Messages

The club hurling leagues say a lot about the "hurling problem" in Laois at the moment. The big clubs are getting bigger and stronger, the smaller clubs are drowning slowly. Every grade was won by a clubs 2nd or 3rd team. Colt/ Shanahoe being the only 1st team to reach a league final. I didn't include Junior C because, well it's Junior C. Small clubs going to be forced into amalgamations or else just accept that they are falling further and further away from the pack.

For the sake of causing an arguement. Camross will have a competitive team in each of the 1st 3 divisions of our league next and there's a possibility they may not have a representative on the senior panel

1B - Rathdowney/ Errill (2)
2 - Abbeyleix (2)
3 Camross (3)
4 - Harps  (3)

Relegation is best possible scenario. Rebuild, freshen it up.

Predictions:

Portlaoise to hammer Ballylinan.
Courtwood to upset neighbours O'Dempsey's
Rosenallis to make a flying start to Senior life by beating Ballyfin
Stradbally tend to be a bit of a bogey team for Port, they might edge it
Graiguecullen to comfortably beat Killeen
The Heath to edge Kilcruise
Emo to surprise last year's beaten finalists Killeshin
St Joseph's to defeat Ballyroan Abbey and will be closest challengers to Portlaoise.

I doubt anyone involved in St Joseph's Gaa slept last night. They were full value for their loss. Hang onto the ball and keep it away from one player and they couldn't do it. Nothing creative, nothing new and unfit aswel. Couldn't get back down the field to defend in the last five minutes.

Whenever teams get handed a favourites tag to topple the town they same to capitulate much like the Heath and I Dempseys in previous years. Joe's your up.

Well done Ballyroan, huge losses and setbacks but managed to grind it out with a new team.

Eddie Brennan and his management team deserve serious credit for the job they are doing. We are reasonably competitive whilst being depleted. There have been a number of setbacks with injuries and lads not committing for various reasons but there has been no whining or excuses made. We have a great chance to cause an upset come champo with a fully squad.

Onwards and upwards

TheGiantSquid,,,, your some man to try stir shit..

Have also heard this from a number of sources

Have Colt and Shanahoe announced their engagement yet or are they still keeping it a secret?

Nothing to announce.

Anything to announce now?

Have Colt and Shanahoe announced their engagement yet or are they still keeping it a secret?

A Laois senior club football manager is about as easy a job a man can get in sport. There are Zero expectation for silverware. A knockout spot is looked upon as a great year. There's about four teams who in all truth are average intermediate teams and every other team is worse than they were five years ago bar Port. Money for old rope

Portlaoise (final every year)
3-4 teams aim for a final and the lose of flop on the way
6-8 teams aim for a semi final and lose or flop on the way
The rest hope to draw each other in the first round and get a win..#bonusterritory

I know the gaels situation is more or less gone but regarding amalgamation is there any truth to Colt and Shanahoe coming together at adult level? Would be a good long term move if that was the case.

It is amalgamation season I suppose, and someone has to fill the void this year. Looks like raheen and shanahoe are next on the list. Always a great spectacle for the neutral though.

Yes! Tough time for Abbeyleix!

In for three serious thumpings, which isn't great prep for a relegation final

This should lead to a reform of the senior football championship structure. I'd like to see the number of senior clubs reduced to 9 and three area teams making it up to 12 teams in the championship.
Based on last year's quarter finalists if I remember them rightly, Portlaoise, O'Dempseys, St Joseph's, Graiguecullen, Ballyroan Abbey, Stradbally, Emo and Portarlington would be senior clubs. Throw in Ballylinan as 2017 finalists for an example as the ninth senior club.
Then you could have 3 very decent area teams. One would be Mountmellick, Ballyfin, Clonaslee area, one would be Killeshin, Crettyard, the Arles teams etc and one would be Heath, Annanough, Courtwood, Timahoe etc.

There are 16 teams, some of those teams would have no chance in winning a senior B if the championship was split in two. Something needs to be done alright, personally I'd rather see senior A and senior B ahead of regionals.

Any truth in the rumours that ballyfin and slieve bloom are getting into  bed together. Laoistoday mustn't have been invited into negotiation talks this time

Who in either club would you most like to get into bed with

From slieve bloom probably Ben Conroy, and I'd have to go with James Finn from Ballyfin. Who would you go for @dondraper

Any truth in the rumours that ballyfin and slieve bloom are getting into  bed together. Laoistoday mustn't have been invited into negotiation talks this time

In the end, Abbeyleix pride won out and I know a lot of club members didn't want to be party to taking hurling out of the town.
They are a club which should have no problems standing alone as a senior side. Their juvenile progress has stalled a little but they have still been one of the 2/3 strongest juvenile clubs over the last 5/6 years.

Important to acknowledge too, the role Ballyroan played in helping Abbeyleix turn it down.

Gaels gone got grades under senior, roll on the area teams. Great news.

Don't think football had anything to do with it. Abbeyleix had the giblets to back themselves against bigger amalgamations. As they say pride cometh before the fall, I hope it won't be for abbeyleix. They could be off designing names and jerseys but chose the road less travelled by with regard to most laois senior clubs. Tough year ahead for them. Fighting league and championship relagation is the price you pay for pride in the parish.
Good luck and God speed because you will need both

I believe after next Saturday night

St.Patricks will come into existence

The whole thing is madness. Especially for Abbeyleix. No need whatsover to even be considering this, except the prospect of a county final win (a tainted one in my opinion). I don't ever recall a club in such a strong position to stand alone jumping to amalgamate.

Anthony Coffey must have some influence. Left Trumera for Ballinakill and they tried to go Gaels together.
Spends a year in Ballinakill and Abbeyleix are all set to amalgamate with them.
Get that man up in Stormont quick!

Laois GAA is littered with tainted titles. There's been more tainted ones than not.

I agree, hopefully both clubs do what's morally right and turn it down. It will be a hard call to make. We all saw what happened when Rathdowney and Kilcotton didn't back themselves and took the handy way out. Amalgamated into super clubs, thus f**king up the system on the rest.
What chance has a rosenailis, ballyfin, colt, mountrath or even a ballinakill and Abbeyleix got against these big amalgamations.

Could Rathdowney or Kilcotton have won a senior on their own at this stage, we will never know. I'd like to think they would have. For ourselves and Abbeyleix surely its heads say yes and heart says no, time will tell.