McDonagh team by the end of the the group stages of the competition might prove a blessing in disguise for us. 2024 gives the management team to space and games to blood new players, create a winning mentality and hopefully have us in a stronger position in 2025 when we potentially return to division 1 hurling and the Leinster championship proper.

 

For novelty I'd love to see the following system in place (obviously I know it will never pass in reality as a proposal).

8 senior teams play off with a first round do or die game (open draw as to who faces who). 4 teams progress to the next round with an open draw again. The two winning teams from these encounters proceed to play one another with the winner progressing to the final. The two losing teams then play off in a quarter final with the winner of that game facing the losing team of the two winning teams encounter in the semi-final.

The losing 8 teams play off in a senior B style competition as currently in use in the football championship.

What I like about this proposal is that it takes away the safety nets and the dead rubbers that the group games are currently throwing up. It also brings back cut-throat first round encounters that should add intensity and excitement to the championship. 

We have a bloated football championship that doesn't work and now we want to bloat our hurling championship. I would rather a 6 team championship played as a round robin with top team straight to the final and second v third through to a semi-final. Every club is guaranteed five competitive matches and with the progress Abbleyleix, Castletown and The Harps are making we could realistically expect six competitive teams to make up the group. We then would be sending our seventh ranked club into the Leinster intermediate who should be competitive at the standard.

For the development of the game the more championship games the top teams are playing against one another where there is something on the line the better. Ballyfin are the tenth ranked team presently in Laois and they are a long way off the standard required to compete at senior. What is the point of having them play at that level to be comprehensively beaten and weaken the senior and intermediate championship. 

 

Sobering set of results this weekend. With Ballyhale not in Leinster this year it really opens the door for the remaining club sides in Leinster. It's a pity Camross weren't able to get into the mix and go on a run similar to C-Balla few years back. Portlaoise will need to find an extra level if they want to properly compete at senior level in Laois next year.   

Kerry hurling county final played start of August. None of teams involved impacted by the Kerry senior footballers and the county hurlers did not make it out of their Joe McDonagh group. It suits Kerry to have it played early and quickly so that the football club and county championship can run smoothly without disruption.

Kilkenny county football final played off by end of May most years. The advantages of not having an intercounty team.   

I respect Billy's efforts as someone who has built up a good CV coaching teams. However, from what I know talking to people who were involved in Longford during his tenure I do not see the county board giving him the job. In fairness to the county board they gave those candidates who expressed an interest a chance to interview for the job. None of them were deemed suitable. As opposed to appoint the wrong man they are actively seeking someone who would be a right fit for the job. As we are all well aware it is not an enticing job in its current guise. Therefore, it's going to take time and plenty of persuasion. For an ambitious manager, the Laois job might appeal as they cannot go any lower. Even a small bit of progress e.g. promotion from division 4 and a proper crack at the Tailteann Cup would reflect well on this person and in a couple of years time could move to pastures new with their reputation embellished aka Eddie Brennan style with the Laois hurlers.