All Ireland Senior Hurling (Liam Mccarthy Cup) 2019

gmurphy70

farmerval wrote: »

As a Tipp man, we have no bench, the U21 crop from last year are not doing it. Billy McCarthy and Bonnar are huge losses. James Barry's weakness has us sitting Paidi Maher deeper than usual and has restricted the quality of ball we are playing into our forward line. Wexford have their weaknesses as well but they finish games strongly, they have an extremely fit team, they really are in bonus territory and give a real cut at this one. (Imagine Davy Fitz telling Wexford they've achieved their goals and just go out and enjoy themselves)
I am definitely not saying that Tipp will beat Wexford, but I do think that both teams in the other semi would prefer to face Wexford in the final.

Don’t understand, why would KK or Limerick prefer to play Wexford than Tipperary in the final? The way I see it Kilkenny were beaten by Wex in Croke Park already this year, Limerick hammered Tipperary in the Munster final with Tipperary have showed nothing to convince me that if they played Limerick again it wouldn’t be the same result.

Last Stop

Pogue eile wrote: »

6-14 from play and becoming the all time top scorer from play but according to last stop - 'hasn't set the world alight'' but in the same breath you claim that Lee Chin - a grand total of 4pts from play, Liam Og a huge total of 1-03 and AdriamMullen who has scored a very respectable 8pts from play - are bigger standouts for hurler of the year :D

Your some judge of the game alright

6-14 in 6 games so an average of 1-3... including a game Tipp won by 18pts. Tj averaged 1-4 in the two games KK have lost this year
I didn’t rate the other players on their scoring in the championship but their performances. It’s hurler of the year not top scorer.
I believe Liam Og and Lee Chin have been superb for Wexford this year even though they may not have scored much.
Mullen in his first year of senior championship at just 19 has more than held his own including a brilliant goal against Wexford (which you conveniently left out) and has set up some brilliant scores for other players.

conor05

randd1 wrote: »

Kilkenny v Wexford AI Final
Limerick v Wexford AI Final
Limerick V Tipperary AI Final
Kilkenny v Tipperary AI Final

There isn't one pairing that wouldn't look appealing as the pairing for the big day. I know that a Kilkenny/Wexford or Limerick/Tipperary final would mean a 3rd meeting of the summer, but they would still be massive hyped games.

Personally, I'd love a Kilkenny/Wexford final, we've played Limerick in a final in 2007, a SF in 2014 and the QF last year and in 2012, Kilkenny/Tipp needs no introduction, a Kilkenny/Wexford knockout match would be something new to look forward to, the atmosphere in the build up in Kilkenny and Wexford would be something else.

Have to say would love a KK v Wexford final myself, Cody v Davy. It would be a colorful, very close exciting final.

I think it’s going to be a Limerick v Wexford.

iebamm2580

conor05 wrote: »

Have to say would love a KK v Wexford final myself, Cody v Davy. It would be a colorful, very close exciting final.

I think it’s going to be a Limerick v Wexford.

Think tipp will beat Wexford due to Davy's tactics and hopefully Kilkenny win the other because we have better chance of beating Kilkenny again due to there style of play.

Pogue eile

Last Stop wrote: »

6-14 in 6 games so an average of 1-3... including a game Tipp won by 18pts. Tj averaged 1-4 in the two games KK have lost this year
I didn’t rate the other players on their scoring in the championship but their performances. It’s hurler of the year not top scorer.
I believe Liam Og and Lee Chin have been superb for Wexford this year even though they may not have scored much.
Mullen in his first year of senior championship at just 19 has more than held his own including a brilliant goal against Wexford (which you conveniently left out) and has set up some brilliant scores for other players.

Liam Og and Lee Chin havent even been Wexfords best forward for gods sake stop digging man.

Apologies to young Mullen, forgot about his great goal, leading contender for YHOTY - between himself and Kyle Hayes - but HOTY is beyond silly, again he hasnt even been KK's best forward.

I think your hatred for all things Blue and Gold may be clouding your judgement just a little

mountgomery burns

Pogue eile wrote: »

Liam Og and Lee Chin havent even been Wexfords best forward for gods sake stop digging man.

Apologies to young Mullen, forgot about his great goal, leading contender for YHOTY - between himself and Kyle Hayes - but HOTY is beyond silly, again he hasnt even been KK's best forward.

I think your hatred for all things Blue and Gold may be clouding your judgement just a little

Just on that as you referenced him, but I think Rory O Connor should be front runner for YHOTY at this point.

PTH2009

Tbh any of the 4 teams playing this weekend can beat each other on there day

Limerick vs Wexford final for me I think

Pogue eile

mountgomery burns wrote: »

Just on that as you referenced him, but I think Rory O Connor should be front runner for YHOTY at this point.

I didnt realise he still qualified if I'm totally honest and I agree fully, and yes he was the best Wexford forward that I was referring to. From a Tipp persepecive I would have genuine fear of him runing at pace at our backs.

longshotvalue

farmerval wrote: »

Talk about Hurler at this time of the year is a waste of time, Patrick Horgan has to be the stand out player but won't win it. Whoever from the semi's and final has a dramatic inout, most likely in the scoring department will presumably get HOTY.

Up until last weekend Kilkenny had beaten Carlow and Dublin in the championship, so talk of the teams Tipp had beaten in Munster as being weak is a little bit off.

Actually form all round has been curiously off this year, Cork beating Limerick didn't tally with their other three losses. Having beaten Kilkenny no-one expected Galway to lose to Dublin, then Dublin losing to Laois.

Form all round has been topsy turvy, and I assume we are all over sensitive to the most recent result, good or bad.

I think he can as he's miles ahead at the moment, and what he did last day wil still be in the minds . He looks a certainty to get nominated (25/1 EW looks a great bet to me) . DEpending on who wins semi's he may not have a lot of compedition

C__MC

I think colin fennelly has been brilliant this year
Definitely all star form for me
He's a nightmare to mark and sets up many scores

The_Kew_Tour

aidankkk wrote: »

I think he can as he's miles ahead at the moment, and what he did last day wil still be in the minds . He looks a certainty to get nominated (25/1 EW looks a great bet to me) . DEpending on who wins semi's he may not have a lot of compedition

It's hard to see it. You really have to win some silverware to have some chance imo. If Cork won Munster and got beat in semi maybe but I think he has no chance now. He be nominated and that's as good as gesture as he will get.

threeball

aidankkk wrote: »

farmerval wrote: »

Talk about Hurler at this time of the year is a waste of time, Patrick Horgan has to be the stand out player but won't win it. Whoever from the semi's and final has a dramatic inout, most likely in the scoring department will presumably get HOTY.

Up until last weekend Kilkenny had beaten Carlow and Dublin in the championship, so talk of the teams Tipp had beaten in Munster as being weak is a little bit off.

Actually form all round has been curiously off this year, Cork beating Limerick didn't tally with their other three losses. Having beaten Kilkenny no-one expected Galway to lose to Dublin, then Dublin losing to Laois.

Form all round has been topsy turvy, and I assume we are all over sensitive to the most recent result, good or bad.

I think he can as he's miles ahead at the moment, and what he did last day wil still be in the minds . He looks a certainty to get nominated (25/1 EW looks a great bet to me) . DEpending on who wins semi's he may not have a lot of compedition

I don't think it'll matter. The HOTY only ever comes from the all Ireland finalists, I'm struggling to even remember a semi finalist who won it (Gleeson???). Unfortunately there's no weight put in anything bar the final two games, early championship & league be-damned.

RMAOK

threeball wrote: »

I don't think it'll matter. The HOTY only ever comes from the all Ireland finalists, I'm struggling to even remember a semi finalist who won it (Gleeson???). Unfortunately there's no weight put in anything bar the final two games, early championship & league be-damned.

Yep - gleeson was the last one in 2016. Before that you'd have to go back to Dan shanahan in 2007. So the idea of Horgan winning HOTY from a 1/4 final team is stretching it a bit tbh.

Realt Dearg Sec

It probably is time to start considering earlier matches. This thing if only including finalists with the odd exception from the semi made some sense when teams were only playing four and five matches to win out. Nowadays teams are playing eight matches to win, there's a much bigger set of data to draw from and see the form of players from every team in championship. Horgan's brilliance this year is the reason Cork went as far as they did. His performance in the last match is one of the best individual performances I've seen on a losing team, one of the best on any team. But it's true what people are saying, these last three matches every year kind of eclipse everything that went before in our memories.

threeball

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

It probably is time to start considering earlier matches. This thing if only including finalists with the odd exception from the semi made some sense when teams were only playing four and five matches to win out. Nowadays teams are playing eight matches to win, there's a much bigger set of data to draw from and see the form of players from every team in championship. Horgan's brilliance this year is the reason Cork went as far as they did. His performance in the last match is one of the best individual performances I've seen on a losing team, one of the best on any team. But it's true what people are saying, these last three matches every year kind of eclipse everything that went before in our memories.

I think just going back to the early rounds isn't enough. It's called HOTY not hurler of the championship. If we want to break it down then we should have a HOTL and HOTC otherwise you take the year as a whole. If Limerick lose to KK at the weekend it's unlikely they'll even have a nominee and they won the league plus got to a semi. There's something wrong there. Excellence throughout the year should be recognised not hitting a vein of form with 3 games to go.

Last Stop

Pogue eile wrote: »

Liam Og and Lee Chin havent even been Wexfords best forward for gods sake stop digging man.

Apologies to young Mullen, forgot about his great goal, leading contender for YHOTY - between himself and Kyle Hayes - but HOTY is beyond silly, again he hasnt even been KK's best forward.

I think your hatred for all things Blue and Gold may be clouding your judgement just a little

If you watch the Leinster final back, Liam Og was by far Wexford’s best player and has been consistent this year.

Of the KK forwards, who has been better than Mullen over the 6 matches? TJ has been exceptional as always but scoring very little from play ( nothing vs Wexford or Cork) and I would say Colin hasn’t been as good as he could be (although still incredibly tough to mark and being fouled almost constantly). The other 3 forwards have been chopped and changed so much that you couldn’t pick any of them above Mullen. HOTY may be a long shot but if he has a good game on Sunday (and hopefully in the final) then he won’t be too far away.

While I cannot deny my dislike of Tipp, I just don’t think this team is as good as some are making out. The standard in Munster was incredibly poor this year with Waterford and Clare well below par for whatever reason. Laois were good but never really threatened especially after the red card and yet Tipp didn’t kick on like you’d expect a good team to. The majority of the scores came from the half back line, in fact the Tipp forwards only managed a total of 1-7 from play.

Sunday will tell a lot about what this Tipp team are really made of and if recent history has proven anything, they tend to come out on the wrong side of tight matches more often then not.

iebamm2580

Last Stop wrote: »

If you watch the Leinster final back, Liam Og was by far Wexford’s best player and has been consistent this year.

Of the KK forwards, who has been better than Mullen over the 6 matches? TJ has been exceptional as always but scoring very little from play ( nothing vs Wexford or Cork) and I would say Colin hasn’t been as good as he could be (although still incredibly tough to mark and being fouled almost constantly). The other 3 forwards have been chopped and changed so much that you couldn’t pick any of them above Mullen. HOTY may be a long shot but if he has a good game on Sunday (and hopefully in the final) then he won’t be too far away.

While I cannot deny my dislike of Tipp, I just don’t think this team is as good as some are making out. The standard in Munster was incredibly poor this year with Waterford and Clare well below par for whatever reason. Laois were good but never really threatened especially after the red card and yet Tipp didn’t kick on like you’d expect a good team to. The majority of the scores came from the half back line, in fact the Tipp forwards only managed a total of 1-7 from play.

Sunday will tell a lot about what this Tipp team are really made of and if recent history has proven anything, they tend to come out on the wrong side of tight matches more often then not.

This Kilkenny team don't fare too well in tight games in case you might have missed that too.

mistermiyagi

threeball wrote: »

I think just going back to the early rounds isn't enough. It's called HOTY not hurler of the championship. If we want to break it down then we should have a HOTL and HOTC otherwise you take the year as a whole. If Limerick lose to KK at the weekend it's unlikely they'll even have a nominee and they won the league plus got to a semi. There's something wrong there. Excellence throughout the year should be recognised not hitting a vein of form with 3 games to go.

A win in the All Ireland Puc Fada up the Cooley mountains on the Aug weekend should secure the Hurler of the Year title for Pat Horgan. He's not done yet.

galwaylad14

I think that just based on the two provincial finals (and a nothing QF for Tipp) that people are now over rating Wexford and under rating Tipp.

It's only a few weeks ago that Tipp were hurling out of their skins and putting up huge totals on everyone, they've lost Bonnar since but they certainly haven't become a bad team overnight. They've a slightly dodgy full back line but a superb half backline. Noel McGrath is having a fine year at midfield but finding the right partner for him seems to be proving an issue. Up front in Callanan, John McGrath, Forde and Bubbles they have 4 potential match winners.

Wexford are hurling well, they're very solid, don't give up scores easily and have developed a system that suits their players. But Tipp just have far more firepower up front and that will see them over the line. I think the only way Wexford win this is if they can manage 2 or 3 goals and hope Tipp's forwards have an off day.

I expect the other semi final to be tighter, Kilkenny will match Limerick's physicality and work rate which is definitley priority number one when playing Limerick but I think ultimately Limerick have the better hurlers and once those short passes stick they'll have too much class for Kilkenny. Think Limerick will also find a way of denying Fennelly space through sitting their half back line very deep and drawing back their midfield and half forward line and this will go a long way towards shutting him down.

So Limerick Tipp final for me with Limerick winning it but by less than the Munster final.

Pogue eile

Last Stop wrote: »

The majority of the scores came from the half back line, in fact the Tipp forwards only managed a total of 1-7 from play.

3 is now the majority of 31 folks in case anyone was confused - why it matters where the scores came from is anyones guess but I said I'd indulge you a little.

Pogue eile

galwaylad14 wrote: »

I think that just based on the two provincial finals (and a nothing QF for Tipp) that people are now over rating Wexford and under rating Tipp.

It's only a few weeks ago that Tipp were hurling out of their skins and putting up huge totals on everyone, they've lost Bonnar since but they certainly haven't become a bad team overnight. They've a slightly dodgy full back line but a superb half backline. Noel McGrath is having a fine year at midfield but finding the right partner for him seems to be proving an issue. Up front in Callanan, John McGrath, Forde and Bubbles they have 4 potential match winners.

Wexford are hurling well, they're very solid, don't give up scores easily and have developed a system that suits their players. But Tipp just have far more firepower up front and that will see them over the line. I think the only way Wexford win this is if they can manage 2 or 3 goals and hope Tipp's forwards have an off day.

I expect the other semi final to be tighter, Kilkenny will match Limerick's physicality and work rate which is definitley priority number one when playing Limerick but I think ultimately Limerick have the better hurlers and once those short passes stick they'll have too much class for Kilkenny. Think Limerick will also find a way of denying Fennelly space through sitting their half back line very deep and drawing back their midfield and half forward line and this will go a long way towards shutting him down.

So Limerick Tipp final for me with Limerick winning it but by less than the Munster final.

Hard to argue with any of that to be honest, pretty much how I would see it as well. The one thing about KK is that even when they are under teh cosh they have an incredible ability to stay in a game and within striking distance, we saw Limerick nearly getting caught at the post last year and it will be interesting if say with 5 mins to go there is only a score in it.

BloodyBill

I'd agree with the poster above who says it could be interesting if Kilkenny are close to Limerick with 5 minutes to go but it ll be interesting anyway fullstop. I think Limerick might win it by goals. I see them getting a few and that could ultimately be the stake on which Kilkenny finally perish this season. It has the hallmarks of a great game.
I would put an asterix beside Noel McGrath, John O Dwyer and Forde. They are match winners when they are let be match winners. If they are tightly marked none of the 3 of them graft. They cant, they dont have the engines and the legs. Noel didn't puck a ball in the Munster final. Bubbles regressed back to type and nearly got sent off for a careless pull. And Forde...well where was he. I know it's easy to single out individuals when a whole team plays badly but those 3 are supposed to be Tipps finest. I'd add in that John McGrath is lazy and stands for half the game letting his man lorde it...he actually needs a goal a game to justify his inclusion. Hes a great goal scorer by the way. I think it's hard on the workaholics like Brendan Maher, Ronan Maher ect.

Pogue eile

BloodyBill wrote: »

I'd agree with the poster above who says it could be interesting if Kilkenny are close to Limerick with 5 minutes to go but it ll be interesting anyway fullstop. I think Limerick might win it by goals. I see them getting a few and that could ultimately be the stake on which Kilkenny finally perish this season. It has the hallmarks of a great game.
I would put an asterix beside Noel McGrath, John O Dwyer and Forde. They are match winners when they are let be match winners. If they are tightly marked none of the 3 of them graft. They cant, they dont have the engines and the legs. Noel didn't puck a ball in the Munster final. Bubbles regressed back to type and nearly got sent off for a careless pull. And Forde...well where was he. I know it's easy to single out individuals when a whole team plays badly but those 3 are supposed to be Tipps finest. I'd add in that John McGrath is lazy and stands for half the game letting his man lorde it...he actually needs a goal a game to justify his inclusion. Hes a great goal scorer by the way. I think it's hard on the workaholics like Brendan Maher, Ronan Maher ect.

Hard to argue with any of that although I will say a little harsh on Jason Forde - he scored 3 pts from play in the Munster Final. Tipp certainly have a number of luxury players like the McGraths and Bubbles which is fine if the balance is right, Bonner Maher is such a huge loss in that regard. You will know after 10 minutes on Sunday if Tipp are going to win or not, it will be clear from their workrate, if they match Wexford for workrate then they will win as they simply have more firepower, but without the right application Wexford will eat them without salt. I hope that the Tipp players were watching the U20's last night, their workrate and attitude was incredible, a credit to Laim Cahill.

MfMan

galwaylad14 wrote: »

I think that just based on the two provincial finals (and a nothing QF for Tipp) that people are now over rating Wexford and under rating Tipp.

It's only a few weeks ago that Tipp were hurling out of their skins and putting up huge totals on everyone, they've lost Bonnar since but they certainly haven't become a bad team overnight. They've a slightly dodgy full back line but a superb half backline. Noel McGrath is having a fine year at midfield but finding the right partner for him seems to be proving an issue. Up front in Callanan, John McGrath, Forde and Bubbles they have 4 potential match winners.

Limerick disarmed all of the above for Tipp' though; 2 McGraths replaced in the Munster final, and Forde and Bubbles seems suddenly to have lost form. Tipp's HB line looked very vulnerable when turned and ran at. I think Tipp' will prevail because Leinster was just as uneven as Munster this year. Even a poor Galway were easily as good as the other 2 in the championship. Colin Fennelly is playing above himself, which means he's been quite ordinary; All-Star? Christ! At FF ahead of Horgan or Callanan?

castletownman

Two days out from the first semi-final, and I must say that the atmosphere in here is rather subdued. As regards my thoughts on the games themselves, I genuinely would not be surprised if they both finished level after normal time. I had a quick glance at the semi-finals over the last few campaigns, and they have generally been tight affairs:

2018: Galway drew with under-dogs Clare 1-30 apiece AET the first day. Galway edged the replay 1-17 to 2-13. Limerick snuck past favourites Cork by 3-32 to 2-31 AET. They are probably the best semi-finals ever.

2017: Galway beat reigning champions Tipp 0-22 to 1-18 thanks to THAT Canning point. The other semi saw Waterford overwhelm Cork by 4-19 to 0-20, a real coming of age victory that no-one saw coming.

2016: Kilkenny (AI champs) and Waterford drew the first day 1-21 to 0-24. The Cats edged the replay by 2-19 to 2-17. Tipp and Galway served up the middle leg of a classic trilogy, with Tipp prevailing by 2-19 to 2-18 and ultimately winning the All-Ireland.

2015: Kilkenny had their biggest win over Waterford in this period, but it was still only 1-21 to 0-18. Tipp and Galway had another rip-roarer, with Galway nicking it 0-26 to 3-16.

So you could say really only one semi-final was a write-off in the last few years, and even that came out of the blue in terms of the manner of victory. The whole scene has tightened up in recent years, and the four best teams in the country have usually progressed each year.

That's compared to our (Wexford) last few appearances in the semi-finals a decade ago when we were beaten out the gate in an era of that last great Cork team and the legendary Kilkenny team. In fairness, no other side could hold a candle to those two back then, but the competitiveness of the championship as a whole as increased ten-fold since.

In terms of Limerick-Kilkenny, I do think that Limerick's firepower and strength in the two half lines will be decisive in the end. Kilkenny struggled against Wexford's physicality in those sectors on the last two meetings, yet Limerick is a step-up again. Limerick's defence in general is in better form than Kilkenny's, with Sean Finn arguably the best corner-back in the game today, and Hannon as pivotal a centre-back as there has been in a while. Casey, Byrnes and Morrissey are no slouches either.

I have a nagging suspicion that Tipp too will possess too much firepower for Wexford. A lot will hinge on how we contain Callanan in particular- end his goalscorer streak and we have a chance. We won't shirk in the combative exchanges and have the one system that Tipperary don't like facing, but I have a feeling that our shooting will return to the inconsistent norm after only hitting a ludicrous three wides in the Leinster final. I hope I am wrong of course. The pace of Rory O'Connor, Dee O'Keeffe, Liam Og McGovern, Damien Reck and Cathal Dunbar are ready-made to pose problems for some of the slower lads back there for Tipp. Hesitant vote for the Premier.

But as I said earlier, anything can happen.

Pogue eile

castletownman wrote: »

Two days out from the first semi-final, and I must say that the atmosphere in here is rather subdued. As regards my thoughts on the games themselves, I genuinely would not be surprised if they both finished level after normal time. I had a quick glance at the semi-finals over the last few campaigns, and they have generally been tight affairs:

2018: Galway drew with under-dogs Clare 1-30 apiece AET the first day. Galway edged the replay 1-17 to 2-13. Limerick snuck past favourites Cork by 3-32 to 2-31 AET. They are probably the best semi-finals ever.

2017: Galway beat reigning champions Tipp 0-22 to 1-18 thanks to THAT Canning point. The other semi saw Waterford overwhelm Cork by 4-19 to 0-20, a real coming of age victory that no-one saw coming.

2016: Kilkenny (AI champs) and Waterford drew the first day 1-21 to 0-24. The Cats edged the replay by 2-19 to 2-17. Tipp and Galway served up the middle leg of a classic trilogy, with Tipp prevailing by 2-19 to 2-18 and ultimately winning the All-Ireland.

2015: Kilkenny had their biggest win over Waterford in this period, but it was still only 1-21 to 0-18. Tipp and Galway had another rip-roarer, with Galway nicking it 0-26 to 3-16.

So you could say really only one semi-final was a write-off in the last few years, and even that came out of the blue in terms of the manner of victory. The whole scene has tightened up in recent years, and the four best teams in the country have usually progressed each year.

That's compared to our (Wexford) last few appearances in the semi-finals a decade ago when we were beaten out the gate in an era of that last great Cork team and the legendary Kilkenny team. In fairness, no other side could hold a candle to those two back then, but the competitiveness of the championship as a whole as increased ten-fold since.

In terms of Limerick-Kilkenny, I do think that Limerick's firepower and strength in the two half lines will be decisive in the end. Kilkenny struggled against Wexford's physicality in those sectors on the last two meetings, yet Limerick is a step-up again. Limerick's defence in general is in better form than Kilkenny's, with Sean Finn arguably the best corner-back in the game today, and Hannon as pivotal a centre-back as there has been in a while. Casey, Byrnes and Morrissey are no slouches either.

I have a nagging suspicion that Tipp too will possess too much firepower for Wexford. A lot will hinge on how we contain Callanan in particular- end his goalscorer streak and we have a chance. We won't shirk in the combative exchanges and have the one system that Tipperary don't like facing, but I have a feeling that our shooting will return to the inconsistent norm after only hitting a ludicrous three wides in the Leinster final. I hope I am wrong of course. The pace of Rory O'Connor, Dee O'Keeffe, Liam Og McGovern, Damien Reck and Cathal Dunbar are ready-made to pose problems for some of the slower lads back there for Tipp. Hesitant vote for the Premier.

But as I said earlier, anything can happen.

Very good, honest and accurate post. I would just pick up on the bolded part, I dont think any team other than Tipp have had as much joy playing against that 'system' it suits Tipp perfectly once they get their match ups right. Waterford and Clare both applied it this year, I appreciate that this year both stuggled, but Tipp ripped their system apart simply because if you allow Tipp's half back line in particular time and space they will murder you - I personally think that the defense system is far more affective where the opposition are over relaint on one or two forwards and you can then successfully nulify that, the problem against Tipp is that they have at least 4 potential match winners in their forwards and to focus on one leaves you very vunerable.


All of the above of course is dependant on John McGrath and/or Bubbles re-discovering their form - in fairness to both their records in Croke Park in big games is very impressive.


I think we could be in for a cracker to be honest and I'm far more worried as a Tipp man about Wexfords forwards as opposed to their backs and 'system' - Rory O'Connor scares the bejaysus out of me, Liam Óg's pace likewise, Chin's ability to win primary possession - Gearoid Hegarty and Seamus Harnedy have casued us a lot of problems with this. And I havent even mentioned McDonald who if isolated one on one with James Barry or Barry Heffernan could do untold damage.

greenspurs

TJ REID: I’VE TOLD THE LADS TO TAKE SATURDAY EVENING OFF AS I’ll BEAT LIMERICK ON MY OWN
In an exclusive interview with The Kilkenny Diary, Kilkenny’s hurling talisman TJ Reid has said he’s told the rest of the panel to take Saturday evening off. Reid is so confident of beating the reigning All Ireland champions on his own that he will face the starting Limerick 15 on his own in Saturday’s All Ireland semi final. In another amazing act of generosity, the Ballyhale forward has instructed the official team bus driver to ‘stay at home and spend some time with the missus’ as he has his bus driving test later today and he is confident he will secure his category D license required to drive the team bus himself on Saturday.
‘Ah shura look, I’m just feeling generous is all’ said Reid. ‘Niamh has been onto me all week to let the boys have a bit of time with their women, go to the cinema or whatever. I was contemplating asking Murph to play with me as I wouldn’t be great in goal but **** it sure, I’ll get Richie to pelt a few balls at me in the back garden on Saturday morning to sharpen the goalie reflexes. It’ll be grand. As for the bus, I can always park it up at Newland’s Cross and get the Luas in if I’m having trouble. But I doubt I’ll need it. I could drive the Luas in sure. That’d be a great laugh altogether.’
The Kilkenny County Board issued a statement this morning saying they weren’t aware of Reid’s offer to the rest of the panel and the bus driver but would look into the matter if he allowed them Saturday evening off aswell.

dastardly00

greenspurs wrote: »

TJ REID: I’VE TOLD THE LADS TO TAKE SATURDAY EVENING OFF AS I’ll BEAT LIMERICK ON MY OWN
In an exclusive interview with The Kilkenny Diary, Kilkenny’s hurling talisman TJ Reid has said he’s told the rest of the panel to take Saturday evening off. Reid is so confident of beating the reigning All Ireland champions on his own that he will face the starting Limerick 15 on his own in Saturday’s All Ireland semi final. In another amazing act of generosity, the Ballyhale forward has instructed the official team bus driver to ‘stay at home and spend some time with the missus’ as he has his bus driving test later today and he is confident he will secure his category D license required to drive the team bus himself on Saturday.
‘Ah shura look, I’m just feeling generous is all’ said Reid. ‘Niamh has been onto me all week to let the boys have a bit of time with their women, go to the cinema or whatever. I was contemplating asking Murph to play with me as I wouldn’t be great in goal but **** it sure, I’ll get Richie to pelt a few balls at me in the back garden on Saturday morning to sharpen the goalie reflexes. It’ll be grand. As for the bus, I can always park it up at Newland’s Cross and get the Luas in if I’m having trouble. But I doubt I’ll need it. I could drive the Luas in sure. That’d be a great laugh altogether.’
The Kilkenny County Board issued a statement this morning saying they weren’t aware of Reid’s offer to the rest of the panel and the bus driver but would look into the matter if he allowed them Saturday evening off aswell.

Being posted once was enough, let alone twice...

Pogue eile

dastardly00 wrote: »

Being posted once was enough, let alone twice...

It's also quite funny that the only people that I have seen refer to KK as a one man team are KK people themselves who are then dismayed at the accusation

greenspurs

Pogue eile wrote: »

It's also quite funny that the only people that I have seen refer to KK as a one man team are KK people themselves who are then dismayed at the accusation

Some KK people can appreciate a joke, and its ironic that people from other counties than get the hump when we do ……. :rolleyes:

greenspurs

dastardly00 wrote: »

Being posted once was enough, let alone twice...

Humblest apologies for wasting your time, and causing you to scroll the extra few inches my post took up ………………………………….
:rolleyes:





































* …..

jr86

castletownman wrote: »

Two days out from the first semi-final, and I must say that the atmosphere in here is rather subdued.

Think the new structure is to blame for that

We're just not conditioned to semis being on at this time of year, never mind the same weekend.

It seems bizarre that we will know the two finalists a full week even before the bank holiday weekend but there ya go

It would be interesting to compare the viewing figures of this Saturday's semi with sunday semis in mid-august over the years. This weekend is extremely popular for people going on holidays/trips etc. Next week is a traditional holiday week for many businesses/sectors

Pigeon Chaser

greenspurs wrote: »

TJ REID: I’VE TOLD THE LADS TO TAKE SATURDAY EVENING OFF AS I’ll BEAT LIMERICK ON MY OWN
*snip*

Possibly the least funny thing I have ever read in my life

mountgomery burns

jr86 wrote: »

Think the new structure is to blame for that

We're just not conditioned to semis being on at this time of year, never mind the same weekend.

It seems bizarre that we will know the two finalists a full week even before the bank holiday weekend but there ya go

It would be interesting to compare the viewing figures of this Saturday's semi with sunday semis in mid-august over the years. This weekend is extremely popular for people going on holidays/trips etc. Next week is a traditional holiday week for many businesses/sectors

I think a hurling weekend is a great idea. Real occasion for fans of all four competing counties. Only problem I have is Limerick (in particular given the distance) and Kilkenny fans being asked to travel for a 6pm throw in. Very unfair on families.

Pogue eile

greenspurs wrote: »

Some KK people can appreciate a joke, and its ironic that people from other counties than get the hump when we do ……. :rolleyes:

If that's your interpretation of what a joke is I'm afraid you may be beyond help!

Realt Dearg Sec

No need to be a bully about it all the same.

briancoolcat

Pogue eile wrote: »

If that's your interpretation of what a joke is I'm afraid you may be beyond help!

Ah it's only a bit of tongue in cheek about the kilkenny teams perceived dependence on TJ. Thought it was rather good myself. On the game itself if our other forwards start troubling the scoreboard like they did against cork TJ will be grand on the frees and being general playmaker. Looking forward to it.

iebamm2580

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

No need to be a bully about it all the same.

Sweet Jesus, are you serious?

Stationmaster

mountgomery burns wrote: »

I think a hurling weekend is a great idea. Real occasion for fans of all four competing counties. Only problem I have is Limerick (in particular given the distance) and Kilkenny fans being asked to travel for a 6pm throw in. Very unfair on families.

Is it ****! I brought my 5 and 7 year olds at the time to Clare Galway last year on the saturday evening and it was a trip they're still raving about. Any day or time you get to see your team play in Croke Park in an All ireland sem final will do me. Limerick is only 2 hours away.

Itssoeasy

I’ve no skin the the games this weekend but each semi final should be on a Sunday. This Saturday night carry on is ridiculous. I’d prefer if the all Ireland was still the first Sunday in September but it’s not but at least keep the semi finals on a Sunday.

mountgomery burns

Stationmaster wrote: »

Is it ****! I brought my 5 and 7 year olds at the time to Clare Galway last year on the saturday evening and it was a trip they're still raving about. Any day or time you get to see your team play in Croke Park in an All ireland sem final will do me. Limerick is only 2 hours away.

They could have held the game at 5, like the Clare v Galway game last year. If it goes to extra time would be pushing 8.30 by the time you're leaving.

Won't be as bad this year, but I can assure you it was a lot more than 2 hours after the all Ireland semi last year. And I'm not from Limerick so this is far from somebody moaning about being in an all Ireland semi final, just think they could have been more conscious. No need for it to be on as late as it is.

farmerval

With only one of last years four semi finalists here this year, and the only real shock this year being Galway failing to progress in Leinster it really shows how close all the counties are in Hurling.
Very few were confident who would come out of Munster this year, Leinster was always going to be three from four, but I don't think anyone saw Galway as the one to not come through.
Limerick as defending AI and league champions and after their demolition of Tipp in the Munster final should be favourites for the All Ireland. Obviously KK will think differently.
Tipp and Wexford have no easy to read form line against each other. They haven't met in championship in a while, and under Davey Fitz Wexford are a different team to traditional Wexford teams.

terryrogers

castletownman wrote: »

Two days out from the first semi-final, and I must say that the atmosphere in here is rather subdued. As regards my thoughts on the games themselves, I genuinely would not be surprised if they both finished level after normal time. I had a quick glance at the semi-finals over the last few campaigns, and they have generally been tight affairs.

If you genuinely feel both games may end in a draw after 70 minutes then check out the specials with Ireland's most prominent bookmaker- you will get 100/1 on this.

We've had no draws yet in the knockout stages and I would be surprised if we go the last three games without one. In fact you'd have to go back to 2011 for the last year where there were no replays in championship hurling.

It was one thing you could always bank on with the gaa- a token replay or two to boost revenue, often due to a dubious free at the end of a game. Albeit with the extra games in the new format and more games now going to extra time rather than a straight replay there's less need/chance of replays nowadays.

Pigeon Chaser

terryrogers wrote: »

We've had no draws yet in the knockout stages.

Yes, all 4 games of them.. :rolleyes: (3 of which were massively lopsided in terms of ability)

terryrogers

Pigeon Chaser wrote: »

Yes, all 4 games of them.. :rolleyes: (3 of which were massively lopsided in terms of ability)

And the rest of my sentence said... and I would be surprised if we go the last three games without one. But thanks for isolating part of the post for effect :rolleyes: Seriously though, it would be unusual to go through the knockouts, and provincial finals too, without a draw given that we've had at least one draw crop up in each of the last 7 years.

greenspurs

Pogue eile wrote: »

If that's your interpretation of what a joke is I'm afraid you may be beyond help!

Humour transplant (needed) ? :rolleyes:

greenspurs

Pigeon Chaser wrote: »

Possibly the least funny thing I have ever read in my life

ohh ….
Maybe yee have a different sense of humour in other counties …. ..

greenspurs

Anyway, Kilkenny by 2 on Saturday.

C__MC

I think tipp will show up Sunday
Croke park has always seen them produce it when the chips are down. Coming in under the radar has ahead of a croker game has seen tipp up it.

In 2017, they had a brutal year but a Joe canning wonder point denied tipp in a thriller.
In 2016, they where questioned ahead of the kk showdown but blew kk away.

Wexford are dogged but let's not forget kk missed many chances against them.
Tipp by 6

Jump_In_Jack

Just in general with the round robin format,
Would the whole thing be better if there were one single tweak as follows:

Provincial finalists go into the quarter-finals,

the 3rd and 4th placed teams play off against the 5th placed teams and the McDonagh Cup finalists to qualify for the quarter-finals.

E.g.
This season could have been
Qualifier 1 = (M3)Cork v (McD R-up)Westmeath,
Qualifier 2 = (L3)Dublin v (McD Winner)Laois
Qualifier 3 = (M4)Clare v (L5)Carlow
Qualifier 4 = (L4)Galway v (M5)Waterford

So would have lead to quarters something like this:
Qtr1 = (M1)Limerick v (L4)Galway/(M5)Waterford
Qtr2 = (L1)Wexford v (M4)Clare/(L5)Carlow
Qtr3 = (M2)Tipperary v (L3)Dublin/(McD Winner)Laois
Qtr4 = (L2)Kilkenny v (M3)Cork/(McD R-Up)Westmeath

Semi 1 = (M1)/(L4)/(M5) v (L2)/(M3)/(McD R-Up)
Semi 2 = (L1)/(M4)/(L5) v (M2)/(L3)/(McD Winner)

It would lead to 4 extra knockout matches than the current system, i.e. 2 extra qualifier matches plus 2 extra quarter-finals.

One argument against changing it would be that "there's no reward for winning the provincial championship" but that's a very weak argument I think, every team wants to win their provincial championship regardless of what comes after so I couldn't see any teams slacking off in the provincial championships to save themselves for the All-Ireland championship.

One argument for changing it is that the teams would play the same number of matches.
When the provincial finalists get a match in the finals the other teams get a match in the qualifiers.

Another argument for this system is that it separates the provincial championships from the All-Ireland and makes it harder to win as the teams have to win 3 knockout matches to win it from the quarter-finals through to the final or 4 matches from the qualifiers through to the final.

Knockout matches should attract more excitement and better buzz overall.

Lastly, it afford the likes of Galway/Clare/Waterford a chance to compete in the all-ireland after losing in the provincial championships, which would be better for their supporters and a few more top quality matches to watch.