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Sean is a really sticky defender. You'd rarely if ever see a man get the better of him. Really, really polite young fella as well, delighted to see him in.

Anyone know how Ballylinan are faring internally so far? Have they got the lads back in that they were missing last year?

We were over reliant on Donie for far, far too long. It broke him a little bit I reckon. Still an absolute quality player, but he's not at the level he was last at in 2017.

Embarrassing display from that absolute w*nker Poacher at the end. Huge congratulations to our lads and our management team. They are a credit to themselves and their county. Never gave them so much as an inch or stooped to their level.

Rob Pigott vs Brendan Murphy pt 3, MAKE IT HAPPEN JOHN

Good win today. Some things not so good.

Benny Carroll. There were eyebrows raised when that man was first thrust into the team last year but he's well and truly put those doubts to bed now. So astute and intelligent. Rarely wastes the ball. Must be nailed on come championship. Nice lad as well by all accounts. And a fantastic footballer.

Martin Scully is another that merits a mention. Poked holes in Offaly's defence all day. We've much more of a squad this year. Onwards and upwards.

I believe and expect a five /six point win

Never expect anything with Laois. It soothes the eventual disappointment.

And never include Laois in an accumulator.

But yeah, a 5/6 point win would be lovely, especially given points difference could still play a big role to come.

I'd put Collins at corner back over Seale going forward. Thought he was really good when he came on last night, himself & O'Flynn made a real difference. Push Attride to half back. I'd give Pigott another go at centre. He's got that cuteness in him that merits another chance & can play some ball. A very disjointed performance last night but a win is a win. Slightly nervous about going to Tullamore, we never seem to play well there.

That team is well seasoned anyways. Looks like it's straight out of 2014 with the exception of Barry

And that has been the case for a long time now Downtheroad. It is of course obvious, and has been for a long time, that change is necessary. The desperation of some Senior clubs right now could well see that change happen but look at the harm that has been done to bring us to this point. If we could put aside our misgivings, then there may well be support from players for a Kerry type system. And let's be honest, if Barrowhouse were contemplating joining up with Arles Killeen, then surely anything is possible. After the way they have been treated by their neighbours and county board alike, I wouldn't blame them if they had asked to go over the ditch to Kildare. Anything that cuts out that back stabbing daylight robbery can only be a good thing, and in that regard, I welcome change

Dead on, agree with all of that. Were the Barrowhouse officials high when they agreed to join with Killeen? How many players would realistically make Killeens team anyways, the ones that do would just end up bolloxed for the junior. I think, personally, there is a little bit more openness for change around the county. Not sure if it's been mentioned already but Louth voted last year for a divisional championship which, similar enough to the Kerry setup, includes normal running of the club championships followed by the divisional championship which includes their 12 senior teams & a few area sides. Personally I think it'll fail (I doubt there's enough interest/player commitment in Louth to actually sustain interest for what seems like a full year) but still, nice to see a proactive county board thinking on its feet.

Didn't see enough in the Scully incident to warrant a red - a yellow would've sufficed imo, certainly from my angle. We get carved open way too easily. Any bit of directness from the opposition and we look vulnerable.

Hard to read a whole lot into the game given we were playing against a team who in all probability will be plying their trade in Div 4 next year. Nevertheless I thought some of our forward play was top drawer. In O'Carroll, Donie, P Kingston, Cahillane, Lowry, Barry & Murphy we have full-forward line options the majority of counties would be envious of. Thought Dicey & Boyle did well on the wings, throw in Byrne, Farrell & Benny Carroll returning and we've good competition. Still light in midfield, Meaney did well on his return & put in a fine shift. Tyrell looks a tad raw, Johno is Johno.

Half-backline options are looking good. If all are fit we've Collins, Crowley, Begley, Pigott, Attride, Buggie, Scully, & potentially Dillon and O'Connor competing for 3 positions. Our full-backline did OK today, Nerney is growing all the time & Seale and Dillon in particular are very good options. Overall we've a nice little panel developing, will be interesting to see how things go from here. As Jack Nolan was saying on Midlands 103 a few weeks back prior to Down, you may as well jump on the Laois bandwagon 

Interesting team alright, I doubt anyone could've possibly predicted tomorrows lineup somewhat accurately prior to Louth. But injuries & suspensions are what they are. Excited to see Mark Barry start, a lovely, stylish player who can do it all. Great to see Dicey start his first competitive game in a year too. No room for complacency, but you'd expect there to be enough in this team to win somewhat comfortably.

There seems to real hostility to change on this thread. Timmons, Donie, Begley, Meaney, O'Loughlin etc must have 50+ years of Laois combined between them and what have they to show for it? Give the young lads like Nerney, Tyrell, O'Flynn, Whelan, Byrne, Murphy etc a chance for god's sake. If it costs us Division 3 promotion so what, we aren't exactly destined for Division 1 anyways.

Great win. Interesting to note 8 of the starting 15 from Port & Portlaoise. The counties big urban centres more than pulling their weight. Can only be a good thing.

https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/01/25/croke-park-deem-all-proposed-gaels-teams-in-laois-for-2019-illegal/

Let's call a spade a spade: the reality is any team that was relying on a 'Gaels' amalgamation to prop them up at senior in the first place is pathetic. Either accept you're going to struggle or accept a championship reformat which regrades you at intermediate, holding onto the senior tag just for the sake of it is watering down the SFC standard to conserve your pride, and in turn keeping county priorities below your own. Killeen looking to get into bed with Barrowhouse, given their history of picking off some of their best players, is embarrassing. They're a perfect example of a dying club, no youth coming through, virtually the same players every year and in the meanwhile they're getting that bit older. Themselves and Kilcruise need to have a serious look at themselves, they are doing a serious disservice to their players and to themselves. Ending this Gaels nonsense is only half the battle: the next step needs to be cutting down championship numbers to at least 12 as was proposed several years back before divisional teams are even considered.