Galway v Kilkenny

[mouview]

Finally Vinnie Maher was switched onto DJ and quietened him a bit. Galway playing into the breeze persisted with a 3-man FF line when it could be seen from Eyre Square that Joe Cooney should have been brought to midfield as a third man to close down that sector a bit and deliver quality ball. A youthful Eugene Cloonan's inability to get anything out of (Willie?) O Connor was more than matched by Kevin Borderick who was outstanding. Galway had a dream team of selectors that day including Steve Mahon and PJ Molloy and they still failed utterly to make a couple of simple changes that would have won a well-winnable game. I could have happily strangled Joe McDonagh and Phelim Murphy that day for voting for the back-door aka greed-is-good rule.

[bottlethrower7]

A youthful Eugene Cloonan's inability to get anything out of (Willie?) O Connor

It was Eddie. I remember Cloonan having him in a headlock at one stage.

and that was his senior championship debut for Galway too if memory serves.

[monny14]

Looks like Joe Canning is out.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Galway Team V Kilkenny

1 Colm Callanan
2 Damien Joyce
3 Shane Kavanagh
4 Ollie Canning
5 Fergal Moore
6 John Lee
7 Adrian Cullinane
8 Eoin Lynch
9 Kevin Hynes
10 Aongus Callanan
11 Cyril Donnellan
12 Andy Smith
13 Damien Hayes
14 Joe Canning
15 Niall Healy

[GalwayBayBoy]

Kilkenny

P.J. Ryan
Michael Kavanagh
J.J. Delaney
Jackie Tyrrell
Tommy Walsh
John Tennyson
John Dalton
Michael Fennelly
Michael Rice
Henry Shefflin
Martin Comerford
Eoin Larkin
Eddie Brennan
Richie Power
Aidan Fogarty

[Farrandeelin]

Good luck Galway. I can see it being a cracker of a game if the Galway team is ready and prepared for whatever KK throw at them. If not, it could be a shambles. It's bound to be televised after the Mayo v Ros game or is it?

[INDIANA]

Galway Team V Kilkenny

1 Colm Callanan
2 Damien Joyce
3 Shane Kavanagh
4 Ollie Canning
5 Fergal Moore
6 John Lee
7 Adrian Cullinane
8 Eoin Lynch
9 Kevin Hynes
10 Aongus Callanan
11 Cyril Donnellan
12 Andy Smith
13 Damien Hayes
14 Joe Canning
15 Niall Healy

That team won't do it I'm afraid. Where are Farragher and Iarla Tannian. the half forward line will be ate.

[An Fhairche Abu]

Tannian is out for the year with a cruciate injury I believe.

[monny14]

Iarla Tannian is soft,he never gets stuck in.maybe gerry farragher come into team.NO IARLA TANNIAN.NO LOSS WHATSOEVER

[johnneycool]

The kilkenny forward division isn't understrength anyway but they do feed off a very healthy supply of ball and if the Galway forwards can put enough pressure on them then who knows. Big games needed from Lee and especially Kavanagh as the cats will go for goals to knock the heart out of Galway as early as possible. Canning the elder, Joyce and Moore have all shown on different days to be up to the task, they just need to ensure that they all bring their 'A' game on saturday.

the cats half back line don't look overly weak either even with hogan missing and Delaney sent to the edge of the square


This game will hinge on who wins the midfield battle and can get enough ball into their respective forwards and you really can't look past the cats but hopefully Galway can at least make a game of it to kickstart the AI championship and put a bit of interest into it.

Love to see Galway do it but later in the year rather than this weekend.

[bottlethrower7]

Kilkenny's biggest worry has to be the full-back line. Specifically the lack of pace in the corners (considering who they'll be marking) and Delaney at full-back. The Delaney at 3 experiment has been tried on and off for years and in my view its never looked like working. A better plan for covering Hickey's absence would have been Hogan at 3 and Tennyson at 6 but thats a non-runner now with Hogan out also. Delaney struggled against a limited hurler like Webster in the league final so Canning could do a lot of damage here if hes right and he gets a good supply into him.

For Kilkenny they'll have to be cutting off the supply into that line out the field. But, looking at the lineups, I think thats quite doable. KK's midfield is a little lightweight overall in the sense that I can't see either Rice or Fennelly anchoring that sector the way Cha does. Both like to roam and both are more naturally inclined to be attack-minded and hence move forward more than back. It depends what Galway have to offer here.

Up front Kilkenny do look formidable. But, Shefflin was very poor in the league final. Larkin has yet to catch fire this year. Power has not played at this level for months through injury (even though he was shaping up to have his best year yet before then). Eddie, Gorta and Taggy are fine players but all are prone to off-days too, especially early on in the year.

I don't agree that Kilkenny will go for goals to kill off the game early. They haven't adopted that game plan in years. Its very much a 'take your points, goals will come' mindset they've developed.

For Galway, the spine of their defense has to have a question mark over it. Kavanagh I've never been that convinced by. Lee is a fine player, but how will he be after his absence?

Kilkenny are favourites for this game for sure, but its not a huge leap to imagine a Galway victory either. I'd imagine they'll be fairly up for it (though nervous at the same time). Kilkenny less so on both fronts. And Kilkenny have struggled to get out of second gear this early on in the year for a long time now. It all makes for a potentially intriguing tie.

[mckieran]

Is Chunky Hayes injured? Thought he would be no. 11.

But this Galway full forward line could do srious damage against any team if they enough ball. Galway at 4/1 on betfair could be worth a small (very small) bet

[johnneycool]

Is Chunky Hayes injured? Thought he would be no. 11.

But this Galway full forward line could do srious damage against any team if they enough ball. Galway at 4/1 on betfair could be worth a small (very small) bet

I thought he got the line against Laois and hence is out of this game

[GaillimhIarthair]

Is Chunky Hayes injured? Thought he would be no. 11.

But this Galway full forward line could do srious damage against any team if they enough ball. Galway at 4/1 on betfair could be worth a small (very small) bet

I thought he got the line against Laois and hence is out of this game

Chunky is suspended for this game as he got a straight red against Laois.

[mckieran]

Chunky is suspended for this game as he got a straight red against Laois.

Aah yes, forgot about that. He is actually quite a loss, seemed to be going fairly well.

Kilkenny are awesome, we all know that but looking at that team, I think a lot of them were on the all-ireand team in '07. You just have to wonder how long their hunger can last...

I may be living in cloud cuckoo land but I really feel Galway could take them tomorrow