Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 2011-2012

Good to get the win last night I suppose, even if we seemed to shut off second half judging by the reports. I wonder could Darragh be an option for full back, as going by a few reports I read he seemed to do well. For the coming season, the FB line may look like Ringo, Lawlor and Connors so maybe Fives could go to wing back if not in the FB line.
If SOS, Moran and Brick were playing last night, are they not supposed to be playing in the interprovincial game v Leinster today? Hopefully all will be injury free and rearing to go for next Saturday night, looking forward to it.

Waterford 1-15 Limerick 0-14

Waterford came with a late flourish to stave off a Limerick fightback and carve a deserved victory in this moderately entertaining game at Fraher Field on Saturday night. It was a bitterly cold night with a strongish wind blowing towards the river end of the pitch, and the pitch, while bumpy, was in far better condition than the Walsh Park bog of the previous Sunday.

Waterford had first use of the wind and dominated the first half to an extent not reflected in their half time 1-9 to 0-2 lead, as they managed only one point from two penalties (for fouls on Brick Walsh and Maurice Shanahan), with Martin O’Neill firing the first one just over the bar and Pauric Mahony having his rather poor effort easily saved on the line.

Maurice Shanahan shipped a heavy leg injury early on but, although clearly hampered, he was left on the field until halfway through the second half at full forward, which wouldn’t be his favourite position. Martin O’Neill got an excellent point from play in the first minute but thereafter was dominated by Limerick’s forceful and powerful corner back, Tom Condon. Shane Casey also made little impression in the other corner apart from a well-taken goal which finished off a good passing movement down the left wing.

The best player on the field in the first half was Paul O’Brien at midfield, who repeatedly gained possession and ran at the Limerick defence. He looks much stronger now than when he was on the panel a few years ago.

Limerick did get an amount of possession but could make no impact on a defence which was well marshalled by Kevin Moran at centre back. Despite reports that he himself was injured, Philip Mahony replaced the injured Noel Connors half way through the first half.

Paul O’Brien was replaced by Dean Twomey at half time, which not only deprived Waterford of their best player but effectively reduced the team to fourteen men as, repeating his performance of the previous week against Clare, Twomey hardly struck a ball in the second half. Tomás Ryan also came on for Martin O’Neill.

Limerick brought on Shane Dowling and Kevin Downes for the second half. Dowling contributed little from general play but his excellent free taking solved a problem for Limerick and he hit six pointed frees in all. Kevin Downes had a much more marked impact on the play, frequently winning possession and driving at the Waterford defence, and notching two points from play.

With the wind at their back, Limerick dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half as the Waterford effort slackened noticeably, similar to the previous week. However, the home side sparked to life in the last ten minutes, with Kevin Moran reawakening from a period of down time, and Stephen Molumphy upping his game in midfield where he was getting some good assistance from Pauric Mahony who had switched with Twomey. Brick Walsh also came more into the game in the last quarter.

However, the key figure in Waterford’s late surge was Gavin O’Brien who had come on for Maurice Shanahan. O’Brien scored two excellent points from play and was also given the free taking job in the closing minutes which he also performed expertly, landing two further points.

Interestingly, both teams scored the equivalent of twelve points when playing with the wind. The big difference, therefore, was that Waterford managed six points against the wind to Limerick’s two, and that four point difference was the gap between the teams at the final whistle.

A feature of this game was that Limerick did not threaten the Waterford goal during the entire game apart from one first half shot that went narrowly wide. This meant that Iggy O’Regan got little to do, although I was impressed with his pucking out into the wind in the second half. The Waterford full back line was generally in control, with Philip Mahony impressing when he came on in the right corner, especially in the second half. Darragh Fives generally kept Limerick’s big full forward Brian Geary quiet; although Geary did manage to gain possession on a few occasion, little came of these situations. Apart from a couple of slips, Ringo Kearney had an excellent game in the other corner, with his superb ball control and ability to get past players repeatedly catching the eye.

Jamie Nagle got a lot of possession in the half line but his use of it was frequently very poor. Shane O’Sullivan worked hard on the other wing. Up front Brick Walsh was a bit in and out of the game, but his value to the team at centre forward is potentially enormous due to his ability to draw frees, hold up the ball under pressure before passing to colleagues, and especially his ability to break through the opposing half back line leading to the creation of goal chances.

Pauric Mahony’s radar was a bit off target on the night (four wides from six shots) but he did work hard. Shane Casey ended the night with a creditable 1-1, and should have had a second goal in the second half but missed the target from an angle having been set up at the end of a good Waterford passing movement. Tomás Ryan played a key role in that movement, scored an excellent over-the-shoulder point and caused some problems for the Limerick defence when he came out the field looking for ball late in the game.

Eoin McGrath was a late substitute for Shane Casey. Déise Girl contradicted herself when reporting in the same sentence that it was a typical Eoin McGrath performance and that he “wasn’t too bad”. I would agree with the first part of that sentence.

Waterford: Ian O’Regan; Noel Connors; Darragh Fives; Aidan Kearney; Jamie Nagle; Kevin Moran; Shane O’Sullivan; Stephen Molumphy; Paul O’Brien; Maurice Shanahan; Michael Walsh (0-1); Pauric Mahony (0-2, 0-1 from free); Martin O’Neill (0-5, 0-4 from frees); Seamus Prendergast; Shane Casey (1-1). Substitutes: Philip Mahony for Connors; Dean Twomey for O’Brien; Tomás Ryan (0-1) for O’Neill; Gavin O’Brien (0-4, 0-2 from frees) for Shanahan; Eoin McGrath for Casey.

I didn’t keep track of the Limerick team, but they had Nicky Quaid in goal and I think Shane O’Neill, Richie McCarthy and definitely Tom Condon in the full back. Wayne McNamara and Gavin O’Mahony were in the half back line. Conor Allis wore number 6 but seemed to play in midfield. He took the frees in the first half with poor results, and overall scored one free and one point from play. Donal O’Grady put in a typical hard working performance in midfield while James Ryan at No. 11 also got a lot of possession. Declan Hannon didn’t play. Graeme Mulcahy was at No 12 but failed to score. The full forward was named as Niall Moran by the announcer but I am pretty sure it was Brian Geary who also failed to score. Mark Carmody at No 13 got one point and Mikey Ryan on the other wing got two. David Moloney (for Condon) and James O’Brien came on in the second half in addition to Dowling and Downes.

Giveitfong wrote: »

Waterford 1-15 Limerick 0-14

Waterford came with a late flourish to stave off a Limerick fightback and carve a deserved victory in this moderately entertaining game at Fraher Field on Saturday night. It was a bitterly cold night with a strongish wind blowing towards the river end of the pitch, and the pitch, while bumpy, was in far better condition than the Walsh Park bog of the previous Sunday.

Waterford had first use of the wind and dominated the first half to an extent not reflected in their half time 1-9 to 0-2 lead, as they managed only one point from two penalties (for fouls on Brick Walsh and Maurice Shanahan), with Martin O’Neill firing the first one just over the bar and Pauric Mahony having his rather poor effort easily saved on the line.

Maurice Shanahan shipped a heavy leg injury early on but, although clearly hampered, he was left on the field until halfway through the second half at full forward, which wouldn’t be his favourite position. Martin O’Neill got an excellent point from play in the first minute but thereafter was dominated by Limerick’s forceful and powerful corner back, Tom Condon. Shane Casey also made little impression in the other corner apart from a well-taken goal which finished off a good passing movement down the left wing.

The best player on the field in the first half was Paul O’Brien at midfield, who repeatedly gained possession and ran at the Limerick defence. He looks much stronger now than when he was on the panel a few years ago.

Limerick did get an amount of possession but could make no impact on a defence which was well marshalled by Kevin Moran at centre back. Despite reports that he himself was injured, Philip Mahony replaced the injured Noel Connors half way through the first half.

Paul O’Brien was replaced by Dean Twomey at half time, which not only deprived Waterford of their best player but effectively reduced the team to fourteen men as, repeating his performance of the previous week against Clare, Twomey hardly struck a ball in the second half. Tomás Ryan also came on for Martin O’Neill.

Limerick brought on Shane Dowling and Kevin Downes for the second half. Dowling contributed little from general play but his excellent free taking solved a problem for Limerick and he hit six pointed frees in all. Kevin Downes had a much more marked impact on the play, frequently winning possession and driving at the Waterford defence, and notching two points from play.

With the wind at their back, Limerick dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half as the Waterford effort slackened noticeably, similar to the previous week. However, the home side sparked to life in the last ten minutes, with Kevin Moran reawakening from a period of down time, and Stephen Molumphy upping his game in midfield where he was getting some good assistance from Pauric Mahony who had switched with Twomey. Brick Walsh also came more into the game in the last quarter.

However, the key figure in Waterford’s late surge was Gavin O’Brien who had come on for Maurice Shanahan. O’Brien scored two excellent points from play and was also given the free taking job in the closing minutes which he also performed expertly, landing two further points.

Interestingly, both teams scored the equivalent of twelve points when playing with the wind. The big difference, therefore, was that Waterford managed six points against the wind to Limerick’s two, and that four point difference was the gap between the teams at the final whistle.

A feature of this game was that Limerick did not threaten the Waterford goal during the entire game apart from one first half shot that went narrowly wide. This meant that Iggy O’Regan got little to do, although I was impressed with his pucking out into the wind in the second half. The Waterford full back line was generally in control, with Philip Mahony impressing when he came on in the right corner, especially in the second half. Darragh Fives generally kept Limerick’s big full forward Brian Geary quiet; although Geary did manage to gain possession on a few occasion, little came of these situations. Apart from a couple of slips, Ringo Kearney had an excellent game in the other corner, with his superb ball control and ability to get past players repeatedly catching the eye.

Jamie Nagle got a lot of possession in the half line but his use of it was frequently very poor. Shane O’Sullivan worked hard on the other wing. Up front Brick Walsh was a bit in and out of the game, but his value to the team at centre forward is potentially enormous due to his ability to draw frees, hold up the ball under pressure before passing to colleagues, and especially his ability to break through the opposing half back line leading to the creation of goal chances.

Pauric Mahony’s radar was a bit off target on the night (four wides from six shots) but he did work hard. Shane Casey ended the night with a creditable 1-1, and should have had a second goal in the second half but missed the target from an angle having been set up at the end of a good Waterford passing movement. Tomás Ryan played a key role in that movement, scored an excellent over-the-shoulder point and caused some problems for the Limerick defence when he came out the field looking for ball late in the game.

Eoin McGrath was a late substitute for Shane Casey. Déise Girl contradicted herself when reporting in the same sentence that it was a typical Eoin McGrath performance and that he “wasn’t too bad”. I would agree with the first part of that sentence.

Waterford: Ian O’Regan; Noel Connors; Darragh Fives; Aidan Kearney; Jamie Nagle; Kevin Moran; Shane O’Sullivan; Stephen Molumphy; Paul O’Brien; Maurice Shanahan; Michael Walsh (0-1); Pauric Mahony (0-2, 0-1 from free); Martin O’Neill (0-5, 0-4 from frees); Seamus Prendergast; Shane Casey (1-1). Substitutes: Philip Mahony for Connors; Dean Twomey for O’Brien; Tomás Ryan (0-1) for O’Neill; Gavin O’Brien (0-4, 0-2 from frees) for Shanahan; Eoin McGrath for Casey.

I didn’t keep track of the Limerick team, but they had Nicky Quaid in goal and I think Shane O’Neill, Richie McCarthy and definitely Tom Condon in the full back. Wayne McNamara and Gavin O’Mahony were in the half back line. Conor Allis wore number 6 but seemed to play in midfield. He took the frees in the first half with poor results, and overall scored one free and one point from play. Donal O’Grady put in a typical hard working performance in midfield while James Ryan at No. 11 also got a lot of possession. Declan Hannon didn’t play. Graeme Mulcahy was at No 12 but failed to score. The full forward was named as Niall Moran by the announcer but I am pretty sure it was Brian Geary who also failed to score. Mark Carmody at No 13 got one point and Mikey Ryan on the other wing got two. David Moloney (for Condon) and James O’Brien came on in the second half in addition to Dowling and Downes.

Great report this was better than the Examiner. Hard luck to Dungarvan hope it doesn't effect their confidence for next weekend Nenagh will be red hot favorites but Colaiste have proven to be more than good enough.

mccarthy37 wrote: »

Great report this was better than the Examiner. Hard luck to Dungarvan hope it doesn't effect their confidence for next weekend Nenagh will be red hot favorites but Colaiste have proven to be more than good enough.

Agree on the report, very good.
Hopefully CnD can do the business in the final, maybe Dungarvan CBS had one eye on it during the match against Doon but not to take away from them.
Wouldn't say Nenagh are raging hot favourites, infact CnD are favs to win (8/15) with Nenagh at 7/4 according to PP. I'm going to try make this game, anyone know how to get to the pitch in Cashel? Would it be more or less the same road you'd go to Thurles on?

deisebhoy17 wrote: »

Any ideas on a team to face cork?

Wouldn't think it'll deviate too much from the team that lined out against Limerick last Saturday but if Connors and Maurice are struggling with injuries, a few switches will be enforced.
Wonder if Darragh Fives will stay FB or will Lawlor be back. Could even be Dec, Chris Ryan or Shane Fives aswell I suppose. Shane Walsh at FF instead of Shane Casey if he's fit. Nagle, Sully and Moran the HB line, POB and Molumphy midfield. Seamus, Brick and Paudric half forward line and then Martin O'Neill, Walsh (Casey if SW is out) and O'Halloran/T.Ryan.

Cake Man wrote: »

Wouldn't think it'll deviate too much from the team that lined out against Limerick last Saturday but if Connors and Maurice are struggling with injuries, a few switches will be enforced.
Wonder if Darragh Fives will stay FB or will Lawlor be back. Could even be Dec, Chris Ryan or Shane Fives aswell I suppose. Shane Walsh at FF instead of Shane Casey if he's fit. Nagle, Sully and Moran the HB line, POB and Molumphy midfield. Seamus, Brick and Paudric half forward line and then Martin O'Neill, Walsh (Casey if SW is out) and O'Halloran/T.Ryan.

The injuries would seem to narrow down the selection alright, and can see a team close to what you named. Personally, would prefer to Shane O'Sullivan midfield, with Molumphy going to corner forward with his usual remit to drift and ruck.

Hopefully a little experimentation with the wing backs too, as for a county allegedly awash in decent wingbacks, I cannot understand how Sully and Nagle are our best options there. The former seems to do his best work from midfield where he has the energy and vision to control the game, and the latter is not an intercounty standard player unfortunately, imo. Surely David O'Sullivan and Philip Mahony warrant their shot there during the league.

Pity about the injuries to Foley and Hutchinson, the league would have been a good opportunity to ascertain Foleys strongest position, as well as perhaps seeing if Hutchinsons immense performances at half back can be transferred to the county team.

Lastly, am I the only one who fears we are a little light at the very back, in terms of cover..

Mountainlad wrote: »

I'd agree about the lack of cover for the full back line.

Think that Stephen Daniels has to be looked at. Was listed to start v Clare, but didn't make an appearance. He's been a big prospect for a few years now, but has seen little or no Senior hurling action. Would have been my first choice as a replacement for Tony a few years ago.

Yes, would like to see more of Daniels too, and equally surprised we haven't done so yet. There seems to be a lot of promising wingbacks, but I don't see many of them getting a chance to date, alas..

deisebhoy17 wrote: »

Its up to daniels, philip mahony, hutchinson ect and the like to step it up. they havent been tried much by this or previous management because they havent stepped up to the plate simple as. the proof is in the pudding that Tony Browne is still knocking around and I mean that in the best possible way. He sees his place on the team and more luck to him but its a sure sign that the lads coming through aren't doing enough to nudge him out. like what happens in other counties

I agree with part of that alright, if lads aren't doing it in training, then it makes it difficult for management to take a punt on them, but I wonder if this overemphasis on training ground form is the best either. For example, seeing players we know won't cut it come championship (not naming any names) warranting selection on the team due to, I presume, training ground performances, shows the fallacy of basing team selection completely on performances in training.

Also the bigger issue here, is that of a half back line for the future, as Tony is not here forever, and with the likes of Brick relocated elsewhere, we are left with a halfback line that doesn't inspire as much confidence without Brick and Tony. Moran has yet to make centreback his own, should Brick not be there this year, and beyond Declan Prendergast, we hardly have any convincing and experienced players to step into the breach if needed.

Moreover, the fallacy of training ground form is exacerbated even more, when you look at the full back position, as after all, if there was someone putting in storming performances at full back, we would not have a problem there. But in the absence of someone standing out there, the only way we're going to make progress there is by looking at the best prospects we have, and over time shaping them into the fullback we need.

Is this total emphasis on training ground form just another example of how the mechanisms of other successful counties are not one-size-fits-all perhaps..