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We probably have the makings of a decent U20 team this year, and that will muddy the waters a little as far as the Seniors are concerned. I personally would like to see Sugrue having control of everything because not only would he do a better job, but he'd also see that there are lads at that level who have more potential than a lot who togged out last night. I hate being ruthless, and I know lads can improve, but for one reason or another, a lot of lads who togged last night will never make it at this level.

I don't know what's worse. Being from Kildare or denying you're from Kildare  Only kidding Laoiseabu.

Did we not get penalised for training this time last year? Club Championship aside, and even that, I have no love for Gaelic football at this time of the year. It really is no gauge of a player or team's ability and I have no idea what we're doing playing inter county football in early December. Madness.

Anyway, we are where we are and the team is experimental. There are lads on that team who need to work a lot harder to make it at this level. I'm sure they know that, and if they don't, Sugrue will tell them in short order. Aside from that, individual rather than team performances are what matter so early in the season. You're looking for lads all the time, and this is some of those lads' chance to start showing well

Killeen and Kilcruise looked very old last year, I fear they will both eventually wilt away if they dont sew up old wounds.

There is only one long term solution to football in that part of the world and in fairness, they've addressed the problem with Na Fianna Og. The only way they can continue to keep their head above water (Kilcruise, Killeen and Barrowhouse) is to pool their resources and make life a little easier for themselves. You're talking about a relatively small area even with the three combined, so splitting them up after underage is ridiculous.

I welcome amalgamations because it shows a degree of ambition. It also shows that people are thinking about the future and the changing nature of modern life and how we contribute to the GAA. None of us have the time and dedication that previous generations had, and with admn, sponsorship and coaching, our clubs are a very different animal to what they were even 20 years ago. So in my opinion, there is strength in numbers and there is prosperity in numbers too. It's never nice to see the end of great clubs, but there are too many clubs in Laois that are hanging on by their fingertips or worse still, stuck in some sort of twilight zone where they never really compete for anything. I know club officials in some clubs who are worn out just trying to keep the thing functional, and it's no fun whatsoever. Not for them, not for the members and probably not the players. I'm all for giving yourself the best possible chance of succeeding, and I just believe that the very rare golden period is not enough to sustain a club over a lifetime. I respect and admire the opposing point of view of course, and I appreciate it's not as black and white as I've painted.

Is this a temporary arrangement or a new club? If it's a temporary arrangement I think the CB would be wise to reject it. If it's permanent, then they should go in hook line and sinker. Hurling, football, underage - the whole lot. If this is the wish of the two clubs members then we need to respect that. But I see no  value in lads being scattered to football clubs nearby.

I was being a little tongue in cheek, but I do feel you have some shortcomings. I would never single players out, but there was one very obvious example on Sunday of the step up in grade and not being able to cope with that. There were 3 or 4 in total who in my opinion were just a bit shy at this level.

There are other factors too. Key players getting older. Dual players. Conditioning. The lack of competition in Laois. The mental scarring left by Dublin teams. I could go on. The difference in strength was noticeable on Sunday, particularly in the forwards. Too many times, lads were bottled up and turned over or forced into Hail Mary attempts.

Your time may indeed come and I genuinely hope it does, but changes would have to happen and quickly for this current team. The size of the task becomes bigger with every passing year, and realistically you're looking at Dublin sides who would probably hold their own with a lot of county teams. It would take a club the size of Portlaoise to meet that challenge, but importantly, they have a financial edge which allows them access to facilities and development well beyond our wildest dreams. So there are road blocks at every turn and the Dublin GAA climate is progressing rapidly.

Tough result to take, in reality Portlaoise were always on the back foot. They didn't settle and really giving up 1-10 in the first half was too much.

There were some fine performances but our forwards never clicked and some awful wides and kicks into keeper and fullbacks hands crippled us.

Apparently Malachys future is very much up in the air. I hope he stays on because Portlaoise are not far away but some changes are needed to win a Leinster.

I hope he stays. The margin between success and failure is too small to walk away from. Unfortunately, there are a number of factors preventing them from achieving what they want to, and just as one problem gets sorted, another one surfaces. A few years ago, it was midfield and the back line that worried me, now it's the forwards. Also, the fact that the opposition changes most years is not helping.

I'd be very confident that Portlaoise would beat Crokes next week, because they know now the type of challenge they'd be facing and could prepare accordingly. To say that Kilmacud was a step up on anything they faced this year would be a huge understatement, whereas they would have played and beaten strong teams to get out of Dublin. But that's the size of the task and the GAA world we live in right now. Hand on heart, I think the ship might have sailed, purely because I think Bruno is reaching the end and good scoring forwards (Cahillane aside) don't seem to be there. Bruno is almost impossible to replace, and in many ways, you would have to reinvent the wheel if he wasn't there. Any chance you could give a Garda a good home for a couple of years or just go shopping elsewhere in the county? I'm told anything goes with the right utility bill in your back pocket.

Is that what they said it was officially? I felt it was more like double that with more on top. Very dodgy. I'm always suspicious when I see a turnstile that doesn't stop.

Seale is a different player to the one who first went in. Things didn't work out back then, but I hope we can get him on board. He's very good. I'd have no problem putting Saunders straight into the Senior set up either. He has the makings of a special player. Kieran Lillis has improved beyond all recognition as a result of his commitment to Laois, and I don't believe that Portlaoise can get over the line in Leinster without some help. I think next year is their last throw of the dice and I would urge them all to think about that and how they can improve that last percentage or two. There is very little wrong with Portlaoise, but their marquee players will never be ready unless they go hard for a whole campaign.

Death by regulation. If you allow a Gaels team in the first place, why on earth would you go putting extra conditions on top of them? Silly stuff.

I think the best team won on the day. The first half was an eye opener and the pace of Kilmacud simply destroyed Portlaoise at times. You can't let teams carve you open that easily, and it was disappointing to see how easily Kilmacud got into scoring positions. Yes Portlaoise kicked wides, but they were under pressure or not clear cut chances. That was the difference between the two sides in the first half. Kilmacud worked their way into scoring positions far too easily, and their miss rate was low. Portlaoise worked hard for what they got and made a lot of bad decisions in their forwards when patience was needed. It was a massive bonus to go in only 3 points down.

The second half clearly showed that Kilmacud had started too quickly. They couldn't go that pace for an entire game, and they were getting turned over. When the game was in the melting pot, they found a way, and I don't know how, to go ahead again. They looked like a beaten team at that point, notwithstanding Portlaoise still making some bad decisions. Like all the previous years before, it was there for Portlaoise, but certain players were tiring and mistakes were kicking in. The penalty doesn't worry me, because a draw would not have been a fair result. With each passing year, a different type of team seems to present a different type of challenge, and Portlaoise just nook that little bit naive on each occasion. I would never doubt their ability but they need to find a cute whoor streak from somewhere. They also need to go in en masse to the Laois set up, because Sugrue will improve them and they will improve Laois.

All of the above said, I thought David Seale was awesome today.

I would never discourage anyone from giving towards our development. But you could argue, and you'd have a point, that taking away home games from our own supporters does nothing to develop football in the county. At the end of the day, lads were showing commitment to Laois, and because of a jumped up rule from an equally jumped up administration, we have been penalised. I don't understand it, and in many ways it does little for my interest in the game. The GAA should never discourage a county like Laois, and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so.

The politics of county boards and GAA Councils would make Brexit look like a tea party. The COE is a small cog in the wheel. The loss of home advantage another small cog. You just wouldn't know and probably wouldn't want to the full mechanics. Best just to suck it up and get on with it. This wheel is not for reinventing.

Mistake number two Giovanni. Assuming everything afforded to Laois can be measured in the yearly accounts. I'll say no more

https://www.laoistoday.ie/2018/11/15/john-sugrue-farcical-nature-of-ruling-against-us-as-gaa-create-culture-of-rule-bending/

This is the crux of it. Are we going to be honest in the application of this rule or not? Or are we just going to hit the eejits that haven't taken the care to buy a ticket for Daniel O Connell's birthplace.

I suppose we'll know better next time.......... Is that what they want?

They want the odd soft touch to roll over and have their belly tickled. It's sad to say but Don is right and it's stuff like the COE funding that makes us the teacher's pet. There are of course other behind the scenes political maneuverings that make anything that John Sugrue has to say irrelevant. It's sad to say and I don't like admitting it because I'm proud of the man and how he conducts himself. But in truth, he'd have been better off wring to Santa. It would have got more of a hearing at least.

Just makes it sweeter PK. I think they like the fact that they feel they can intimidate. They were killed with football yesterday and on a harder track, they'd have got a belly full. Conditions didn't suit either team yesterday but I would have thought they suited Moorefield better. On that basis, I think it's a significant win. The name calling and winding up is their idea of mood music. The Kildare crow has always been particularly hard to listen to, particularly when he has something to sing about

I wouldn't even contemplate Healy on Mannion. It just has to be Dillon in my opinion. Cahir is killing himself with football, hurling, work and travelling. I don't think he'd want it any other way and to be honest, he's an absolute credit to himself and his club. Just saw the odds there and Portlaoise are 3/1 to win the match against Kilmacud. It just goes to show the size of the task, but I think those odds are a little bit exaggerated. I'd give them a better chance than that.