2012 county hurling championships

[Íseal agus crua isteach a]

Having watched the match again last night i fancy Loughgiel for the replay.
A number of reasons for this;

Liam Watson couldnt be as bad with the frees as he was the last day,
St Thomas' hit some spectacular scores and i cant see them doing the same to the extent they did on saturday,
I dont think Conor Cooney will be afforded the same space as he was by Loughgiel on Saturday and he really was outstanding.

Its just a pity these two teams arent getting to play a match of this magnitude on a decent surface, Parnell Park wasnt fit for bog snorkling on Saturday!

They still managed a right few scores, the weather was shite but shite for both teams, the referee wasn't great and that was for both teams, so all very even from where I was sitting. Not much of a puck of the ball between them. I think this game will be different though and the team that learns the most from the drawn game will win.

Loughgiel should forget about the abuse that was handed out and concentrate on the match. St Thomas's were rash in the tackle I think they'll lose a player this week.

I couldn't believe St Thomas centre back didn't get sent off after breaking the hurl over the Loughiel mans leg. It was pure filth and nothing else. How ever though, Loughiel in the first half got three frees that never were. So it evened it self out a little in that respect.

If I was lining out that Loughiel team tomorrow I would have Liam Watson  full forward, right on the edge of the square. His influence is lost on the heavy pitch in the half forward line. If Watson  gets a hand on the ball at all, they will have no option but to pull him down. Other wise hes shaking the net. Put the two corner forward right beside  each corner flag so they can take on the corner backs. Have Joey Scullion centre forward. My wing forwards I would have playing further back almost to mid field. The two midfielders could help out the half back line. This would create a lot of space to aim better quality ball in to the full forward line. I believe (unless they were having a bad day) that St Thomas full back line is their for the taking. The other good thing a bout doing this it clutters up space for St Thomas' forwards giving them less time on the ball and force them to turn it over.

I also believe its easier to pick out your corner forwards much easier by hitting steady diagonal balls. Something Shamrocks done in last years final to perfection.

A man marker is needed on Cooney obviously. You need someone that can shadow him the whole game while sacrificing his own game. A hard thing to do which needs a lot of concentration.

Just  a couple of points:
Very surprised more players aren't using the synthetic hurls. They have a nicer "sweet spot" which gives you more accuracy  than a wet ash hurl and would add at least ten yards to your puck. DD was the only one I seen using them.

At the start of the second half Loughiel weren't tuned in for at least fifteen minutes. It seemed that when the game was getting away from them that they stepped it up. They can't afford to do that the next day.

Rarely is replays the same but if it is half as exiting as the first match it will be compulsive viewing. Nice to hear Mark Sidebottom' commentry I thought it was class.

[johnneycool]

St Thomas centre back was a bit late on the pull, no malice in it, the loughgeil lad was just too quick in for him, thought Kelly got that right with the free in and yellow card.

I'd start with Watson in Fullforward, but I wouldn't let him stay there as he'd be starved of possession by a deep lying centre back, exactly what Scullion was doing in front of his full back line up the other end. Let him roam out and about as the game dictates and get him on the ball more, granted it'd be better to get him on the ball closer to goals but he can get scores from distance as well, give St Thomas' and Dinny something different to think about.

Loughgeil have a pretty flexible set of forwards to cope with playing in different positions.

I see SIE is hinting at a change in personnel for the replay, not sure what Loughgeil have coming off the bench other than Dim Dim who might offer something different to what they've already got. I'd tweak their match ups a bit, not wholesale changes.

[theskull1]

That pull was loose to the point there may have been some intent (hard to tell) but tell me the last time you've seen such challenges red carded?   

LG won a few free they shouldn't have been given by flinging arms and head back when pressured on the ball. St Ts didn't do any of that. Was annoying that the referee bought that type of what I consider to be a bluff. They're a more clued in side than people give them credit for as quite a few forwards especially were doing it so it does look as if its been schooled. Couple that with DDs persistence with short puck outs when there weren't having any success long then it hard not to be impressed with how they can grind out results even when the odds are against them. They never paniced

[AZOffaly]

Interesting to see people coming down on the St. Thomas' lads dirty play. I saw a few rash tackles that were lucky to go unpunished. I have to say that when I was watching it, I thought it was noticable how fond the Shamrocks lads were of leaving the hurl back into a tackler. The infamous swinging hurley. One of the midfielders got booked for it when he broke a hurl on a lads helmet. I know in a lot of cases they were breaking through a foul tackle, but I thought they were very quick to throw the hurl back.

Two strong teams though, and the winner will be favoured against the Offaly lads.

[johnneycool]

That pull was loose to the point there was intent but tell me the last time you've seen such challenges red carded?   

LG won a few free they shouldn't have been given by flinging arms and head back when pressured on the ball. St Ts didn't do any of that. Was annoying that the referee bought that type of what I consider to be a bluff. They're a more clued in side than people give them credit for as quite a few forwards especially were doing it so it does look as if its been schooled. Couple that with DDs persistence with short puck outs when there weren't having any success long then it hard not to be impressed with how they can grind out results even when the odds are against them. They never paniced

I think the lad made a genuine attempt to play the ball, the stroke wasn't high, he just didn't see the Loughgeil lad coming in and had it flicked away by the time the pull was in full flow. It'd be harsh to send someone off for that, even Nordie refs wouldn't send off for it, well most of them anyway.

[theskull1]

I've updated my post above just to be a bit clearer

I think we're only talking about one challenge AZ and ridiculing someone considering it to be a red card offence. Personally cant mind anything similarish from LG. St Thomas are not a dirty team but they're not as disciplined as LG in the tackle (talking generally across the whole of the game rather than isolate 1 or 2 instances). Even taking away the odd one or two they shouldnt have got, the free stats don't lie about that fact

[cicfada]

Interesting to see people coming down on the St. Thomas' lads dirty play. I saw a few rash tackles that were lucky to go unpunished. I have to say that when I was watching it, I thought it was noticable how fond the Shamrocks lads were of leaving the hurl back into a tackler. The infamous swinging hurley. One of the midfielders got booked for it when he broke a hurl on a lads helmet. I know in a lot of cases they were breaking through a foul tackle, but I thought they were very quick to throw the hurl back.

Two strong teams though, and the winner will be favoured against the Offaly lads.

ah will ya stop az!! Kk definitely the most impressive team on display so far !!you are trying to get your countymen the craved underdog status!!

[Íseal agus crua isteach a]

St Thomas centre back was a bit late on the pull, no malice in it, the loughgeil lad was just too quick in for him, thought Kelly got that right with the free in and yellow card

I called it wrong JC its now up in youtube yellow card was correct call. It happened around the forty second minute. http://youtu.be/g6fUitsBK-8

The replay should be very interesting. It could come down to the decisions made on the side line, how the referee interputs the rules and a wee bit of luck.

[north aontroim gael]

Sad to see Loughgiel beat but best of luck to St Thomas and KK on Paddys Day.  They look like two fine teams and I don't think much will separate them.

[Milltown Row2]

Sad to see Loughgiel beat but best of luck to St Thomas and KK on Paddys Day.  They look ike two fine teams and I don't think much will sepaarte them.

And a brand new winner, Club Championships are getting better and far more popular that the Inter County Championship IMO

[north aontroim gael]

Sad to see Loughgiel beat but best of luck to St Thomas and KK on Paddys Day.  They look ike two fine teams and I don't think much will sepaarte them.

And a brand new winner, Club Championships are getting better and far more popular that the Inter County Championship IMO

Yes it is a great competition and I have seem a few people on this board call for it to be played of within one calendar year which I would be massively in favour of.

If the powers that be were to open up Croke for an additional 3 days as follows:

2 x football semi-finals double header;
2 x hurling semi-finals double header; and
2 x Finals double header

The competition could be finished in late November early December and probably played on better sod than the current semi-finals are.  Croke Park might get a rough 3 or 4 week spell but sure it'll have til the New Year before its needed again.

This would mean that players could down tools and take a proper break.  This simple motion would be one of the best the GAA could take for player welfare.

Added to this, the new Casement will no doubt be available to host semi-finals (if required) in years to come.

[Milltown Row2]

Sad to see Loughgiel beat but best of luck to St Thomas and KK on Paddys Day.  They look ike two fine teams and I don't think much will sepaarte them.

And a brand new winner, Club Championships are getting better and far more popular that the Inter County Championship IMO

Yes it is a great competition and I have seem a few people on this board call for it to be played of within one calendar year which I would be massively in favour of.

If the powers that be were to open up Croke for an additional 3 days as follows:

2 x football semi-finals double header;
2 x hurling semi-finals double header; and
2 x Finals double header

The competition could be finished in late November early December and probably played on better sod than the current semi-finals are.  Croke Park might get a rough 3 or 4 week spell but sure it'll have til the New Year before its needed again.

This would mean that players could down tools and take a proper break.  This simple motion would be one of the best the GAA could take for player welfare.

Added to this, the new Casement will no doubt be available to host semi-finals (if required) in years to come.

+1

But remember the Interm and Junior games need played off also!! There are great pitches out there, Clones was in good nick

[theskull1]

Leinster and Munster finals are only getting red up at that time of year gents. Would reckon if you took the players opinions the majority would rather it stayed the way it is. The extra time to prepare is worthwhile.

[Bord na Mona man]

4 days to the club finals. The big news for Kilcormac-Killoughey is that Daniel Currams broke his arm in a challenge match against Kilkenny U21s on Sunday. He'll be a loss, but hopefully not a critical one.
They have a couple of options on the bench, one of them being Trevor Fletcher who was a Tipperary minor a few years ago.

[Milltown Row2]

4 days to the club finals. The big news for Kilcormac-Killoughey is that Daniel Currams broke his arm in a challenge match against Kilkenny U21s on Sunday. He'll be a loss, but hopefully not a critical one.
They have a couple of options on the bench, one of them being Trevor Fletcher who was a Tipperary minor a few years ago.

Do you fancy them? I really liked their effort against Sarsfields, St Thomas could have been beaten in the first game and played really well in the second game against Loughgiel but just have a hunch for KK this year