Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 2013- Mod Warning Post #1

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hurler on de ditch wrote: »

agreed o mahony offers nothing from play ,cant understand how he was left on the frees ,esp when M.Shan and J Dillon on the field

I think Paraic Mahony gets a tough time. You'd think at least his own county would get his name right!

PTH2009

cant see us winning next sunday. We need Molumphy and Seamus Prendergast starting. Hopefully the weather wont be too bad next sunday

Dereck mcgrath seems to be stuck in harty cup mode with the team. This is not harty cup this is senoir hurling. was in DLS the last time they won the harty cup im not saying it wasant a great achievement but schools level is different too senoir intercounty hurling. I just hope Dereck adapts to the senoir hurling management as he is a nice hard working guy

i can see it being a dog fight between us and dublin to stay up. I tell ya one thing Loais would fancy there chances against us

hardybuck

hurler on de ditch wrote: »

not many counties would name the same underperforming side ,with nearly 7 days to go

Not many other counties would have options as limited as ours either.

Don't be surprised if you see changes next weekend.

Deise_2012

God help the minors when they reach senior level in 2/3 years, the way some of ye are talking about Brian Sully, Pauric Mahony, Jamie Barron you'd swear they're seasoned veterans. They've at most 2 years of Senior Inter County hurling played each and ye're going mental because they didn't get impress ye on a **** rainy night in February. Calm down, 1st game of the year and ye'd swear we're relegated already

Hamstrings59

it was first round of the league on a cold wet night in thurles and only for a flukey goal we could have got something out of the game. i thought the lads did ok, but tipp are no world beaters, we have too many of the same type of forward at the minute. derek has named his 15 but sure that is subject to change, theres a good few waterford lads involved in fitzgibbon this week so i wouldnt read too much into the team being announced so early.
to be honest, id leave Bennett alone this year, he has done an awful lot of hurling these past few seasons and has had some serious injuries for someone so young. i know we are all mad to see him but a year away from the seniors to lessen the huring load and the pressure may stand to him in the long run. he only turned 18 late last year so he is still very young, hes a serious talent but reading posts on here people think he'll just walk into the team and start banging in goals, that doesnt happen, its a huge step up for him so give him a chance and give him time and im sure he'll come good.

Hamstrings59

PTH2009 wrote: »

cant see us winning next sunday. We need Molumphy and Seamus Prendergast starting. I tell ya one thing Loais would fancy there chances against us

how out of touch are you? Laois win one significant game in about 10 years and now you think theyd beat waterford?? and they were playing an offaly team with fat legs, arses and bellies!!!

Mountainlad

Interestingly enough Waterford are favourites for the game at the weekend.

Not saying we shouldn't be, but would have to wonder what the bookies base their prices on sometimes. Given Galway romped home in a 50/50 game, and considering they were somehow favourites last year just after we bet Tipp at home, how would they be underdogs in their estimation?

jack o shea

Can anyone explain this farce of naming the team a week in advance?

IanVW

@BrianJAFlannery: Waterford Senior Hurler Maurice Shanahan damaged ankle ligements in the defeat to Tipp last Sat night and may be ruled out for up to 6 weeks

robopaddy

IanVW wrote: »

@BrianJAFlannery: Waterford Senior Hurler Maurice Shanahan damaged ankle ligements in the defeat to Tipp last Sat night and may be ruled out for up to 6 weeks

Yet hes named on the team for next sunday. What is going on?

Deise_2012

robopaddy wrote: »

Yet hes named on the team for next sunday. What is going on?

They named the team yesterday, before he got a scan probably. But why does it matter? Straight swap Molumphy for Maurice and either Barron or Dillon in the corner

Morte

I've seen a few people repeat the mantra of "win our home games." That probably won't be enough. We were safe two years ago with 4 points but Galway were in the relegation play off with 4 points. Last year both Clare and Cork finished on 4 and it was no good to them. To be sure we can only afford to lose 2 of 5 games or now 1 of 4. Last Saturday night was a real opportunity missed especially as we had such a strong team out. Of course, no need to hit the panic button yet after one game. And I'd stay bullish of our chances of winning the playoff in any instance.

Saturday marked yet another game where we failed to win a tight game and where we finished poorer than the opposition. This has been a probem for a while now, particularly in the later stages of the championship, and is a concern. I have a musing on it. Under Justin our record of winning tight games was very poor, under Davy it was excellent and then under Michael Ryan it was poor again. Now obviously this is a positive indication for Davy being a great manager. But it's also noteworthy that Davy almost bankrupted us in his tenure. Now some of the gimmicky things we can laugh at but presumably the other teams are putting in all this work for a reason. It must work and provide a benefit. Teams being better conditioned and with better preparation have the edge. And there's also the mental factor. One of the Clare legends was saying recently that coming to the end of games they knew they'd have the advantage after being through hell with Loughnane all winter. Knowing what he knows now about sports science though running up hills non-stop doesn't actually have huge benefits. But he thought it did and so it did. It's probably a mite unfair to criticise Michael Ryan and Derek McGrath for this then. With our current financial state they're probably a bit handicapped in the support they can expect.

The other thing someone touched on was the use of subs. Now I know there's no point in taking lads off for the hell of it. But most other teams now will aim to empty the bench to get fresh legs on the field. The only two subs to see any meaningful time were both well off the pace. I'd like to see us give lads a run out with a view to being able to use them this way later in the year. As it is D Fives, P Prendergast and Foley all had good years last year so should be options for this if they don't force their way into the team (I know some are injured at present).

If I may be forgiven for referring to soccer I'd love to be able to see a shot map like you'd get in soccer as to where we're shooting from. From memory it was either far out or from tight angles, there didn't seem to be many from easy positions. Our build up play can be poor. We tend to have big lads tippy tapping it to midfield and then lob it on top of smaller lads. A lot of people were prepared to take a snap shot rather than taking time or running with the ball when given space. This is something to build on and our combination play. A few people complained of O'Sullivan not going for goal for his point. I thought the problem was the handpass. It needed to be horizontal in front of him so he could run in on goal with momentum. Instead it was lobbed behind him. On the backfoot with defenders closing in the point was the better option.

I was driven mad at how we lost our shape as the match went on. I know we were beginning to struggle out the field but it pretty much doomed the full forward line to having no chance of winning the ball, never mind scoring. It also severly limits the options available to our defence to play the ball to and balls hit blind under pressure tend to be collected by an unmarked defender.

I can kinda see what McGrath is trying with the running game and the half forward line. One thing that I tought worked well enough in the opening stages was the hassling of the Tip half backs. None of our forwards were particularly strong or good defensively but they were reasonably game and more importantly they were mobile. This allowed them to stick with their men and prevent good ball going forward making our defence's job a lot easier. This was becoming a major issue with Seamus who works his socks of but is finding it hard to get to the opposition in time.

As the match wore on though we were wiped out too easily up front. Personally I'd like to see O'Sullivan continue from last year up front, we have plenty of cover for him. This would give himself and Molumphy in the half forward line and Walsh/Prendergast at full forward and three of the younger lads to buzz around them. This should be enough to stop the ball coming straight back every time but I'm not sure if it would fit McGrath's plan for a running game. I'll be interested to see if he can make it work.

Naming the team a week before is strange but I didn't think it a big deal. Naming it the day after the previous match does seem very funny to me though. Still, meh.

Giveitfong

Creggan Kickhams 1-11 Ballysaggart 1-7


The impression given in the Croke Park draw that Creggan Kickhams were the better hurling team was borne out in Mullingar last Saturday where the Antrim outfit had a deserved win in the All-Ireland Junior Hurling Club championship final replay. Their victory would have been more comfortable had they not conceded another soft goal, shot twice as many wides as Ballysaggart, and been denied a second goal due to the non-application by referee John Keenan of the new advantage rule.


Indeed, this was just one of a number of eccentric refereeing decisions, most of which seemed to go against Ballysaggard, including the rather harsh sending off of Kieran Bennett midway through the second half. The officials also could have been a bit more active in protecting Stephen Bennett from the strong-arm tactics to which he was subjected throughout the game, although at least his main tormentor finally got his marching orders in the closing stages.


I was genuinely surprised that there was a team as good as Creggan playing at junior level in Antrim. A lot has been made of the fact that they are a senior football club, and indeed they had a lot of big, strong, well-conditioned and hard running players in the team. However, they also had good hurlers in every position with excellent touch and close skill, and were very good at fetching the ball in the air.


I thought that Ballysaggart’s tactics could have been better. They should have concentrated on playing the ball into space and spreading the play, as they were always likely to come off worst against stronger opposition in the tight exchanges which dominated the game. And I was very surprised that they persisted in playing Shane Bennett in a forward position along with his brother Stephen, when there was little good ball coming into them from out the field. I thought that he might have been better employed around midfield where, with his combination of skill, pace and strong running ability, he might have been able to create the space to send better ball into his older brother inside. As it was, I thought it was a terrible waste to have their two best players largely marginalised due to the poor supply of ball they were getting.


As for the game itself, Ballysaggart got an early boost when Stephen Bennett sent a 45 metre free along the ground all the way to the Creggan net. However, they failed to build on that good start and, despite playing with the stiff wind, were only two points ahead at half time, 1-5 to 0-6.



Creggan dominated the second period, and when they goaled after eight minutes the writing was on the wall for Ballysaggart. A minute later they had the ball in the net again only to be called back by the referee for a free when the goal should have been let stand under the advantage rule. Things went from bad to worse when Kieran Bennett was sent off in the 44th minute and Creggan sealed the win with a couple of great points from out the field (despite what Pat Bennett said in his after-match comments).


Overall, then, great credit is due to Ballysaggart for winning Waterford’s first Munster title at this level, and they were unlucky to come against a team of such quality in the All-Ireland final. It was a great achievement for such a small rural club. The introduction of these championships was a marvellous move on the part of the GAA.


Ballysaggart scorers: Stephen Bennett 1-2 (all frees), Shane Bennett (0-2, one free); Kieran Bennett, Darren Meagher and Colin Kearney (0-1 each).

cul beag

Talks of Maurice Shanahan being out for the rest of the league and Seamus Prendergast out with a suspected fracture in his hand so who are the likely replacements?

I'm presuming Molumphy will start next Sunday now or will they try Stephen Roche or even Eddie Barrett?

Stephen Bennett needs 6 weeks to recover from a hip injury aswell so he's out of the league. All of a sudden the panel will look very thin on the ground if we were to pick up anymore injuries.

dzilla

PTH2009 wrote: »

cant see us winning next sunday. We need Molumphy and Seamus Prendergast starting. Hopefully the weather wont be too bad next sunday

Dereck mcgrath seems to be stuck in harty cup mode with the team. This is not harty cup this is senoir hurling. was in DLS the last time they won the harty cup im not saying it wasant a great achievement but schools level is different too senoir intercounty hurling. I just hope Dereck adapts to the senoir hurling management as he is a nice hard working guy

i can see it being a dog fight between us and dublin to stay up. I tell ya one thing Loais would fancy there chances against us

Hamstrings59 wrote: »

how out of touch are you? Laois win one significant game in about 10 years and now you think theyd beat waterford?? and they were playing an offaly team with fat legs, arses and bellies!!!

Prendergast couldn't turn in ballybricken. Baffles me how hes been in the squad since 2004.

Are Laois in our division??

HillFarmer

cul beag wrote: »

Talks of Maurice Shanahan being out for the rest of the league and Seamus Prendergast out with a suspected fracture in his hand so who are the likely replacements?

I'm presuming Molumphy will start next Sunday now or will they try Stephen Roche or even Eddie Barrett?

Stephen Bennett needs 6 weeks to recover from a hip injury aswell so he's out of the league. All of a sudden the panel will look very thin on the ground if we were to pick up anymore injuries.

if that's true they will be a big loss to avoid relegation. I think Seamus is under rated, you need his type in the half forward line. Besides what other people think here I think Maurice will be a huge loss.

Deise Hurler

dzilla wrote: »

Prendergast couldn't turn in ballybricken. Baffles me how hes been in the squad since 2004.

Are Laois in our division??

He is in the squad alot longer than that. Has a great hand on him which not many of our forwards have so he is invaluable. His size and strenght gives opposing defenders a torrid time. We have plenty of forwards who can turn in ballybricken but wouldnt put their hand up to win a high ball to save their life.

No Laois in 1b.

deiseach

dzilla wrote: »

Prendergast couldn't turn in ballybricken. Baffles me how hes been in the squad since 2004.

Jeez, that's harsh. Made me smile though.

robopaddy

dzilla wrote: »

Prendergast couldn't turn in ballybricken. Baffles me how hes been in the squad since 2004.

Are Laois in our division??

Baffles me the ignorance and lack of knowledge among many of the posters on this site

deisedude

I would only play Prendergast in the half forward line as he offers no goal scoring threat. He was diabolical against Offaly at full forward last year, granted he was blatantly fouled and should have had 2 penalties

deisedude

I would only play Prendergast in the half forward line as he offers no goal scoring threat. He was diabolical against Offaly at full forward last year, granted he was blatantly fouled and should have had 2 penalties

Ropaire

deisedude wrote: »

I would only play Prendergast in the half forward line as he offers no goal scoring threat. He was diabolical against Offaly at full forward last year, granted he was blatantly fouled and should have had 2 penalties

He wasn't great vs Kilkenny either, but asking him to play in an inside forward line of two and chase ball played to the corners wasn't ever going to be playing to his strengths that day. He's limited in what he brings to the table these days but he's a very good ball winner, something we're struggling for, and if he plays he should be on the 40. I'd have Shane Walsh full forward but it depends on the way McGrath wants to play!

hurler on de ditch

robopaddy wrote: »

Baffles me the ignorance and lack of knowledge among many of the posters on this site

name and shame

babs123

robopaddy wrote: »

Baffles me the ignorance and lack of knowledge among many of the posters on this site

here here. what ridiculous comments

babs123

The johns are back training again. They started back last sunday. They are paying mileage to some players as they have to travel from other clubs (sorry other parts of the county). Here's hoping they have a most unsuccessful year again. If you want to join the ABJ ( ANYONE BUT D JOHNS) just pay your membership to your local club and that will cover you!! A bit random but you cant forget about d johns.

Psychedelic

Ah here would you just shut the fcuk up about "the johns".

Deise_2012

cul beag wrote: »

Talks of Maurice Shanahan being out for the rest of the league and Seamus Prendergast out with a suspected fracture in his hand so who are the likely replacements?

I'm presuming Molumphy will start next Sunday now or will they try Stephen Roche or even Eddie Barrett?

Stephen Bennett needs 6 weeks to recover from a hip injury aswell so he's out of the league. All of a sudden the panel will look very thin on the ground if we were to pick up anymore injuries.

How did you find out about the Bennett injury? I think that's good in a way, 6 weeks rest will do wonders for him

cleaboy boy

There's an interview with Derek McGrath in today's indo, he more or less says that Bennett will require 6 weeks rest and recuperation.

Alot of Waterford players in action as we speak, they trail DIT 1.2 to 0.4 in the Fitzgibbon cup quarter final, roughly 15 mins gone

hardybuck

Deise_2012 wrote: »

How did you find out about the Bennett injury? I think that's good in a way, 6 weeks rest will do wonders for him

Hip injuries at that age will do the opposite of wonders for him.

Deise_2012

hardybuck wrote: »

Hip injuries at that age will do the opposite of wonders for him.

fairly sure 6 weeks rest away from the bad surfaces in feb and march would do his hip no harm