Waterford GAA Thread - Mod note post #1

TheScoringGoal

Unfortunately for Austin the circumstances are against him as he did strike with the hurley. It was minimum force and certainly not deserving of the reaction from the Wexford player. Indeed more significant contact would be made between players at every sideline, throw ball and puck out. If Keenan had to have seen it I'd imagine it would have been a yellow but his hands were tied after it was an umpire who told him so he had no choice in the sanction. While the appeal avenue is open and we saw Peter Casey win his appeal against a headbutt last year I still think he's unlikely to feature.

It does seem unfair that he will get the same sanction as that applied to Shane Kingston for what he did to Sean Finn in an earlier round of the league but that looks to be how things will fall.

Also despite what some may try to say (not on here to be fair) Austin has played for Waterford since 2014 and that's his second red card so his disciplinary record is far from what it gets made out to be.

decies

Any news of tickets on sale for Saturday night ? What stand are people going for ?

decies

You need to get yourself a good iptv to watch the games live or one that has a instant catch up on it like mine if needed .

JD. 60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118850006#Comment_118850006

Just bought tickets on line ; 'general admission' in the stands, i.e. no reserved seat numbers !

Deskjockey

https://twitter.com/jordannorris98/status/1508730274405826567?t=Bw_osmIZy9_2JF-47Rd5NA&s=08

Pudz2180

Good performance on Sunday although as someone posted above it wasn’t perfect and still plenty to work on. Unfortunately Wexford weren’t up to much but am sure it will be a different story next Saturday night.

O’brien didn’t have alot to do saves wise but I taught his puck outs were all on the money. iarlaith daly has done well in the full back role and should be well able to fill in for prunty if needed come championship time. Taught Conor gleeson did well on O’Connor, think the role of man marker is what Conor is best suited to. Fagan did well again half back and it was also great to see Callum get a run out.

Midfield up all hurled well and am Really delighted to see Patrick Curran starting to come good at this level he is such a lovely hurler to watch when on form. Also glad Shane Bennett got a goal which will hopefully give his confidence a good boost as he hasn’t seemed to be really at it at all so far this year.

Only down side was ozzies red card. Minimal contact and Wexford player made a meal of it but if you strike in any way with the hurl your putting your self at risk and so I don’t think he can have any complaints. We are right not to appeal either as it will lead to a big media circus. It’s disappointing as we all probably taught Austin was starting to mature a bit and these silly incidents were behind him.

I presume Callum will come in for him and Shane Bennett will start instead of dunford. Word has it that Jamie Barron had a set back in training last week and also prunty and Stephen Bennett are touch and go for the Tipp game. (I know prunty hamstring is the problem but not sure what is wrong with Stephen Bennett. Initially I taught he missed the Kilkenny game due to illness but obviously it’s something else since he hasn’t played since) it would be great to have him for Saturday because as much as the squad is really good it would be a big worry if we were missing Jamie, Conor and Stephen against Tipp

Pudz2180

Jjjjjjjjbarry

Anyone know what Barrons injury is?

KevIRL

It is of course possible that those all miss the Tipp game. But I wouldnt think that HOTD has any concrete info from within the Waterford camp to say at this early stage. Easy to put up speculation.

Given Jamie Barron hasnt played at all, you would have to think he is a doubt, Dunford with what looked like a hamstring issue on Sunday also not likely. The other two pure guesswork at this stage I am thinking.

My own view is it would be mad to risk any of them in the league final too.

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118850684#Comment_118850684

Championship is a different animal. We should know that giving what happened in 2019

Huge losses for us if true

Junior Hurler

I assume the league title is decided on Saturday and no pesky replay possible?

skaface

Screenshot_20220329_135649_com.huawei.browser.jpg

No appeal

JD. 60

At least the management and players can now focus on the game ahead without the inevitable distraction of waiting for an appeal decision.

Aussie is a huge loss but it's not the end of the world ; he'll be back for the round robin. Sounds like Jamie is struggling to make it ; you would imagine Prunty will be okay and I hear Stephen will be ready. I really think Waterford should beat Tipperary with or without some of the aforementioned players ; however, all hands on deck will be required for the Limerick match just 6 days later.

I see Cork are slight favourites for Saturday, which is about right based on the players unavailable for Waterford. I expect a high scoring match and a mighty struggle. I imagine Shane Bennett will start instead of Dunford or might Cahill put Shane in midfield (noting some mixed performances from him in that position before) and possibly Pairic in the forwards.

Deisegodeo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118850804#Comment_118850804

I don't have any inside info either but I heard Cahill on the radio after the tipp game and he said it was a slight hamstring issue for Prunty and they were unlikely to risk him, along those lines anyway.

I have yet to see any confirmation of bennets injury beyond him being ruled out of the last 2 games. Barron does seem to have long enough term injury, don't think he has played at all this year. Dunford did look in trouble going off the last day so could be out.

carter10

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2022/0329/1289056-gleeson-out-of-cork-clash-as-deise-decide-not-to-appeal/

Yet again Waterford decides not to appeal a red card. This despite the precedent of other counties getting their players off for a final. Have we ever- even once shown any balls as a county? We need a Frank Murphy

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118852013#Comment_118852013

True

Maybe there afraid to say anything esp waiting on that Walsh Park redevelopment money

BTW what's the story with that ?

Giveitfong

The big takeaway from last Sunday was not Waterford’s goal-hunting, with which TG4 broadcaster Brian Tyers was completely besotted, but the introduction by Waterford, out of nowhere, of what looked like an entirely new game plan which generally worked quite well, given that this was its first time to be road-tested.

I have argued here several times that the big gap in Liam Cahill’s otherwise excellent game plan has been the lack of any thought-out short puckout strategy. Whenever Waterford did resort to a short puckout, it normally meant hitting the ball to a corner back who then lamped it down the field to where the goalie could have hit it in the first place. The alternative was for the goalie to hit the ball to the fullback, take the return and blast a high ball down the middle. Cahill’s general preference for a long puckout approach was, in my view, a liability given Waterford’s lack of ballwinners up front.

Last Sunday, the short puckout was Waterford’s default option. Shaun O’Brien hit his first long puckout in the 17th minute, and that was after seven short puckouts in a row. And this time, there was a clear strategy in evidence, with the corner backs playing the ball back infield from where a long stick pass was sent to a player in midfield, or the receiving player (usually Tadhg de Búrca and sometimes Jack Fagan or Darragh Lyons) would charge forward into open ground. The result was a series of balls over the Wexford half back line and into the corners. This took the Wexford half backs, and especially their big ball winners Paudie Foley and Matthew O’Hanlon, out of the game.

A further key element of this game plan was that Waterford kept their three full forwards in the general vicinity of the Wexford goal, which has not been a normal feature of Liam Cahill game plans up to now. This had the added effect of putting pressure on the short puckouts which are the normal launch pad for Wexford’s running game, as they seek to work the ball out from the back through the lines. Keeping three full forwards in place also restricted the Wexford full backs from coming upfield as support runners (although Damien Reck still had a big game for them).

After his early mishaps with attempted placed puckouts, Wexford goalie Mark Fanning hit three long puckouts, all of which came straight back. Fanning was then forced back onto riskier short puckouts, but Wexford were never allowed the easy runs out from the back which other teams had been allowing them.

That said, Wexford did make quite a battle of it for much of the first half, despite Egan’s suggestion that they lacked energy on the day. They had an equal share of possession, and in the first half had 18 shots for points compared to Waterford’s 16. Furthermore, their scoring return from these shots was almost equal to Waterford’s – 10 from 18 to nine from 16. The big difference, of course, is that Waterford had seven shots at goal (three of which hit the net) whereas Wexford had none.

Wexford needed a good start to the second half to get back into the game, and could have got it when they were denied a clear penalty following Tadhg de Búrca’s double foul on Rory O’Connor. Thereafter, Waterford largely dominated proceedings, scoring two more goals from three attempts, and getting away 20 shots for points (11 successful) to Wexford’s 13 (six successful). Wexford didn’t manage a single shot on goal during the whole game.

Ultimately, in my view, the main difference between the teams (apart from the Waterford game plan) was simply the fact that Waterford had better players, especially up front. Rory O’Connor, Wexford’s marquee forward, and the subject of massive prematch hype, had a nightmare, missing three frees and shooting three wides from play. Cathal Dunbar and Oisín Pepper (who is doing the Leaving Cert this year) had, I think, three possessions between them before being substituted in the 43rd minute while I don’t think Kevin Foley had a single possession before being hauled ashore in the 60th minute.

This is not to suggest that the Waterford performance was anywhere near perfect. In the second half in particular, and possibly in the interests of energy conservation, Waterford got a bit lazy in implementing the game plan, hitting a lot of long ball – some of it very loose – out of defence. They also shot a lot of wides from out the field when presumably the better option would have been to give the Bennetts in the inside line some valuable match practice. In fact, I thought Cahill could have brought in his substitutes considerably earlier to freshen things up and give the subs some decent minutes. Waterford also lost possession or gave the ball away very frequently – 25 times in all, according to my count.

It remains to be seen whether last Sunday’s game plan was devised to deal specifically with Wexford’s style of play, or whether it provides a general blueprint for the year ahead. Certainly, its emphasis on accurate stick-passing, hard running and playing ball forward into space appears to suit the make-up of the current group of Waterford players, with their high skill levels, pace and lack of size in certain key areas.

A couple of further observations. Dessie Hutchinson needs to realise that not all shots for goal need to come in on the ground. His shot from Shane Bennett’s pass early in the second half, coming in at knee height and across the goalie, made it a relatively easy save for Mark Fanning. A shot into the near top corner would have been unsaveable. Jack Prendergast showed that the shot to the roof of the net is the best option from close quarters.

It may be my imagination, but it looked to me that Waterford had been practising their handpassing technique over the previous week, as they seemed to take special care to show separation before striking the ball.

Finally, I have written here many times before about how desirable it is to send a mentor out onto the pitch before games to monitor the wind strength and direction and coach the players accordingly. Last Sunday, there was a fresh wind blowing directly across the pitch towards the main stand, which meant that shots towards the town goal were likely to veer right and shots to the country goal to veer left. Sure enough, all of Waterford’s eight second-half wide shots went to the right of the town goal (it was six out of eight for Wexford in the first half). While Waterford only hit four of their seven first half wide shots to the left of the country goal, it was six out of seven for Wexford in the second half. In total, that meant that 14 of 16 wide shots at the town goal went right, and 10 of 14 shots at the country goal went left. So much for players figuring these things out for themselves on the pitch!

blueflame

While agreeing with much of this post, i do believe that Wexford's approach dictated and resulted in our short puck out strategy - they did completely the opposite of what we did, while we put measured pressure on their short puck-outs , they completely pulled their forwards out the field and put no pressure whatsoever on our puck-outs. Corner backs, full back - everyone was allowed all the time in the world to collect the ball with comfort and look up and see what was on. It was bordering on the ridiculous at times, so much so we could not pass up the opportunity to do so, and that for me was one of the reasons not to be getting in any way carried away with last Sunday's result. Their strategy played right into our hands

thesultan

I don't buy the myth we have this amazing panel .we have about five or six key men ,de burca, Steve Bennett, gleeeson,Hutchinson and Barron. Miss any of them and we aren't the same team..

TheScoringGoal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118852562#Comment_118852562

I agree. The injuries are starting to mount now so we will learn more about our depth against Cork.

Pudz2180

Tickets go on general sale next Tuesday for championship games. Was hoping to get one through the club but not sure will clubs even have tickets now

Cake Man

Hadn't realised the change of format of the minor and U20 championships. For both, Munster split into two groups, top two qualify for the semi finals (1st v 2nd, 2nd v 1st). Minors in a group with Tipp (playing them at Fraher Field next Tuesday) and Clare in Sixmilebridge on 19/4.

U20's in a group with Tipp (in Thurles 13/4) and Kerry (Fraher Field 20/4).

Tough enough draws but no easy games in Munster. Hard to know what teams are like at these age grades as well, can usually come down to the day of the game.

Anyone have any insight into our minor and U20 teams - who to look out for, who's over them etc.? Would they be classed as a good crop? Would imagine the minors will be backboned by the DLS College side that reached the Harty semi finals a few months ago. Patrick Fitzgerald I'm guessing will be one of the standout players to keep an eye on.

Mastermcgrath

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118853280#Comment_118853280

We need to look at the positives of missing those key lads next weekend. A league trophy would be nice but I think we’d all take getting into the top 3 in Munster and qualifying for the all Ireland series over it.

It’s still not a bad position for Liam Cahill to be in, hell have 15 + lads going out fighting for their place as well as going all out to win a National title. If they come up short then he knows he still has all those big names to come back but win and the wind will really in our sails going into championship

blueflame

Personally i believe that this is the strongest panel we have ever had in my 50 years + following Waterford Hurling - realistically there is no sports panel who can afford to loose 5/6 of their top players and still expect to be as strong, but you hope that the players coming in will give you a fighting chance of success.

The lads that I believe who are still injured for Saturday include Conor Prunty, Ian Kenny, Jamie Barron, Stephen Bennett, Peter Hogan, and Colin Dunford. Added to this Aussie is suspended and Calum Lyons is only returning from a long-layoff. That is going to test anyone's squad no matter who. Despite these absences, we will be able to put 15 players on the pitch who are more than capable of putting it up to Cork and we also have maybe three of four on the bench capable of making a real contribution while the majority of the others are really untried or too inexperienced to know how they would go. on the day, but there is still talent there.

It is normally on the subs bench that you start to feel the pinch when the injuries mount up.

PTH2009

That missing list is worrying and Cork have the ability to capitalize on it

Hopefully some of it is pure BS and the team announced tomorrow or Friday will feature some of the rumoured absentees

Deskjockey

What is the story with Ian Kenny?

Pudz2180

Cork footballers not allowed play Kerry in pairc up rinn so they now have to play them in Killarney. Cork lads now saying they shouldn’t have to play us in Walsh park because it’s too small. Gas men, they do realise this whole mess was caused by the cork county board allowing Ed sheeran play concerts in pairc ui chaoimh and now they want Waterford punished. They can go f*** off for themselves

rebs23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118860129#Comment_118860129

You're quoting one anonymous Cork fan on an internet forum. Cork have always been happy to play anyone, anywhere.

zetecescort

100% it's an issue caused by the Cork county board but if the Munster council excuse for not playing in Pairc hi Rinn is purely based on attendance then they are opening a tin of worms with regard to Walsh Park or Ennis.

PTH2009

Would the team be announced tonight with it been a Saturday game ?

Minors playing there first Championship game next Tuesday 5th April at home to Tipperary. Playing Clare in the last group game on the 19th April