Messages

port by 5

Yeah, something like that. Can't see Port being as wasteful as Joseph's were in the semi. Port by 7.

Bookies have Port at 4/11 for the championship which says it all. They will just have too many big guns for Courtwood to stop. Brilliant effort by Courtwood last year to take it to a replay. When you look at it logically, there's no way a small place like Courtwood should be able to compete with the second largest town in the county.
Josephs will be sick. That game was there to be won but they just kicked it away. O'Flaherty was a great signing for them but he's done now. Their forwards ultimately cost them. Kelly was their best scoring threat - love to see him back in with Laois next year and have heard it's on. Think they'll be back though. They are probably still the best equipped team to take on Port (no disrespect to Courtwood) and if they can retain the management, they might not be far away next year.
Think Courtwood can play a bit better than that - they will have to! Byron was exceptional for them and O'Halloran in the middle was also very good.
Tough day for Killeshin. Never really got going up front and Port will punish you all day long if you switch off at the back. Still, it's been a good year for them and they'll be happy enough with the wins over Graigue and Portlaoise as a consolation prize.   
Quick edit - that was a terrible decision to red card Robbie Murphy of Josephs. Watched it back and he never lifted a finger. Mistaken identity I think.

Hope I'm wrong but I fear Kilcavan might struggle a bit in their first year senior. But that's for another day. I'm sure the High Chapparal was rocking Saturday night and yesterday and probably for a few more days to come! They have some fine players. Niall Lalor, Cian Ryle and those Hunt lads are all excellent. Ballyfin didn't do enough at all with the breeze and were easily enough opened up against it.
Next year's intermediate will be a real dogfight.

Hope I'm wrong but I fear Kilcavan might struggle a bit in their first year senior. But that's for another day. I'm sure the High Chapparal was rocking Saturday night and yesterday and probably for a few more days to come! They have some fine players. Niall Lalor, Cian Ryle and those Hunt lads are all excellent. Ballyfin didn't do enough at all with the breeze and were easily enough opened up against it.
Next year's intermediate will be a real dogfight.

Kilcavan have 2 Laois minors up next year so it should be an extra bit of a help to them. With 3 going down from senior again next year it makes things tricky for them but judging by the standard of some of the poorer senior teams I've seen this year Kilcavan do have a chance of staying up if they keep their full panel together and add a couple more from minor

Kilcavan have 2 Laois minors up next year so it should be an extra bit of a help to them. With 3 going down from senior again next year it makes things tricky for them but judging by the standard of some of the poorer senior teams I've seen this year Kilcavan do have a chance of staying up if they keep their full panel together and add a couple more from minor

Hope I'm wrong actually but I don't think any club will be getting any extra players from minor next year if the proposals from the county board are accepted by the clubs. You'll have to be turning 19 not 18 in a given year to play adult going forward.
Can't say I agree with it myself - think young lads will be lost to football and hurling if they're not allowed play adult in the year they turn 18.
Hope Kilcavan can push on from this. Get a run in the Leinster intermediate maybe and make sure they get promoted out of Division 3 next year.

i Belive theres trouble in Graigue camp only 17 tog out at the weekend so i am told.

Some achievement to bring on 4 subs then....

tasty one to nite mountmellick v kilcavan 

Hard one to call. I think Mountmellick might edge it but I wouldn't be putting much of a bet on it.

Is it true Evan OCarroll is moving to Donegal?

Have heard that story alright.

Senior Football Championship Quarter Finals
Courtwood vs Stradbally
Portlaoise vs Killeshin
St.Josephs vs Ballyroan-Abbey
Portarlington vs O'Dempseys

Senior Football B Championship
Arles Killeen vs Clonaslee St.Manmans
The Heath vs Rosenallis
Graigecullen vs Crettyard
Emo vs Park Rath

The relegation aspect of the senior B is nearly the most interesting thing left this year. Reckon Port wont be stopped in the rest of the championship proper.
Those 4 games all look pretty even to me and one or two "big name clubs" could well be relegated. Emo, Graiguecullen, A Killeen all very vulnerable.
That said, you could see the last two or three intermediate winners going back down. Crettyard, Park Ratheniska and The Heath were all down intermediate very recently.

Would have gone for the same 3. Portlaoise, Annanough and Ballylinan.
But watched Annanough v Kilcavan on Clubber and very impressive from Kilcavan. Very fit and full of running and great use of the ball throughout. Took their scores well in contrast to Annanough who wasted an awful lot of ball. Must have kicked 14 or 15 wides.
Niall Lalor is a fine player at wing back. Cian Ryle decent and a midfielder Hughes excellent. Jake Darcy must have been injured because he's usually way better than that.

Stradbally v The Heath. Strad by 6
Graiguecullen v Killeshin. Graigue by 4
Arles-Killeen v O'Dempseys. O'Dempseys by 2
Ballyroan-Abbey v Park-Ratheniska. BA by 3

Liam was a very fair man. Had to make plenty of hard calls as county secretary back in the day but always made the right decisions.
He certainly wasn't what you'd call an outgoing character but when you got to know him, he was warm, engaging and a very interesting and intelligent man.
It wasn't the slightest surprise to anyone when he rose to the very top role in the GAA.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé.

Was in Ballylinan Friday evening. Arles are in big trouble. Really missing leaders. Hard to replace the quality of players they've had for the past number of years.
Seeing Ballyroan Abbey so poor the following night in the senior, you'd wonder how some of those second team lads aren't in the running for a senior jersey! Danny Brennan, Mark McDonald, a young Mulhall lad and Beano Whelan all very good.

I'm far from a Killeen fan but Donie very unlucky to get a straight red. Say they'll be appealing that.
Decent effort from them in the first half but they ran out of steam. Lot of miles up on some of those clocks! Portlaoise will be happy. Scoring freely has been an issue for them for quite a while. Darren Brennan is a lovely stylish forward.

The other game was amazing. Ballyroan Abbey made no attempt to drop a sweeper and Courtwood's forwards tore them apart. Martin Murphy is usually more clued in than that. Still think the loss of Dunne, Flynn, Doyle and Slattery will cost Courtwood against the better teams. Their squad is quite threadbare.

Emo tonight were shocking. Don't know what's going on with them and again I'm surprised at a very experienced manager in Greg Ramsbottom leaving them so open at the back. Fair play to O'Dempseys. Shuffled the team after a dreadful round one display and it paid off. They'll have Mark Barry back soon and will be a dangerous team for anyone to meet.

Last game on Sunday was so poor, I fecked off after 20 minutes!

Graigue
Strad
Josephs
Courtwood
Portlaoise
Portarlington
Ballyroan Abbey
A Killeen

Galway v Westmeath next weekend would be fun if the both wear their usual kits

Both teams will change

Westmeath in green and Galway in white?

Here's my understanding of it and I stand to be corrected too.

Any county is free to not enter any competition in any code or grade (minor/under 20/adult). If they don't enter a team in one of the codes at any grade, it affects their central funding.

So if for example Laois decided not to enter minor hurling, they'd receive less money from Croker.

So, most counties then enter everything (I think you'd have "development competitions" for minor and under 20 hurling teams from the likes of Louth, Cavan, Fermanagh etc).

Kilkenny definitely played minor football this year, pretty sure they didn't play under 20 football and they'll play adult next month in the All-Ireland junior.

I suppose the short answer is, any county is free to do what Kilkenny do. It has happened before with counties other than Kilkenny.