Antrim Hurling

[johnnycool]

Heard that the beaten Ulster Intermediate Finalists were looking to gain entry into the ACHL's.  And that Loughgeil are proposing a one way league.  Not sure if that's a one way league with the split but I assume they're looking a one way league without the split

Have they decided where the Faughs are playing this year?

I believe Faughs are still pushing to get into Div2.

A one way league would mean only 9 games whereas the 2024 format was one way (9 games) and then the split (4 games) 13 in total.

Why reduce the number of games?

[Saffron71]

I'm not sure about Carey.  Nor do I know what the story will be with Dunloy, Ballycastle & Cushendall reserves 🤔 As usual we will probably find out 2/3 weeks prior to the start of the league.

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

Heard that the beaten Ulster Intermediate Finalists were looking to gain entry into the ACHL's.  And that Loughgeil are proposing a one way league.  Not sure if that's a one way league with the split but I assume they're looking a one way league without the split

Heard this myself.

A one way league makes no sense in terms of games. Its less games for the clubs to play throughout the season.

Also you lose the gates for the clubs. The best gates we get all year are Loughgiel & Cushendall. If you only get a one way league then there goes your clubs income from one of those.

That will go down well with the club treasurers

[Saffron71]

Yea less games make no sense tbh.  The only reason I can think of Loughgeil wanting a one way league is so that they can potentially plan a few trips down south to play challenge games maybe. 

[paddyjohn]

Yea less games make no sense tbh.  The only reason I can think of Loughgeil wanting a one way league is so that they can potentially plan a few trips down south to play challenge games maybe. 

Why would they do that?

[Milltown Row2]

So are speculating or do we know this is happening?

[groundlie]

Expecting a huge response from the hurlers on Sunday. Dublin have always been our achilles heel, especially away from home. I think the game will have stood to them.

[NAG1]

Expecting a huge response from the hurlers on Sunday. Dublin have always been our achilles heel, especially away from home. I think the game will have stood to them.

Wish I had that level of confience. We were in around Dublin for the past number of years, that was light years apart in every facet.

[imtommygunn]

Hard to know where we are at at all. Dublin do have a habit of doing this to us away from home. I'm not sure we put it up to them much away from home.

Westmeath game a big one. If we can't stay in this division then with Down winning they'll maybe leapfrog us    Early days though so hopefully we get a win this weekend.

[Milltown Row2]

There was a time not that long ago Westmeath and Kerry were beating us and stick Laois in that bracket..

But we have come through to be in a position that we should be beating them, not by much but certainly we should start favourites. Offaly though have defo improved these last few years so they are coming back up and with a better juvenile platform will continue to grow

[johnnycool]

There was a time not that long ago Westmeath and Kerry were beating us and stick Laois in that bracket..

But we have come through to be in a position that we should be beating them, not by much but certainly we should start favourites. Offaly though have defo improved these last few years so they are coming back up and with a better juvenile platform will continue to grow

Westmeath and Laois are in Div1B and are a good bit above Kerry normally.

You'll have you work cut out beating either of those two.

[imtommygunn]

In the latter years under Gleeson we were just better than those two. Never loads better but better. Based on that I think it's a good test of where Davy Fitz has us.

Realistically based on underage etc they should be beating us if we're honest but we seem to do a bit better at senior grade. However Westmeath will fancy themselves too. It'd be a game they'd be targeting.

Carlow are always the ones round that kind of level that we struggle more with.

[theskull1]

Before anyone gets too far ahead of themselves, I'd recommend factoring in the very real year on year peaks and troughs of middle to mid-lower tier hurling before making any projections. 

[imtommygunn]

Six forwards in the forwards this week which is good to see. Hoping for no sweeper.

[Saffrongael]