2015 Laois Senior Hurling

[redsetanta]

For a long time they were but they took them out of Croke Park because the crowd was so small. Even with a double header you would be doing well to get 30,000 there.

Although in recent years the football hasn't been attracting to much more.

[Don Draper]

For a long time they were but they took them out of Croke Park because the crowd was so small. Even with a double header you would be doing well to get 30,000 there.

Although in recent years the football hasn't been attracting to much more.

Exactly. ITs not about the money, remember? Isnt that what we're told about the Dubs and all the other shite they stick in there. Its about opening it up to other counties and players to play in there.

The Provincial Semi Finals should be in Croker. All before that, elsewhere.

[finbar o tool]

i see your point G@@, but its not for some fluffy feeling i would like all counties to get a run out in croker, its for when the hard work pays off, they wont be running out in 'the big shmoke' for the first time, they will have that experience out of the way.
not a major issue but worth mentioning all the same! 

didn't hear about a munster power house match, do tell??

[Unlaoised]

How did the friendly go again tipperary?

[omaghjoe]

Sorry for the invasion but I just wanted to congratulate Unlaoised on a great username!

[Podge72]

Beaten by Tipp by 4 points behind closed doors in Semple on Sunday morning,both sides with close enough to the full compliment

[redsetanta]

How are we all feeling about Saturday. How is Foyle doing? He did get 15 mins or so against Galway so he must be right for this one. Good option from the bench.
Any team news from either camp yet?

[merman]

This really is a huge opportunity on Saturday.
Dublin will quite rightly start as clear favourites but playing in O' Moore Park is huge for us and I'd be hopeful that we can give the Dubs plenty of it. It actually has the potential to be a brilliant occasion as the Dublin Hurling Fans are a decent bunch and though coming expecting to win, they won't bring the arrogance that their football counterparts so clearly do.

I think we have a chance in this one.
Dublin are a formidable unit but they don't have the ability to kill a game in 10 minutes the way Galway did. Too much is made of Dublin's apparent lack of 'natural hurlers' and it's something I don't buy into really but they have tended, over the last number of years, to hurl in a formulaic way and have arguably done their best hurling playing a sweeper. I think there's an All-Ireland challenge in Dublin but they're not there yet; they have players playing out of position and lack square pegs for square holes.
I also think we will be able to get our match-ups right in defence.
Danny Sutcliffe is a wonderful talent but does, in my opinion at least, his best hurling at left-half forward. He will come up against Joe Fitzpatrick who had a bit of a nightmare against Galway but then was outstanding against Offaly; a player of his talent rarely puts two bad games together.
On the other flank, Ryan O' Dwyer will likely start on Tom Delaney and that physical battle could be a joy to watch. O' Dwyer could also start in the centre if Cunningham releases Liam Rushe back to his best position at centre-back and again, I think Matthew Phelan has the wherewithall to handle O' Dwyer.

In our fullback line, we're likely to start with John A Delaney and Brian Stapleton either side of Cahir Healy. All three should match up well wherever and if Dotsy O' Callaghan starts and I'd be comfortable enough with handling Paul Ryan, David Tracey, Eamonn Dillon and Mark Schutte too. I expect we will play a sweeper and it will be important to cut off direct ball into Schutte in particular as he is a very dangerous operator; I'd personally like to see John A detailed to mark him wherever he goes.

I'd continue with Eoin Reilly in the goals.

Darragh O' Connell started in midfield for Dublin the last day and I thought he was one of their better players. He's a talented hurler and can pick off points from distance; I understand he did a lot of his hurling in Kerry a little further forward. I wouldn't be sure who will start beside him to be honest but we'll need to be tight and not let them get a foothold in the game because they will look to put points on the board quickly.

I'd expect us to start with Paddy Purcell and either Joe Campion or Dwayne Palmer at centre-field.
Personally, I'd like to see Palmer selected at 15 but deployed as the sweeper as I think he is best-suited to the role. Purcell and Campion are athletic and dynamic enough to hold tight to their men and still offer good protection to our half-back line.

For me that leaves us with 5 forwards. Hyland and Cha pick themselves at 10 and 12 (though if Peter Kelly doesn't make it I'd throw either in at 14 for a spell or two) and assuming Neil Foyle isn't fit for 70 then Idont see alternatives to Picky Maher or Zane Keenan and I'd expect they will both start in the full-forward line. Tommy Fitzgerald's place is probably under most-threat but I don't think any of the alternatives have really kicked the door down and demanded inclusion. I'm a fan of Ben Conroy but I think the likes of him or PJ Scully are best served coming from the bench. Hopefully Tommy will start at 11 and he'll have to be at his intelligent best as Dublin will seek to build a platform with primary possession crucial to the way they like to hurl.
I'd be hopeful that Foyle could give us a real boost if we're still in this game with 20/25 to go.
I have a feeling Dublin will line-up with Keaney-Rushe-Crummy at 5-6-7 and that is a formidable unit to break down. Crummy has bedded in well and Keaney and Rushe are very strong physically and aerially. This area could well be the winning and losing of the game and if we can break even here then we have a legitimate chance.
That's a huge 'if' though!

So for me, we line up;
Reilly
Stapleton-Healy-Delaney
Palmer
Fitzpatrick-Whelan-Delaney
Purcell-Campion
Cha-Fitzgerald-Hyland
Picky-Keenan

Man for man, we are closer to Dublin than we were to Galway but we're still a level or two behind. We have to be better than the sum of our parts and put Dublin off their game. We'll need O' Moore Park absolutely rocking and that could be worth an extra 3 or 4 points to us.

I think we can get at that Dublin full back line, especially if there are doubts over Peter Kelly (who they probably won't risk if he's not at 100%!).
I think we'll need goals and I've a strange feeling there is a penalty in us this week. Hyland, Cha and Keenan just seem to know where the posts are in OMP and if they can pick off 10 between them then I'd be hopeful we could post a score of in and around 2.18. For that to be enough we will have to be incredibly tight at the back and cut out frees and individual errors. I don't see massive goals in this Dublin team but they will likely hit 20+ points.

Letting my heart rule my head I just have a feeling that we could make a serious statement here on Saturday. The Offaly result can, to a degree, be disregarded (just for a few days) such was the utter turmoil within the Offaly camp but a win here would be a seismic step forward for hurling in this county. I'm going to be bold with my prediction but with the caveat that if I was posting with head ruling heart there would be a swing of goals the other way.

I'm going with:
Laois 2.18 - 0.23 Dublin

PS: €15 entry is more than fair for Saturday's match and I really hope we see a strong Laois showing!

[G@@]

Great post Merman, and hard to disagree with any of it. It seems you have taken on board all the lessons learned from the Galway game and tailored a plan for the Dubs. I like it! 

[burdizzo]

Yes, great post, all right. My main fear is that Dublin's physicality will be too much.

[Tobias]

Dublin steam wouldn't scare me too much except for the full forward lines physicality. Dillon Keaney and schutte are big men compared to our full bk line and will take watching. I'm looking forward to the game and I really hope for another great day.

[Pad]

Would be massive boost to get one over on the Dubs after the disappointing outing the last day. Seemingly Zane Keenan and Ben Conroy are doubts for tomorrow after both picked up injuries in that Tipp match. Not what we need at this stage.

[Mossy Bruce]

Has the opening lineup for tomorrow been released, yet?

It looks like Offaly is playing at the same time as Laois--so Midlands Radio will probably be covering the match in Ennis.
Is there a Dublin radio station that might be covering the whole match against the Dubs?

[redsetanta]

There's a station called Anna Livia which may have it. Maybe one of the other lads would know better.

[Don Draper]

If Midlands Sport arent broadcasting it live on air, check their social media links, they'll have a dedicated stream for it.