Down Club Hurling & Football

[redandblackareback]

Yes, ticket allocation is going to be extremely tight for their stand. You will have no problem whatsoever acquiring a ticket, I would say there will be lucky to be 10-12 thousand at it.

Club championship draw is on tonight in Park Esler. Must be in the new county offices there? Anyone any details of what time its at??

[Leo]

Yes, ticket allocation is going to be extremely tight for their stand. You will have no problem whatsoever acquiring a ticket, I would say there will be lucky to be 10-12 thousand at it.

Club championship draw is on tonight in Park Esler. Must be in the new county offices there? Anyone any details of what time its at??

Are we so well off that we can afford two county offices? Surely now that we have a new buiding at Pairc Esler which we own, all office business should be conducted from there?

[supersub]

any of yous see paddy kielty on question of sport wearing his retro down jersey? fair play!

'Big Ledge'

[redandblackareback]

Yes, ticket allocation is going to be extremely tight for their stand. You will have no problem whatsoever acquiring a ticket, I would say there will be lucky to be 10-12 thousand at it.

Club championship draw is on tonight in Park Esler. Must be in the new county offices there? Anyone any details of what time its at??

Are we so well off that we can afford two county offices? Surely now that we have a new buiding at Pairc Esler which we own, all office business should be conducted from there?

Think thats the plan? Are the offices not going to be in that building?

[5 Sams]

any of yous see paddy kielty on question of sport wearing his retro down jersey? fair play!

'Big Ledge'

Saw that....good plug for Retro GAA

[EagleLord]

See Benny and Oisin McConville agreeing in this weekes Newry Democrat about the ticket prices......

[pauly2]

Is Jamie Clarke this great player or is he just a flash in the pan.  A few years back they were talking about Charlie Vernon being the next big thing and he has failed to deliver on the big stage.  Will Clarke be the same?? Also interesting posts about the Armagh half forward line being their weakest line - Mackin is a Derby winner but cant play ball, Billy Joe Padden hasnt got the legs anymore and Tony Kernan is no Aaron.  Charlie has played in there a bit as well but to no avail.  I cant see the threat from these lads to our established half back line.  I honestly think this will be the platform to our success on Sat night...

[supersub]

Jamie Clarke is an excellent footballer and I will guarantee he will not be a 'flash in the pan' - his performances for McRory, Sigerson, Crossmaglenn and Armagh Minors/u21/seniors have been top class and very consistent. Pain in the neck for any defender and down will have to be very alert to him on sat night.

Anyone at the championship draws tonight who could keep us updated?

[EagleLord]

Agreed, Jamie Clarke has performed well on every stage put to him so far, star player at minor and u21 level, scoring goals for Cross in AIF, goal on armagh senior debut.. Not going to be a flash in the pan at all.

[PAULD123]

Lads lets lay off Allba2, it is good to have enthusiastic supporters. Though I do think some of the comments were a little over excited, generally it is good to support the team, praise them and be confident.

I have to agree McKernan is far from the country's best CHB. He is prone to concentration lapses, attacks without first securing defence, isn't a fantastic tackler and is often wrong footed by a running attacker. However he is strong, fast, has a good shot, gives his all, and very good at interceptions, most importantly he is one of the fittest CHBs in the country. Bryan Cullen said that in the Dublin game he couldn't catch him.

He has good qualities that are indeed better than virtually any CHB around and some bad ones that put him well behind many of those same guys. For instance someone said he won't even be the best CHB on the field on Saturday. True McKeever will be a better defender but will McKeever burst forward as often? Will he support the attack as well? Will he have the same stamina? Which is more likely to score?

Not easy to say who is the better CHB when its put like that I think.

As for Jamie Clarke, he is without doubt talented but is prone to being physically marked as he isn't big and doesn't have the range of soloing skills that can get him out of trouble. In a quality 6-man attack he would run riot, but with 3 average half forwards, Swift & R.Clarke out, and only Stevie to pass to, his options will be severely limited. I don't expect our defence to be naive enough to leave him isolated one-on-one too often. But there is one very important fact that can not be forgotten, he scored 0-3 against Galway, & 0-4 against Cork, all from play!

[supersub]

On the contrary he is one of the more skilful forwards in the game at the moment which makes him hard to stop and he draws frees from this a lot. He isn't the strongest but will pose a threat whether he has one or ten 'good' forwards around him.  To be a stand out player in an All Ireland winning club team at 21 is as good as anything to show he will perform at the highest level no matter who he is marking or who is around him.

[5 Sams]

See Benny and Oisin McConville agreeing in this weekes Newry Democrat about the ticket prices......

Look a bit closer Eaglelord and you'll see that they agree on everything!!! Oisín is also looking forward to running out onto Morgan Fuels Park for the first time in a Down jersey!!!


Bit of a mix up in the sports editorial department I think.

[bridge fan]

the championship draws are live online  tonight at 9-00

[bridge fan]

http://www.destinationnewry.com/                   link for above

[amallon]

Junior Football Championship
Prelim Round
A) Bredagh v St. Michael's
B) Aghaderg v St. Paul's

Teconnacht v B
Aughlisnafin v Ballykinlar
A v Saul
Bright v Dromara