Down Club Hurling & Football

[Splash]

Was a pity to not lift the McGurk Cup yesterday. Starting the year with silverware of any sort is never a bad thing- preseason or not.

Poor first half left far too much to do, but Down did well in the second half to bring it back within touching distance, and there were moments where they showed what they could really do when they took their chances.

Good performance from a very young team. Ultimately, using the McGurk Cup to give new players exposure and experience to senior inter-county hurling is a wise decision, and hopefully we will see some of those players make an impact in the league.
And getting an away win over Antrim in the process is never a bad thing. 

On a side note, it's good to see Donegal hurling doing well, and can't say they didn't deserve to win yesterday. McGurk Cup is a great opportunity for Ulster counties. The better counties like Donegal/Tyrone/ Armagh get, and the more competitive they are with  Down/Antrim/Derry, it will act as a catalyst for reinstating the Ulster Hurling Championship, which will be good for Down in the long run. It was disappointing to not get the win yesterday, but can't begrudge Donegal one bit.

Good to start off our Kehoe Cup campaign in Leinster with a win over Meath. No doubt both teams will look very different by the time they meet in the league, but good to get a good win over them today, nonetheless.

All in all, you can't be too disappointed with how the McGurk campaign went, and hopefully we will be able to say the same about the Kehoe Cup. There's a great opportunity for the Down hurlers this year. Hopefully we hit the ground running.

[johnnycool]

Was a pity to not lift the McGurk Cup yesterday. Starting the year with silverware of any sort is never a bad thing- preseason or not.

Poor first half left far too much to do, but Down did well in the second half to bring it back within touching distance, and there were moments where they showed what they could really do when they took their chances.

Good performance from a very young team. Ultimately, using the McGurk Cup to give new players exposure and experience to senior inter-county hurling is a wise decision, and hopefully we will see some of those players make an impact in the league.
And getting an away win over Antrim in the process is never a bad thing. 

On a side note, it's good to see Donegal hurling doing well, and can't say they didn't deserve to win yesterday. McGurk Cup is a great opportunity for Ulster counties. The better counties like Donegal/Tyrone/ Armagh get, and the more competitive they are with  Down/Antrim/Derry, it will act as a catalyst for reinstating the Ulster Hurling Championship, which will be good for Down in the long run. It was disappointing to not get the win yesterday, but can't begrudge Donegal one bit.

Good to start off our Kehoe Cup campaign in Leinster with a win over Meath. No doubt both teams will look very different by the time they meet in the league, but good to get a good win over them today, nonetheless.

All in all, you can't be too disappointed with how the McGurk campaign went, and hopefully we will be able to say the same about the Kehoe Cup. There's a great opportunity for the Down hurlers this year. Hopefully we hit the ground running.

yes,
    A very young team out in the Conor McGurk cup final but TBH I don't think any showed anything to be troubling the senior panel, very turgid stuff.
If you get an opportunity like that you'd have thought you'd be busting your balls to impress. I didn't see that from any really and the game petered out well before the end as Down had no goal threat or ball winners up the park.
A short puckout to a lad on his own 20 metre line, maybe one other pass out and then launched up the park and gobbled up by the bigger Donegal defenders, repeat ad nauseum.

It's looking like Pierce Smyth will be holding onto the No1 jersey for the foreseeable as Viper has an eye issue.

Kildare next week will see where we're really at.

[Splash]

Definitely some questionable decisions in the first half; the method of trying to pull Donegal wide before delivering a short puckout, only for Donegal to immediately turn it over and take the score was frustrating.

Didn't seem to have any response to the Donegal sweeper in the first half, and didn't seem to be able to utilise the extra man in our own half, either. Also seemed to give Donegal simply too much space. Markers not sticking to their man close enough, giving Donegal forwards plenty of time etc.

Thought this was also demonstrated by more seasoned players, too.

Plenty of learning opportunity for the players, though. I'm sure this tournament will stand to them.

Couple players potentially worth a shot in the senior set up at some point this year. Ben Christie looked good when the backs managed to deliver a ball into the forwards, and thought Deaglan Mallon had a couple of real good moments. Donal Hughes, whilst a bit rusty, looked good. Will be good to see him back in the senior set up, hopefully.

Pity to hear that about Kieth- hopefully Smyth does well if he is given the opportunity. Thought he had a dead on game (the goals were caused by a gaps in a scattered defence, not by mistakes from the keeper).

Kildare will be a tough test. Particularly if their performance yesterday is anything to go by. But that's the level we need to be performing at at the very least if we're hoping to succeed this year.

[DownFanatic]

Where do Down rank in the whole scale of things at underage and senior in terms of hurling in Ireland?

[johnnycool]

Where do Down rank in the whole scale of things at underage and senior in terms of hurling in Ireland?

Roughly same as the footballers, low mid tier.

[Truth hurts]

We, the loyal members of the Down GAA, have tolerated mediocrity in football and hurling since the year 2000. In Ulster, we used to be respected, but now we have to be jealous of places like Derry, Tyrone, Donegal, etc. What is wrong with our wonderful county?

[Truth hurts]

Has the public disclosure of Tom Ryan's independent review's findings occurred yet?

[Splash]

Where do Down rank in the whole scale of things at underage and senior in terms of hurling in Ireland?

If you were to rank the counties of Ireland from 1-32, IMO I'd put Down smack in the middle.

A long way off the likes of Limerick, Kilkenny, Clare, etc., but our first choice senior squad would comfortably beat most other teams.

On a good day, we're capable of competing and beating the likes of Laois, Westmeath, Antrim, Offaly etc.

At the minute, we're probably closest in standard to Kerry or Kildare.

Wouldn't be as clear as to where we are at underage. Did win an U20 B All Ireland two years ago, and weren't a million miles away last year, so fair to say probably similar enough to the seniors.

It's well worth pointing out in my opinion, that we probably have the most potential of any of the counties around our level. Hurling is very much the minority sport, but we hold our own with significantly less clubs to draw players from, especially compared to counties where hurling is similarly a minority.

We are a big county, with a big population, and as more clubs start to make an impact on the hurling landscape, I would hope this has a positive impact on the overall standard of Down on the inter-county scene.

[Splash]

We, the loyal members of the Down GAA, have tolerated mediocrity in football and hurling since the year 2000. In Ulster, we used to be respected, but now we have to be jealous of places like Derry, Tyrone, Donegal, etc. What is wrong with our wonderful county?

In crude terms, I don't think we ever really built on our success in the 90s to the extent we should have, and rely too much on waiting on golden generations to come along. It's a lot more complex than that, but I think that essentially sums in up.

In regards to the mediocrity in the hurling, it's simply a lack of clubs. You can't expect to be challenging for All Irelands when you've only a handful of players to choose from. 

There's 6 clubs in the senior championship. There's 16 in the football equivalent. There's not even 16 hurling clubs in the county. If the hurlers had the resources that the footballers had, I think they'd do alright.

The good news for us is that in both codes, there is a path to improvement. We are not hampered by a small population, and have a good GAA culture.

Hopefully better days are coming.

[skat man]

any players playing in the sigerson who would be adding to the down squad ?

[statto]

We, the loyal members of the Down GAA, have tolerated mediocrity in football and hurling since the year 2000. In Ulster, we used to be respected, but now we have to be jealous of places like Derry, Tyrone, Donegal, etc. What is wrong with our wonderful county?

In crude terms, I don't think we ever really built on our success in the 90s to the extent we should have, and rely too much on waiting on golden generations to come along. It's a lot more complex than that, but I think that essentially sums in up.

In regards to the mediocrity in the hurling, it's simply a lack of clubs. You can't expect to be challenging for All Irelands when you've only a handful of players to choose from. 

There's 6 clubs in the senior championship. There's 16 in the football equivalent. There's not even 16 hurling clubs in the county. If the hurlers had the resources that the footballers had, I think they'd do alright.

The good news for us is that in both codes, there is a path to improvement. We are not hampered by a small population, and have a good GAA culture.

Hopefully better days are coming.

Down got to all ireland final 2010, then st colmans won back to back Hogans in 2011 and 2012 they seemed in a really good spot at that stage.  Along with the competitiveness of Kilcoo over the last 10 years seems strange that Down have been so unsuccessful. 

[johnnycool]

We, the loyal members of the Down GAA, have tolerated mediocrity in football and hurling since the year 2000. In Ulster, we used to be respected, but now we have to be jealous of places like Derry, Tyrone, Donegal, etc. What is wrong with our wonderful county?

In crude terms, I don't think we ever really built on our success in the 90s to the extent we should have, and rely too much on waiting on golden generations to come along. It's a lot more complex than that, but I think that essentially sums in up.

In regards to the mediocrity in the hurling, it's simply a lack of clubs. You can't expect to be challenging for All Irelands when you've only a handful of players to choose from. 

There's 6 clubs in the senior championship. There's 16 in the football equivalent. There's not even 16 hurling clubs in the county. If the hurlers had the resources that the footballers had, I think they'd do alright.

The good news for us is that in both codes, there is a path to improvement. We are not hampered by a small population, and have a good GAA culture.

Hopefully better days are coming.

Down got to all ireland final 2010, then st colmans won back to back Hogans in 2011 and 2012 they seemed in a really good spot at that stage.  Along with the competitiveness of Kilcoo over the last 10 years seems strange that Down have been so unsuccessful. 

Take Kilcoo and maybe Burren out of it, but does the standard of club football at senior level drop off a bit of cliff?

If Kilcoo were pushed to the pin of their collar in the Down championship by a few other teams then you'd have more optimism in the standard of club football being able to sustain a highly competitive county senior team.

[statto]

We, the loyal members of the Down GAA, have tolerated mediocrity in football and hurling since the year 2000. In Ulster, we used to be respected, but now we have to be jealous of places like Derry, Tyrone, Donegal, etc. What is wrong with our wonderful county?

In crude terms, I don't think we ever really built on our success in the 90s to the extent we should have, and rely too much on waiting on golden generations to come along. It's a lot more complex than that, but I think that essentially sums in up.

In regards to the mediocrity in the hurling, it's simply a lack of clubs. You can't expect to be challenging for All Irelands when you've only a handful of players to choose from. 

There's 6 clubs in the senior championship. There's 16 in the football equivalent. There's not even 16 hurling clubs in the county. If the hurlers had the resources that the footballers had, I think they'd do alright.

The good news for us is that in both codes, there is a path to improvement. We are not hampered by a small population, and have a good GAA culture.

Hopefully better days are coming.

Down got to all ireland final 2010, then st colmans won back to back Hogans in 2011 and 2012 they seemed in a really good spot at that stage.  Along with the competitiveness of Kilcoo over the last 10 years seems strange that Down have been so unsuccessful. 

Take Kilcoo and maybe Burren out of it, but does the standard of club football at senior level drop off a bit of cliff?

If Kilcoo were pushed to the pin of their collar in the Down championship by a few other teams then you'd have more optimism in the standard of club football being able to sustain a highly competitive county senior team.

Carryduff, Clonduff and Warrenpoint would have pushed them in recent years think have given Clonduff a few hidings as well. 

[Truth hurts]

Has the public disclosure of Tom Ryan's independent review's findings occurred yet?

This has been brushed under the carpet.

[Ed Hardy]

One week to go until start of football league, still a few players missing from last year's team Ryan and Sheelan Johnson, Branagan, McAleenan, Fitzpatrick (I'm sure I've missed a few) are they injured for next weekend or just rested for the McKenna? Is Ruairi McCrickard involved? Definitely thought he would have been given a chance.