All Ireland Hurling Championship 2013

[From the Bunker]

I reckon the Dubs will do the double this year.

What an AI final double loss?

[Minder]

30 AI medals to be handed out to new men this year ! No-one left has one apparently

Tom Kenny of Cork would have one would he not ?

[Hoof Hearted]

30 AI medals to be handed out to new men this year ! No-one left has one apparently

Tom Kenny of Cork would have one would he not ?

aye he probably would OK. I just believed Mary Morrissey without checking ! Lazy journalism !

[From the Bunker]

Galway seem to be having their following season blues!

[Canalman]

Some spoofing by the pundits today. Loads of talk about the "gameplan" but no one actually telling us what the "gameplan" was.
Fair play to Michael Lyster in asking what the benefit was in playing an extra man back, his question was just ignored.

KK,Tipp, GY and Wd all gone by semi final stage.

3 Div 2ish teams in the semis. 2 played there this year and Cork playing there next year, oh did I forget to mention Cork beat Clare in the relegation playoff.

Great stuff altogether.

[gerrykeegan]

Canning having a mare here.

Fair fucks to him, beaten, disappointed, blood dripping from his head. Stays signing autographs for the kids.

[From the Bunker]

Canning having a mare here.

Fair f**ks to him, beaten, disappointed, blood dripping from his head. Stays signing autographs for the kids.

True, the last place a losing team player wants to be.

[laoislad]

Canning having a mare here.

Fair f**ks to him, beaten, disappointed, blood dripping from his head. Stays signing autographs for the kids.

+1

[Wildweasel74]

Is this the end of the road for the greatest team ever? surely some of these lads will retire now, or will they hang on too long like the great kerry team

[Asal Mor]

Is this the end of the road for the greatest team ever? surely some of these lads will retire now, or will they hang on too long like the great kerry team

Damien Hayes and Andy Smith are getting on a bit but most of them will be back next year.

[johnneycool]

Firstly I think Cody was wrong to start Shefflin, he was a mile off the pace and I can't remember him striking leather from open play in the 33 odd minutes he was on the field, he looked a pale shadow of his former self. Maybe an injury free winter will allow him one more year to bow out in greater style. The sending off may have been harsh but the first one was a wild slap at a ball that was long gone and the hurl around the neck has been a point where the referees have been punishing all year and rightly so.
Kelly did make a royal hames of the restart, throwing the ball in when two lads were pucking the heads off each other right in his eye sight, then somehow Shane O'Neill escaped with a pull across Larkin after the dust had settled, then wee Tommy Walsh took leave of his senses and was almost on the goal line before the ball was hit. The Cork keeper learned enough from the retake, shuffled himself right along with the other Cork lad on the line and forced Power to to drive it down the middle where he saved it and the rebound that followed. Cork rode their luck but in Nash they've some keeper.
Credit to Kilkenny as playing with 14 for the full of the second half and with the run they had before the game it would have been easy for them to throw in the towel and Cork to pull away, but they didn't and that's the mark of a team who shouldn't be discounted in the coming years.

Fair fucks to Cork all the same, they moved the ball fast and wide, took most of the scoring opportunities that came their way and didn't allow many clean catches in their defence and with Harnedy out on Kieran Joyce had an outlet of their own. JBM seems to have the knack of getting the best out of what he has and (hopefully) they'll come up short this year, but will be a team to reckon with in the following years. This year deserves a team outside the big three to lift Liam McCarthy IMO.

They'll fancy their chances against Dublin, but Dublin won't fear them and will meet them in the pace game, but not sure Daly is a cute as JBM along the sideline to get his match ups right but so far Daly hasn't got much wrong either.

Clare were impressive to an extent, but still have that period in the second half where they let a team get back at them, Galway for all their disorganised look to them did make hay in this period with the two goals but Clare got back on track with some decent point taking. In Tony Kelly they've some player for a 19 year old. John Conlon seems to be off the boil a bit, maybe the concussion and another blow to the head area are having an affect on the lad. Canning seems to be getting a bit of stick, but Clare closed him down well and if there is a negative on Canning is that he tries to do it all and with so many of the Galway forwards under performing then thats hardly surprising. His ball into Healy for the goal was sublime.
Clares impressive look was aided by some terrible ball into the Galway forwards where the ball either dropped harmlessly in front of the keeper or was mopped up easily by Donnellan, Grealish in particular undid a lot of his good defensive work with some thoughtless balls forward.
Wee Davys charges will get a lot of confidence from their run and won't fear Limerick either. They might just undo Limerick as its a local derby and no love lost.

Limerick strangley enough are probably the most experienced team left in it with only Tom Kenny having played in an AI Final other than the Limerick lads.
Two Cork and two Clare men managing the remaining four teams, who'd have thought?

[Declan]

Made my way to Thurles yesterday and it was a great days entertainment. Pretty accurate summation there johnny. Semis should be ggreat

[deiseach]

Any of the Dubs on here got an idea about how many of ye are going to Croke Park for semi-final on Sunday week? Hardly likely to be a sellout?

[Declan]

Unlikely to be a sellout deiseach. Hard to know how many will jump on the bandwagon. Might depend on round one of the double header on Sat night

[deiseach]

Cheers Declan, thought as much. With a name like yours, I take it we can rely on your support against the forces of Evil in the Minor game