Offaly on the rise?

[davereilly]

Offaly look like they're gonna be a force to reckon with in years to come, they beat Limerick quite comfortably, were very unlucky against waterford and actually didn't play too bad against Kilkenny (scoreline not a true reflection on game)

So what does everybody else think about the future of Offaly hurling?

[orangeman]

The signs are positive but they will need to improve a lot more even to win a big match next year - second season will determine how far they've come on.

[AZOffaly]

I think we need to not get carried away. We are still a long, long way off Kilkenny (obviously). I do think we are closer to the likes of Waterford, Clare, Limerick, etc etc, so if we continue to make sure we play with passion, with a clear gameplan, and continue to improve, we will join the peleton fairly quickly.

Underage is still a concern for me. We need to make sure that Offaly play the same way at all grades, so that lads can step up and feel comfortable. We need to coach the basics of Offaly hurling well. Hooking, Blocking, Ball movement, Intelligent decisions etc etc. And we also need to work on high fielding.

I'm more hopeful than this time last year, but I won't be breaking out the champagne anytime soon.

[davereilly]

Eh for the record I'm not from Offaly, I'm from Meath!

Do Offaly have much underage success coming through the ranks? All I know is they lost out to Kilkenny in the Leinster u-21 final.
But they've had a good year this year at senior (a relitavely young team too) and with Birr making the all-ireland club final I'd say the future looks bright for the faithful.

[AZOffaly]

Eh for the record I'm not from Offaly, I'm from Meath!

Do Offaly have much underage success coming through the ranks? All I know is they lost out to Kilkenny in the Leinster u-21 final.
But they've had a good year this year at senior (a relitavely young team too) and with Birr making the all-ireland club final I'd say the future looks bright for the faithful.

I meant 'we' because I'm from Offaly. I guessed you weren't

Offaly have a young senior team, and hopefully this year will encourage them to kick on from there. Underage is far from great, which is why I'm worried about it, but there is the basis for implementing a plan, with tangible results fairly quickly if we take the chance.

[stevecw]

I think we need to not get carried away. We are still a long, long way off Kilkenny (obviously). I do think we are closer to the likes of Waterford, Clare, Limerick, etc etc, so if we continue to make sure we play with passion, with a clear gameplan, and continue to improve, we will join the peleton fairly quickly.

Underage is still a concern for me. We need to make sure that Offaly play the same way at all grades, so that lads can step up and feel comfortable. We need to coach the basics of Offaly hurling well. Hooking, Blocking, Ball movement, Intelligent decisions etc etc. And we also need to work on high fielding.

I'm more hopeful than this time last year, but I won't be breaking out the champagne anytime soon.

Offaly are improving for sure and its great to see. A very young senior side who are certainly heading in the right direction.
Only problem i see ahead of next years championship is the fact that they find themselves in Div 2 of the league.
Its games against the teams like Waterford, Clare & Limerick they need to be playing. But instead will be having games against Kerry, Down, Westmeath, Carlow, Laois etc which is hardly ideal preparation.
Hard to get up to the pace of a Kilkenny game if your last game was v Kerry for example.

[slow corner back]

Is the Leinster championship seeded? Kilkenny never seem to appear before a semi final. I do not think that is a bad thing as the last thing Laois or westmeath need is a 40 point tanking off the cats in a preliminary round match. If it is seeded Offally would probably have a warm up match before meeting the Cats.

[INDIANA]

like the rest of leinster unfortunately, no hope of silverware for about 6 years at least. and thats the best case scenario. they are on the way back , but will probably have to be content with good scalps in the qualifiers.

[EddieMerx]

like the rest of leinster unfortunately, no hope of silverware for about 6 years at least. and thats the best case scenario. they are on the way back , but will probably have to be content with good scalps in the qualifiers.

Pretty much sums it up! Yes Offaly, Wexford and Dublin are not far off Munster but still quiet a bit behind Kilkenny.

[magpie seanie]

We are still a long, long way off Kilkenny

You could say that about everyone up to and including Cork. Tipp or Waterford in full flight might give them a game and I stress might.

[AZOffaly]

We are still a long, long way off Kilkenny

You could say that about everyone up to and including Cork. Tipp or Waterford in full flight might give them a game and I stress might.

I know that, but the aim is to get back to challenging them. It's not impossible, just very hard.

[davereilly]

As far as I know Kilkenny's u21 team this year was the first success they had underage in years so there's not alot developing there, Sheflin and the likes won't be around forever. in time Offaly will put up a good match against Kilkenny and I believe are up there with the likes of Clare and Waterford

[AZOffaly]

The thing is Dave that teams like Offaly under 21s last year, and Dublin underage teams recently have beaten the Cats because that particular team is better than the Kilkenny counterpart. But Kilkenny produce a player or two every single year who make the step up. For the rest of our sakes you would hope there won't be too many more Shefflins or Tommy Walshes, but they are consistently producing new players, which is what the purpose of Under 21 and Minor is really. Winning titles at those levels is not a real indicator, if you are consistently competitive, which they are, and producing players, which they do, you'll be in good shape.

[davereilly]

Ok I understand that but the likes of the Dublin vs. galway u21 AIF last year showed that someday the 15 of each team can make a county senior team and do wonders. Kilkenny do have the occasional great player in an underage panel but they don't seem to shine like Sheflin and Walsh. Kilkenny clubs haven't made a strong impact this year either (apart from Conahy Shamrocks who the AI JHC) but that's only junior.

[AZOffaly]

Kilkenny are human, and have peaks and troughs as well. The problem for us is their peaks are so much higher, and their troughs are not as low. I'm not giving up hope, and I know I will see the day when Offaly beat Kilkenny, or at least approach the game with confidence, again with decent regularity, but I'd say it's at least 3 years away.