Down Club Hurling & Football

[5times5times]

Who are the transfers into Liatroim? They always had the potential, sometimes need a outside manager to bring it together

I think the other Murphy is back from his travels and playing for them as well as Ryan McCusker from Ballela who's sanctioned from a football club I believe. Don't know how that works!

They fancy giving it a right good rattle and they might just do that, but defensively they might struggle against Portaferry and Ballycran.

Paul Sheehan is going well for Ballycran and not just from dead balls. He's a good acquisition for them.

I still think the final will be between them and Portaferry.

We need a clean bill of health and with 5 games in quick succession before even a semi-final is a big ask on a small panel. Jordan Doran is out for another few weeks at the least with a knee injury, John McManus shouldn't be playing tonight, but we'll see, Prenter might be OK even with going off injured last Sunday, one of the Coulters hasn't played for the better part of two years with a hip issue, he trained yesterday though with the full panel so might make an appearance tonight. Fully fit he's one of our best players and has been a big loss. Lose a senior standard hurler and we're replacing them with weak enough hurlers, some young enough age wise and have lots to learn.

How come Sheehan has moved to the Cran? Works? Missus?

[johnnycool]

Who are the transfers into Liatroim? They always had the potential, sometimes need a outside manager to bring it together

I think the other Murphy is back from his travels and playing for them as well as Ryan McCusker from Ballela who's sanctioned from a football club I believe. Don't know how that works!

They fancy giving it a right good rattle and they might just do that, but defensively they might struggle against Portaferry and Ballycran.

Paul Sheehan is going well for Ballycran and not just from dead balls. He's a good acquisition for them.

I still think the final will be between them and Portaferry.

We need a clean bill of health and with 5 games in quick succession before even a semi-final is a big ask on a small panel. Jordan Doran is out for another few weeks at the least with a knee injury, John McManus shouldn't be playing tonight, but we'll see, Prenter might be OK even with going off injured last Sunday, one of the Coulters hasn't played for the better part of two years with a hip issue, he trained yesterday though with the full panel so might make an appearance tonight. Fully fit he's one of our best players and has been a big loss. Lose a senior standard hurler and we're replacing them with weak enough hurlers, some young enough age wise and have lots to learn.

How come Sheehan has moved to the Cran? Works? Missus?

Girlfriend is a young Keith...

I hope Brendan Rodgers (SN and Derry) doesn't do the same 

[Splash]

Ballygalget come out of Belfast with the points. Not much in it in the end. 

Liatroim continue the good run of form and put Shamrocks to the sword in Newry. Apparently was very close in the first half and took Liatroim some time to click and get going.

All the same, would still fancy them to rattle Ballygalget.

Great to see two South Down teams play in the Senior Championship; hopefully South Down hurling continues to grow.

Think the results mean both Shamrocks and Bredagh will be playing in the Intermediate  Semi-Finals (bar an upset against Ballycran or Portaferry). Would say Clonduff would fancy a crack at Shamrocks and Bredagh/Carryduff would be a great derby match.

Think Carryduff will have too much for anyone in the intermediate to deal with, including Bredagh and Shamrocks. Considering they've been neck and neck with Liatroim over the past few years,  an Ulster Title or even an Intermediate All Ireland isnt out of the realms of possibility. They came the closest to beating Liatroim until they were knocked out by Tooreen in the All Ireland Semi Final. Carryduff seem to be coming into a good era of hurling with success at underage levels, and a hurling All Ireland of any type would no doubt do great things for the game in Belfast and North Down, as well as the rest of the county.

Also great to see East Belfast's John Dornan taking charge of the game between Liatroim and Newry Shamrocks, his first Senior Championship match. A great achievement for the club.

Great progress for Down hurling when we have an East Belfast referee taking charge of a Senior Championship match between two South Down teams in a competitive six team championship. Great that the game is growing in the county.

[dingle82]

Ya great to see the progress in Down hurling over past few years at club and county level. Good to see Saul, EB & Mournes trying to promote it along with Football.
In relation to transfer, McCusker plays for Ballela and would have been sanctioned to play football for Drumgath, don't get how he could play for a different club tbh
Glad Sheehan is going well, he never did much from play at Junior or Intermediate level but always looked a player would come into the play better when playing at higher standard.

[johnnycool]

Ballygalget come out of Belfast with the points. Not much in it in the end. 

Liatroim continue the good run of form and put Shamrocks to the sword in Newry. Apparently was very close in the first half and took Liatroim some time to click and get going.

All the same, would still fancy them to rattle Ballygalget.

Great to see two South Down teams play in the Senior Championship; hopefully South Down hurling continues to grow.

Think the results mean both Shamrocks and Bredagh will be playing in the Intermediate  Semi-Finals (bar an upset against Ballycran or Portaferry). Would say Clonduff would fancy a crack at Shamrocks and Bredagh/Carryduff would be a great derby match.

Think Carryduff will have too much for anyone in the intermediate to deal with, including Bredagh and Shamrocks. Considering they've been neck and neck with Liatroim over the past few years,  an Ulster Title or even an Intermediate All Ireland isnt out of the realms of possibility. They came the closest to beating Liatroim until they were knocked out by Tooreen in the All Ireland Semi Final. Carryduff seem to be coming into a good era of hurling with success at underage levels, and a hurling All Ireland of any type would no doubt do great things for the game in Belfast and North Down, as well as the rest of the county.

Also great to see East Belfast's John Dornan taking charge of the game between Liatroim and Newry Shamrocks, his first Senior Championship match. A great achievement for the club.

Great progress for Down hurling when we have an East Belfast referee taking charge of a Senior Championship match between two South Down teams in a competitive six team championship. Great that the game is growing in the county.

If we play like we did last night Liatroim will beat us handy enough and that's not taking anything away from Bredagh who are shorn of a lot of their better hurlers for various reasons yet still made a game of it, but lacked that cutting edge to take full advantage of our poor hurling. One more injury to a key player for us to contend with and a few discipline issues in the camp to iron out as well I believe...

We've Newry in Newry and then the Ports at home before we face Liatroim in a neutral venue.
If we get over Newry and other results go as expected then our game v Liatroim will only decide who we get in the semi-finals at their venue.

Liatroim will get a better idea of where they're at on Sunday over in Portaferry, that's a game Portaferry will need to win to keep a home semi-final slot in their own hands.

Dornan is a good referee, we'd him in a minor league final, rightly sent one of our lads off.

I'll need Truth hurts to confirm, but are Liatroim not officially an East Down club?

[SamFever]

Ballygalget come out of Belfast with the points. Not much in it in the end. 

Liatroim continue the good run of form and put Shamrocks to the sword in Newry. Apparently was very close in the first half and took Liatroim some time to click and get going.

All the same, would still fancy them to rattle Ballygalget.

Great to see two South Down teams play in the Senior Championship; hopefully South Down hurling continues to grow.

Think the results mean both Shamrocks and Bredagh will be playing in the Intermediate  Semi-Finals (bar an upset against Ballycran or Portaferry). Would say Clonduff would fancy a crack at Shamrocks and Bredagh/Carryduff would be a great derby match.

Think Carryduff will have too much for anyone in the intermediate to deal with, including Bredagh and Shamrocks. Considering they've been neck and neck with Liatroim over the past few years,  an Ulster Title or even an Intermediate All Ireland isnt out of the realms of possibility. They came the closest to beating Liatroim until they were knocked out by Tooreen in the All Ireland Semi Final. Carryduff seem to be coming into a good era of hurling with success at underage levels, and a hurling All Ireland of any type would no doubt do great things for the game in Belfast and North Down, as well as the rest of the county.

Also great to see East Belfast's John Dornan taking charge of the game between Liatroim and Newry Shamrocks, his first Senior Championship match. A great achievement for the club.

Great progress for Down hurling when we have an East Belfast referee taking charge of a Senior Championship match between two South Down teams in a competitive six team championship. Great that the game is growing in the county.

If we play like we did last night Liatroim will beat us handy enough and that's not taking anything away from Bredagh who are shorn of a lot of their better hurlers for various reasons yet still made a game of it, but lacked that cutting edge to take full advantage of our poor hurling. One more injury to a key player for us to contend with and a few discipline issues in the camp to iron out as well I believe...

We've Newry in Newry and then the Ports at home before we face Liatroim in a neutral venue.
If we get over Newry and other results go as expected then our game v Liatroim will only decide who we get in the semi-finals at their venue.

Liatroim will get a better idea of where they're at on Sunday over in Portaferry, that's a game Portaferry will need to win to keep a home semi-final slot in their own hands.

Dornan is a good referee, we'd him in a minor league final, rightly sent one of our lads off.

I'll need Truth hurts to confirm, but are Liatroim not officially an East Down club?

TH-the Expert on all things Down😜

[ardtole]

I remember playing against liatroim in the East Down Reserve League, but I don't recall playing against them at underage level.

[Splash]

3 new hurling clubs in 3 years isn't bad going at all for Down. Hopeuflly Saul and the Mournes get established and can compete the way East Belfast do. Be a great pity if they just fizzled out. Hopefully the trend continues- be great to see the likes of Glenn, Saval, Bryansford, Darragh Cross etc. offering hurling in their respective areas.

Imagine given the current form, Ballygalget will handle Newry alright.
Liatroim v Ports very interesting game, real opportunity for Liatroim to shock the system, but defence will find it difficult to handle forwards of portaferrys quality.

Officially Liatroim are an East Down club as far as I know (think the line is around Hilltown?) but we all know in regards to hurling,  anything this side of the water is South Down, and then obviously the Ards. May need a new categorisation system, though, if the clubs around Belfast continue to grow.

North Down board, maybe?

[marty34]

3 new hurling clubs in 3 years isn't bad going at all for Down. Hopeuflly Saul and the Mournes get established and can compete the way East Belfast do. Be a great pity if they just fizzled out. Hopefully the trend continues- be great to see the likes of Glenn, Saval, Bryansford, Darragh Cross etc. offering hurling in their respective areas.

Imagine given the current form, Ballygalget will handle Newry alright.
Liatroim v Ports very interesting game, real opportunity for Liatroim to shock the system, but defence will find it difficult to handle forwards of portaferrys quality.

Officially Liatroim are an East Down club as far as I know (think the line is around Hilltown?) but we all know in regards to hurling,  anything this side of the water is South Down, and then obviously the Ards. May need a new categorisation system, though, if the clubs around Belfast continue to grow.

North Down board, maybe?

Do regional boards still apply in most counties?

[Johnnysboys]

Pre championship injuries strikes again for a few clubs.. John McGeough Carryduff, Paddy Smyth Mayobridge, Darragh Mussen & Eoghan Loughran Burren, Conor Murray Clonduff, Chris Clarke Ford, Harrison Longstone.. nightmare..

[Splash]

Intermediate and Junior Hurling Championships start tomorrow.

Carryduff take on Clonduff and Ballela host Warrenpoint in the Intermediate.

Hard to see past Carryduff winning the whole thing. The club  is seriously growing as a hurling outfit and Senior Championship is definitely where they want to be.

Clonduff probably the closest to Carryduff if they're firing on their day and have a full squad, but hard to see them coming away with the win. Seems a lot of lads have focused solely on the football, but if they do put out a full force team, there's potential to give Carryduff a bit of a bloody nose. Also see Clonduff have a transfer from Carryduff in their ranks, so I'm sure that'll be interesting.

Could be a bad, bad year for Ballela. Only two years ago they won back to back junior championships, and now this year they have come seriously close to folding. Absolutely disastrous league campaign; couldn't field half the time and conceded a lot of goals every match before finishing bottom of the table. That was against Div 2 and Junior Championship standard teams- Intermediate may be a different storm altogether.  In  saying that, if there was a team they would fancy the chances against it would probably be the Point at home. If Ballela have all available lads fit, they could stand up for themselves. a very physical team with a couple great hurlers.

Hope the club pulls through this hard time, they've been an important team in South Down for a long time now, and see they have some good stuff at underage joined up with Ballyvarley. You have to wonder what the future would hold for the two clubs- an amalgamated Ballyvarley/Ballela team could be a dangerous outfit, but there would surely be a lot of objection from lads in each club.

Warrenpoint will be relishing the opportunity of Intermediate Hurling, and will fancy their chances of reaching a final. They'll have no fear of Ballela, beat Clonduff well in the league, and would love a chance to show up Newry Shamrocks in a semi final. Some serious good forwards at their disposal, and you would fancy them to stay up in the intermediate. Beat Castlewellen a few weeks ago, so clearly haven't regressed since the junior final last year. Would be great to see hurling growing in Warrenpoint, a decent sized down with a catchment area that would have some great athletes- really would expect them to be flying over the coming years.

The Junior Championship is unbelievably open- perhaps one of the most open championships in Ireland.

First game of the championship is perhaps the most interesting- Ballyvarley head out to take on Castlewellen. Castlewellen will be favourites to win the whole thing. An incredible league campaign where they marched through everybody in front of them, including Ballyvarley. Some lads with great skill, and a team that seem to be very well oiled. Dangerous forward, too, in the form of Croskery.
Probably have the best support outside the Ards, seem to bring a crowd anywhere they go and with it being at home, imagine the support will be huge. The strongest team in the county at underage, so it doesn't seem like the good times will end any time soon, either. Great to see and hopefully they can bring a lot to the County Scene in years to come.

Despite all this, Ballyvarley seriously fancying their chances. Last time these teams played, Castelwellen scored a last minute goal to come away with a 1 point win. That will have a left a very bad taste in the mouth. Ballyvarley have been absolutely flying, a great league (which they could have won), and have been on a terrific run of form lately beating some strong teams such as Carrcikmacross and NCC. Potentially the most physical team in the Junior Championship, which won't suit Castelwellen. Danny Magee strong contender for best player in the junior championship, and if they rattle home a few goals in the first few minutes as they seem to have made a habit of doing recently, Castlewellen may begin to sweat. Key difference for me is Castlewellen seem to have gone hammer and tongs at the first leg of the league and potentially peaked, seeing as the second leg of the league and pre championship games haven't been on par, whereas Ballyvarley seem to have been quietly going from strength to strength. Ballyvarley seem to have good stuff going through like Ballela at underage with the O'Rahilly's and Saint Pat's. Again, you'd wonder how they'd get on amalgamated with Ballela at senior level.
Castlewellen favourites for tomorrow, but Ballyvarley will want to rattle them. Don't be surprised to see both teams face each other in October in the County Final.

Kilclief v East Belfast will be interesting. Kilclief will seriously fancy their chances at winning the whole thing after managing to stay up in Div 1, and East Belfast at home in the first round is a great draw for them. Probably the club that will suffer the most from strains placed on dual players. Will love to get off to a flying start, tomorrow, and won't fear anyone in the JHC.

East Belfast could be the surprise of the championship. Had a great league, although, like Castlewellen, the second half didn't live up to the first. New management team seems to be doing a very good job with them. The folding of Henry Joys also seems to have added a couple decent players. Were never that far off Castlewellen this year, goals separating teams, etc.
Potentially the best goal keeper in the championship, so could be interesting when they host Castlewellen.
Beat Ballyvarley in the first game of the year, although Ballyvarley were far too strong for them the second time they met. Despite this, East Belfast will see it as winnable game, especially since it's the last round robin match and may be fore a place in the final.
Great players all over the pitch, although the team definitely doesn't have age on their side and don't have that natural bond that comes with fellas playing together for years.
The sheer depth of their squad will no doubt be a great aid to them.
If Ryan McMullan is available he's probably their most dangerous hurler, and you'd back him to score a goal or two.
Definitely seems the forwards are stronger than their backs, so will be interesting to see if East Belfast manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over, or will they be chasing Kilclief.
Great to see they seem to be getting established now, especially with their new pitch a few weeks ago. Hopefully a great asset for Down Hurling to tap into that massive population in Belfast in the future.

[ardtole]

Great insight Splash. Good to see hurling spreading its wings throughout the county.

[nearlymad]

Intermediate and Junior Hurling Championships start tomorrow.

Carryduff take on Clonduff and Ballela host Warrenpoint in the Intermediate.

Hard to see past Carryduff winning the whole thing. The club  is seriously growing as a hurling outfit and Senior Championship is definitely where they want to be.

Clonduff probably the closest to Carryduff if they're firing on their day and have a full squad, but hard to see them coming away with the win. Seems a lot of lads have focused solely on the football, but if they do put out a full force team, there's potential to give Carryduff a bit of a bloody nose. Also see Clonduff have a transfer from Carryduff in their ranks, so I'm sure that'll be interesting.

Could be a bad, bad year for Ballela. Only two years ago they won back to back junior championships, and now this year they have come seriously close to folding. Absolutely disastrous league campaign; couldn't field half the time and conceded a lot of goals every match before finishing bottom of the table. That was against Div 2 and Junior Championship standard teams- Intermediate may be a different storm altogether.  In  saying that, if there was a team they would fancy the chances against it would probably be the Point at home. If Ballela have all available lads fit, they could stand up for themselves. a very physical team with a couple great hurlers.

Hope the club pulls through this hard time, they've been an important team in South Down for a long time now, and see they have some good stuff at underage joined up with Ballyvarley. You have to wonder what the future would hold for the two clubs- an amalgamated Ballyvarley/Ballela team could be a dangerous outfit, but there would surely be a lot of objection from lads in each club.

Warrenpoint will be relishing the opportunity of Intermediate Hurling, and will fancy their chances of reaching a final. They'll have no fear of Ballela, beat Clonduff well in the league, and would love a chance to show up Newry Shamrocks in a semi final. Some serious good forwards at their disposal, and you would fancy them to stay up in the intermediate. Beat Castlewellen a few weeks ago, so clearly haven't regressed since the junior final last year. Would be great to see hurling growing in Warrenpoint, a decent sized down with a catchment area that would have some great athletes- really would expect them to be flying over the coming years.

The Junior Championship is unbelievably open- perhaps one of the most open championships in Ireland.

First game of the championship is perhaps the most interesting- Ballyvarley head out to take on Castlewellen. Castlewellen will be favourites to win the whole thing. An incredible league campaign where they marched through everybody in front of them, including Ballyvarley. Some lads with great skill, and a team that seem to be very well oiled. Dangerous forward, too, in the form of Croskery.
Probably have the best support outside the Ards, seem to bring a crowd anywhere they go and with it being at home, imagine the support will be huge. The strongest team in the county at underage, so it doesn't seem like the good times will end any time soon, either. Great to see and hopefully they can bring a lot to the County Scene in years to come.

Despite all this, Ballyvarley seriously fancying their chances. Last time these teams played, Castelwellen scored a last minute goal to come away with a 1 point win. That will have a left a very bad taste in the mouth. Ballyvarley have been absolutely flying, a great league (which they could have won), and have been on a terrific run of form lately beating some strong teams such as Carrcikmacross and NCC. Potentially the most physical team in the Junior Championship, which won't suit Castelwellen. Danny Magee strong contender for best player in the junior championship, and if they rattle home a few goals in the first few minutes as they seem to have made a habit of doing recently, Castlewellen may begin to sweat. Key difference for me is Castlewellen seem to have gone hammer and tongs at the first leg of the league and potentially peaked, seeing as the second leg of the league and pre championship games haven't been on par, whereas Ballyvarley seem to have been quietly going from strength to strength. Ballyvarley seem to have good stuff going through like Ballela at underage with the O'Rahilly's and Saint Pat's. Again, you'd wonder how they'd get on amalgamated with Ballela at senior level.
Castlewellen favourites for tomorrow, but Ballyvarley will want to rattle them. Don't be surprised to see both teams face each other in October in the County Final.

Kilclief v East Belfast will be interesting. Kilclief will seriously fancy their chances at winning the whole thing after managing to stay up in Div 1, and East Belfast at home in the first round is a great draw for them. Probably the club that will suffer the most from strains placed on dual players. Will love to get off to a flying start, tomorrow, and won't fear anyone in the JHC.

East Belfast could be the surprise of the championship. Had a great league, although, like Castlewellen, the second half didn't live up to the first. New management team seems to be doing a very good job with them. The folding of Henry Joys also seems to have added a couple decent players. Were never that far off Castlewellen this year, goals separating teams, etc.
Potentially the best goal keeper in the championship, so could be interesting when they host Castlewellen.
Beat Ballyvarley in the first game of the year, although Ballyvarley were far too strong for them the second time they met. Despite this, East Belfast will see it as winnable game, especially since it's the last round robin match and may be fore a place in the final.
Great players all over the pitch, although the team definitely doesn't have age on their side and don't have that natural bond that comes with fellas playing together for years.
The sheer depth of their squad will no doubt be a great aid to them.
If Ryan McMullan is available he's probably their most dangerous hurler, and you'd back him to score a goal or two.
Definitely seems the forwards are stronger than their backs, so will be interesting to see if East Belfast manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over, or will they be chasing Kilclief.
Great to see they seem to be getting established now, especially with their new pitch a few weeks ago. Hopefully a great asset for Down Hurling to tap into that massive population in Belfast in the future.

    Where is the new pitch?

[Splash]

Great insight Splash. Good to see hurling spreading its wings throughout the county.

Hopefully it continues to. If Down tapped into a few more areas it could do great things for the county.

[Splash]

Intermediate and Junior Hurling Championships start tomorrow.

Carryduff take on Clonduff and Ballela host Warrenpoint in the Intermediate.

Hard to see past Carryduff winning the whole thing. The club  is seriously growing as a hurling outfit and Senior Championship is definitely where they want to be.

Clonduff probably the closest to Carryduff if they're firing on their day and have a full squad, but hard to see them coming away with the win. Seems a lot of lads have focused solely on the football, but if they do put out a full force team, there's potential to give Carryduff a bit of a bloody nose. Also see Clonduff have a transfer from Carryduff in their ranks, so I'm sure that'll be interesting.

Could be a bad, bad year for Ballela. Only two years ago they won back to back junior championships, and now this year they have come seriously close to folding. Absolutely disastrous league campaign; couldn't field half the time and conceded a lot of goals every match before finishing bottom of the table. That was against Div 2 and Junior Championship standard teams- Intermediate may be a different storm altogether.  In  saying that, if there was a team they would fancy the chances against it would probably be the Point at home. If Ballela have all available lads fit, they could stand up for themselves. a very physical team with a couple great hurlers.

Hope the club pulls through this hard time, they've been an important team in South Down for a long time now, and see they have some good stuff at underage joined up with Ballyvarley. You have to wonder what the future would hold for the two clubs- an amalgamated Ballyvarley/Ballela team could be a dangerous outfit, but there would surely be a lot of objection from lads in each club.

Warrenpoint will be relishing the opportunity of Intermediate Hurling, and will fancy their chances of reaching a final. They'll have no fear of Ballela, beat Clonduff well in the league, and would love a chance to show up Newry Shamrocks in a semi final. Some serious good forwards at their disposal, and you would fancy them to stay up in the intermediate. Beat Castlewellen a few weeks ago, so clearly haven't regressed since the junior final last year. Would be great to see hurling growing in Warrenpoint, a decent sized down with a catchment area that would have some great athletes- really would expect them to be flying over the coming years.

The Junior Championship is unbelievably open- perhaps one of the most open championships in Ireland.

First game of the championship is perhaps the most interesting- Ballyvarley head out to take on Castlewellen. Castlewellen will be favourites to win the whole thing. An incredible league campaign where they marched through everybody in front of them, including Ballyvarley. Some lads with great skill, and a team that seem to be very well oiled. Dangerous forward, too, in the form of Croskery.
Probably have the best support outside the Ards, seem to bring a crowd anywhere they go and with it being at home, imagine the support will be huge. The strongest team in the county at underage, so it doesn't seem like the good times will end any time soon, either. Great to see and hopefully they can bring a lot to the County Scene in years to come.

Despite all this, Ballyvarley seriously fancying their chances. Last time these teams played, Castelwellen scored a last minute goal to come away with a 1 point win. That will have a left a very bad taste in the mouth. Ballyvarley have been absolutely flying, a great league (which they could have won), and have been on a terrific run of form lately beating some strong teams such as Carrcikmacross and NCC. Potentially the most physical team in the Junior Championship, which won't suit Castelwellen. Danny Magee strong contender for best player in the junior championship, and if they rattle home a few goals in the first few minutes as they seem to have made a habit of doing recently, Castlewellen may begin to sweat. Key difference for me is Castlewellen seem to have gone hammer and tongs at the first leg of the league and potentially peaked, seeing as the second leg of the league and pre championship games haven't been on par, whereas Ballyvarley seem to have been quietly going from strength to strength. Ballyvarley seem to have good stuff going through like Ballela at underage with the O'Rahilly's and Saint Pat's. Again, you'd wonder how they'd get on amalgamated with Ballela at senior level.
Castlewellen favourites for tomorrow, but Ballyvarley will want to rattle them. Don't be surprised to see both teams face each other in October in the County Final.

Kilclief v East Belfast will be interesting. Kilclief will seriously fancy their chances at winning the whole thing after managing to stay up in Div 1, and East Belfast at home in the first round is a great draw for them. Probably the club that will suffer the most from strains placed on dual players. Will love to get off to a flying start, tomorrow, and won't fear anyone in the JHC.

East Belfast could be the surprise of the championship. Had a great league, although, like Castlewellen, the second half didn't live up to the first. New management team seems to be doing a very good job with them. The folding of Henry Joys also seems to have added a couple decent players. Were never that far off Castlewellen this year, goals separating teams, etc.
Potentially the best goal keeper in the championship, so could be interesting when they host Castlewellen.
Beat Ballyvarley in the first game of the year, although Ballyvarley were far too strong for them the second time they met. Despite this, East Belfast will see it as winnable game, especially since it's the last round robin match and may be fore a place in the final.
Great players all over the pitch, although the team definitely doesn't have age on their side and don't have that natural bond that comes with fellas playing together for years.
The sheer depth of their squad will no doubt be a great aid to them.
If Ryan McMullan is available he's probably their most dangerous hurler, and you'd back him to score a goal or two.
Definitely seems the forwards are stronger than their backs, so will be interesting to see if East Belfast manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over, or will they be chasing Kilclief.
Great to see they seem to be getting established now, especially with their new pitch a few weeks ago. Hopefully a great asset for Down Hurling to tap into that massive population in Belfast in the future.

    Where is the new pitch?

Henry Jones. Between Four Winds/Castlereagh part of the world.
The club's been using it for a very long time but good to see they finally have a proper, dedicated section with goalposts, etc. for GAA use.