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I wouldn't say Lillis knows his first 15 at this stage and its hard for him with so many personal missing especially in the back line

I would make a stab at...

Brody
Seale
Timmons
Hanrahan/Kehoe/A Farrell
Strong
A .Farrell/P.Cotter
Dillion
O'Loughlin
Meaney
D.O'Connor/D.O'Reilly
D.Kingston
Costello/N.Murphy
P.Kingston
G.Walsh
P.Cahilanne

As you can see there is a lot of positions i'm undecided about i'm just going from a bt of opinion and how they
lined up in the O'Byrne cup games..

Can't believe that Attride and Lowry are not involved...Attride is playing great stuff for DCU

Time will tell I suppose I still think Cotter could do a job at centre back for us...

Munnelly and Donoher are injured and Colm Begley hasn't come back in yet!Quigley is suspended!

Quigley suspended remind me 

Haven't we been touted for the drop (mostly by Laois people!) every year for the last 4 or 5 years? Last year was the closest as we were too slow to build fitness early in the year. I predict that we will stay up as we have enough good footballers and should be better than 2015.

Ye last year we were brutal early on, Galway has being our banker recently so lets hope for the same Sunday.
Tyrone look like the one outstanding team but any of the other games could go either way.
5 Points requires.

Team yesterday was - Aaron Cooney (St. Joseph's); Liam Knowles (Stradbally), Adam Campion (St. Joseph's), Darragh Connolly (Ballyfin); Trevor Collins (Graiguecullen), Robbie Dowling (The Heath), Aaron Carroll (Ballyroan/Abbey); Cathail Dunne (Ballylinan), James Hillard (Mountmellick); Michael Keogh (St. Joseph's), Nigel Murphy (Emo), Aaron Dowling (The Rock); Seán Moore (Ballyfin), Eoin Lowry (Killeshin), Dylan Doyle (St. Joseph's).
Subs used: Danny O'Reilly (Graiguecullen), Andrew Baldwin (Barrowhouse), James Baldwin (Barrowhouse), Tom Shiel (Stradbally) and Joe Walshe (The Heath)

With the likes of Patrick O'Sullivan, Evin Keane, Evan O'Carroll, Dean Cullen and Ciarán McEvoy to come back, these lads could go far. Have Louth away in the first round of the championship and if they get over that they play Carlow/Wicklow.

Is Cullen the only player from Portlaoise ?  anyone from Port  ?

Slieve Bloom  linking up with Emo is doing the rounds. It won't be a runner for football if Castletown put in a football team as if there is a football team in a parish Slieve Bloom will have to stay put. Mind you the group status team could allow for junior and intermediate players to play outside the parish.

Good call. Castletown have entered a football team and Emo's Slieve Bloom plan has been refused by County Board.

On what grounds?

Does this mean that Slieve Bloom football players will now have to try to seek permission to play with Castletown/Ballyfin/St. Fintans?

They have in the 1st instance to play within the parish so its Castletown.

Do Castletown normally enter a football team ?

There was a comment earlier about Paul Cahillane not starting, I think we can rule that out! Cahillane will start, nothing surer, because he is one of the best forwards in the county, and also because I can't see any scenario, barring injury, where Mick Lillis won't pick him.

Lillis has managed the county minors and U-21s before and both stints were notable for the amount of Portlaoise players he accommodated in those teams. It will be the same at senior level, as I don't see him changing his tune on that. Of the teams picked here already, none of them had Kieran Lillis in them - do any of ye really think he will or should be left out? I'd imagine we will see a team close to this starting (possibly with positional switches), if not against Galway, then at some stage in the league.

Brody
Seale
Timmons
Cotter
Strong
Lillis
Dillon
O'Loughlin
Quigley
Begley
O'Carroll
Donoher
Walsh
Kingston
Cahillane

Portlaoise players are more attuned to the type of game Lillis wants to play and I can see him falling back on them where possible. In the O'Byrne Cup he appeared to be converting Dillon into a wing back, which might suit him, and he will be given a run there in the league I would imagine, and Kieran Lillis, once fit, will surely be centre-back.

Munnelly has been a phenomenal player for Laois but I can't see him starting this year, although I'd be happily proved wrong on that. If he comes in, it will probably be in place of Gary Walsh or Donoher. Kingston should be at full-forward because he hasn't the work rate required for further out the field, and it's in our interests to keep our best scoring forward close to goal. Also, I think himself and Cahillane could be potent if left to work off each other within 30 yards of goal. We don't need Kingston getting on the ball around the middle of the field.

I'd say your not far off with that team SS. except for 1 or 2
isn't Donoher injured ?
Lillis put a lot of effort into getting Meaney back, I think he'll start.
Cahillane has a great understanding with Donie that goes back to McNulty 1st year.
Ross I think will be used for last 20 mins. of games

JOL has been our best player, playing at midfield over the last 2 years or so. I wouldn't dream of shifting him out of that position.

I see your point Maybe try Meaney at centre back then or Quigley as a half forward?hard not to start the 3 of them in my opinion

Yes agree with both points made above but JOL would more than likely contribute a lot more than the others as a half forward.

In a word Tony No.
We have no chance against Dublin.
We have some really good forwards and a very good midfield but we have no tight defenders.
Even if we got 1-14 they are likely to get 3-18+

Great to get off to a good start against Galway ..

Who are our 6 best defenders ?

Good point I like strawberry Jam I think our defense could be a bit tighter this year...

Young Seale is a player who might just suprise a few at corner back.

Farrell could also push for a place and  if Quigley or Begley are back then O'Loughlin could play at centre back maybe Begley at half back with Strong the other side not all great markers but would be a powerful half back line.

Team for galway
Brody
Seale
Timmons
Attride
Strong
O'Loughlin
Farrell
Meaney
Quigley
C.Begley
D.Kingston
O'Carroll
P.Kingston
G.Walsh
P.Cahillane



Thats just an example of the team we could have I know there is other lads like Evan Costello Eoin Lowry Danny O'Reilly Trevor Collins N.Murphy knocking at the door you have like of Lillis and Munnelly available aswell.

swap  O Loughlin and Begley

Great  report Unlaoised, panel look's stronger than the last few years.
Very tough division 2 this year if we can stay up it will be some result.

Tierney,Healy,Timmons,Begley and Quigley all 30 this year ( last heat u21 in 07 )

Apologies OTF I just seen what sort of a wally that last post made me out to be. I forgot to input rest of story on my last post.

The story happened last Sunday during Laois vs UCD in O'Byrne cup when Wooly made a comment on Twitter regarding a higher than normal proportion of players from 2 clubs of the Laois team: "4 Emo lads and 3 Ballylinan lads on the Laois team. New selectors from this year from these clubs. " a direct quote from Wooly there

Started from there and questioned that "kind of sh*ite will set us back years" in reply to a tweet.
Then one of Laois players replied to Wooly harmlessly and stuff been blown out of proportion. Look at his Twitter page if you want that's the jist of it.

Personally I find no harm in giving lads of so called lesser clubs in competitions like the O'Byrne Cup. Jaysus it's January! If lads want to represent their county best of luck to them and wish Mick Lillis and team the best of luck for the coming season. It's hard enough to get our best lads to commit.
I've had enough of seeing discussing Wooly on this board regarding being disrespectful to Laois. He's not worth the acknowledgement when knocking the county team and disregarding lads willing to put themselves forward.

Hard luck to Laois today seemed unfortunate at the end, plenty of ammunition to return the beating in the league. Hopefully a good league campaign awaits. Will be difficult no doubt.

No problem Helix thanks.

What exactly did Parkinson say to earn all this vitriol.

Have you been living under a rock for the last week?

Well  now aren't you the clever lad.
You might post it there and we can all make our minds up as to its contents.

What exactly did Parkinson say to earn all this vitriol.

How did Portlaoise not win that game,after the first 10 minutes that totally dominated.

MDM = prize pr**k

Season tickets don't entitle the holder to stadium seating - as I learned in Aughrim a couple of years ago.

It's about money because you can charge more for seats and there are more seats in Nowlan Park. It's pathetic really

I'd say Kilkenny needed help to put the roof back on the shed,it's as simple as that.

It could be professional if there were only 12 teams. The unbalanced archaic county system must come crumbling down eventually.  Imagine, we put Leitrim with 25,000 people up against Dublin with 1.5million and tell the people in Leitrim to be proud of the jersey and that's enough for ye. We all should be proud of where we come from but 85% of the country feels like losers because of where they were born. There's people born with talent and a winning mentality in every club in Ireland but our system makes sure only the ones from the counties with the most resources get to taste success. The rest can dream but can be guaranteed they will never make it without transferring.

Exactly how I see it.
There's also a huge number of players from the big counties lost because they don't make the first 24.
The AI championship was originally a club competition, a professional GAA will probably see  a return to the same system with half of the 12 teams Dublin based.
How Sky get on with their promotion experiment will have a big say in all of this.

A good backroom team is vital to anyone at intercounty level now some would argue more important than the manager.

Mick will bring plenty of passion to the job and like cheddar will leave no stone unturned to get the best out of the Laois squad.

I hope the senior players like Begley,Quigley,Strong,O'Loughlin row in behind him.

If he can get Meaney,Cahilane,,Healy,O'Leary,Rodgers ,Gary Walsh and a few more of these guys who left last year and before and a few fresh faces from Portlaoise like Seale,Cotter maybe Eoin Feane then it will create a buzz around the squad again and the players will start to train and fight harder for a place.

Some pride back in the jersey is all we want I think we have the footballers to do quiet well and at least reach the last 12.

He has my support as the Blue and white always will!!!

A good backroom team because we can't afford a massive one, same as most county's.

Will Healy opt for football and drop hurling and Chedder I doubt it.