Senior Hurling Club Championship 2015

[Uisce]

Agree that the two games were fairly dead last night. There was no real atmosphere in the stand. C/B and R.E had potential to be an excellent game but petered out with very little action. R/E were poor and relied on Kavanagh's frees for most of the game. The game probably needed a goal earlier to get it going, much like the second game. Second game was a dour enough affair too except for Cha's point taking. He scored some fantastic points and Abbeyleix had nobody to mark him. Hard to see them troubling Camross too much though. Second semi is hard to call however, though knowing the scoring stats at Borris, if C/B can keep PJ out of the game they will go a fair distance to beating Borris.

[finbar o tool]

lads we should have known RE would lose, sure they only win it every second year!! 

on a serious note though, RE are gone now for the year but i just wanted to mention Joe Fitz again before RE are forgotten about for the rest of 2015. he is THE best hurler in this county by a mile. he was the only shining light for RE last night, he plays well on a constant basis, never wastes possession, he seemed to be everywhere last night, mopped up ball after ball while keeping Willie Hyland very quiet at the same time for a good chunk of the game. he reads the game so well and he seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to his anticipation. he plays tough but fair and is a great leader for RE and Laois. i know he puts in serious commitment for hurling, as good as any professional athlete.
he is 31 now and i hope he keeps it up for another few years, he should be what all young hurling lads are looking up to in this county. hats off to him.

[G@@]

he is 31 now and i hope he keeps it up for another few years, he should be what all young hurling lads are looking up to in this county. hats off to him.

Agreed, whole-heartedly. About time you found your sensible hat before commenting on here.

[Uisce]

Predictions for the weekend?

Portlaoise vs Mountrath -- Hard to see anything but a Portlaoise victory here, look to be going very well and will be hard stopped to win the entire thing. Portlaoise
Clonaslee St. Manmans vs Ballyfin -- Harder to call, Ballyfin had a comprehensive win last time out v Shanhoe, Clonaslee are stronger with Rooney back though. Draw

Camross vs Ballinakill -- Ballinakill are probably in bonus territory now but won't give up without a fight. Camross should have too much class for them however. Camross
Borris in Ossory Kilcotton vs Clough-Ballacolla -- Difficult to predict a winner in this one. As I said previously If C/B and curtail Scully they will go a long way to winning. B/K definitely stronger this year  but going to go with a C/B win. Clough Ballacolla

[merman]

Very hard to back against Portlaoise. They have a solid spine and have a decent sprinkling of youth in the right areas. Mountrath will put up a battle but they have a few players with a lot of miles on the clock and it's hard to see them live with Portlaoise for the 60.

I'm going to give the most hesitant of nods to Ballyfin in the other semi. They were laborious enough at times against Shanahoe yet still racked up a massive score in the second half.

Camross should in all honesty beat Ballinakill with a little to spare but I think this could be closer than some realise. Ballinakill look a decent team to me and I don't see their defence being "opened-up" too often. With Cha, they always have a chance as he is eminently capable of firing over points from any range or angle. I wouldn't back against Camross but neither would I be surprised if this was right in the melting pot going into the last 10.

Borris/Kilcotton start as favourites in the second semi-final for me. They suffered throughout the league owing to a huge county contingent but they are all back in harness now and they must see this as their undoubted chance for silverware. I thought CB hurled well in the 2nd half against RE but they'll need extra gears to have a chance here. This could be a game where defences are on top; PJ Scully looks to be in the form of his life and his accuracy from play and placed balls could be telling.

[Unlaoised]

Very hard to back against Portlaoise. They have a solid spine and have a decent sprinkling of youth in the right areas. Mountrath will put up a battle but they have a few players with a lot of miles on the clock and it's hard to see them live with Portlaoise for the 60.

I'm going to give the most hesitant of nods to Ballyfin in the other semi. They were laborious enough at times against Shanahoe yet still racked up a massive score in the second half.

Camross should in all honesty beat Ballinakill with a little to spare but I think this could be closer than some realise. Ballinakill look a decent team to me and I don't see their defence being "opened-up" too often. With Cha, they always have a chance as he is eminently capable of firing over points from any range or angle. I wouldn't back against Camross but neither would I be surprised if this was right in the melting pot going into the last 10.

Borris/Kilcotton start as favourites in the second semi-final for me. They suffered throughout the league owing to a huge county contingent but they are all back in harness now and they must see this as their undoubted chance for silverware. I thought CB hurled well in the 2nd half against RE but they'll need extra gears to have a chance here. This could be a game where defences are on top; PJ Scully looks to be in the form of his life and his accuracy from play and placed balls could be telling.

Good post Merman I agree 100% with your thoughts apart from Ballyfin I think they are carrying a few knocks from all the big Duel games and this could be a factor!

Looking forward to a great weekend of hurling!

[redsetanta]

So it's a Camross v C/B final.

Any reports on the game lads?

Thought B/K would get through but the old dogs got the victory, goals being the difference it seems.

[merman]

B/K can have no complaints. They were beaten all over the field and but for some needless and perhaps questionable frees, the gap could have been greater. I thought Matthew Whelan was excellent but he aside, very few of BK's players stood up. PJ Scully was lively but well marshalled by John A Delaney.
For CB, there is a definite steel to them this year. I make that 4 semi-final wins from their 9 consecutive appearances; not enough for a team of their ability and I think they know it too. Their biggest test still awaits and it may be as much in their heads as on the field...

The first game was a strange one. Camross just about did enough but it's fair to say they barely got out of third gear. I do think the better team won and Camross will be very confident of taking a 2nd championship in 3 years. For Ballinakill, there should be a lot of disappointment today. I think they doubted themselves when a little conviction could have seen them through. They've had a remarkable year and it shows what some togetherness and spirit can do for a team. If they had even one more forward...

[finbar o tool]

Id have to disagree with 2 lines there Merman, Camross were only in 3rd gear?? They only took the lead with a few minutes to play and even then Cha bottled a free near the end to level it, decided to play it short, took the pass and bottled the shot too. That would have levelled the match in injury time! And they stayed in 3rd gear?! I think you are too kind to Camross... I think both teams were bad in that match, i was nearly asleep in the 1st half. That little schemozzel near half time woke me up! The whole way through i was waiting for camross to kick into gear and go on to win by 7/8 points but they didnt! They were not able. If it was a better side than Ballinakill camross would have been beaten.
The other line id kind of disagree with is that John A had Scully well marshalled. I will say John A is one of the best defenders in the county and he did as well as anyone else would be able but Scully still got 4 from play and should have had 1 or 2 more. Very hard for anyone to mind Scully for an hour.
Apart from him and Matt Whelan and Aaron Dunphy at times, no one really stood up to be counted on for BK. They have great individual players but as usual cant seem to work together. No cohesion. 2 examples - as good as Scully is, there was 2 minutes of normal time left, he wins the ball well and fires over a great point, great individual score, but absolutely useless for the team, they needed a goal at that stage to have any hope. 2 mins later Matt Whelan was surrounded by 4 CB players, and he couldnt find any of the 3 loose BK players for a pass. Where were they?! No teamwork, and they looked like they lost interest with 10/15 mins left to play. They have a lot of work to do if they are to win any titles.
Going only on yesterdays games CB will win the final handy, but we all know at this stage not to write off camross in a county final. 

[merman]

I suppose what I meant was that Camross were nowhere near their best. True, Ballinakill competed well and stifled them to a degree but one would expect a significant improvement come county final.

On Scully, he hit over 4/5 fine points and really is in great form. He's very tough to mark because his first touch is just so good. I would still contend that Delaney had a good game on him. Yes, he hit over some lovely scores but Delaney turned him over a good few times and had a particularly solid second half. Scully is undoubtedly B/K's main forward and a bit like Ross King with RE, he is their first option whenever a defender has a chance to look up and drill a pass. If Scully can bring that form forward into a Laois jersey next year then it will be an incredible boost.

I thought the crowd was noticeably quiet yesterday. There seemed a really good turnout, I was pleasantly surprised in that regard, but even the closing stages of both games was a little muted. A little strange considering that both games were so close.

Looking ahead to the final, it has the makings of a really interesting match. Camross have beaten CB three years on the trot now and won't fear them one bit. CB have probably done the better hurling over the last month but the First Round defeat will still be in the corner of their mind. I wouldn't like to call it to be honest...

Would I be correct in saying that CB could be the first team to win the Palmer Cup, League and Championship in the one year?

[Jimmy P]

Camross were not near their "best" simply because they were not given freedom to hurl. The half back line midfield and half forward line of Ballinakill worked tirelessy until the end. in the middle they have two of the counties most intelligent hurlers in James Walsh and Seamus Dwyer add Chas scoring ability they very nearly got there with Camross getting a couple of great late scores to win it. I don't think Cha "bottled" the last effort to equalize either. there was an extremely strong wind there and that coupled with the matches exertions he probably thought working it closer to goal was a better option. I think Camross will gain more from this than Ballacolla will have after their victory.

Games were polar opposites in terms of any sort of intensity. Ballacolla never once looked in trouble and have in Willie Dunphy probably the most dangerous forward in the county with ball in hand. Hyland and tom Delaney were also excellent and it will be an intriguing final.

The senior B semis Saturday night were a drab affair. Mounthrath had Portlaoise under pressure at half time however you always felt Portlaoise would pull away and that they did. Hard to see them not beating Clonaslee who caused a minor upset in dispatching a woeful Ballyfin. I thought at half time something similar to the first game, that after all Clonaslees industry ballyfin would simply pull away however it never happened and Clonaslee deserved their win. The standard here was quite poor and Clonaslee must improve 10 fold to avoid a hiding in the final.

[blueandwhite1]

I thought Ballinakill did very well and didn't think Camross had two more gears in reserve. Ballinkill competed very well for posession and deserved to be as close as they did. With a few more options around the pitch they would be contenders. Well organized.

Clough Ballacolla were very impressive. The teamwork, movement, passing and intensity was impressive and their second goal exemplified this. Can't understand why BK still look like a team that have never played together before and why some of their 'stars' can't perform. Their golden generation of minor wins will pass them by (a bit like Rathdowney years ago) if they can't find a cohesive first 15 that play for each other.

A final comment on the standards again. Although the crowd was a bit flat for both games the standard of hurling is again miles better than what it was a few years ago. I think the format of the championship and the 8 team restriction is really working well. Some of the movement, touches, catching, defending and scoring from all four teams was top notch. The standout player across the 4 teams was still probably Cha Dwyer, despite potentially poor decision making in the closing minute of the game.

[Jimmy P]

I disagree that it was poor decision making on Dwyers part. it was into injury time and a very strong wind. The free was under the stand out around midfield. It was very intelligent hurling to try work it in which they so nearly did.

On the BK issue they seemed to have no appetite what so ever for the occasion. They played a game which suits Ballacolla down to the ground. Low intensity plenty of space kinda hurling. Its a game which in turn might not be what Ballacolla wanted in terms of going into a county final perhaps without a proper game to focus the minds. Its strange that BK have almost half a panel on the intercounty team yet can only muster that sort of performance in their biggest game of the year.

In terms of the standard of hurling I think the 8 team championship definitely has improved teams and that can obviously only be a good thing.

One last gripe and its an old reliable one! The standard of referee is still shockingly poor in the county. Our top official Stapleton did his best to keep BK in the game Sunday and Saturday night we had the comedy show that is Pat Moran reffing Clonaslee and Ballyfin. How Darren Rooney wasnt sent off is baffling. Yet he was only shown a yellow card and rewarded with his free being brought up 10 yards. Unbelievable stuff 

[merman]

I find it interesting the way people see things. Forums like this can be defined by the quality of discussion and it's good to see differing opinions.

I think we may have been a little harsh on BK. They were within touching distance of CB before their second goal. I'm not sure any other team showed the same intent in getting goals that CB did; Aidan Corby could have tapped the ball over but he drove right through the heart of the defence and his pass to Hyland was perfect. There was definite intent from CB to get goals and that was in stark contrast to BK who did seem to lack any real threat inside. BK aren't as cohesive and determined a unit as we would expect but they come up against a CB team with a lot of experience and I think that counted in the end.

On the Camross-Ballinakill game; I wasn't a bit surprised with how well Ballinakill played. They are a well-drilled, organised team with quality players in crucial areas. What they don't have, unfortunately, is enough firepower up front. I never really thought they would go on and win the game and more importantly, I don't think they really believed they would either.

I do think Cha made the wrong decision. Yes, there was a breeze but I'm convinced Cha was in range. PJ Scully would have a comparable strike and he pointed a free from further out, into the same goals, and had 5-10 yards to spare. He only gained about 8-10 yards and he was then striking of his weaker side under pressure. There might have been some merit to what he tried but it plainly didn't work. That said, Cha can hold his head very high. He is one of the top forwards in the county and his appetite for hard work is incredible. If I had to pick one Laois player who could force an Allstar nomination over the next few years then he'd be right at the top of my list...

I also think nobody has mentioned my stand-out performance which was from Picky Maher. He scored six points from play and he won a couple of frees that he converted too. If he maintains his form from the last 2 and a half games then that will give CB a huge boost Sunday week.

Finally, the 8-team format definitely has its merits but I just think our club players are getting short shrift; I would like to see them get some more meaningful hurling in the summer months. The Palmer Cup is not offering anything, the league is somewhat devalued by the lack of county panel participation and potentially two championship games is just not enough for me. 

The standard is definitely improving. Have we seen any players banging down the door for next year's senior panel?

[redsetanta]

Each team is guaranteed 3 games. If a team loses a game befoe semi final stage but gets to a semi they're guaranteed 4 championship games. Thats as many as in any other county. The key is playing championship games earlier in the summer like the bigger counties. There really isn't another format that will give anymore than 1 more game.