Club Championships

tayto lover

Well done to Crossmaglen winning their 17th Senior C/ship in 18 years and to Paul Hearty who was the only player on every one of them.
Is there another player anywhere with 17 Senior C/ship medals I wonder?

Boots234

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

I think what kills the Crokes when it comes to All Ireland Semi's is the break after the provincial finals,they get up a head of steam pre Xmas and then they have a break and I think they find it hard to re discover the form for an All Ireland Semi.Its probably something they have to work on for this attempt at winning an All Ireland Club

They should come out of Munster,but last year the toughest game they had was up in Clare,Kilmurry Ibrickane gave them a great game of it and were unlucky not to beat the Crokes.

That was a great game, if it had gone on an extra 5 minutes Kilmurry would have beaten them

theoneeyedman

Bit premature calling Crokes a great team yet imo. They haven't done it at national level yet, and were made look ordinary enough by Ballymun and Cross over the last couple of years. Good teams have concentrated on closing Cooper down and neither him nor the rest of the team have been able to step up thus far. It may change in 14, but they have work to do before that.

JFlah

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Bit premature calling Crokes a great team yet imo. They haven't done it at national level yet, and were made look ordinary enough by Ballymun and Cross over the last couple of years. Good teams have concentrated on closing Cooper down and neither him nor the rest of the team have been able to step up thus far. It may change in 14, but they have work to do before that.

I really believe they are a 'great' team but need that AI to cement that. I was at the game yesterday and while as a Stacks man it was painful it was also a joy to behold in many ways.
I,ve seen countless football matches and yesterday was unquestionably the single greatest performance from start to finish I have seen by a club team.

Fascinating to watch the Crokes professionalism, I was very near their coaches; at one stage when I think 14 points ahead late in the game one of their forwards got a bollocking for having his hands on his hips, also seeing them give stick to each other over a mis-placed pass with 3/4 minutes left .....they really are a machine and no one in Kerry anyway will beat them for the forseeable future.

theoneeyedman

Bit premature calling Crokes a great team yet imo. They haven't done it at national level yet, and were made look ordinary enough by Ballymun and Cross over the last couple of years. Good teams have concentrated on closing Cooper down and neither him nor the rest of the team have been able to step up thus far. It may change in 14, but they have work to do before that.

JFlah

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Bit premature calling Crokes a great team yet imo. They haven't done it at national level yet, and were made look ordinary enough by Ballymun and Cross over the last couple of years. Good teams have concentrated on closing Cooper down and neither him nor the rest of the team have been able to step up thus far. It may change in 14, but they have work to do before that.

They appear much fresher at this stage this year also have,nt put quite as much effort into the other competitions in Kerry I think the biggest danger is the assumption that they will win Munster at least; becoming over-confidence.

Regardless of them winning AI in 14 if someone asked me to pick a pure footballing side to watch and get youngsters to watch it would definitely be them. I just wish Stacks could bloody beat them once!!!!

Always_Running

Over the last four years or so Dr Crokes have been the best in Kerry and Munster however you have to judge the current quality of the Kerry championship would any side other than Dr Crokes be capable of winning a Munster title? and how many genuine All Ireland contenders are in the Munster championship?

Crokes should win the Munster championship again then they will face the Connacht champions (All Ireland contender) in AI semi final and that game will test the true credentials of Dr Crokes.

Kerrydude1981

Always_Running wrote: »

Over the last four years or so Dr Crokes have been the best in Kerry and Munster however you have to judge the current quality of the Kerry championship would any side other than Dr Crokes be capable of winning a Munster title? and how many genuine All Ireland contenders are in the Munster championship?

Crokes should win the Munster championship again then they will face the Connacht champions (All Ireland contender) in AI semi final and that game will test the true credentials of Dr Crokes.

Well the problem in Kerry there is only 3 club teams in the County Championship that are capable of winning the County Championship,the Crokes,the Stacks and Kerins O'Rahillys,

There are other clubs in it but atm they aren't strong enough to challenge,the rest of the Championship is made up of Divisional sides who cant compete in Munster if they win the Kerry County Championship.

There has been talk down here about reforming the championship and maybe putting some of the weaker clubs back in with there divisional teams.

keane2097

Always_Running wrote: »

Over the last four years or so Dr Crokes have been the best in Kerry and Munster however you have to judge the current quality of the Kerry championship would any side other than Dr Crokes be capable of winning a Munster title? and how many genuine All Ireland contenders are in the Munster championship?

Crokes should win the Munster championship again then they will face the Connacht champions (All Ireland contender) in AI semi final and that game will test the true credentials of Dr Crokes.

Strand Road and Stacks are easily as good as Castlehaven.

keane2097

Re: Crokes - I don't buy any excuses like the break doesn't suit them etc. When they've lost the last couple of years it's been to better teams with better gameplans, the exception being the year they raced into the lead against Cross only to be completely (and pretty interestingly) outmanoeuvred on the sideline.

Gerry91

The Connacht team mightn't be too bad a semi though.

Hard to see Brigid's having the hunger again and will be more vulnerable this year surely. Corofin have a great solid bunch of players, and plenty in reserve but they don't have any real match winners like the Gooch, or even O'Leary when on form. They're a good all round solid 15 or even 20 but no real stand out individuals (though if Sice hits the heights of last weekend he'll be a serious asset).

It wouldn't be an easy semi but it'd be winnable IMO

bcb1

keane2097 wrote: »

Re: Crokes - I don't buy any excuses like the break doesn't suit them etc. When they've lost the last couple of years it's been to better teams with better gameplans, the exception being the year they raced into the lead against Cross only to be completely (and pretty interestingly) outmanoeuvred on the sideline.

Why do you say 'pretty interestingly'?

keane2097

bcb1 wrote: »

Why do you say 'pretty interestingly'?

I found how Crossmaglen altered their approach through early and ongoing switches that completely flummoxed the Crokes to be one of the greatest in-game tactical interventions I've ever seen. It was just amazing to watch!

bcb1

keane2097 wrote: »

I found how Crossmaglen altered their approach through early and ongoing switches that completely flummoxed the Crokes to be one of the greatest in-game tactical interventions I've ever seen. It was just amazing to watch!

I see what you mean. Yeah, the made the changes right both on the line but also the way the players changed their approach on the field. It is sometimes hard for players to change mindsets but the lads did that day.

keane2097

bcb1 wrote: »

I see what you mean. Yeah, the made the changes right both on the line but also the way the players changed their approach on the field. It is sometimes hard for players to change mindsets but the lads did that day.

Yeah exactly. It's often hard to see teams changing their approach during a game - the best luck I've had is watching matches from high up behind the goal line rather than from half way occasionally - but that day it was so clear what they were doing and how each additional change was another part of the puzzle. It was very cool.

I think Crokes are a different animal this year though having said that!

Gerry91

Any team with Colm Cooper would be hard bet never mind a club one with players of the quality of Buckley, O'Leary and CF (can't remember name but was immense at the weekend) alongside him. They look a very good all round team and all of the forwards look very capable.

Brosnan is still a great player to have at club level. They'll take beating

Themselves Crossmaglen final IMO

passremarkable

Gerry91 wrote: »

Any team with Colm Cooper would be hard bet never mind a club one with players of the quality of Buckley, O'Leary and CF (can't remember name but was immense at the weekend) alongside him. They look a very good all round team and all of the forwards look very capable.

Brosnan is still a great player to have at club level. They'll take beating

Themselves Crossmaglen final IMO

Daithi Casey was 11
Nice player

wazzer1

Does anyone else think Johnny Buckley is seriously over-rated? Or maybe there is a serious shortage of decent midfielders in Kerry if he is being picked?

EpicPothole

keane2097 wrote: »

Strand Road and Stacks are easily as good as Castlehaven.

I dunno, I was at Castlehaven vs nemo game and I rekon they are a better team than last year and would be better than stacks by a good bit. Still think Dr. Crokes will beat Castlehaven by 6 to 8 points tho

EpicPothole

wazzer1 wrote: »

Does anyone else think Johnny Buckley is seriously over-rated? Or maybe there is a serious shortage of decent midfielders in Kerry if he is being picked?

I think he has one good day and then a bad day. When he is on form, he can be brilliant. But he just needs to be more consistent

darragh_haven

EpicPothole wrote: »

I dunno, I was at Castlehaven vs nemo game and I rekon they are a better team than last year and would be better than stacks by a good bit. Still think Dr. Crokes will beat Castlehaven by 6 to 8 points tho

Unfortunately I'll have to agree with you on the 6 to 8 point defeat for my own club.
It's hard to compare teams that haven't played each other or have even played the same team recently, so I couldn't tell you if we would beat stacks or not.

Gerry91

EpicPothole wrote: »

I think he has one good day and then a bad day. When he is on form, he can be brilliant. But he just needs to be more consistent

Yeah he looked good on Sunday for me, and had some great showings for Kerry all year. Consistency can be an issue, wasn't at his best v the Dubs iirc and missed a simple free by his standards just before HT

He's a massive asset at club level though

manofwisdom

Gerry91 wrote: »

Any team with Colm Cooper would be hard bet never mind a club one with players of the quality of Buckley, O'Leary and CF (can't remember name but was immense at the weekend) alongside him. They look a very good all round team and all of the forwards look very capable.

Brosnan is still a great player to have at club level. They'll take beating

Themselves Crossmaglen final IMO

Same was said about Dr Crokes last year and most expected them to face Crossmaglen in final however both were beaten and in Crokes case they were well beaten by Ballymun Kickhams who won their first ever Leinster title and were given little chance against them.

Wouldn't surprise me if its another Connacht side v Dublin side in the AI final.

Gerry91

manofwisdom wrote: »

Same was said about Dr Crokes last year and most expected them to face Crossmaglen in final however both were beaten and in Crokes case they were well beaten by Ballymun Kickhams who won their first ever Leinster title and were given little chance against them.

Wouldn't surprise me if its another Connacht side v Dublin side in the AI final.

Crokes looked much better last sunday than last February though

The opposition wasn't the same but it seems a lot of their players have improved, it's not all relying on the Gooch. Each of their forwards can score and are capable

That was a serious Ballymun team, first Leinster or not. They should have won the final tbh

I don't think they'll face as much a challenge from the Connacht winners as I've stated above. I've watched Corofin a few times this year, yes they're a good all round side, but the standard in the Galway championship is poor and from what I've seen of the two I'd expect Crokes to beat them with a bit to spare

Know a player on the Brigid's team and he said himself they're finding it hard to reach the same intensity a year on- understandably.

I think Crokes will make the final alright, it'll be a tough ask to beat Cross or Leinster champs but it's not beyond them for me

Always_Running

keane2097 wrote: »

Strand Road and Stacks are easily as good as Castlehaven.

You could be right as Castlehaven aren't a patch on the great Nemo Rangers sides though that still doesn't mean that those two Kerry sides would be good enough to win a Munster title, you must remember there is some good club sides in Limerick,Clare and Crokes who are so far ahead of the rest in Kerry only scraped past Kilmurry-Ibrickane last year.

Gerry91 wrote: »

The Connacht team mightn't be too bad a semi though.

Hard to see Brigid's having the hunger again and will be more vulnerable this year surely. Corofin have a great solid bunch of players, and plenty in reserve but they don't have any real match winners like the Gooch, or even O'Leary when on form. They're a good all round solid 15 or even 20 but no real stand out individuals (though if Sice hits the heights of last weekend he'll be a serious asset).

It wouldn't be an easy semi but it'd be winnable IMO

If its turns out to be the expected Connacht final then Brigids hunger will be tested to their max in that game, very little between themselves and Corofin both are All Ireland contenders and both are big physical sides that Crokes won't like playing against. Corofin had added a few Galway U21 AI winners including Ian Burke and if he plays to form he could turn out to be a match winner.

Gerry91

Always_Running wrote: »

Y



If its turns out to be the expected Connacht final then Brigids hunger will be tested to their max in that game, very little between themselves and Corofin both are All Ireland contenders and both are big physical sides that Crokes won't like playing against. Corofin had added a few Galway U21 AI winners including Ian Burke and if he plays to form he could turn out to be a match winner.

They've only three on that team, Daithi Burke being the other who's playing 3 years for them now and Ian Burke played last year too. Healy was keeper last yr too

Ian Burke is too small and light yet I think, quality player though and should be starting for galway next year, if he can bulk up a bit

Farragher and Steede are big additions from last year in fairness

Leonard is another new young player but won't start from here I'd say

They've beaten nothing in Galway however.

If they can come through Connacht of course they'll be hard beaten but I'm just saying Crokes have looked better for me so far though in fairness I only watched them once

manofwisdom

Gerry91 wrote: »

Crokes looked much better last sunday than last February though

The opposition wasn't the same but it seems a lot of their players have improved, it's not all relying on the Gooch. Each of their forwards can score and are capable

That was a serious Ballymun team, first Leinster or not. They should have won the final tbh

I don't think they'll face as much a challenge from the Connacht winners as I've stated above. I've watched Corofin a few times this year, yes they're a good all round side, but the standard in the Galway championship is poor and from what I've seen of the two I'd expect Crokes to beat them with a bit to spare

Know a player on the Brigid's team and he said himself they're finding it hard to reach the same intensity a year on- understandably.

I think Crokes will make the final alright, it'll be a tough ask to beat Cross or Leinster champs but it's not beyond them for me

Yes they were a serious team however if a side that won their first county title for decades and first ever provincial title ever was able to take out Dr Crokes comfortably i don't think it would be wise to write off two vastly experienced sides like Corofin and St Brigids.

Gerry91

manofwisdom wrote: »

Yes they were a serious team however if a side that won their first county title for decades and first ever provincial title ever was able to take out Dr Crokes comfortably i don't think it would be wise to write off two vastly experienced sides like Corofin and St Brigids.

By predicting crokes will beat them hardly means I'm "writing them off"

Of course they're capable of beating crokes I just don't think they will but of course I could be wrong

manofwisdom

Gerry91 wrote: »

By predicting crokes will beat them hardly means I'm "writing them off"

In fairness reading between the lines it seems like more than a win you were predicting and were basing all of this on one viewing.

Gerry91 wrote: »

I don't think they'll face as much a challenge from the Connacht winners

from what I've seen of the two I'd expect Crokes to beat them with a bit to spare

I'm just saying Crokes have looked better for me so far though in fairness I only watched them once

Gerry91

manofwisdom wrote: »

In fairness reading between the lines it seems like more than a win you were predicting and were basing all of this on one viewing.

Yeah I think they'd beat Corofin by a bit from what I've seen of both teams nothing wrong with having an opinion, anyway cba getting into a silly tit for tat we'll see in Feb/March whatever

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Corofin haven't a hope of winning Connacht. They're still a poor club side relative to the likes of Crokes, Cross and Brigids. Fact is they're the best of a bad lot in Galway. As long as Brigids don't take the game for granted, they'll hammer Corofin (provided both teams get far enough to meet each other).

Copper_pipe

Anyone know what Ballinacourty are like? We're playing them next week

Gerry91

THFC wrote: »

Corofin haven't a hope of winning Connacht. They're still a poor club side relative to the likes of Crokes, Cross and Brigids. Fact is they're the best of a bad lot in Galway. As long as Brigids don't take the game for granted, they'll hammer Corofin (provided both teams get far enough to meet each other).

Exactly!

theoneeyedman

Tg4 game today is castle bar v breaffy. Castle bar lead by 5 at half time. One of the more interesting aspects of the 1st half performance of Barry Morgan at midfield for Castle bar . He is cleaning Aiden OSHEA out of it, which is interesting as he got very little game time with mayo this year....food for thought for Mr horan

Gerry91

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Tg4 game today is castle bar v breaffy. Castle bar lead by 5 at half time. One of the more interesting aspects of the 1st half performance of Barry Morgan at midfield for Castle bar . He is cleaning Aiden OSHEA out of it, which is interesting as he got very little game time with mayo this year....food for thought for Mr horan

He was injured for league and early champ and you couldn't drop Aidan or Seamus all year

Barry is our best mid though, I'd leave out Aidan next year if I'm honest if all are fit, Seamie had a better year

Pang

Clara are Kilkenny champions, beating Carrickshock 1-15 to 2-10.

Fantastic result seeing as they only came up to senior last year.

windy shepard henderson

Pang wrote: »

Clare are Kilkenny champions, beating Carrickshock 1-15 to 2-10.

Hon The Banner!!! :pac:

Pang

Oops meant Clara! Have Clare on the brain!

ciarriaithuaidh

Copper_pipe wrote: »

Anyone know what Ballinacourty are like? We're playing them next week

Thats easily found out shur, just ask ye're trainer, he knows plenty about them!

If ye have the heads screwed on ye could make the Munster final at least.

liogairmhordain

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

Thats easily found out shur, just ask ye're trainer, he knows plenty about them!

If ye have the heads screwed on ye could make the Munster final at least.

who is training dromcollogher? is there a ballinacourty connection?

Mountainlad

Copper_pipe wrote: »

Anyone know what Ballinacourty are like? We're playing them next week

Big. Really big. Really been impressed with them this year, it's the best I've ever seen them. Better than both other County wins this decade in 2007 and 2011. Stradbally gave Casltehaven all of it last year and I expect the same from Courty this year whoever they face, with the possible exception of Crokes.

In Gary Hurney and Podge Hurney they have two monstrous men who know how to play ball, and Mark Ferncombe is a poacher extraordinaire. Didn't see the County final but too run out that comfortable when down to 14 against Stradbally and dispose of the Nire in the manner in which they did twice this year suggests to me there is a lot of ability in this team.

blowitupref

THFC wrote: »

Corofin haven't a hope of winning Connacht. They're still a poor club side relative to the likes of Crokes, Cross and Brigids. Fact is they're the best of a bad lot in Galway. As long as Brigids don't take the game for granted, they'll hammer Corofin (provided both teams get far enough to meet each other).

A bit daft to say they haven't a hope, Corofin won the 2008 and 2009 Connacht titles and the only team that has beaten them in the Connacht championship over the 6,7 years was Brigids with two narrow wins which included the rub of the green. If they were to meet again there would no more than a point or two between them.

Mountainlad

Thoughts on tomorrow's meeting between Portumna and Loughrea?

Would think Portumna are far better hurlers, but that Loughrea might relish the desperate conditions.

comewatmay

After the events of this week the result of tomorrow's game doesn't matter a jot

nice_guy80

comewatmay wrote: »

After the events of this week the result of tomorrow's game doesn't matter a jot

Maybe, but life must going on

Copper_pipe

liogairmhordain wrote: »

who is training dromcollogher? is there a ballinacourty connection?

Jerome Stack is training drom.

ciarriaithuaidh

Mountainlad wrote: »

Big. Really big. Really been impressed with them this year, it's the best I've ever seen them. Better than both other County wins this decade in 2007 and 2011. Stradbally gave Casltehaven all of it last year and I expect the same from Courty this year whoever they face, with the possible exception of Crokes.

In Gary Hurney and Podge Hurney they have two monstrous men who know how to play ball, and Mark Ferncombe is a poacher extraordinaire. Didn't see the County final but too run out that comfortable when down to 14 against Stradbally and dispose of the Nire in the manner in which they did twice this year suggests to me there is a lot of ability in this team.

Gary Hurney is as effective a forward as you'll see at this level and that only becomes more pronounced with the deterioration in weather/ground conditions. That being said, I think Drom/Broadford might be better balanced overall and will just about get over the line.

Don' think anyone is going to get near Crokes in Munster, barring a big shock next Sunday though.

Gerry91

Mountainlad wrote: »

Thoughts on tomorrow's meeting between Portumna and Loughrea?

Would think Portumna are far better hurlers, but that Loughrea might relish the desperate conditions.

Think Lrea will beat them regardless of the conditions myself

Their forward line is lethal and they've moved through the champ without any fuss and even under the radar in a way

Lot of mileage on the clock with that Portumna side, not sure the extra game in the semi will help them much tbh.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

blowitupref wrote: »

A bit daft to say they haven't a hope, Corofin won the 2008 and 2009 Connacht titles and the only team that has beaten them in the Connacht championship over the 6,7 years was Brigids with two narrow wins which included the rub of the green. If they were to meet again there would no more than a point or two between them.

It's not a daft thing to say at all, much has been made of Corofin's demise over the past few years, they're a shadow of the team that won Connacht 4/5 years ago. The only thing that'll stop Brigid's winning Connacht again this year is themselves.

Gerry91

THFC wrote: »

It's not a daft thing to say at all, much has been made of Corofin's demise over the past few years, they're a shadow of the team that won Connacht 4/5 years ago. The only thing that'll stop Brigid's winning Connacht again this year is themselves.

Castlebar played well I thought yesterday in horrendous conditions, could well beat Corofin IMO but Brigid's will win Connacht for me too!