Kilkenny GAA Thread Part 3 **MOD NOTE POST 1***

mercury16

It’s a shame letting Lester go. Granted long term Cody thinks others will bring more, but we were physically out played last weekend, and but for Wexford tiring in the second half, we would have lost. Young lads are the future granted, but we need some older heads there too.

Against Galway the last day, the younger lads were battered around the field. Men against boys. We could’ve done with Lester and even Joyce to physically put it up to Galway.
Cody is wrong to be putting Lester in a position of go or sit on the bench for the year irrespective of what you do. Two sets of rules in that camp. One for Hogan and Fennelly and another for Joyce and Lester. The first time I can say that Cody is not being fair here, and I’m not a Clara man or a relation or friend.

Remember, the younger lads are tame as fcuk still, and that was evident last week in the first half.

We are no where near as good as people think on here. Playing Galway will bring us on, but that’s the younger lads that are improving and that will take two/three years.

Pat Treacy

Hopefully he is not gone like jj Farrell it is hard to keep two jobs going he seems to be very involved in the farm a lot of expanding was done after a hard winter spring he might not have the drive for it anymore. Hopefully he is still involved we need him hopefully its only idle gossip.

dobbs2210

He is gone alright.
Lester has withdrawn from the Kilkenny set up. Feel very sorry for him. A very wholehearted player who gave his absolute all.

Treated very harshly last weekend in my opinion not even getting a place on the panel. Also heard he wasn't even directly informed by the management either. Deserves an awful lot more than that.

Hope he enjoys his hurling with Clara.

Garyp88

Has been treated badly and been a good servant I feel we could have utilised his experience especially with a young panel I'm sure he could have passed on some knowledge and leadership or closed a tight game out like his block against tipp in the league

JJs Left Hand

It won't be remembered as it was just a league game but that block on Billy McCarthy against Tipp this year was an outstanding piece of defending. Pure perfection up there with the best.

https://twitter.com/Darth_Cody/status/969854813860188160?s=19

Clip doesn't do it justice. Witnessing it from the Old Stand was unreal.

Best of luck to him.

babyjesus14

Do we know if he opted out himself or was cut? I don't get the "was treated badly" narrative. Lester got plenty of game time over the last 5 years and apart from his breakthrough league campaign in 2013 he was probably that little bit shy of the really top level and we had better options in midfield. He is 30 now while James Maher and Richie Leahy are 23 and 21 and they are the future and the guys we need to be getting top level game time into.

While he had plenty of fine games over the last few years his better ones tended to be in the league and when the pace and intensity were upped in the Championship he generally tended to struggle. Unfortunately my abiding memory of Lester is when he came on for Mick Fennelly towards the end of the '14 replay picked up a ball in the half back line seemed to panic and completely topped the shot straight into Brendan Maher's hand and he banged it over the bar. Maybe i am being a bit harsh but it's the crucial moments in the really big games you remember. Though he did make a great speech 10 minutes later!!

I wish him all the best in the future he gave great commitment over the last 6 or 7 years particularly when you consider the personal tragedy he suffered.

Justice for the individual

babyjesus14 wrote: »

I would disagree with you. I thought Wexford looked noticeably tired in the second half, while there was a few "tactical injuries " Chin was definitely struggling with cramp late on and i think it probably was the difference!

In the first half, looking at Wexford carrying a lot of ball, I remarked to a fellow Kilkenny man beside me that the Wexford players were doing a lot of running with the ball, and on a hot day like last Saturday they were not going to keep up that pace.

Sure enough, with 15 minutes to go, Wexford noticeably tired and the introduction of the younger Kilkenny substitutes enabled Kilkenny to mount their comeback, edging Wexford out at the end.

As the saying goes, work clever, not hard. As some one else also noted, the placing of Walter Walsh and Liam Blanchfield nearer the Wexford goal, forcing the sweeper to move back and thus nullifying his influence, was another factor.

A lot of the hurling skill is where you make the ball do the work.

babyjesus14

Justice for the individual wrote: »

In the first half, looking at Wexford carrying a lot of ball, I remarked to a fellow Kilkenny man beside me that the Wexford players were doing a lot of running with the ball, and on a hot day like last Saturday they were not going to keep up that pace.

Sure enough, with 15 minutes to go, Wexford noticeably tired and the introduction of the younger Kilkenny substitutes enabled Kilkenny to mount their comeback, edging Wexford out at the end.

As the saying goes, work clever, not hard. As some one else also noted, the placing of Walter Walsh and Liam Blanchfield nearer the Wexford goal, forcing the sweeper to move back and thus nullifying his influence, was another factor.

A lot of the hurling skill is where you make the ball do the work.

I think the role of the substitutes is a valid point. I was sitting beside a Wexford lady who i got chatting to at half time not in a very optimistic mood considering none of our forwards had scored from play coming off the back of 1-2 from play in Salthill. But as she pointed out to me we had some good young forwards on the bench whereas she reckoned they had nothing worth bringing in. And i guess her opinion was vindicated with the contributions of Leahy, Donnelly and Blanchfield when they came in while their changes made no impression.

savannahkat

Jackie Tyrell, Mick Fennelly, Ritchie Hogan, Ritchie Power and Eoin Larkin just to name a few were great prospects but piss poor performers when they were at the same stage of development as Delaney, Donnelly, Leahy, Maher, Blanchfield Keoghan, Scanlan and Sheehan. This crop are far more advanced and far more effective than the first group were at the same stage.They wont all play against Galway but those that will will not let Kilkenny down. It was this current group who led the fight back against Dublin, Offaly and Wexford.
When Wexford were beating the crap out of Kilkenny the pundits on Sky were raving about the Wexford performance and gloating at the prospect of a Kilenny hammering. When the tables turned according to them it had nothing at all got to do with Kilkenny rather it was all down to Wexford tiring. Some here apparently agree with them.Some here are talking the same rubbish. Galway had everything going for them last day, home advantage, benefit of a decent wind, the previous weekend off before the game and if all this was not worth at least 6 points nothing is. This Kilkenny team will put it up to Galway and this Kilkenny team are well capable of winning this years All Ireland provided Cody gets the mix right and I for one believe he will and he will be due another debt of gratitude for developing this current new crop.

Nickindublin

savannahkat wrote: »

Jackie Tyrell, Mick Fennelly, Ritchie Hogan, Ritchie Power and Eoin Larkin just to name a few were great prospects but piss poor performers when they were at the same stage of development as Delaney, Donnelly, Leahy, Maher, Blanchfield Keoghan, Scanlan and Sheehan. This crop are far more advanced and far more effective than the first group were at the same stage.They wont all play against Galway but those that will will not let Kilkenny down. It was this current group who led the fight back against Dublin, Offaly and Wexford.
When Wexford were beating the crap out of Kilkenny the pundits on Sky were raving about the Wexford performance and gloating at the prospect of a Kilenny hammering. When the tables turned according to them it had nothing at all got to do with Kilkenny rather it was all down to Wexford tiring. Some here apparently agree with them.Some here are talking the same rubbish. Galway had everything going for them last day, home advantage, benefit of a decent wind, the previous weekend off before the game and if all this was not worth at least 6 points nothing is. This Kilkenny team will put it up to Galway and this Kilkenny team are well capable of winning this years All Ireland provided Cody gets the mix right and I for one believe he will and he will be due another debt of gratitude for developing this current new crop.

I agree with you the last day in Galway nothing went right. This team is capable of beating Galway if things go right for it. Cody has quietly built a strong panel. While everyone is on about Munster and Galway KK have quietly went about their business. The performances have not been great but are getting better but I think Cody still hasn’t found the right formula yet. Getting the likes of Hogan and Fennelly back to 100% is really important too. The younger players will improve the longer they are in the competition also. The best team may not win this All Ireland as I think any of the 6 teams could beat another on a given day. To me it’s wide open with Galway worthy favs but not hot favs to me.

Garyp88

Could you argue playing poorly and still winning is the sign of a good team. Nothing went right in salthill so it's hard to judge, wexford have grown into a decent side, offaly did OK and dublin very strong in Parnell. It will really be interesting to see how good Galway and limerick are the day they don't play well that's when you get answers

Village87

Anyone see Galway under 21 last night ?
They won easily but Kilkenny have very little to fear going on last nights evidence. Galway looked very average, forwards are poor. Ill be shocked if KK dont beat them

dzer2

Village87 wrote: »

Anyone see Galway under 21 last night ?
They won easily but Kilkenny have very little to fear going on last nights evidence. Galway looked very average, forwards are poor. Ill be shocked if KK dont beat them

Didn't see anything to worry about Offaly were shockingly poor. Their skill level was non-existent couldn't catch the ball and lost every 50/50 ball. Galway were little better but got all the decisions and breaks.

babyjesus14

Village87 wrote: »

Anyone see Galway under 21 last night ?
They won easily but Kilkenny have very little to fear going on last nights evidence. Galway looked very average, forwards are poor. Ill be shocked if KK dont beat them

Were we looking at a different match? Thought Galway were very strong across midfield and on the half forward line. Couple of the inside forwards didn't look like world beaters but would imagine Jack Canning will start next week which will strengthen that line.

Not convinced by their centre back and i reckon if we were to play Donnelly on the inside line with James Bergin maybe their full back line could be got at. Should be a good match but I would have Galway as slight favourites!

For the benefit of anyone planning on going to it, was talking to a father of one of the Under 21's in the Park last Saturday night and they were told that it's more than likely to be played in Tullamore. Which to me is absolutely bonkers, playing a midweek match at a neutral venue doesn't suit either set of supporters. But I guess we will find out at some stage today if that's true

brookville

Village87 wrote: »

Anyone see Galway under 21 last night ?
They won easily but Kilkenny have very little to fear going on last nights evidence. Galway looked very average, forwards are poor. Ill be shocked if KK dont beat them

Gslway are always very strong at this level while last year was the first-time in a long time we won a leinster.Im sure next week will be a different match and galway will be well up for it with a match behind them while we'll hope leahy and donnelly etc can settle in ok.
i think our fowards might be ok but would be slightly concerned bout our backs.Its good to have tommy walsh back though

Village87

babyjesus14 wrote: »

Were we looking at a different match? Thought Galway were very strong across midfield and on the half forward line. Couple of the inside forwards didn't look like world beaters but would imagine Jack Canning will start next week which will strengthen that line.

Not convinced by their centre back and i reckon if we were to play Donnelly on the inside line with James Bergin maybe their full back line could be got at. Should be a good match but I would have Galway as slight favourites!

For the benefit of anyone planning on going to it, was talking to a father of one of the Under 21's in the Park last Saturday night and they were told that it's more than likely to be played in Tullamore. Which to me is absolutely bonkers, playing a midweek match at a neutral venue doesn't suit either set of supporters. But I guess we will find out at some stage today if that's true

No i was not watching a different game to yourself. Galway were very poor last night. Offaly drove a lot of wides and Galway only pulled away the last 10 minutes with a late goal and Offaly down to 10 men. I was very disappointed in both teams. Skill level and pace were way off. Kilkenny could rip them apart going by last night

babyjesus14

Village87 wrote: »

No i was not watching a different game to yourself. Galway were very poor last night. Offaly drove a lot of wides and Galway only pulled away the last 10 minutes with a late goal and Offaly down to 10 men. I was very disappointed in both teams. Skill level and pace were way off. Kilkenny could rip them apart going by last night

Well you are obviously a very hard taskmaster! There's a lot of very good hurlers on this Galway team and your dismissal of them as "poor", "average " and "lacking in skill" is very disrespectful considering the vast majority of them are already All Ireland medal winners at Minor and four at Senior level as well!

Realt Dearg Sec

Village87 wrote: »

N Offaly down to 10 men.

Jesus Christ did they come out with assault rifles instead of hurls or something?

citykat

According to TG4, last night, the game is scheduled for Tullamore but will also be on the box. Not sure if its live or deferred.

brookville

citykat wrote: »

According to TG4, last night, the game is scheduled for Tullamore but will also be on the box. Not sure if its live or deferred.

i think cork and waterford on next wednesday night that could be shown but they usually dont show deffered u21 matches do they?

babyjesus14

brookville wrote: »

i think cork and waterford on next wednesday night that could be shown but they usually dont show deffered u21 matches do they?

Would imagine they will show one live on telly and the other on line on their YouTube channel.

Comerman

Next Wednesday tnag 7.20pm Munster and Leinster U21 semi-finals

Powerhouse

Comerman wrote: »

Next Wednesday tnag 7.20pm Munster and Leinster U21 semi-finals

Tnag? The station has been called TG4 since 1999.

Comerman

Are you really a nerd or did you look that up? Thanks for your input ;-))

brookville

Comerman wrote: »

Next Wednesday tnag 7.20pm Munster and Leinster U21 semi-finals

are they showing one live and one deferred is it?

robwen

brookville wrote: »

are they showing one live and one deferred is it?

https://www.tg4.ie/en/live-sport/gaa-beo/

Wednesday 20/06 @ 7.20pm
Munster U21 Hurling Championship Semi-Final
Waterford v Cork – LIVE
Leinster U21 Hurling Championship Semi-Final – DEFERRED

dubcat51

Looking forward to 2 good games v galway at 21 and senior.always liked tullamore as a venue.really want to see rhe none senior 21s play.

mercury16

Westmeath vs kk in the minor championship tomorrow.
Very poor from the GAA to organize minor matches in the middle of the Leaving Cert.

babyjesus14

mercury16 wrote: »

Westmeath vs kk in the minor championship tomorrow.
Very poor from the GAA to organize minor matches in the middle of the Leaving Cert.

None of them are doing the Leaving Cert. Two of the match day 24 ( Doyle and McDonald) and another 5 on the extended panel are doing the Junior Cert. And they are pretty much finished, one more exam to go after today on Monday.

brookville

dubcat51 wrote: »

Looking forward to 2 good games v galway at 21 and senior.always liked tullamore as a venue.really want to see rhe none senior 21s play.

looking foward to next wednesday night this is a good crop i hope it goes well for dj hopefully a good crowd goes but a wedbesday evening in tullamore in the middle of a working week might not suit everyone.