Messages

The Dunloy defense was immense, real bodies on the line stuff. The younger lads really showed their mettle particularly young McKeague. The shams were far from cute the way they used their extra man. I know Paddy doc ripped it up in the 1st half but it was clear early on in the 2nd that he wouldn't need marshalled so well. The extra man in attack would have made more gains IMO. But you have to get it all right on the night, even after losing a man Dunloy looked better drilled and more confident.

Don't start me on the paid admin , there's definitely nothing to stop the clubs involved getting their heads together to refix at a more suitable time. There will be enough times in the season when we will be glad of a game. Needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later though.

Clubs obviously have to manage their resources and the all county league takes priority but the availability of mostly competive games in the UL surely must be an opportunity for reserve/fringe/U21/minors and ultimately strengthen the Senior squad later in the season when it may well count. I am pretty sure Dunloy used it to good effect last year. We'd better be carefull or decent hurlers will end up wasting their talents on the big ball.

I am pretty sure that this initiative is the brain child of PJ O'Grady, principal of St.Pats, Bearnagheeha on the Antrim Rd. A good hurling man and one of the few principals who is actively promoting hurling in N.Belfast and further afield.

Castleblaney beat St.Endas in Dundalk by 2 points. Poor match in v windy conditions. Endas went unbeaten in the UL last year now they can't get a full team out.

Everyone should make a point of going to a County comittee meeting and I think you would find that the biggest problem is the club delegates we allow to represent our clubs. I reckon the executive commitee do all right considering, but until intelligent, clear thinkers are in the majority on the floor we will make little progress.

Good chance they are on the rip!!!

Im not sure if you can apply that to the current team in fairness, they were some outfit a few years ago but the current team are not as strong.
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Well they may not be what they were but they were still the best in Antrim and Ulster this year or they wouldn't have been in Clones yesterday, C'dall or L'giel would have done no better. Dunloy weren't able to create space like the have done in years of old and like the way Birr did yesterday and it made life very difficult. They had to work far to hard for little return. Birr's support play and ability to pick out runners in space from tight situations enabled them to dictate in the 2nd half. How do you get that into team?? Dunloy used to do it very well and while they still have very skillfull players, they maybe lack that 6th sense, understanding or whatever it is that makes up that last 5%.

IMO as far as the players are concerned, you couldn't get a sheet of paper between the two teams, both have a very similar blend of youth, experience and natural leaders on the field. The diference will be down to management. Ould Whelehan is a wiley ould fox and the Dunloy trio will have to be a match for him to prevail. One of the 3 will have to take overall charge and make the tough decisions when they have to be made for there will be no time for a discussion come 2 o'clock on Sunday.
I really think they can do it this year as I have truly believed in previous years and it's cost me a right few quid in the bookies, but funny enough I don't begrudge a penny of it. Best of luck fellas.
Dun Lathai Abu.

What is the best way to improve grip on the hurley on a real wet day, i've seen a few teams with a tub of some sort of powder and always wondered what it was. What about grip tape also

"at the cost of disenfranchising several clubs". I sorry fella but what are the costs of disenfranchising a few clubs versus the benefits of a league structure that is representative of where the standard of hurling is at the moment. Who is going to be tanking who in Div.2 and 3, arguably Ardoyne might be up against it in Div.3 but I think they just shade it to be there (hypothetically speaking of course).
You have to look beyond your own back yard, you have your own self serving agenda which in the long term serves no-one.

Surely theres more work being done on coaching now than theres ever been, but this will take a few years to allow coaches to cut their teeth a few grades down before feeling confident to step up for the senior jobs. The league structures need ammended now though so teams and inexperienced coaches won't continue to punch above their weight. There is no gain for any team giving out or receiving a tanking.

Cloughmills and Glenarm may feel agrieved if these proposals are accepted but what's the point of taking promotion into a division that they will not compete in. Glenarm have made powerful advances over the last 5 years and credit to them but I don't think they will make any impact in Div 1 just yet. Likewise C'mills were very consistent all year and carrying top form into the championship but were put to the sword by Armoy,who were bottom of Div2. We cant leave things for another year, action needs to be taken now and as much as I feel a little sorry for clubs wanting to take their promotion this should not take precidence over getting the competitive bite back into Antrim Hurling at all levels.

[Div 1]

Here's the clubs in the order in which they finished last year. I think splitting back into 4 Divisions gives you better balanced leagues. You cab argue about shifting clubs about between the Divisions - for example Glenarm in Div 1 and Rossa in Div 2 - but overall I think this looks like a better set up.

Div 1
Loughgiel Shamrocks
Dunloy
Portaferry
Cushendall
Ballygalget
Ballycastle
Glenariff
St. Johns
St. Galls
Ballycran
Rossa

Div 2
Lamh Dhearg
Sarsfields
Shane O Neills
Gort Na Mona
Gaeil Chluana
Glenravel
Carey Faughs
Tir na Nog
Cushendun
St. Pauls

Div 3
Rasharkin
Armoy
Cloughmills
St. Teresas
St. Endas
St. Agnes
Ballymena
Ardoyne

Div 4
Davitts
Bredagh IIs
O Mitchel Og
Larne
St. Pauls IIs
Sarsfields IIs
Creggan Gaels
Na fuiseoig

Just to remind everyone this was Guillem2s suggestion a few weeks back and if all clubs looked at the situation objectively I think they would have to agree this is where we are in terms of grading and these leagues should prove to be competitive which at the end of the day is what it is all about. LD had a proposal at the meeting to go back to the Div 1a and 1b setup we had a few years ago which is plainly aiming to ensure that they maintain Div 1 status where it has been shown this year that they cant cut it. They probably fear an exodus of their better players down to the Shaw's or Whiterock Rd. The biggest problem with this that it does not treat the current problem in the current Div 3 which has been a joke this year with the no. of failures to field.

It's about a 1/3 of a mile out of C'mills on the RHS, down a lane along side a big feic off house. You can see the posts from the road.
Hurling only club so no big holes and bare patches but not sure how its holding up with all the wet weather. I'd say it's as good as there is about at this time of year.