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If we are to get to the next level we need someone that has managed and won titles at the level, daly, liam sheedy etc and follow up on the good work done so far

You're not asking for much are you?
Someone who has won titles 'at the level'?
I presume by that you mean Division 1 National League, Provincial Title or All-Ireland?

What a load of bollox....

We don't have the players to compete with Kilkenny or Cork. We have pushed by Offaly and moved up the ladder but we're not even on Wexfords rung yet. Some people need a good dose of reality.

Agreed.

Talk of changing our manager is utterly redundant; completely nonsensical.
We are not in a position to offer ANYTHING to the likes of Anthony Daly. We don't yet have the players or the finances to even consider it.

What's amazing about the work Cheddar has done is that he has dragged us a small way up a steep ladder through massive personal investment, in every sense of the word. He believes passionately in Laois hurling and that is something that no outside, paid manager can bring.

I believe in the journey we are on but we still have a lot of dark days ahead. We are going to take beatings from the best teams and we are now definite targets for the likes of Westmeath/Antrim/Carlow/Kerry who won't see themselves a million miles behind us; not to mention the fact that whenever we face Offaly next they will 100% still expect to beat us.

We are playing with the same core of players who were hammered by the likes of Cork/Limerick/Dublin/Galway 3-5 years ago. We have brought through a few excellent young hurlers and will hopefully continue to do so over the coming years; especially if (and this is only my own opinion) the Setanta programme can be re-energised to the level it was at a couple of years ago. Those players are coming into a progressive and improving set-up; that may well be the legacy for this current bunch of players; not any actual attainments in terms of major scalps.

I share TheGreatGame's concern that the squad may experience a significant turnover of players before next year...

Division 1 and 1A semi-finals are down for decision tomorrow, Wednesday, at 7:30.

D1
Rathdowney/Errill vs Camross
Borris-in-Ossory GAA Grounds

D1A
Abbeyleix vs Ballyfin
Clough/Ballacolla GAA Grounds

It'll be interesting to see if Niall Holmes and/or Colin Delaney feature for Camross; both have successfully transferred back from Sydney.

There is nobody else.

Cheddar has brought these players from the abolute pits of despair to where we are now.
No, we're not world-beaters. We still have a long way to go; we still have some very darks darks to endure but Cheddar has forged a close-knit panel of dedicated Laois men and that is a crucial foundation fi whatever progress may lie ahead.

..... as the Dublin Hurling Fans are a decent bunch and though coming expecting to win, they won't bring the arrogance that their football counterparts so clearly do.

Firstly, disappointed that I was so naive in this instance. There was a minority of downright nasty Dublin fans in OMP last night. I appreciate that they are in every count, including our own no doubt, but it left a sour taste for me to see grown men goading a young 16/17 year old girl for having the temerity to cheer on her team.
Scumbags

Anyway, hard luck to the lads last night. We would be well-served to remember that we are a very short distance down a very very long road. This Dublin team is 10 years down that road and are rocket-fuelled by a huge population and considerable funding from Croke Park. And they have a long road to travel still too...

Dublin deserved to win. Undoubtedly. They had us at arms length right throughout that second half and I felt they could have clicked up through the gears if they needed to. I think both teams played to about 70-80% of their ability and if we had delivered an absolutely perfect performance then we might have had a chance but such performances are rare and it wasn't to be.

On the match itself, we were undone by a blistering start from Dublin. There was clear direction to take on our full-back line and they went for goals very early. I felt for Brian Stapleton as nothing went for him but he owes us nothing and has had, and will continue to have, much better days for Laois. Mark Schutte is a classy forward and he's physically strong. I flagged our match-ups earlier this week but I was wrong and probably hadn't appreciated the sheer physical advantage the Dublin forwards had. Schutte, Keaney and Dillon are strong imposing forwards and are direct; they caused us huge problems in that opening half.
On the sweeper question, I still maintain that we can't do away with it yet, or for the foreseeable future. 6v6 would work for us if our backs were the measure of the Dublin/Galway/Wexford/Whoever forwards but we'd be naive to think we are. We simply need that extra protection and we will until we have put 5-8 years of competitive minor/u21 teams back-to-back. That's not a criticism of our current players who I have the utmost respect for but I just think our full-back line would be hung out to dry if we went man for man.
Now, that said, our use of the sweeper failed us yesterday. Dublin were clever, fast and had a clear direction to their play. We needed Joe Campion to be a presence on and off the ball but he was all at sea and I have a degree of sympathy for a natural forward who is being shoehorned into a position that just doesn't suit him. Paddy Purcell gave an exhibition of sweeper play for our county champions last year and might well be worth considering for the years ahead.

I don't want to go into too much individual analysis but I was flummoxed by the apparent dropping of John A Delaney. I think it was unfair that he seemed to have been dropped off the back of a poor performance against Galway; one of the very few occasions where he has been comprehensible bested in a big game. To his credit, he was outstanding on his introduction.
I though Joe Fitzpatrick was outstanding in the 2nd half btw!
I also feel we need to consider Matthew Whelan as our long-term full back. He has the physical attributes and I just think Cahir Healy would be better suited either further out the field or with specific man-marking duties. He might be needed in midfield as we were ripped apart there yesterday.

Looking at our forwards, it was a difficult evening for a few of them. Picky Maher and Tommy Fitzgerald struggled badly and I think Picky, in particular, needs a good club championship to help him realise his potential. Zane Keenan worked hard but was well contained and his frees weren't up to the usual standard. I really hope he continues with Laois next year...
Cha and Willie were excellent I thought. Hyland nailed 4/5 points and is the real leader up front. Crummy couldn't handle him and resorted to nastiness and aggression and Hyland still had his measure. Similarly, Cha got on a lot of ball and hit 3 nice scores from distance. Cha works so hard and if we can get him active in closer to goal then we have one the genuine top young forwards in Ireland. Neil Foyle is still not 100% and getting him and Roddy fit for next season will be crucial.

Finally, just on the ref; I thought he was very hard on us. I have no problem with him missing Paul Ryan's strike on Joe as it was devious and off the ball but there was 6/7 softish frees that Dublin forwards got at crucial times; the same frees weren't forthcoming up our end.

The year as a whole should be classed a success but our feet should be firmly on the ground. The Dubs will still look down their noses at us as a poor team and I think some of the media love-ins might well do us a disservice as we all know that we have a lot of hard days ahead.

I hope we can maintain the core of this squad but I have concerns that our extended panel might not recommit as a lot of players have sacrificed a lot of their young lives and gotten no real game time. It's a debate for another day but we haven't found the right balance between club and county and this could affect our panel moving forward.

Finally, a thank you to Cheddar and all his players and back-room team. I am an avid supporter one day a week or fortnight; I have incredible respect for the sacrifices these men make 4/5/6 days a week. True heroes and incredible role-models for our impressionable juveniles; that in itself is progress seeing where we were a few years ago...

This really is a huge opportunity on Saturday.
Dublin will quite rightly start as clear favourites but playing in O' Moore Park is huge for us and I'd be hopeful that we can give the Dubs plenty of it. It actually has the potential to be a brilliant occasion as the Dublin Hurling Fans are a decent bunch and though coming expecting to win, they won't bring the arrogance that their football counterparts so clearly do.

I think we have a chance in this one.
Dublin are a formidable unit but they don't have the ability to kill a game in 10 minutes the way Galway did. Too much is made of Dublin's apparent lack of 'natural hurlers' and it's something I don't buy into really but they have tended, over the last number of years, to hurl in a formulaic way and have arguably done their best hurling playing a sweeper. I think there's an All-Ireland challenge in Dublin but they're not there yet; they have players playing out of position and lack square pegs for square holes.
I also think we will be able to get our match-ups right in defence.
Danny Sutcliffe is a wonderful talent but does, in my opinion at least, his best hurling at left-half forward. He will come up against Joe Fitzpatrick who had a bit of a nightmare against Galway but then was outstanding against Offaly; a player of his talent rarely puts two bad games together.
On the other flank, Ryan O' Dwyer will likely start on Tom Delaney and that physical battle could be a joy to watch. O' Dwyer could also start in the centre if Cunningham releases Liam Rushe back to his best position at centre-back and again, I think Matthew Phelan has the wherewithall to handle O' Dwyer.

In our fullback line, we're likely to start with John A Delaney and Brian Stapleton either side of Cahir Healy. All three should match up well wherever and if Dotsy O' Callaghan starts and I'd be comfortable enough with handling Paul Ryan, David Tracey, Eamonn Dillon and Mark Schutte too. I expect we will play a sweeper and it will be important to cut off direct ball into Schutte in particular as he is a very dangerous operator; I'd personally like to see John A detailed to mark him wherever he goes.

I'd continue with Eoin Reilly in the goals.

Darragh O' Connell started in midfield for Dublin the last day and I thought he was one of their better players. He's a talented hurler and can pick off points from distance; I understand he did a lot of his hurling in Kerry a little further forward. I wouldn't be sure who will start beside him to be honest but we'll need to be tight and not let them get a foothold in the game because they will look to put points on the board quickly.

I'd expect us to start with Paddy Purcell and either Joe Campion or Dwayne Palmer at centre-field.
Personally, I'd like to see Palmer selected at 15 but deployed as the sweeper as I think he is best-suited to the role. Purcell and Campion are athletic and dynamic enough to hold tight to their men and still offer good protection to our half-back line.

For me that leaves us with 5 forwards. Hyland and Cha pick themselves at 10 and 12 (though if Peter Kelly doesn't make it I'd throw either in at 14 for a spell or two) and assuming Neil Foyle isn't fit for 70 then Idont see alternatives to Picky Maher or Zane Keenan and I'd expect they will both start in the full-forward line. Tommy Fitzgerald's place is probably under most-threat but I don't think any of the alternatives have really kicked the door down and demanded inclusion. I'm a fan of Ben Conroy but I think the likes of him or PJ Scully are best served coming from the bench. Hopefully Tommy will start at 11 and he'll have to be at his intelligent best as Dublin will seek to build a platform with primary possession crucial to the way they like to hurl.
I'd be hopeful that Foyle could give us a real boost if we're still in this game with 20/25 to go.
I have a feeling Dublin will line-up with Keaney-Rushe-Crummy at 5-6-7 and that is a formidable unit to break down. Crummy has bedded in well and Keaney and Rushe are very strong physically and aerially. This area could well be the winning and losing of the game and if we can break even here then we have a legitimate chance.
That's a huge 'if' though!

So for me, we line up;
Reilly
Stapleton-Healy-Delaney
Palmer
Fitzpatrick-Whelan-Delaney
Purcell-Campion
Cha-Fitzgerald-Hyland
Picky-Keenan

Man for man, we are closer to Dublin than we were to Galway but we're still a level or two behind. We have to be better than the sum of our parts and put Dublin off their game. We'll need O' Moore Park absolutely rocking and that could be worth an extra 3 or 4 points to us.

I think we can get at that Dublin full back line, especially if there are doubts over Peter Kelly (who they probably won't risk if he's not at 100%!).
I think we'll need goals and I've a strange feeling there is a penalty in us this week. Hyland, Cha and Keenan just seem to know where the posts are in OMP and if they can pick off 10 between them then I'd be hopeful we could post a score of in and around 2.18. For that to be enough we will have to be incredibly tight at the back and cut out frees and individual errors. I don't see massive goals in this Dublin team but they will likely hit 20+ points.

Letting my heart rule my head I just have a feeling that we could make a serious statement here on Saturday. The Offaly result can, to a degree, be disregarded (just for a few days) such was the utter turmoil within the Offaly camp but a win here would be a seismic step forward for hurling in this county. I'm going to be bold with my prediction but with the caveat that if I was posting with head ruling heart there would be a swing of goals the other way.

I'm going with:
Laois 2.18 - 0.23 Dublin

PS: €15 entry is more than fair for Saturday's match and I really hope we see a strong Laois showing!

Still a round to go but everything looks done and dusted;

Clough/Ballacolla top the group and advance to the Final.
Camross will most-likely finish second ahead of Rathdowney/Errill with both already guaranteed a semi-final berth.

Colt have a couple of games left but look like they are going down.

Seems to have been a lot of close games; be interesting now to see which teams can integrate their county panellists back into the teams quickest...

The double-header was never a runner I'm afraid;
Leinster Council control the Gate for Leinster Championship matches; Croke Park control for the Qualifiers.

Not a hope in hell Leinster Council were going to offer up a cut of their gate; they couldn't give a flying f**k about the actual supporters...

I hope the uibhfhaili posters ignore the usual shite from 'suckitdiesel' on their regular site. I cannot commend the genuine Offaly fans enough; I waited 20 mins after ft with the kids and could still walk out with a prominent uibhfhaili.com poster who stood and listened to our own idiotic minority rubbing in ill-deserved wounds.

Ladies and gentlemen, now is not a time to ridicule a proud county like Offaly (because they WILL be back), rather, it is a time to stand and appreciate the sacrifices our lads have made over the last 4/5 years.
I'm facing into a 12-hour shift here now; I'll come back tomorrow with a more thorough response, but...thank you...thank you so much! This means the world to the hurling supporters who have waited a generation and more for today...

There is a definite sense of optimism and I think a lot of that is feeding in from the football side of things too.

To be fair, we're not world-beaters in either code but we do probably bat above ourselves and we should be proud to have two teams with realistic shots at a Leinster semi-final over the weekend.

Regardless of the results on Sunday, I hope this positivity and optimism remains as it can only be good for the county...

I would expect changes.
I'd be amazed if Picky hasn't done enough to earn a start.

God, I'm really looking forward to this one.
Does anyone know if the terrace will be open?

Offaly know this is huge. Make no mistake. I'm not for a second going to say they are scared; but they're wary. We have chipped away at them with under-age successes but we need to deliver a telling blow at senior level. Even that U21 loss a couple of years ago was a real shot to our momentum. To my mind, we were the better team that evening from the 15th to the 60th minute but being 2/3 points the better team wasn't enough; Offaly had the nous to win a close match that was there for the taking.
I fear the same will be true on Sunday. If this game is in the melting pot with 5 to go then I worry for us. Offaly simply can't lose because that breaks the spell. The die has been cast for decades now; Offaly have had our number but change is on the horizon and don't think Offaly can't see it...but they can stop it!
A win for Offaly buys them time; it knocks us back down a level and gives them an extra year or two to redress their juvenile inadequacies. A win for Offaly will only paper over some of the cracks but that would be enough. A win for us and we knock down their front door and can hope to make a legitimate step forward.
I know our sum-ambition can't be 'to just beat Offaly' but I believe it has been a mental noose around our neck for long enough and if we don't rip it off now; I fear it will tighten in the immediate future.

To my mind, both teams enter this game with real question marks hanging over them and real pressure weighing them down. This could suffocate any notion of open, attacking hurling and this could be an extremely physical battle; in fact, I'd be surprised if it was anything but.

Joe Bergin will likely go straight in on Cahir. They will look to go long and direct and if they smell weakness after our indifferent preparation then they'll go for goals in a serious way! The likes of Dooley, Quirke and Carroll won't pass up too many opportunities and our full-back line will need to be rock solid. I'd presume we'll see John A and Butch in there; I'd detail Delaney to follow Dooley everywhere.

Unfortunately, I don't think we carry anywhere near the same goal threat. Bar individual moments of brilliance; we just don't create goal-chances and I don't think 15/16 points will be enough on Sunday. Offaly have concerns about their full-back line and if Neil Foyle was anywhere near 100% I'd lash him in from the start alongside Picky. If Foyle is out I'd go with Keenan at 14.

As for Matthew Whelan, I'm torn. He was beginning to come back to form during the Westmeath game and he's the kind of man you'd want beside you in a battle. I probably would start him but that owes as much to our lack of obvious alternatives as anything else. Either side of him, we still haven't seen Joe Fitzpatrick light up a game in the way he's so obviously capable...yet. Again, I would start Tom Delaney but I think he's completely out of favour so Joe Campion will get the nod.
Paddy Purcell will start and I don't think enough was made of the quiet efficiency that Dwayne Palmer brought the last day. He was tidy in possession and made a couple of crucial blocks in the first half that helped keep Westmeath in range. I'd start him again although I would consider using him back as our sweeper.

Cha and Hyland will undoubtedly start and we'll need big games from both. Cha is, to my mind at least, the heir apparent to Hyland as our go-to man in the forwards. Hyland gets a lot of stick but he's still our number 1 puck-out option and nearly always contributes with 3/4 points; be they from play or from drawing frees. I would expect Offaly to drop very deep on our puck-outs so we're going to need to be clever as primary possession could be at a premium. I'd expect Tommy to just about hold his place and I'd like to see him at 11 and getting on breaks.

All in all, I'm really on the fence on this one. I don't believe there is much between the teams and I suspect we may have the edge with games under our belt and a more cohesive style of play, even if that style can falter at times.
Home advantage has to count for something and I'll be apoplectic if we don't carry a bigger crowd than Offaly. Unfortunately, that is in itself somewhat unlikely...

Score prediction:
1.17-2.15

I'm just not sure to whom...

I would suggest the statistically most-likely outcome is that we will lose both games; but by close margins.
I don't see either team getting hammered.

That said, I fancy us to be in at least one semi-final...I'm just not sure which...

Hat trick from Cha in the first half! 4 goals in about 45 mins of inter-county hurling!
Up by 4 at the break; we have wind advantage in this half...

Wait, is this the original LaoisTalk Bruce???