Down Club Hurling & Football

[johnneycool]

Sounds like you were there youself JC! Will you be getting involved?

I actually wasn't at that course but will probably offer to get involved in the near future. I've got the foundation badge a few years back but will need to upgrade to level 1 and the child protection shortly.

[Square Ball]

With all the talk about the development squads for hurling what will be the make up of them, will there be under 14s and above, will there be two from each age group, one made up from the Ards and one from the rest, or has this not been deceided yet?

[Lecale2]

As far as I know the intention is to have one all county squad. It will be made up of young fellas with the potential to play for the county so it will be dominated by the Ards clubs. Sessions will be at a central venue, Castlewellan was mentioned as a possibility. I think the plan is to start with an u14 squad this year. Next year we'll have that squad as u15s and a new u14 squad. Players will be selected following a series of trails where they will be tested in the basic skills of the game. I think there's a real will among hurling people in the county to make this work.

[Colonel Cool]

You're not far wrong there Lecale2. The details are still be worked out but it will be along the lines you suggest.

[Cloc Mor]

Surely there were better places to take the game to.  Was talking to people who said conditions were atrocious.  Good enough field but spectator facilities (costing £7) were very poor.  Surely there were Health and Safety issues with people standing on a very slippery grass surface on a day pouring with rain.  Shows how far behind other counties we are if Downpatrick is the best we can come up with in the month of January (no disrespect intended to DPK).

[thewobbler]

I had a bit of a row with one of the gatemen on the way in. I wanted to know how he had the nerve to ask £7 into an uncovered muckpile to watch two 'b' teams playing in the pissing rain. He just kept pointing at the sign. He then tried to charge my disabled cousin for entry, but backed off when the foul language came on the scene.

Seriously though, £7 is an absolute disgrace and the Ulster Council should be ashamed of themselves. They should be encouraging attendances at these games, not trying to screw those who come along.  If it wasn't for the aforementioned cousin's love of all things Down I don't think I'd bother again this year.     

As for the game, well it just wasn't football. Proof once again that Gaelic football should only be played in the summer months. As you would expect, considering they had an experienced enough core in place, Antrim looked the better organised and the more clinical in front of the posts. Even with their plethora of six-footers Down struggled for long periods to gain possession at midfield, and for some reason continually refused to play direct football, even though the conditions were crying out for it, second half with the wind especially. But given that it's the first time most of these lads have been on the field together it was understandable, and like other posters, I'm fully behind what Ross is doing here. If he uncovers just 1 six-foot tall athlete from this experiment, it'll be worthwhile.

I'm still not 100% sure of who some of the fellas were, but of the Down side, Stepen Kearney looked bright before getting injured, Stephen Toner caught they eye at corner-back, Peter Telford and Decky Rooney had their moments, and Aidan Burns and Eoin Henry both brought something to the game when introduced.

[Cloc Mor]

ADMIN - do we really need two threads on virtually the same subject.  Could we not merge the two Down threads.  Any views on this?

[Pangurban]

An absolute disgrace, fixing this game for Downpatrick, which is probably the club ground least suited to cater for spectators at this time of year. High admission charge unnecessary and unjustifiable,and will do nothing to promote attendance at McKenna Cup games, especiallywith tg4 excellent live coverage. As for the game itself, little be could drawn from it, except perhaps as one poster previously remarked, Down are still incapable of playing direct football

[Cloc Mor]

The Clonduff Management Committee ratified the appointment of Benny Corrigan as new Senior Team Manager at their meeting on Thursday night. Benny has just finished a five-year spell with his home club, Bryansford with whom he won a Senior Championship. He was a fully committed player and manager with Bryansford and has guaranteed the same commitment to Clonduff. Selectors will be in place as soon as possible.

Clonduff website

Just after picking this up from the Clonduff website.  Benny Corrigan is a great acquisition for Clonduff.  Heard they had trouble getting a manager and had been knocked back by 14 prospective managers.  This doesn't take away from the fact that they have gotten an excellent man in the end.

[Guillem2]

Bad news for Down. He's a fine hurler.

[Cloc Mor]

Is Courtney the same guy who was sent off in a football match last year and suspended for 'growling' at a referee and' showing his teeth'?

[johnneycool]

Is Courtney the same guy who was sent off in a football match last year and suspended for 'growling' at a referee and' showing his teeth'?

I don't think Courtney was done for the growling (have you ever heard the likes of it?) it was his club mate Art McGuinness who got the suspension for bad diction and even worse dentistry.

He will be a big loss to the hurlers as another year in centre back would of brought him on leaps and bounds at this level.

That really only leaves big Aaron for centre back and he'd really need to get his big finger out of his hole at the training.

[Whitehair]

Think it was Eoin did the "growling" and his dad Artie wrote into the irish news about it...

[thewobbler]

Mickey Donnelly from Tyrone is the new Mayobridge manager. Anyone know much about him? Is he the man to teach them how win in Ulster?

[amallon]

I know very little about him.  I've heard he worked with the Bridge a few times in the past when Jackie McManus was the Bridge manager.  I think he was Enniskillen manager at a time as well.