Down Club Hurling & Football

[Bacon]

Aye good man lecale, talk yourselves down! You's have the junior champ won already 

Junior Hurling Championship is nearly as close at the IHC.  Ballycran, Ballea, Bredagh, Clonduff and Castlewellan will all fancy their chances. I'd make Ballela favorites. They really should be in the Intermidate Championship and playing in Div 1 will do them good when they line out against Div 2 teams.

[Pull Hard Hes No Relation]

Depends on how the likes of Ballycran chose where to play their young players - whether in intermediate or junior could decide if they win the junior championship. You would have to say that Ballea or Bredagh would be favourites, playing in Division 1 will be a big advantage to Ballea in terms of preparing them for the championship but Bredagh are flying in Division 2 so I'd make it 50:50 between them.

In the intermediate championship I'd say Liatriom are favourites given that they have avoided an Ards team in the 1st round always an advanatge, Ballycran and Portaferry along with Ballyglaget all likely to be hit be "defections" once the senior championship is played which will impact on their overall chances. Shamrocks have a big ask in the 1st round against the Crans although it will be tight and even if they win that Portaferry await them in the semi final couldn't have had a harder draw.

[Whitehair]

Bacon if u'd have seen us this season i doubt u'd be of the opinion that we should be in the intermediate champ, im sure johnneycool wil testify we'r out of our depth. We'v only 15-17 players, no manager and have trained maybe twice in the last few months, hardly the basis on which to to build a champ winning team! Bredagh have probaby played 3 or 4 times the amount of matches we have, with last nites series probably our last before the 1st round.

[Colonel Cool]

Ballycran have pretty much settled on the IHC and JHC teams and they have been playing together for the past month. We haven't always been as organised and best laid plans can fall apart with injuries and suspendtions.

In any knock out the draw is very important.

JHC Draw
Castlewellanv   Bredagh - toss up
Ballycran   3rds  v   Warrenpoint - Ballycran to win
Clonduff   v   Ballela - Ballela to win
Portaferry3rds   v   Ballygalget 3rds- Portaferry to win

Semis
Castlewellan/Bredagh v Ballycran - toss up
Portaferry 3rds v Ballela - Ballela

So I can see Ballela getting to the final without too much bother and anything can happen on the day - ask Ballyvarley about last year. Realisticly I expect the winner to come from the other half of the draw.

[Square Ball]

Div 3 Result

Bright 0-12 Bredagh 0-9

[Square Ball]

                                                                   1.
                                                         Mickey McVeigh
                                                           (Castlewellan)


             2.                                                   3.                                           4.
    John Clarke               Declan Rooney                     Kevin McGuigan
     (An Riocht)                                       (Burren)                             (Shamrocks)


             5.                                                    6.                                          7.
    Ronan Murtagh          Brendan Grant                        Martin Cole
     (Ballyholland)                              (Mayobridge)                          (Rostrevor)
       

                                           8.                                             9.
                                 Dan Gordon                           Jackie Lynch
                               (Loughinisland)                          (Drumgath)



             10.                                                 11.                                         12.
   James McGovern                                   Aidan Carr                              Ronan Sexton
           (Burren)                                     (Clonduff)                                (Mayobridge)


             13.                      14.                                         15.
   Daniel Hughes                                                    Packie Downey                       Benny Coulter
          (Saval)                                                               (Drumgath)                          (Mayobridge)



hard to get his right, but you know what i mean, this is the staring 15

[Lecale2]

Ballycran have pretty much settled on the IHC and JHC teams and they have been playing together for the past month. We haven't always been as organised and best laid plans can fall apart with injuries and suspendtions.

In any knock out the draw is very important.

JHC Draw
Castlewellanv   Bredagh - toss up
Ballycran   3rds  v   Warrenpoint - Ballycran to win
Clonduff   v   Ballela - Ballela to win
Portaferry3rds   v   Ballygalget 3rds- Portaferry to win

Semis
Castlewellan/Bredagh v Ballycran - toss up
Portaferry 3rds v Ballela - Ballela

So I can see Ballela getting to the final without too much bother and anything can happen on the day - ask Ballyvarley about last year. Realisticly I expect the winner to come from the other half of the draw.

It's hard to argue with the Colonel's assessment of the JHC. Looks spot on to me. Interesting that Ballcran have sorted their squads out already. In recent years they haven't been so well organised and won nothing when either the IHC or the JHC was there for the taking if they had managed things better.
I'd be interested to see your take on the IHC Colonel Cool.

[Rois]

Div 3 Result

Bright 0-12 Bredagh 0-9

What happened there?? 

[boscomo]

some result for bright , what? is that right???

[sabhallphadraig]

Div 3 Result

Bright 0-12 Bredagh 0-9

What happened there?? 

Obviously correct unless a heady rush of euphoria on another Bredagh win mean't SB posted the result wrong. This result isn't a surprise as Bright have shown they can up a few gears at their place (great setup there which you'd think would inspire both sides) - they did us earlier in the year on their training pitch and its good to see they can pick it up for not only local derby rivalries. Even so Bredagh should've had too much for them, especially the run they've been on. Was Enda G playing or burn't out from the 2-13 blast last week?

This damn league just gets tighter and hence no predictions at all from me for tonights set - including our own journey to Holywood..   The way its going, can we get Setanta signed up to cover the last round of matches which will probably have 6 or 7 teams still going for playoff places? 

[johnneycool]

Ballycran have pretty much settled on the IHC and JHC teams and they have been playing together for the past month. We haven't always been as organised and best laid plans can fall apart with injuries and suspendtions.

In any knock out the draw is very important.

JHC Draw
Castlewellanv   Bredagh - toss up
Ballycran   3rds  v   Warrenpoint - Ballycran to win
Clonduff   v   Ballela - Ballela to win
Portaferry3rds   v   Ballygalget 3rds- Portaferry to win

Semis
Castlewellan/Bredagh v Ballycran - toss up
Portaferry 3rds v Ballela - Ballela

So I can see Ballela getting to the final without too much bother and anything can happen on the day - ask Ballyvarley about last year. Realisticly I expect the winner to come from the other half of the draw.

It's hard to argue with the Colonel's assessment of the JHC. Looks spot on to me. Interesting that Ballcran have sorted their squads out already. In recent years they haven't been so well organised and won nothing when either the IHC or the JHC was there for the taking if they had managed things better.
I'd be interested to see your take on the IHC Colonel Cool.

If the first round of the intermediates are run off before the juniors then with all the players the Ports used up in last years senior campaign they'll be really stretched to field a junior team. We're not so desperate and should be able to put out a reasonable team and I'd expect us to win through that round. Ballela will be too strong no matter who ever comes out of the first round tie
Castlewellan seem to be hitting a bit of form at the right time but Bredagh should have enough for them. The crans will dispose of Warrenpoint although I have been impressed with a few of the younger Warrenpoint lads who've featured for Down at underage.
The Crans may put out a skeleton intermediate team if they feel better placed to win the juniors which may give them the edge over Bredagh, but who knows with those crafty crans. Bredagh may come through irrespective as big Ali McAllister will add some fire power and he isn't exactly in his forties just yet. Injuries will be Bredaghs main concerns.
Ballela havne't had a good Div1 campaign but there is a fair jump in standards between the two leagues and my money is still on them.

[Balboa]

Johhneycool......Ali isnt a kick in the arse off 40, 39 i think.

[johnneycool]

Johhneycool......Ali isnt a kick in the arse off 40, 39 i think.

Thats still quite young compared to a lot of his team mates 

[Guillem2]

Johhneycool......Ali isnt a kick in the arse off 40, 39 i think.

Thats still quite young compared to a lot of his team mates 

Rory Galwy, Jim Sheridan, The Hogg, Seamus McKillop, Ceny  - Ali is a mear pup on that team!!

[lecale3]

Bredagh 0-09 Bright 0-12

The problem wasn't Enda being burnt out - his namesake Jody was training Antrim - most influential player on the team. Bredagh lost most of their games when he was suspended for the red card a few weeks back. He never gives the ball away and is the best athlete in the team - if not in Div 3.