Down Club Hurling & Football

[Armaghdog]

JHC final now Ballela v Castlewellan with E Belfast paying the price for their first round hammering in Castlewellan as score difference knocked them out despite a good 5 point win v Ballela. Ballela after their win v Castlewellan now favourite for the championship but will be wary of a younger up and coming team.
Shamrocks v Carryduff was tight and shows the gap between the lower SHC and IHC teams isn't much. Maybe time for a rethink of the championship format in Down. Fair play to Shamrocks who too it to the wire.

[Armaghdog]

On today's evidence JC can't see Galgets getting near Pferry but they are there and as you say will give it a lash. Good to see Point competitive with Bredagh in intermediate.

[Splash]

JHC final now Ballela v Castlewellan with E Belfast paying the price for their first round hammering in Castlewellan as score difference knocked them out despite a good 5 point win v Ballela. Ballela after their win v Castlewellan now favourite for the championship but will be wary of a younger up and coming team.
Shamrocks v Carryduff was tight and shows the gap between the lower SHC and IHC teams isn't much. Maybe time for a rethink of the championship format in Down. Fair play to Shamrocks who too it to the wire.

Not sure if Ballela are favourites to be honest.

Yes, they beat Castlewellan, but Castlewellan have performed better overall in the championship.

Hammered East Belfast, and hammered Ballyvarley, whereas Ballela lost to East Belfast, and it's probably fair to say they got out of jail free against Ballyvarley with some decisions going their way.

This is not to say they aren't well fit to beat Castlewellan. Ballela are a dogged team, but Castlewellan will have learnt from their last encounter and id be surprised if they make the same mistakes again.

Páirc Esler will suit Castlewellan style of play more I'd say, and if they do play their way, and not the way Ballela want them to play, I would have them as favourites.

Of course though, Ballela have the know how on both beating Castlewellan, and winning Junior Championships. If they get their match ups right they'll be well fit go straight back up to intermediate.



Was expecting a bigger winning margin for Carryduff, Shamrocks were impressive. I would definitely agree, we need a rethink on the championship structure. What is the point in having an intermediate final that is the exact same as last year? Bredagh could feasibly win back to back intermediate championships.

[Ardstick]

Senior

Ports looking miles above the competition but the Galgets will always battle to the end. Maybe a year or 2 still to wait for Jeremiah. Liatroim showed they are more than capable of fighting for themselves without the Belfast and Ballela blow-ins, promote and coach within the best way forward and they should be all the stronger for that.
Surely final is back in the Ards, far better atmosphere than a big empty Newry.

Intermediate

Two close enough matches for the Belfast teams and another close affair ahead again. Maybe Carryduff with a wee bit extra?
Interesting that the bottom 2 senior drop into intermediate but bottom 2 intermediate dont drop into junior? Just wondering what the thinking is behind that system??

Junior

Ballela back into another junior final even though they got beat by East Belfast and finished 3rd in the group. A table within the table gets them through?? Will be an interesting final with Castlewellan, who probably think this is their time. Will need to stop the goals going in and rely on their speed and youth to get over the line. Ballela have still some of the old guard playing and may just have the neck of winning tight finals.

Great few finals ahead and hopefully good crowds come out to support the small ball.

[TakeTheMark]

Surely final is back in the Ards, far better atmosphere than a big empty Newry.

There have been numerous posts recently saying that the rest of the county should be doing more for hurling, then at the first opportunity you want the final moved away from the county ground up to the Ards away from the rest of the county?

[ardtole]

If there are 2 teams from Ards in the final, surely it's only logical to play the final over there, particularly if the ferry isn't running.

[Ardstick]

If there are 2 teams from Ards in the final, surely it's only logical to play the final over there, particularly if the ferry isn't running.

The obvious choice is McKenna park, but I'd suggest neither team wants to play on such a tight pitch.

It really should be in the Ards, dont know why "TakeTheMark" is up in arms at that suggestion, nothing to do with promotion.(Int and Junior finals in Newry to go to) Having been at many a final in the Ards and a couple in Newry its not even a comparison, far better occasion and atmosphere, and haven't even mention the fact supporters and players having a 100 mile round trip instead of a 4/5 mile trip, common sense stuff really. Jonny would the clubs or even Board be in favour of tossing for the venue? Just a thought.

PS I'm thinking this final might be closer than people might expect.

[dec]

If they want to promote hurling in the Newry / South Down area they should give out free tickets to the schools and clubs in the Newry area to encourage a bigger crowd at the game.

[thewobbler]

If they want to promote hurling in the Newry / South Down area they should give out free tickets to the schools and clubs in the Newry area to encourage a bigger crowd at the game.

Honestly I'm not overly sure it would help. I don't believe the price is a deterrent.

[Splash]

Great to see all this hurling discussion going on, isn't it?

[Splash]

On a quick side note from the hurling, who do the big ball enthusiasts see winning this weekend?

Hard to see past Dromara tomorrow night in my opinion. They seem to have really clicked this year. Has there been a lot of work done in the previous years to get them to this point? They have some of the most amazing facilities in the county IMO. Aughlisnafin will certainly fancy themselves. It is not that long ago that the Fin were struggling massively, shipping 50 point losses. It is inspirational to every other club in the county how far they've come since.

Drumgath v Clann na Banna the most intriguing game of the weekend I think. Drumagath have won every game this year between the two, but Banbridge could have a shock in store. Drumgath won the Junior Championship in 2016. Going from Junior to Senior in less than 10 years would be quite impressive, but we'll not tempt fate. I don't think I ever can recall Banbridge being in the top flight of football? Again, we'll not tempt fate, but would be interesting. Clann na Banna, like many of our urban clubs, probably have a lot of potential in them for the future. I didn't expect either of these teams to make the final, let alone win the championship, so credit where credit is due; Im looking forward to this one and either team will be a great addition to the senior championship. Should be a good game. On a side note, a lot could be done to promote the GAA in Banbridge and Rathfriland. I know, I know, the demographics of both towns don't exactly lend themselves to this, particularly Rathfriland, but we live in a changing world, and the success of either team would do wonders for their respective area. I am not saying either team winning this weekend will flip the script of the last 100 years of history, and a GAA forum is not the time nor the place for such discussions, but who knows what the future holds in store? Anyway, should be a good game and credit to each team for the season they've had so far and taking down some decent teams to get here.

Not a heap to say on the senior final, and it wouldn't be my forte anyway. If I was pushed I would say it's hard to look past Kilcoo again? Very slick footballing machine.  I'm sure there will be a lot of discussion on this game over the coming days, so I will leave it to those who are more qualified and more interested in such matters. Whoever wins, would be good to see them go on and win Ulster, and hopefully an All Ireland.

We have two good weekends of action now coming up, with some interesting match ups in both codes. Looking forward to it, should be good.

[ranch]

Drumgath v Clann na Banna the most intriguing game of the weekend I think. Drumagath have won every game this year between the two, but Banbridge could have a shock in store. Drumgath won the Junior Championship in 2016. Going from Junior to Senior in less than 10 years would be quite impressive, but we'll not tempt fate.I don't think I ever can recall Banbridge being in the top flight of football? Again, we'll not tempt fate, but would be interesting. Clann na Banna, like many of our urban clubs, probably have a lot of potential in them for the future. I didn't expect either of these teams to make the final, let alone win the championship, so credit where credit is due; Im looking forward to this one and either team will be a great addition to the senior championship. Should be a good game. On a side note, a lot could be done to promote the GAA in Banbridge and Rathfriland. I know, I know, the demographics of both towns don't exactly lend themselves to this, particularly Rathfriland, but we live in a changing world, and the success of either team would do wonders for their respective area. I am not saying either team winning this weekend will flip the script of the last 100 years of history, and a GAA forum is not the time nor the place for such discussions, but who knows what the future holds in store? Anyway, should be a good game and credit to each team for the season they've had so far and taking down some decent teams to get here.

They did win the Junior championship in 2016, but it should also be noted that they played senior championship in 2014.

[launchitin]

On a quick side note from the hurling, who do the big ball enthusiasts see winning this weekend?

Hard to see past Dromara tomorrow night in my opinion. They seem to have really clicked this year. Has there been a lot of work done in the previous years to get them to this point? They have some of the most amazing facilities in the county IMO. Aughlisnafin will certainly fancy themselves. It is not that long ago that the Fin were struggling massively, shipping 50 point losses. It is inspirational to every other club in the county how far they've come since.

Drumgath v Clann na Banna the most intriguing game of the weekend I think. Drumagath have won every game this year between the two, but Banbridge could have a shock in store. Drumgath won the Junior Championship in 2016. Going from Junior to Senior in less than 10 years would be quite impressive, but we'll not tempt fate. I don't think I ever can recall Banbridge being in the top flight of football? Again, we'll not tempt fate, but would be interesting. Clann na Banna, like many of our urban clubs, probably have a lot of potential in them for the future. I didn't expect either of these teams to make the final, let alone win the championship, so credit where credit is due; Im looking forward to this one and either team will be a great addition to the senior championship. Should be a good game. On a side note, a lot could be done to promote the GAA in Banbridge and Rathfriland. I know, I know, the demographics of both towns don't exactly lend themselves to this, particularly Rathfriland, but we live in a changing world, and the success of either team would do wonders for their respective area. I am not saying either team winning this weekend will flip the script of the last 100 years of history, and a GAA forum is not the time nor the place for such discussions, but who knows what the future holds in store? Anyway, should be a good game and credit to each team for the season they've had so far and taking down some decent teams to get here.

Not a heap to say on the senior final, and it wouldn't be my forte anyway. If I was pushed I would say it's hard to look past Kilcoo again? Very slick footballing machine.  I'm sure there will be a lot of discussion on this game over the coming days, so I will leave it to those who are more qualified and more interested in such matters. Whoever wins, would be good to see them go on and win Ulster, and hopefully an All Ireland.

We have two good weekends of action now coming up, with some interesting match ups in both codes. Looking forward to it, should be good.

The Finn are an established junior club now, it's been maybe over a decade since the times of them getting regular heavy defeats in division 4. Saying that, they had a bad year in division 3 and were relegated, so I'm not sure how much they'll fancy themselves. After losing some players to Castlewellan they seem to have a bit of rebuilding to do. Dromara have had the players and potential to win the JFC for a long time now, but for whatever reasons they couldn't get over the line despite on occasions winning division 4 and playing in division 3 etc. The management this year seems to have finally got the best out of them. If they don't win this time, they will have only themselves to blame.

[thewobbler]

CNB were in D1 about 7-8 years ago. It was a 15-team league that season but they'd have had to be in the SFC either that season or previous (or both).

This is maybe the 5th or 6th time Drumgath have played an IFC final.

——

Not looking forward to the SFC final at all. Burren would need a couple of early goals to keep it interesting. Otherwise it'll just go to plan ie Kilcoo's plan, which would seem to be to win every game by 4-6 points without having to hyperextend, even momentarily.

[Minus15]

Drumgath have won 2 Intermediate titles in last 20 years to my mind, both from Div 3.

Clann na Banna would have played Div 1 in 2015.