Antrim Hurling

[johnneycool]

Good win for rossa minors over st johns in the hurling last night. Is it cushendall in the final?

Cushendall/Glenarm/Larne amalgamation

So no matter who wins it, Rossa will be representing Antrim in the Ulster club championship?

[Milltown Row2]

Great achievement then!! Very difficult being a dual club were football (I assume) is the priority. Fair play! Top half has been a joke since the split. I've started going to division 2 games instead, much more physical and competitive affairs.

Well we've only managed 8 points to date with a game to go (against the paddies) first target achieved as such but anybody looking in would have said that the way the championship has been drawn, would be saying that the County final is the main target, I suppose it is now, Clooney Gaels (if you have watched any of their games) have been doing very well (albeit against Div 2 teams) but have gain momentum along the way, highest scoring in the league too!!

Will be a hard game for us, hopefully we can get to the next round!!

[Milltown Row2]

Good win for rossa minors over st johns in the hurling last night. Is it cushendall in the final?

Cushendall/Glenarm/Larne amalgamation

So no matter who wins it, Rossa will be representing Antrim in the Ulster club championship?

No these players are registered Cushendall players I'd imagine to the end of the year, which is before the end of the Ulster Championship.

Rossa were unconvincing last night against a very spirtited Johnnies team, cracking game and fair fecks to both teams who wanted to hurl. Rossa done just enough but the Johnnies will rue a few easy frees they missed in the first half. Will Cushendall be favourites? Young Sambo is a gem of a player

[sylvieslynanesnutsack]

Clooney Gaels is a very hard game and like you say are a good attacking team. St. Galls are a bit short up front, and rely a lot on a strong defence.

[Milltown Row2]

Clooney Gaels is a very hard game and like you say are a good attacking team. St. Galls are a bit short up front, and rely a lot on a strong defence.

I think if Mackers can get the right ball then we'll do rightly if he doesn't then we are in a point for point type game! Not comfortable at all. I love Gaels hard working ethos, it's given them a great platform for winning games, they work very hard to get the ball into PJ and he generally makes the things tick once he gets the ball, either scoring or setting up. Great player and would don any team in Antrim

[johnneycool]

Good win for rossa minors over st johns in the hurling last night. Is it cushendall in the final?

Cushendall/Glenarm/Larne amalgamation

So no matter who wins it, Rossa will be representing Antrim in the Ulster club championship?

No these players are registered Cushendall players I'd imagine to the end of the year, which is before the end of the Ulster Championship.

Rossa were unconvincing last night against a very spirtited Johnnies team, cracking game and fair fecks to both teams who wanted to hurl. Rossa done just enough but the Johnnies will rue a few easy frees they missed in the first half. Will Cushendall be favourites? Young Sambo is a gem of a player

I was only on the wind, we've a wee lad playing for us from St Pauls of Holywood, the Ports had a lad from Kilclief and Liatroim who are favourites for the Down minor championship have lads from surrounding clubs as well.
I'd prefer to see lads hurl with whoever than not at all.

[btdtgtt]

I agree the primary concern with transfers / sanctions is that young lads stay involved in the game - too many have been lost particularly in the city.
But there are of course other considerations / complications.

What's the story in down JC?
Does that represent ards clubs struggling?
Or a shift in hurling areas?

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

i have to admit this years league has been a damp squib. ourselves and loughgiel played two games and both were the most dull affairs ever. ive never seen that before, hell we even managed to draw and win one, something we havent done in a fair few years in the league.

As others posted here, the top half split was not once ounce interesting and the bottom half was more competitive.

the attendances in alot of the league games this season were very poor also. Anyone else notice this?

[btdtgtt]

i have to admit this years league has been a damp squib. ourselves and loughgiel played two games and both were the most dull affairs ever. ive never seen that before, hell we even managed to draw and win one, something we havent done in a fair few years in the league.

As others posted here, the top half split was not once ounce interesting and the bottom half was more competitive.

the attendances in alot of the league games this season were very poor also. Anyone else notice this?

It's certainly ironic that it seems to have has a better effect on the bottom half!
I think the crux of this is that teams just don't value winning it - but staying in it is important.
To galvanise the whole league fixtures maybe we're back to using it to seed the championship draw!

[johnneycool]

I agree the primary concern with transfers / sanctions is that young lads stay involved in the game - too many have been lost particularly in the city.
But there are of course other considerations / complications.

What's the story in down JC?
Does that represent ards clubs struggling?
Or a shift in hurling areas?

It would be unfair to say that there hasn't been a bit of progress in (juvenile) hurling development outside the Ards as there has been most notably in the greater Belfast area and Liatroim have always been able to bring good hurlers through the ranks, just not enough of them and for a sustained period of time to do anything of note at senior level.
Two years ago, the U-16 hurling final was played out between Liatroim and Bredagh with Liatroim winning it, Bredagh were well beaten by Ballycran this year at minor, however Liatroim do seem to be developing and as say are still favourites to win at minor. Strangely enough their minor manager didn't until a few weeks ago allow any of them to play adult hurling which I find strange as there wouldn't be an awful lot of minor fixtures to sustain a team for the year. Our lads are threw into adult hurling as soon as they are the age.

The standard of hurling in the Ards has dropped considerably as can be seen with how both ourselves and Portaferry are faring in Antrim, Ballycran excepted as they now have a bunch of players peaking around the same time now, reaping the rewards of their domination of juvenile hurling in Down 10 or so years ago, culminating in an Ulster minor club title.

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

going to Ballycran and Portaferry is still a tough place to get points at. Ballygalget have slipped over the past few years and would be deamed the weaker of the 3 down teams.

but Ballycran and Portaferry are extremly hard to beat at home. on the road the down teams seem to be easier to beat imo

[theskull1]

To galvanise the whole league fixtures maybe we're back to using it to seed the championship draw!

Remind me again when that was tried and deemed successful? I genuinely can't remember

Was chatting to a Bredagh man a few months back (a blow in like the rest of them). He said the kids/parents treated the place like a kids club and once they became big boys they just stopped doing 'that sort of stuff'. Bredaghs great U16/minor team from a couple of years ago has virtually none of that team still hurling, so he told me.   

[Milltown Row2]

To galvanise the whole league fixtures maybe we're back to using it to seed the championship draw!

Remind me again when that was tried and deemed successful? I genuinely can't remember

Was chatting to a Bredagh man a few months back (a blow in like the rest of them). He said the kids/parents treated the place like a kids club and once they became big boys they just stopped doing 'that sort of stuff'. Bredaghs great U16/minor team from a couple of years ago has virtually none of that team still hurling, so he told me.

Yeah, seems to be true. A mate who was my coach when I was manager is coaching them this season, he said they struggled all year in getting out their best team.

But looking back there are teams that never materialise into a great team at senior, looking at our senior footballers on Saturday, the spine of the team is still the same players from one grade (more or less), any of the great wee players we had from very successful minor/under 21 teams have stopped playing, we tried to facilitate them with having 3 senior teams, ended up with us struggling to field these teams. Seems that if they weren't getting senior games they just left!!

Hard balancing act as a club to keep wining and bringing on or blooding new players while maintaining a wining streak. Refereed a almalagmation the other week, had 3 teams (senior grade) I think maybe 4 and they only had 2 subs!!!! Was Ardoyne, Pearses, McDermotts and Mitchells. Average age was about 34/35!! Shocking

[Megaman]

To galvanise the whole league fixtures maybe we're back to using it to seed the championship draw!

Remind me again when that was tried and deemed successful? I genuinely can't remember

Was chatting to a Bredagh man a few months back (a blow in like the rest of them). He said the kids/parents treated the place like a kids club and once they became big boys they just stopped doing 'that sort of stuff'. Bredaghs great U16/minor team from a couple of years ago has virtually none of that team still hurling, so he told me.

1999 league was very good, every game meaning something, irrespective of the final outcome its was a good league / championship set-up.

You obviously dont think so as you lost the final   

What do you suggest we do ref the leagues as they have been a joke for some time now, with the championship not far behind.

[johnneycool]

To galvanise the whole league fixtures maybe we're back to using it to seed the championship draw!

Remind me again when that was tried and deemed successful? I genuinely can't remember

Was chatting to a Bredagh man a few months back (a blow in like the rest of them). He said the kids/parents treated the place like a kids club and once they became big boys they just stopped doing 'that sort of stuff'. Bredaghs great U16/minor team from a couple of years ago has virtually none of that team still hurling, so he told me.

1999 league was very good, every game meaning something, irrespective of the final outcome its was a good league / championship set-up.

You obviously dont think so as you lost the final   

What do you suggest we do ref the leagues as they have been a joke for some time now, with the championship not far behind.

Leagues are leagues, in such as teams will use them to better their cause come championship. That hasn't changed since pussy was a cat. The added problem you have now is the extended intercounty calendar putting the better club hurlers under huge pressure to fulfill the needs of two masters. That wasn't so even ten years ago.

Think of how many championship games Antrim have play this year, including the one (two  ) in Ulster.
That is weekends which were either lost to clubs or players were asked to play two games in two days, hardly conducive to a competitive league or teams able to put out their best players without the risk of injury.

You'll see similar debates in most counties about the competitiveness of their leagues and gurning about starred games, best structures etc, etc, Antrim isn't the only ones.