Down Club Hurling & Football

[ardtole]

I remember playing against liatroim in the East Down Reserve League, but I don't recall playing against them at underage level.

[Splash]

3 new hurling clubs in 3 years isn't bad going at all for Down. Hopeuflly Saul and the Mournes get established and can compete the way East Belfast do. Be a great pity if they just fizzled out. Hopefully the trend continues- be great to see the likes of Glenn, Saval, Bryansford, Darragh Cross etc. offering hurling in their respective areas.

Imagine given the current form, Ballygalget will handle Newry alright.
Liatroim v Ports very interesting game, real opportunity for Liatroim to shock the system, but defence will find it difficult to handle forwards of portaferrys quality.

Officially Liatroim are an East Down club as far as I know (think the line is around Hilltown?) but we all know in regards to hurling,  anything this side of the water is South Down, and then obviously the Ards. May need a new categorisation system, though, if the clubs around Belfast continue to grow.

North Down board, maybe?

[marty34]

3 new hurling clubs in 3 years isn't bad going at all for Down. Hopeuflly Saul and the Mournes get established and can compete the way East Belfast do. Be a great pity if they just fizzled out. Hopefully the trend continues- be great to see the likes of Glenn, Saval, Bryansford, Darragh Cross etc. offering hurling in their respective areas.

Imagine given the current form, Ballygalget will handle Newry alright.
Liatroim v Ports very interesting game, real opportunity for Liatroim to shock the system, but defence will find it difficult to handle forwards of portaferrys quality.

Officially Liatroim are an East Down club as far as I know (think the line is around Hilltown?) but we all know in regards to hurling,  anything this side of the water is South Down, and then obviously the Ards. May need a new categorisation system, though, if the clubs around Belfast continue to grow.

North Down board, maybe?

Do regional boards still apply in most counties?

[Johnnysboys]

Pre championship injuries strikes again for a few clubs.. John McGeough Carryduff, Paddy Smyth Mayobridge, Darragh Mussen & Eoghan Loughran Burren, Conor Murray Clonduff, Chris Clarke Ford, Harrison Longstone.. nightmare..

[Splash]

Intermediate and Junior Hurling Championships start tomorrow.

Carryduff take on Clonduff and Ballela host Warrenpoint in the Intermediate.

Hard to see past Carryduff winning the whole thing. The club  is seriously growing as a hurling outfit and Senior Championship is definitely where they want to be.

Clonduff probably the closest to Carryduff if they're firing on their day and have a full squad, but hard to see them coming away with the win. Seems a lot of lads have focused solely on the football, but if they do put out a full force team, there's potential to give Carryduff a bit of a bloody nose. Also see Clonduff have a transfer from Carryduff in their ranks, so I'm sure that'll be interesting.

Could be a bad, bad year for Ballela. Only two years ago they won back to back junior championships, and now this year they have come seriously close to folding. Absolutely disastrous league campaign; couldn't field half the time and conceded a lot of goals every match before finishing bottom of the table. That was against Div 2 and Junior Championship standard teams- Intermediate may be a different storm altogether.  In  saying that, if there was a team they would fancy the chances against it would probably be the Point at home. If Ballela have all available lads fit, they could stand up for themselves. a very physical team with a couple great hurlers.

Hope the club pulls through this hard time, they've been an important team in South Down for a long time now, and see they have some good stuff at underage joined up with Ballyvarley. You have to wonder what the future would hold for the two clubs- an amalgamated Ballyvarley/Ballela team could be a dangerous outfit, but there would surely be a lot of objection from lads in each club.

Warrenpoint will be relishing the opportunity of Intermediate Hurling, and will fancy their chances of reaching a final. They'll have no fear of Ballela, beat Clonduff well in the league, and would love a chance to show up Newry Shamrocks in a semi final. Some serious good forwards at their disposal, and you would fancy them to stay up in the intermediate. Beat Castlewellen a few weeks ago, so clearly haven't regressed since the junior final last year. Would be great to see hurling growing in Warrenpoint, a decent sized down with a catchment area that would have some great athletes- really would expect them to be flying over the coming years.

The Junior Championship is unbelievably open- perhaps one of the most open championships in Ireland.

First game of the championship is perhaps the most interesting- Ballyvarley head out to take on Castlewellen. Castlewellen will be favourites to win the whole thing. An incredible league campaign where they marched through everybody in front of them, including Ballyvarley. Some lads with great skill, and a team that seem to be very well oiled. Dangerous forward, too, in the form of Croskery.
Probably have the best support outside the Ards, seem to bring a crowd anywhere they go and with it being at home, imagine the support will be huge. The strongest team in the county at underage, so it doesn't seem like the good times will end any time soon, either. Great to see and hopefully they can bring a lot to the County Scene in years to come.

Despite all this, Ballyvarley seriously fancying their chances. Last time these teams played, Castelwellen scored a last minute goal to come away with a 1 point win. That will have a left a very bad taste in the mouth. Ballyvarley have been absolutely flying, a great league (which they could have won), and have been on a terrific run of form lately beating some strong teams such as Carrcikmacross and NCC. Potentially the most physical team in the Junior Championship, which won't suit Castelwellen. Danny Magee strong contender for best player in the junior championship, and if they rattle home a few goals in the first few minutes as they seem to have made a habit of doing recently, Castlewellen may begin to sweat. Key difference for me is Castlewellen seem to have gone hammer and tongs at the first leg of the league and potentially peaked, seeing as the second leg of the league and pre championship games haven't been on par, whereas Ballyvarley seem to have been quietly going from strength to strength. Ballyvarley seem to have good stuff going through like Ballela at underage with the O'Rahilly's and Saint Pat's. Again, you'd wonder how they'd get on amalgamated with Ballela at senior level.
Castlewellen favourites for tomorrow, but Ballyvarley will want to rattle them. Don't be surprised to see both teams face each other in October in the County Final.

Kilclief v East Belfast will be interesting. Kilclief will seriously fancy their chances at winning the whole thing after managing to stay up in Div 1, and East Belfast at home in the first round is a great draw for them. Probably the club that will suffer the most from strains placed on dual players. Will love to get off to a flying start, tomorrow, and won't fear anyone in the JHC.

East Belfast could be the surprise of the championship. Had a great league, although, like Castlewellen, the second half didn't live up to the first. New management team seems to be doing a very good job with them. The folding of Henry Joys also seems to have added a couple decent players. Were never that far off Castlewellen this year, goals separating teams, etc.
Potentially the best goal keeper in the championship, so could be interesting when they host Castlewellen.
Beat Ballyvarley in the first game of the year, although Ballyvarley were far too strong for them the second time they met. Despite this, East Belfast will see it as winnable game, especially since it's the last round robin match and may be fore a place in the final.
Great players all over the pitch, although the team definitely doesn't have age on their side and don't have that natural bond that comes with fellas playing together for years.
The sheer depth of their squad will no doubt be a great aid to them.
If Ryan McMullan is available he's probably their most dangerous hurler, and you'd back him to score a goal or two.
Definitely seems the forwards are stronger than their backs, so will be interesting to see if East Belfast manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over, or will they be chasing Kilclief.
Great to see they seem to be getting established now, especially with their new pitch a few weeks ago. Hopefully a great asset for Down Hurling to tap into that massive population in Belfast in the future.

[ardtole]

Great insight Splash. Good to see hurling spreading its wings throughout the county.

[Splash]

Great insight Splash. Good to see hurling spreading its wings throughout the county.

Hopefully it continues to. If Down tapped into a few more areas it could do great things for the county.

[Splash]

Intermediate and Junior Hurling Championships start tomorrow.

Carryduff take on Clonduff and Ballela host Warrenpoint in the Intermediate.

Hard to see past Carryduff winning the whole thing. The club  is seriously growing as a hurling outfit and Senior Championship is definitely where they want to be.

Clonduff probably the closest to Carryduff if they're firing on their day and have a full squad, but hard to see them coming away with the win. Seems a lot of lads have focused solely on the football, but if they do put out a full force team, there's potential to give Carryduff a bit of a bloody nose. Also see Clonduff have a transfer from Carryduff in their ranks, so I'm sure that'll be interesting.

Could be a bad, bad year for Ballela. Only two years ago they won back to back junior championships, and now this year they have come seriously close to folding. Absolutely disastrous league campaign; couldn't field half the time and conceded a lot of goals every match before finishing bottom of the table. That was against Div 2 and Junior Championship standard teams- Intermediate may be a different storm altogether.  In  saying that, if there was a team they would fancy the chances against it would probably be the Point at home. If Ballela have all available lads fit, they could stand up for themselves. a very physical team with a couple great hurlers.

Hope the club pulls through this hard time, they've been an important team in South Down for a long time now, and see they have some good stuff at underage joined up with Ballyvarley. You have to wonder what the future would hold for the two clubs- an amalgamated Ballyvarley/Ballela team could be a dangerous outfit, but there would surely be a lot of objection from lads in each club.

Warrenpoint will be relishing the opportunity of Intermediate Hurling, and will fancy their chances of reaching a final. They'll have no fear of Ballela, beat Clonduff well in the league, and would love a chance to show up Newry Shamrocks in a semi final. Some serious good forwards at their disposal, and you would fancy them to stay up in the intermediate. Beat Castlewellen a few weeks ago, so clearly haven't regressed since the junior final last year. Would be great to see hurling growing in Warrenpoint, a decent sized down with a catchment area that would have some great athletes- really would expect them to be flying over the coming years.

The Junior Championship is unbelievably open- perhaps one of the most open championships in Ireland.

First game of the championship is perhaps the most interesting- Ballyvarley head out to take on Castlewellen. Castlewellen will be favourites to win the whole thing. An incredible league campaign where they marched through everybody in front of them, including Ballyvarley. Some lads with great skill, and a team that seem to be very well oiled. Dangerous forward, too, in the form of Croskery.
Probably have the best support outside the Ards, seem to bring a crowd anywhere they go and with it being at home, imagine the support will be huge. The strongest team in the county at underage, so it doesn't seem like the good times will end any time soon, either. Great to see and hopefully they can bring a lot to the County Scene in years to come.

Despite all this, Ballyvarley seriously fancying their chances. Last time these teams played, Castelwellen scored a last minute goal to come away with a 1 point win. That will have a left a very bad taste in the mouth. Ballyvarley have been absolutely flying, a great league (which they could have won), and have been on a terrific run of form lately beating some strong teams such as Carrcikmacross and NCC. Potentially the most physical team in the Junior Championship, which won't suit Castelwellen. Danny Magee strong contender for best player in the junior championship, and if they rattle home a few goals in the first few minutes as they seem to have made a habit of doing recently, Castlewellen may begin to sweat. Key difference for me is Castlewellen seem to have gone hammer and tongs at the first leg of the league and potentially peaked, seeing as the second leg of the league and pre championship games haven't been on par, whereas Ballyvarley seem to have been quietly going from strength to strength. Ballyvarley seem to have good stuff going through like Ballela at underage with the O'Rahilly's and Saint Pat's. Again, you'd wonder how they'd get on amalgamated with Ballela at senior level.
Castlewellen favourites for tomorrow, but Ballyvarley will want to rattle them. Don't be surprised to see both teams face each other in October in the County Final.

Kilclief v East Belfast will be interesting. Kilclief will seriously fancy their chances at winning the whole thing after managing to stay up in Div 1, and East Belfast at home in the first round is a great draw for them. Probably the club that will suffer the most from strains placed on dual players. Will love to get off to a flying start, tomorrow, and won't fear anyone in the JHC.

East Belfast could be the surprise of the championship. Had a great league, although, like Castlewellen, the second half didn't live up to the first. New management team seems to be doing a very good job with them. The folding of Henry Joys also seems to have added a couple decent players. Were never that far off Castlewellen this year, goals separating teams, etc.
Potentially the best goal keeper in the championship, so could be interesting when they host Castlewellen.
Beat Ballyvarley in the first game of the year, although Ballyvarley were far too strong for them the second time they met. Despite this, East Belfast will see it as winnable game, especially since it's the last round robin match and may be fore a place in the final.
Great players all over the pitch, although the team definitely doesn't have age on their side and don't have that natural bond that comes with fellas playing together for years.
The sheer depth of their squad will no doubt be a great aid to them.
If Ryan McMullan is available he's probably their most dangerous hurler, and you'd back him to score a goal or two.
Definitely seems the forwards are stronger than their backs, so will be interesting to see if East Belfast manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over, or will they be chasing Kilclief.
Great to see they seem to be getting established now, especially with their new pitch a few weeks ago. Hopefully a great asset for Down Hurling to tap into that massive population in Belfast in the future.

    Where is the new pitch?

Henry Jones. Between Four Winds/Castlereagh part of the world.
The club's been using it for a very long time but good to see they finally have a proper, dedicated section with goalposts, etc. for GAA use.

[Splash]

Good day of Senior Hurling tomorrow. Newry Shamrocks need to upset Ballygalget to realistically have any chance of preserving senior status. Both teams seem to be at a bit of a low, so wouldn't expect it to be the prettiest of games. You would imagine Ballygalget will simply have too much for Shamrocks, but you never know. Be interesting if Ballygalget are unlucky enough to end up in the Intermediate how they'd fair on an All Ireland run.

Bredagh v Ballycran should be a good game, with nothing too much of note to mention. Would expect Ballycran to come away with the win, but think Bredagh can give a good showing.

Portaferry v Liatroim should be a great game. Massive opportunity for Liatroim. Would expect Portaferry to come away with the win, but  Liatroim are flying and won't have any fear. Pearse Óg McCrickard potentially the best hurler in Ulster after McManus, and have talent across the field. Defence may struggle against the likes of the Sands brothers and Tom McGrattan, though. Will be a good game to see where each team is at. If Liatroim do win, you'd fancy them to make the final which would be massive.

Another good weekend for senior hurling. Long gone hopefully are the days of a 3 team championship.

[Splash]

Good day of Senior Hurling tomorrow. Newry Shamrocks need to upset Ballygalget to realistically have any chance of preserving senior status. Both teams seem to be at a bit of a low, so wouldn't expect it to be the prettiest of games. You would imagine Ballygalget will simply have too much for Shamrocks, but you never know. Be interesting if Ballygalget are unlucky enough to end up in the Intermediate how they'd fair on an All Ireland run.

Bredagh v Ballycran should be a good game, with nothing too much of note to mention. Would expect Ballycran to come away with the win, but think Bredagh can give a good showing.

Portaferry v Liatroim should be a great game. Massive opportunity for Liatroim. Would expect Portaferry to come away with the win, but  Liatroim are flying and won't have any fear. Pearse Óg McCrickard potentially the best hurler in Ulster after McManus , and have talent across the field. Defence may struggle against the likes of the Sands brothers and Tom McGrattan, though. Will be a good game to see where each team is at. If Liatroim do win, you'd fancy them to make the final which would be massive.

Another good weekend for senior hurling. Long gone hopefully are the days of a 3 team championship.

Whatever about Pearse Óg McCrickard, you have McManus as the best hurler in Ulster?

Neil McManus from Cushendall, aye. Top, top hurler. Well fit to mix it with the best in Ireland. Getting on a bit now. Still though, some player. Great evangelist for Ulster Hurling. Followed, imo, by McCrickard and Keelan Molloy from Dunloy (although there is a bit of a gap from McManus to those two). Brendan Rodgers from Slaughtneil also up there.

[LC]

Good day of Senior Hurling tomorrow. Newry Shamrocks need to upset Ballygalget to realistically have any chance of preserving senior status. Both teams seem to be at a bit of a low, so wouldn't expect it to be the prettiest of games. You would imagine Ballygalget will simply have too much for Shamrocks, but you never know. Be interesting if Ballygalget are unlucky enough to end up in the Intermediate how they'd fair on an All Ireland run.

Bredagh v Ballycran should be a good game, with nothing too much of note to mention. Would expect Ballycran to come away with the win, but think Bredagh can give a good showing.

Portaferry v Liatroim should be a great game. Massive opportunity for Liatroim. Would expect Portaferry to come away with the win, but  Liatroim are flying and won't have any fear. Pearse Óg McCrickard potentially the best hurler in Ulster after McManus , and have talent across the field. Defence may struggle against the likes of the Sands brothers and Tom McGrattan, though. Will be a good game to see where each team is at. If Liatroim do win, you'd fancy them to make the final which would be massive.

Another good weekend for senior hurling. Long gone hopefully are the days of a 3 team championship.

Whatever about Pearse Óg McCrickard, you have McManus as the best hurler in Ulster?

Neil McManus from Cushendall, aye. Top, top hurler. Well fit to mix it with the best in Ireland. Getting on a bit now. Still though, some player. Great evangelist for Ulster Hurling. Followed, imo, by McCrickard and Keelan Molloy from Dunloy (although there is a bit of a gap from McManus to those two). Brendan Rodgers from Slaughtneil also up there.

While still also being one of the top footballers in Ulster at the same time.

[Splash]

Fair enough. It's all about opinions. Though I feel like I'm in an episode of Goodnight Sweetheart.

Aye, all about opinions.

[Splash]

Good day of Senior Hurling tomorrow. Newry Shamrocks need to upset Ballygalget to realistically have any chance of preserving senior status. Both teams seem to be at a bit of a low, so wouldn't expect it to be the prettiest of games. You would imagine Ballygalget will simply have too much for Shamrocks, but you never know. Be interesting if Ballygalget are unlucky enough to end up in the Intermediate how they'd fair on an All Ireland run.

Bredagh v Ballycran should be a good game, with nothing too much of note to mention. Would expect Ballycran to come away with the win, but think Bredagh can give a good showing.

Portaferry v Liatroim should be a great game. Massive opportunity for Liatroim. Would expect Portaferry to come away with the win, but  Liatroim are flying and won't have any fear. Pearse Óg McCrickard potentially the best hurler in Ulster after McManus , and have talent across the field. Defence may struggle against the likes of the Sands brothers and Tom McGrattan, though. Will be a good game to see where each team is at. If Liatroim do win, you'd fancy them to make the final which would be massive.

Another good weekend for senior hurling. Long gone hopefully are the days of a 3 team championship.

Whatever about Pearse Óg McCrickard, you have McManus as the best hurler in Ulster?

Neil McManus from Cushendall, aye. Top, top hurler. Well fit to mix it with the best in Ireland. Getting on a bit now. Still though, some player. Great evangelist for Ulster Hurling. Followed, imo, by McCrickard and Keelan Molloy from Dunloy (although there is a bit of a gap from McManus to those two). Brendan Rodgers from Slaughtneil also up there.

While still also being one of the top footballers in Ulster at the same time.

Absolute great player all round.

[Splash]

Good weekend of club hurling.

Not too much to say on Ballycrand and Bredagh. Ballycran just a level above them atm. Think the Championship is theirs to lose now. Potentially an Ulster Championship in the team? Hopefully Bredagh aren't going to spiral now. Be a massive shame for Down hurling if all the work they've invested becomes undone.

Ballygalget back to old ways against Newry Shamrocks. Ugly scoreline which won't do much to help the game in the Shamrocks club, but is what it is. The team knows where they are now with 2 bigger challenges coming in the form of the Crans and the Ports. Similar sort of situation to Bredagh, hopefully they don't spiral. The clubs need to do well for the benefit of hurling in the 2 key urban areas of the county.
Shamrocks by no means bad hurlers, and had moments of good stuff, but simply, hadn't the physicality, strength, or fitness to compete with Ballygalget and were handled easily by the Ardsmen. Paul Sheehan clearly a big miss. Sean Campbell also probably a big miss.
Some great hurlers in Ballygalget. Hopefully the club is coming through their own barren patch.

Liatroim couldn't get over the line, but not a million miles away. Portaferry may have got a scare from the close scoreline. Liatroim still well fit to reach the final on their day, but wouldn't imagine they'd be able to deal with Ballycran in a final. Still though, great progress from them and I'm sure they'll be happy with where they are this season.

Semi final draw will be interesting.

Not too much to be said for the Intermediate.

Carryduff dismatled Clonduff. You would fear what they could do to Ballela or the Point if they took a notion. Apparently, Clonduff didn't even put out too bad a team.
Although it took until the second half for the floodgates to open. Carryduff simply had better hurlers out the field who could take scores from around the field. Heard it said this weekend there is no Intermediate level in Down, only Senior and Junior.
Nothing else really to be said.
Lot of underage need work needs to go into South Down clubs to get to the level of Bredagh/Carryduff- and tbf to Clonduff, they seem to be putting it in. This championship was always going to be Carryduff's. Hopefully Clonduff can recover, and build on the good stuff they have and be competitive with Warrenpoint and Ballela.

CPN get over the line against Ballela, but a far better showing from the West Down men than many were expecting. Johnny McMuscker back in action. Great asset to any team. Never a good idea to rely heavily on one player but not a lot else Ballela can do at the minute, maybe. You'd wonder how they would have fared with Ryan McCusker available for them.
Good to see the Point getting the first win at Intermediate level. Hopefully they can continue to develop. Only gets tougher from here on out.

Junior Championship also panned out the way many would have been expecting.

Castlewellen dealt with Ballyvarley handily enough in the end. Was level at halftime, with BV going ahead in the second half, but seemed to fall apart for them when they conceded the penalty. Castlewellen a far fitter team, and looked better organised. BV hit a lot of wides and gave away soft frees, which CW seemed to thrive off of.
BV didn't seem confident taking their scores. A return from Paul O'Neill would definitely be a great asset.
BV missing key men, and some lads not suited to filling different positions. Tom Lennon a big miss for BV.
Good to see James McGrath back. Does wonders for a team to have a player like that coming back.
No standout player for Castlewellen, just a great team performance. Kept the head when it wasn't going great and took the chances when they came. Simple as. Will feel they already have one hand on the championship.

Kilclief v East Belfast a strange affair.
Kilclief absolutely rampant in the first have. Ran around East Belfast, barely letting them on the ball. Just systematically took East Belfast apart from every side.
Second half East Belfast scored what Kilclief had scored in the first half, and although it didn't feel like Kilclief were ever in any trouble, to take the foot of the gas to that extent may be concerning.
Some great hurlers for East Belfast, and the size of the squad is insane- lads spilling down the sideline. Kilclief fitter, faster, and stronger, though. Also great in the air, and were able to take shots from far out the field.
You would wonder if Kilclief are used to the breeze that comes with playing on the shore, and whether they are able to turn it into a tool of the trade.
East Belfast definitely missing Irial Ó'Cellaigh, Jack Gavin, and Prionsais Lennon in the half backline, although a club that size probably will have no trouble locating someone, somewhere who can do the job for them.

Semi finals will be interesting.
Kilclief v Ballyvarley is essentially a semi final to see who joins CW in the final. Kilclief favourites, but the game is in Ballyvarley, and their backs will already be against the wall after the loss. Won't be happy with that performance and will be chomping at the bit to get a chance to go again. Ballyvarley won't let Kilclief start as strongly as East Belfast did, and Kilclief showed their defence can be opened up. A Ballyvarley side that wasn't firing still managed to score 1-09 on Castlewellen. Still rattled home an early goal, and were unlucky with their goal chances. Also have the physicality to match Kilclief and keep them off the ball.
At the same time, clear by looking at Kilclief they are a Div 1 team playing with Div 2 teams. Will be confident of going on an unbeaten run this championship. A physical side with some great hurling ability. Might take a lot to stop them.
Would expect Castlewellen to beat East Belfast, but no shortage of goal poachers available for the Belfast side, and judging on league performances, it would be possible for them to give Castlewellen a scare.

No one really stood out in the Junior Championship who would be a good shout for the County Squad, which is unfortunate. Maybe a couple of the Kilclief boys, but hard to know. We talk a lot in Down how the solution is more clubs. If we had a greater number of clubs, we would find better players. But we would also need to invest and develop our junior clubs. Would be great to see more clubs, but a lot needs to be done to keep lads playing a high quality game across the county. More clubs does not automatically mean you unearth great players.

Great weekend of club hurling, and no shortage of good games to come. Hopefully the County Board doesn't focus solely on the football in the coming weeks, and both championships get some good exposure.

Some very interesting developments to watch out for on the hurling front this year.

[marty34]

Good weekend of club hurling.

Not too much to say on Ballycrand and Bredagh. Ballycran just a level above them atm. Think the Championship is theirs to lose now. Potentially an Ulster Championship in the team? Hopefully Bredagh aren't going to spiral now. Be a massive shame for Down hurling if all the work they've invested becomes undone.

Ballygalget back to old ways against Newry Shamrocks. Ugly scoreline which won't do much to help the game in the Shamrocks club, but is what it is. The team knows where they are now with 2 bigger challenges coming in the form of the Crans and the Ports. Similar sort of situation to Bredagh, hopefully they don't spiral. The clubs need to do well for the benefit of hurling in the 2 key urban areas of the county.
Shamrocks by no means bad hurlers, and had moments of good stuff, but simply, hadn't the physicality, strength, or fitness to compete with Ballygalget and were handled easily by the Ardsmen. Paul Sheehan clearly a big miss. Sean Campbell also probably a big miss.
Some great hurlers in Ballygalget. Hopefully the club is coming through their own barren patch.

Liatroim couldn't get over the line, but not a million miles away. Portaferry may have got a scare from the close scoreline. Liatroim still well fit to reach the final on their day, but wouldn't imagine they'd be able to deal with Ballycran in a final. Still though, great progress from them and I'm sure they'll be happy with where they are this season.

Semi final draw will be interesting.

Not too much to be said for the Intermediate.

Carryduff dismatled Clonduff. You would fear what they could do to Ballela or the Point if they took a notion. Apparently, Clonduff didn't even put out too bad a team.
Although it took until the second half for the floodgates to open. Carryduff simply had better hurlers out the field who could take scores from around the field. Heard it said this weekend there is no Intermediate level in Down, only Senior and Junior.
Nothing else really to be said.
Lot of underage need work needs to go into South Down clubs to get to the level of Bredagh/Carryduff- and tbf to Clonduff, they seem to be putting it in. This championship was always going to be Carryduff's. Hopefully Clonduff can recover, and build on the good stuff they have and be competitive with Warrenpoint and Ballela.

CPN get over the line against Ballela, but a far better showing from the West Down men than many were expecting. Johnny McMuscker back in action. Great asset to any team. Never a good idea to rely heavily on one player but not a lot else Ballela can do at the minute, maybe. You'd wonder how they would have fared with Ryan McCusker available for them.
Good to see the Point getting the first win at Intermediate level. Hopefully they can continue to develop. Only gets tougher from here on out.

Junior Championship also panned out the way many would have been expecting.

Castlewellen dealt with Ballyvarley handily enough in the end. Was level at halftime, with BV going ahead in the second half, but seemed to fall apart for them when they conceded the penalty. Castlewellen a far fitter team, and looked better organised. BV hit a lot of wides and gave away soft frees, which CW seemed to thrive off of.
BV didn't seem confident taking their scores. A return from Paul O'Neill would definitely be a great asset.
BV missing key men, and some lads not suited to filling different positions. Tom Lennon a big miss for BV.
Good to see James McGrath back. Does wonders for a team to have a player like that coming back.
No standout player for Castlewellen, just a great team performance. Kept the head when it wasn't going great and took the chances when they came. Simple as. Will feel they already have one hand on the championship.

Kilclief v East Belfast a strange affair.
Kilclief absolutely rampant in the first have. Ran around East Belfast, barely letting them on the ball. Just systematically took East Belfast apart from every side.
Second half East Belfast scored what Kilclief had scored in the first half, and although it didn't feel like Kilclief were ever in any trouble, to take the foot of the gas to that extent may be concerning.
Some great hurlers for East Belfast, and the size of the squad is insane- lads spilling down the sideline. Kilclief fitter, faster, and stronger, though. Also great in the air, and were able to take shots from far out the field.
You would wonder if Kilclief are used to the breeze that comes with playing on the shore, and whether they are able to turn it into a tool of the trade.
East Belfast definitely missing Irial Ó'Cellaigh, Jack Gavin, and Prionsais Lennon in the half backline, although a club that size probably will have no trouble locating someone, somewhere who can do the job for them.

Semi finals will be interesting.
Kilclief v Ballyvarley is essentially a semi final to see who joins CW in the final. Kilclief favourites, but the game is in Ballyvarley, and their backs will already be against the wall after the loss. Won't be happy with that performance and will be chomping at the bit to get a chance to go again. Ballyvarley won't let Kilclief start as strongly as East Belfast did, and Kilclief showed their defence can be opened up. A Ballyvarley side that wasn't firing still managed to score 1-09 on Castlewellen. Still rattled home an early goal, and were unlucky with their goal chances. Also have the physicality to match Kilclief and keep them off the ball.
At the same time, clear by looking at Kilclief they are a Div 1 team playing with Div 2 teams. Will be confident of going on an unbeaten run this championship. A physical side with some great hurling ability. Might take a lot to stop them.
Would expect Castlewellen to beat East Belfast, but no shortage of goal poachers available for the Belfast side, and judging on league performances, it would be possible for them to give Castlewellen a scare.

No one really stood out in the Junior Championship who would be a good shout for the County Squad, which is unfortunate. Maybe a couple of the Kilclief boys, but hard to know. We talk a lot in Down how the solution is more clubs. If we had a greater number of clubs, we would find better players. But we would also need to invest and develop our junior clubs. Would be great to see more clubs, but a lot needs to be done to keep lads playing a high quality game across the county. More clubs does not automatically mean you unearth great players.

Great weekend of club hurling, and no shortage of good games to come. Hopefully the County Board doesn't focus solely on the football in the coming weeks, and both championships get some good exposure.

Some very interesting developments to watch out for on the hurling front this year.

That's a comprehensive analysis there Splash. Very detailed.

Great stuff.