Poor Hurling Final???

[screenexile]

Just wondering if anyone else felt the Hurling Final was poor enough today??? Scrums of 6/7 men fighting for a ball all the time, the man in possession being molested by 4 opposing players and not getting a free and then the ref blowing him up for something innocuous when he loses it. I was also struck by the amount of stray hurls that went at a mans hand or his mid riff when he was holding on to the ball. Surely that's not allowed?

There were some decent moments like the Kilkenny gosl snd Tommy Walsh in the air but there seems to be a lot more negativity than there used to be and I have to say I didn't enjoy that as much as previous finals.

Anyone else any views?

[Jinxy]

They might as well not bother having a ref at all in hurling.

[Hoof Hearted]

probably a bit of an anti-climax compared to the last 2 years, but still not bad all the same, though after last sunday, anything would have done me !!

[mylestheslasher]

I never really got going, the backs seemed to be winning all the 1 on 1 duals. Were plenty of good scores, just a pity Tipp didn't get a bit closer earlier and we would have had a great finish.

[Blowitupref]

Good game but far from a classic. The minor game was poor final hopefully the other finals Dublin are involved in will be better.

[Zulu]

Yeah, thought it was pretty average. Agree with Jinxy too, hurling is now a sport without rules.

[Minder]

Yeah, thought it was pretty average. Agree with Jinxy too, hurling is now a sport without rules.

I thought Gavin was poor, and was hard on Kilkenny.

[blanketattack]

Hurling referees are definitely more lenient. If you hit a hurling ref across the nose with a hurley you don't even get as much as a ticking while if you hit a football ref's notebook you get a long suspension 

[thewobbler]

The refereeing in hurling is definitely strange.

I commented after last year's final that the ref doesn't use his whistle so much to blow up for a foul, but as to signal a rest period after a particularly frantic piece of action. This year's final was even more of this persuasion.

Personally, I prefer this style to football's over-zealous approach to refereeing. The game does flow better, and the players are more "manly" for it; they actually do play to the whistle. When things are particularly frantic, it seems that the spirit of freeflowing action means that even technical fouls such as throwing the ball, taking too many steps, or lifting it off the ground, are rarely called. The best thing though is that nobody seems to complain. If a man takes five steps in football, all his opponents stop what they're meant to be doing and make a charge to inform the referee. Which is wrong.


I know as much about hurling as I do about relative theory, but I wasn't that impressed by the game itself. Power's goal was simply sublime, while a couple of the points that Tipp's midfielders got were amazing. Your man Walsh was brilliant, a proper edgy but skilful bastard if every you wanted one. Reminds me of Paul Galvin.

But I never got the feeling that Tipp could win it. They never seemed to realise that lumping aimless ball into their full-forwards was playing into Kilkenny's hands. The last five minutes seemed to me like a comical macho "I can puck the ball further than you" contest, with no thought, no skill – just an utter reliance on long ball luck. If Kilkenny had a weakness yesterday, it was facing up to halfbacks and midfielders carrying the ball at them, but Tipp never gave it a rattle.

Just to finish, the sideline cut is still one of the most nonsensical things I have ever seen in sport. It simply doesn't present an opportunity to retain possession in a meaningful way, and the game would be better off with an Aussie Rules style throw-in over the head by a linesman.

[NP 76]

Wise up about the side line cut that point yesterday was a sublime skill that should be appreciated all the more . If these things were practised more like Joe Canning they would result in more scores one of the greatest skills of hurling . I thought the game was played at a high intensity from start to finish and i enjoyed it . Footballers should take a leaf out of these lads books and learn how to give and take hits without lying down crying

[thewobbler]

NP, I've never been at a hurling training session in my life, but I could imagine that before and after every juvenile session, all they do is practice sideline cuts - in the same way that "45 practice" is an "essential" part of a training session for so many corner backs. In truth, the skill involved in both is simply beyond most players, even most top players.

While you might marvel at the 1 in 100 that sail over in top-flight hurling, I can't help thinking that the sheer skill levels involved make it as good as an impossibility for most hurlers, thereby making it a completely random restart function, rather than one with an advantage.


With regard to your other point about players not lying down, this has more to do with the way the games are refereed than the way they are played. Football's more officious style means that players expect to get awarded frees for nothing and for everything. As such, they'll do what they can to gain one. In hurling, where frees are gold dust, the players have to remain focused on playing the game at all times.

[AZOffaly]

Brian Gavin interviewed on Midlands Radio after the game. It's nice to hear the refs chatting about the games too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHW6OzvWC6g

[sheamy]

NP, I've never been at a hurling training session in my life, but I could imagine that before and after every juvenile session, all they do is practice sideline cuts - in the same way that "45 practice" is an "essential" part of a training session for so many corner backs. In truth, the skill involved in both is simply beyond most players, even most top players.

While you might marvel at the 1 in 100 that sail over in top-flight hurling, I can't help thinking that the sheer skill levels involved make it as good as an impossibility for most hurlers, thereby making it a completely random restart function, rather than one with an advantage.


With regard to your other point about players not lying down, this has more to do with the way the games are refereed than the way they are played. Football's more officious style means that players expect to get awarded frees for nothing and for everything. As such, they'll do what they can to gain one. In hurling, where frees are gold dust, the players have to remain focused on playing the game at all times.

Very good point. The fact that a free can be converted from 60-70 yards easy enough by top players means most of the pitch is out of bounds for fouling thus making it a better game and not riddled by persistent fouling as a core tactic.

[Jinxy]

The refereeing in hurling is definitely strange.

I commented after last year's final that the ref doesn't use his whistle so much to blow up for a foul, but as to signal a rest period after a particularly frantic piece of action. This year's final was even more of this persuasion.

Personally, I prefer this style to football's over-zealous approach to refereeing. The game does flow better, and the players are more "manly" for it; they actually do play to the whistle. When things are particularly frantic, it seems that the spirit of freeflowing action means that even technical fouls such as throwing the ball, taking too many steps, or lifting it off the ground, are rarely called. The best thing though is that nobody seems to complain. If a man takes five steps in football, all his opponents stop what they're meant to be doing and make a charge to inform the referee. Which is wrong.


I know as much about hurling as I do about relative theory, but I wasn't that impressed by the game itself. Power's goal was simply sublime, while a couple of the points that Tipp's midfielders got were amazing. Your man Walsh was brilliant, a proper edgy but skilful b**tard if every you wanted one. Reminds me of Paul Galvin.

But I never got the feeling that Tipp could win it. They never seemed to realise that lumping aimless ball into their full-forwards was playing into Kilkenny's hands. The last five minutes seemed to me like a comical macho "I can puck the ball further than you" contest, with no thought, no skill – just an utter reliance on long ball luck. If Kilkenny had a weakness yesterday, it was facing up to halfbacks and midfielders carrying the ball at them, but Tipp never gave it a rattle.

Just to finish, the sideline cut is still one of the most nonsensical things I have ever seen in sport. It simply doesn't present an opportunity to retain possession in a meaningful way, and the game would be better off with an Aussie Rules style throw-in over the head by a linesman.

Congratulations Wobbler.
This might just be the daftest idea ever. 

[Jinxy]

By the way, the ref swallowing his whistle doesn't make the game more free-flowing.
Some amount of rucks and mauls yesterday.