Hurling Qualifiers 2007

[johnneycool]

i genuinely think antrim have a chance against clare in casement.
clare are missing griffin-carmody-nugent-quinn etc. i don't see where the clare scores are going to come from and with casement abit of a fortress for antrim i think this is the best chacne they are ever going to get. I know from on the ground in clare they are in absolute disarray.

Hammering the diddymen from Down in Casement is one thing, Clare even minus the 6 or 7 players that you mention is a whole new ball game. I'd of more confidence of Antrim getting one over on Clare if they'd got them last up in Casement as the Antrim lads would be more used to the higher pace and physicality of real senior inter county hurling. To step up from the mismash of an Ulster final to playing a Clare team with a lot to prove to themselves is just too much in one go IMO.

[GY Joe]

Im dissed with Galway's draw..  They are better off swapping places with Tipp IMO, get a serious run out agin' Cork and a good test from the other 2 would be alot more beneficial..

[AZOffaly]

I'd swap with you GY Joe

[slow corner back]

Any word of the Clare team for Saturday?

[Silky]

The Clare team will not be named until Saturday. I'll be up in Belfast for the weekend. Will any of the regular posters be in Casement Park. What sort of a crowd to youse get for a game like this?

[theskull1]

Hammering the diddymen from Down in Casement is one thing,

that would make you an arse man then johnny?

I agree with JC. Games like these aren't the norm for Antrim. Clare will be ready and not taking this game lightly. Clare by 10. I will be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong

[AZOffaly]

I dunno lads, if the spread is big I might have a nibble at Antrim to cover. Clare are at their best when on a cause, and I don't think Antrim figure highly on their rage-o-metre

[aontroim abu]

FFS Skull get behind the team and stop being so pessimistic. I too dont think Antrim will win, but i am hopeful that they can put up a good performance. I have seen them in training and they are going well. 4-5 points in it at most.
Maybe if there were more Dunloy men on the team???

[tayto]

Clares trip to Casement has banana skin written all over it, should be very interesting.

Fear the worst from a Cork backlash this weekend in parnell park but it'll be great to see the langers in town, expect it to be busy. We're still missing some key players and Cork are on a mission. Hopefully they'll be complacent but I cant see it with their "everyone is against cork" stuf.

Agree that the fixtures are a bit wierd, would prefer to play offaly at home then cork and tipp but hey, impossible to keep everyone happy.

[theskull1]

FFS Skull get behind the team and stop being so pessimistic. I too dont think Antrim will win, but i am hopeful that they can put up a good performance. I have seen them in training and they are going well. 4-5 points in it at most.
Maybe if there were more Dunloy men on the team???

So your only 5-6 points less pessimistic than me a-abu. Hardly a world away from each other in a game of hurling? BTW me predicting the winning margin says nothing about how I will get behind the team on saturday. And to answer your last question ...no....I'd call it the same, but still hope I was wrong. I believe I'm being a realist rather than a pessimist but whether I'm one or the other will make no difference to the result on Saturday.   

[wickla]

Dublin to be without the services of Liam Rushe for saturdays game against the rebels, massive blow....

[slow corner back]

Antrim to beat Clare
Antrim to beat Laois
Galway to beat Antrim

Clare to beat Laois
Clare to beat Galway

Galway to beat Laois

What a mess!

Hope you are right hard station but I think you may be counting your chickens too early

[Balboa]

So Skull is being a pessimist because he thinks we will get beaten by 10 maybe? A realist i think. What form have we got to be impressed with by Antrim? A victory over the worst Down team in my memory, i just dont think we are used to that level of hurling in the summer time. You will always catch a team out in the league earlier in the year when teams are not going full pelt but Championship is a different kettle of fish. The bookies have Antrim at evens +7 pts, sounds about right to me.

[tayto]

Dublin to be without the services of Liam Rushe for saturdays game against the rebels, massive blow....

The bould Rushe is missing for the minors on sunday v Kilkenny, a blow alright.

The seniors are missing Johnny McCaffery, Kevin and Derek O'Reilly through injury and Alan McCrabbe seems to be off the panel for some reason.
[altho there is rumour that he's back in the fold]
That's 4 of our top players out for the rebels.
It goes without saying but as we're still building a panel we need our top players to compete with the big guns, so sadly i think this'll be easy enough for Cork.
Still looking forward to it, hope we can get some change out of their fabled half back line, what a second senior game for Ross O'Carroll, just John Gardner to try and get to grips with! 
Best of luck tot he lads, will be great to see Cork run out in the nell.

[Bacon]

Galway team named by Loughnane. A couple of new faces?

C Callanan; D Joyce, D Cloonan, D Collins; D Hardiman, J Lee, G Mahon; E Lynch, D Tierney; A Kerins, D Forde, I Tannion; N Healy, E Cloonan, D Hayes.