Hurling 2026

[marty34]

Eoin Ryan is away travelling.
Others opted out like Rory O'Connor, Conor McDonald, Cathal Dunbar and Charlie McGuckin.
AJ Redmond from Rathnure is definitely good enough too. Maybe even Paudie Foley should still be in there.

What's the story with Conor Mac Doyler 1?


He's still in Wexford, isn't he?


I think losing the experience of Dee O'Keefe and Liam Óg in 2025 were a big blow for Wexford, especially at a crucial time.


Does O'Keefe still play his club hurling in Wexford? I remember reading that he taught in Meath and his father-in-law was Jarlath Burns.


Losing Matthew O'Hanlon was a big blow also. Hear to replace that experience, as we can see now.     

[seafoid]

https://youtube.com/shorts/8KrC0uh9Csw

[marty34]

A good win for Antrim. The noise around Davy/county board/players seems to have died down and the players have got two wins out of two since. They're now doing their talking on the pitch. Maybe this should have been their mantra from the start of the JMCD?


Down finding this level tricky but their early win over Antrim has set them up well for consolidation in the JMCD.

 

A solid win for Derry V Kerry at home yesterday. Needed the win and got it. Hard to know about Kerry as they were in the final already so both teams will play each other again - this time in Croke Park. Derry should have beat London last year - a chance lost but they'll get the chance again. Kerry seem a level above everybody else in the CR but anything can happen in  a one-off game.


A huge win for Tyrone over Armagh. The two teams are heading in opposite directions. Stephen has Tyrone progressing well and will get a day out at HQ. But Mayo will be a tough ask in Croke Park. A win for Tyrone and they'll be in the CR next year so they'll want a shot at that.   

Apologies, I made a mistake here on this NR post.

New York are 'parachuted' into a semi-final V Mayo this week-end and the winners are to meet Tyrone in the final. 

NY won the LM last year in Croke Park. People weren't happy with this and I tend to agree with them.   

[johnnycool]

Round 5 this weekend in both Munster and Leinster.

We know who's coming out of Munster, but we don't know who's going to be in what position.

The easier one to call, would be Limerick and Tipp although Tipp will be playing for some sort of pride it's hard not to see Limerick winning this one even if they do throw some panelists on for a bit of a run. The Limerick spine is so strong at the minute, they will be the architects of their own downfall if they lose this one.

As for the other one, I'd still have Cork as very slight favourites even with the injuries and for Clare it's going to be hard for some of those lads to hit the same heights 2 weeks in a row and with losing not being the end of their championship, the fire mightn't be the same.

When you hear of Tony Kelly driving the hurl into Robert Doyle before the game began, a lad the Clare contingent would doubt his physicality, but not his ability then you know Lohan has them pumped for it.
He'll have to do the same and win by 4 points to take the Munster final spot away from Cork.
How John Conlon fares after a full game the first time since he played against Down in the league and the additional pace Cork will bring to that area of the field will be telling.

Big Duggan was quiet enough in open play last weekend, and will want good ball in to bother Cahalane, which he will do.

There will be goals in this game, it'll depend who gets the most and when.


Leinster is also in it's final rounds with almost every position up for grabs.

Offaly should beat Kildare even though Kildare haven't rolled over for anyone in this league and will take some beating.
Offaly should end up on 6 points and will need Dublin to beat Kilkenny to give them a shot at the third spot.

Kilkenny need to beat Dublin to be sure of getting out of Leinster, a draw might suffice as score difference is in their favour unless Offaly win by 30 points which I don't see happening. A win by the looks of it would also secure them a Leinster final spot on head to head with Dublin.
I fancy Dublin to do it, Rushe, is a bit like Conlon, he offers leadership, can win high ball in any company and lift the crowd and the team. On the flip side Adrian Mullen will probably play for Kilkenny and give their attack and midfield area a bit more guile to pick the right pass as well as take his own scores.
The Dublin attack needs to function and they have the capability against a very ropey defence and if it does I think they'll win and put Kilkenny out.

Galway go down to Wexford licking their wounds after some atrocious shooting in salthill to give the win to Dublin. A wee reality check at this time might be a good thing alround and they won't be going into this game lightly.

I think they'll win by 7 or 8 in the end and get that other Leinster final spot.

Wexford won't be relegated and can regroup for next year with some players introduced to a very steep learning curve which will stand to them in years to come.

Kildare are showing good signs and will be disappointed to be back down into the Joe McDonagh with no guarantees they'll bounce back up. A good year all in for Dowling who may be in contention for a role with his own county in the winter.

 

[marty34]

I wonder will Clare be gunning for a Munster title? Is that high up on their agenda considering this group have never won it.


They got close to it around '22 and '23 I think but Limerick just pipped them.  Maybe they want a Munster title for their collection, especially the older lads.


Finishing third in Munster is not the be  all and end all either. Could lie in the long grass.

[seafoid]

Kilkenny lost the u20 final. They don't have many decent players coming through from underage these days.