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Let's be realistic. Cahir has gone above and beyond to stay playing inter-county and his first love is hurling. I'm thankful of the commitment he continues to show to the county hurlers. We have an exceptionally young, inexperienced squad and having a leader/experienced player like Cahir there is crucial to their development. Cahir could easily have walked away/returned to football when 7/8 other more established senior players left the panel for a number of different reasons at the end of the 15' season. He might never win anything playing with the Laois hurlers but what he will contribute may help pave the away for more successful Laois teams of the future. I've no doubt that the young lads on the Laois hurling panel are appreciative/learning a lot from the example being set by Cahir and from having him on the panel.

I only was able to watch the game afterwards on TV (knowing the score) but it would appear to me that we were constantly asking our defense to go man to man. Limerick, intelligently left huge space between the full forward and half forward line. This meant that every time one of their forwards beat his opponent there was automatically an over-lap created and the full-back line left completely exposed. It was incredible how easily Limerick created their goal chances and we need to seriously readdress this failing before the championship commences. We seemed to have learned nothing from the first day when Kerry rifled two goals into the Laois net in a minute with 10 minutes to play. We were overly exposed in the back-line then and we continue to be now. We need to be able to fill that space between the half back line and full back line so that if a defender is beaten that he has adequate support there to protect the goal. While it was a walloping in the end there were moments of positivity. Should have reduced the Limerick lead to 7 points in second half with glorious goal chance spurned and we finished the game with 1-19. I do think our forward line has the capability of winning games against teams of a similar standard to ourselves. If we can provide our defense with more protection and have our half-back drop back a little deeper there is no reason why we cannot still avoid relegation and perhaps give Wexford a rattle in our final league game. They could possibly rotate their team for the Laois game now that they are assured of promotion. I would like to see Laois target this game and prove to themselves and us supporters that they are capable of competing at this level.       

For those couple of posters who were asking for the management team to be axed hopefully last night's performance will help them to realise the strengths Creedon brings to the county. The U21s have been exposed to quality training with the senior team and competing with the likes of O'Loughlin, Munnelly, Kingston etc for the past number of months. Those who have stepped up have been rewarded with playing time in the league-furthering their development again. It's no coincidence that these lads gave a very good account of themselves against what was considered a good Louth team last night. Credit where credit is due. Hopefully next week the team can step it up again and qualify for a Leinster Final. There are definitely 3/4 of these lads capable of making a Laois starting championship team this year if they continue to develop and gain experience of playing at inter-county level. Creedon by the looks of things is giving them every chance and is also reminding our more established players that if they don't perform then there are lads behind them who will be more than happy/capable of taking their positions on the team. Things will not change over night-losses to Louth and Tipperary are inevitable when blooding new players and putting new structures/systems (especially defensive ones) in place will take time. You can't blame Creedon for lads not being able to tackle properly on the senior team as that is something that would appear not to have been developed properly throughout their time on Laois underage panels/previous management teams/involvement with our Gaelic development coaches. I did think Laois stayed defensively solid last night when down to 14 men which is encouraging and would indicate that Creedon and his team are improving upon this Achilles heel found in Laois GAA teams the last number of years.     

Hopefully the couple of league games will stand to our u21s tomorrow night. Creedon has to be commended for persevering with these lads in the opening league games despite the criticism and some poor performances. The experience gained and trust show by the manager in their abilities will be vital to their development and should stand to them for u21 championship this year and allow them to step up as leaders on that team. With the favorable draw Laois could potentially find themselves in an under 21 final. Having Laois underage teams competing in Leinster finals again would be nice and help to lift the apathy that currently exists within the county. Tipp's underage success was built brick by brick and I think there is already evidence to suggest that Creedon is doing that in Laois. At senior level we are going to lose 6/7 key players in the next two to three years so it is vital for Creedon to introduce and develop young players from the off so that they are in a position to step up when the retirements do come about. While people may be criticizing results now, in the long term it will hopefully stand to these young players the experienced gained and lessons learned.     

Definately need some sort of defensive plan and will have to play a sweeper. We're limited with quality backs though.

Wasn't that not what a lot of posters on this forum were criticising Cheddar for by the end-being too negative and his use of sweepers. 

The key to developing GAA is the schools and especially at primary level. Dublin pumped serious time, money and efforts (I know they are playing at a very different financial base) into the primary schools 10/15 years. Every school had access to dedicated and qualified Games development coaches who went into the schools promoting both football and hurling. Juvenile participation numbers rocketed as a result, especially the numbers playing hurling from areas that once never did. Kilmacud Crokes I believe have more U14 footballers then in the whole of Leitrim at present. While I'm not saying we can replicate the Dublin model as the resources aren't in the county, we can do more to up the participation levels and get children wanting to play hurling and football. Otherwise we are going to get left further and further behind.     

http://www.laoistoday.ie/2017/02/21/laois-county-board-member-launches-attack-foreign-sports-2/

Gobshite

The man has premium tickets for Anfield and sponsors the rugby club in Portarlington. Baffling isn't the word

I'm glad to see Laois GAA distancing themselves from these comments. GAA in Laois at juvenile level has been in decline when with the population growth the county has witnessed in last decade or more it should really be the opposite. Maybe Laois county board should look at structures they have in place at present and identify how they are promoting and developing football and hurling in the county. If you make a sport appealing to children at a young age and get them involved through their schools and clubs then they will want to play. Blaming the influence of other sports for me is a lazy excuse. Naturally, you will lose a few talented players to other sports when they get to a certain age but that has always been the case. However, if lads see poor structures, little chance for success etc. then you are likely to lose even more than you should.   

better to have injury problems now and not come start of championship. Least it gives Creedon a chance to test his panel. If you are going to be successful you need a strong panel of 23/24 players so giving different players game time is needed anyways. You don't want to be in a position with 15/20 minutes to go where you need reinforcements/to make substitutions and you don't have to requisite strength and depth from the bench. A lot of championship games won and lost because of the caliber of player you can bring on when the game is in the melting pot. 

While delighted with the win I was worried with how we finished game. Offaly were down to 13 men and still managed two good goal scoring chances in the last ten minutes and Dooley missed few simple frees (looked like he had a goal on his mind taking them). Similar to the Kerry game our intensity and energy levels dropped badly after a strong opening 45/50 minutes. Hopefully as the league progresses this can be improved upon. I know some of our key players were in Fitzgibbon action during week and probably feeling the exertions of 3 games in 7 days but we allowed Offaly almost a route back into that match which would have been unforgivable.

If we end up in a league relegation play-off on scoring difference the lads might look back on this game as a lost opportunity. 8 points up and playing against 13 men for last 20 minutes of game. We really should have be nailing Offaly for a 15 point victory. Top teams show no mercy-look at Galway result against Offaly last week. As mentioned by other posters our failure to create goal scoring chances is another concern. Last night was another prime example of it. We didn't look like adding another goal to our tally in last twenty minutes even with an extra two players on the field. If we are going to challenge later in the year we will need a goal threat. Goals normally win matches and provide teams with momentum.

On a positive note it was great to see our young squad bounce back from last week's disappointing loss. Furthermore, they showed good character after a poor start to the game and they never panicked. Some encouraging signs going forward. Lets hope they can continue on this upward curve and by the time they face Limerick at home hopefully they will be in a position to put up a right challenge.   

If he proves himself in training and wins a place in starting team on merit then by all means I'd welcome him back. I have respect for anyone who commits himself to playing intercounty football in this day and age, especially those who don't make the starting team. Huge ask on anyone and when you're not getting any game time even more so.   

The inexperience of this current Laois team shone through today. Despite playing very poorly in second half we held a 6 point lead with little over 10 minutes and I think the players thought they had the game won. Kerry got a goal and instead of taking sting out of game, regaining composure, the sliotar was in the back of Laois net again 60 seconds later. After that there was only going to be one winner. I counted at least 15 wides on kerry's part and a number of those were easy chances that went a begging. In truth once Kerry found their rhythm they were by far the better team and totally outhurled Laois.

On the evidence of today it's going to be a steep learning curve this year in the league and we will more than likely be in a relegation play off by the end of it. With most of team under the age of 23 I am optimistic that progress can be made and we will develop with games. The concern is with Galway, Wexford and Limerick to come that heavy defeats in these games could have a detrimental impact on the players confidence going forward. Laois need a blend of experience and youth but with Hyland etc no longer there we are very much lacking in that department. Today's loss was clear evidence of this.     

There was a time when our underage structures were the envy of every other county in the county. It unbelievable to think this article appeared in a paper only 10 years ago and that Laois were considered potential future All-Ireland championship winners. I feel a lot of what went wrong in the last decade was that we believed our own hype, rested on our laurels, didn't invest or appoint wisely, allowed egos develop and as a consequence we stagnated while at the same time counties like Cavan, Tyrone, Roscommon, Tipperary evolved and developed their underage structures. Sadly, we had much better structures in place 10/15 years ago than we currently have now (at present some of the poorest in the country in my opinion). The personnel/know how that we once had just doesn't seem to be there anymore. I'm hoping that Creedon's appointment can help turn the tide again (he did excellent job in Tipperary by all accounts) once more but there is also an urgent need to address the participation levels at underage/juvenile level. Emphasis needs to be placed in promoting GAA properly in the schools and clubs around the county and getting children within the county back playing GAA. If not I fear we are going to fall even further in the next ten years. The time for action is now.   

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/youth-of-laois-have-one-more-final-fling-1.949770

Hopefully he will can regain his pace of old. Crucial if he is to re-establish himself in Laois starting team after a few years away. Good addition all the same. If Timmons can be right by time championship comes around then the Laois full-back line will have some decent options along with Booth, O'Connor etc to choose from. All we need now is Cahir Healy to give it one more go with footballers as well.

It's great to see the players involved in a proper set-up this year. Furthermore, with age profile of our key players Quigley 31, Strong 31, Timmons 30, O'Loughlin 28, Begley 30, Kingston 26, Meaney 30ish I think there is a realisation that it's now or never for them to achieve something in their inter-county careers. The combination of hunger/determination and a proper set up will hopefully lead to an upturn in our fortunes for the year ahead-Promotion to Division 2, Leinster final appearance and reaching the 1/4 final of All-Ireland series should be realistic targets for the coming year.   

The spine of the Laois team for next year will pretty much have 10 years intercounty experience-Timmons, Begley, O'Loughin, Quigley and Kingston with plenty of lads around them that have been there for a good number of years now as well. If ever they are going to deliver it is now. Hopefully the new management team can get the best of out these lads and that they show the necessary drive and determination to end their inter-county careers on a high and achieve some success. These lads are all still highly rated outside of the county despite Laois badly underachieving in championship football for the last decade with some abject defeats to the likes of Tipperary, Clare, Antrim etc... 

The point regarding the media is an interesting one-there is definitely apathy in the county towards hurling and football. You look at media coverage in other counties at this time of year regarding their club finals and you could have entire sports sections of papers giving over to previewing and discussing the upcoming games. In Laois it gets minimal coverage and the fact Midlands radio is spread over three counties dilutes the the coverage even further. There seems to be little talk or hype around the county in the build up to county finals the last couple of years. The interest has certainly waned. 

What are the possibilities of Cahir Healy being asked back onto panel if hurlers beaten by Clare? If David Conway can be brought back and earn a starting place surely Cahir should be provided with same opportunity. Granted we have to beat Armagh but a game against Clare the following week might be an ideal game to bring him onboard. He would be huge addition to team.