Messages

 Timmons loss will be tested by Newman as he has had a great year so far. We will need to position someone in front of him to provide cover to whoever ends up marking him on the day. As for Piggott he is improving all of the time- the Louth and Westmeath games in Croker taught us a lot about how we need to set up defensively playing in croker. Badly exposed at times in both games. Meath will exploit similar failings as there is plenty of speed in their team.

Donie will be needed if we are to overcome Meath. Hopefully he will be fit to start. Evan will be a marked man after his performance against Wesmeath. It might take some of the heat off Donie as normally he was the one double and at times trebled marked over the years. 

The reality is very few clubs in Laois have huge strength in depth. Where a few players are missing for a league game they are often plugging the holes with junior/junior B standard players. It is what it is-the emphasis placed on the league would not be a strong in Laois as it is in some other counties. Reducing the number of games is not going to change that or improve the quality of the competition. 

Our recent head to head against Kerry isn't great. Kerry are not a bad side and will be looking to rectify the poor performance they put in in their opening game with Antrim. They have a knack of scoring goals so it will be a good test of our fullback line and how they deal with the threats of players of the caliber of Conway and the Boyles running at them. Eddie needs to make sure complacency does not set in and it was good to hear him be critical of our second half performance. He is demanding higher standards of the players and they are responding. Hopefully Laois continue to progress and remain injury free over the course of the next few games.   

If Laois are to win the McDonagh Cup we need to reduce the amount of goal scoring opportunities we are presenting teams. A poor Offaly team were handed a few soft goals and only for Enda the last day we could easily have leaked another 3/4. Westmeath are a serious side at this level and have definitely improved on last year's showing. I fear we won't get away with it if we present them with those kind of opportunities considering the form shown by the two Doyles and McNicholas so far this year. 

You make out committing 15-20 to Laois training a week as being a chore. Most lads-if they have the time to give to it- actually enjoy the training, being involved with a well run set up and playing competitive games. Ask Ross Munnelly at 36 years of age and he will tell you that he wouldn't dream of doing anything else.

The US is a great opportunity for young lads to experience. The opportunity arose and he went with it. It's not like he went out to deceive Sugru or rest of panel. He's a loss but it gives others an opportunity to now step up.

You could also make the argument that by having Benny involved with panel up to now that he was driving those around him eyeing up a position in half forward line to improve their own game considering the competition for places. The more high quality players who have in training with the county the better it helps raise standards of the collective.   

It was because the game would have to start at 11.30am for rte to show it live. Munster final at 2pm and Leinster final at 4pm. With the possibility of the game going to extra time it would mean a ridiculously early throw in time. As far as I am aware, TG4 will be showing coverage of the final at 2pm coinciding with the Munster Final.   

This article is a few years old but it shows what is capable when a club is well run and you have lads with a genuine interest in developing the game involved. A town of 20,000 and in less than a decade hurling is flourishing...if only there was a town in Laois with huge potential for the development and growth of hurling by putting the right structures in place and getting the right people involved. Now let me think....

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/naas-nurturing-a-generation-of-hurling-trailblazers-34138486.html

I feel some posters are being too hard on Donnacha. After last year he identified a need to have the the under 16s train alongside minor panel to give them extra experience and become familiar with the set-up and hopefully raise their standards. This year he has implemented that change. It will take until next year for those U16s to come through to minor and hopefully the experience of this year will prove beneficial.

I do accept that the performance during the week was poor. Perhaps after Knockbeg's successful run and the feel good mentality that has seeped back into Laois football that the Laois team on the night didn't show Carlow the respect they deserved and took victory for granted. Carlow could have been out of sight at half time. Credit though to the players for showing resilience in the closing stages of the game to battle back for a draw. Good lesson to learn early in the group stages. Hopefully they can kick on in their next two games. By looks of it there will be little to separate the four teams.

Evan O'Carroll needs to be wrapped up in cotton wool between now and start of the championship. From having attended most of the league games it is evident that he now our main attacking threat. Donie hasn't shined the way you would have expected but there is still plenty of time for him to step it up to another level. If Quigley maintains his fitness and nails a starting position where does Lillis go or is he dropped from the starting 15?

That level of competition for places should drive players on and bring a greater intensity to training between now and May. A fault of the O'Flaterta, Creedon eras was the lack of true competition for places. It always felt like players weren't pushing themselves or bringing the required intensity in build up to championships (perhaps because in a lot of cases starting places were assured) and then when faced with the red heat of championship battle they were exposed and found wanting. 

If Louth's pitch was not deemed playable for any day over the weekend why was game not moved to a nominated neutral venue. Surely the onus is on Louth to provide a playable pitch-every other county in Ireland was able to do so over weekend. When this could not be facilitated move game accordingly.

I think Don is correct regarding Zane. Broke his leg in two places in that league game versus Kerry. I don't think he ever returned to quite the same level after that injury but he did give it his all for Cheddar and was one of the key players that pushed Laois forward in those years. 

https://www.dublincityfm.ie/shows/on-the-ball

They have a sunday sports programme from around 3pm every week. Might have some commentary from the game but with footballers playing I imagine that will get precedence.

Will Offaly have home advantage in a relegation play off since they had to travel to Portlaoise and Netwatch Park for the group games. Having to play Offaly in Tullamore (a team that will be gunning for revenge will be difficult)- Offaly also have the advantage of having a couple of weeks to mentally prepare themselves for that relegation play-off. Huge ramifications for the loser of that game. Division 2a hurling playing counties like London, Mayo, Meath and Kildare will not aid the development of Laois hurling. Also hard to entice lads to commit next year with no real rewards to play for-unless we end up winning the Joe McDonagh. Then you would be faced with paradoxical situation of being a Divsion 2a standard league team but tier 1 championship team. 

The big eye opener last Saturday was 1) the lack of real pace within the Laois team and 2) Lack of genuine midfielders who can dominate and field ball around the middle of the field. Louth had a field day cutting through Laois defense with genuine pace. Our half backs and half forwards dropping back couldn't match pace of players like Williams and Clutterbuck attacking from the Louth halfback line. It's hard ask on likes of O'Loughlin to try field ball against players who are 3/4 inches taller than him and more natural fielders of the ball. If kicking long from the kick out we need to get players around the breaking ball. This on a couple of occasions wasn't the case with the ball kicked long to one man that was isolated of support with two/three Louth players around him. Each time Louth inevitably regained possession. Louth seemed to have their home work done on the Laois kick out strategy.       

The attacking mark if kept for the championship would work very well for Kingston and O'Carroll. O'Carroll has really benefited from Sugrue's management and playing probably the best football in his career so far. On the flip side, we could be vulnerably defensively to an attacking mark. Monaghan had Dublin in serious panic everytime ball sent in towards McManusvand co in second half. By time championship comes around I'm sure Gavin will have figured out way to negate the threat but it does provide teams with a potential weapon of getting at the Dublin defense.

Louth losing at home to a very weakened Longford team would suggest that they are very much there for the taking this weekend. 

I do wonder about the Town1980 and his intentions on the forum. A practice game in January in the grand scheme of things means very little but his abhorrence to the idea that Laois might have played well and beat an experimental Kerry side does make me wonder.

Division Three will be competitive this year. Down away is a challenging start and Westmeath look in a good place winning the O'Byrne cup with the likes of Dolan, Martin etc. driving them on and the team in physically very good shape. Longford will be buoyed by success of Muillinachta but may suffer from not having likes of John keegan available to them for the early rounds of the league. I wouldn't be surprised if 4/5 teams have a realistic chance of promotion going into the final round of games.