Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 3 Updated Mod Note Post 1

TyrionPower · 29-03-2015 8:49pm

Right...
Anyway...

Hopefully we can put in a good showing against Tipp now in a few weeks, we always seem to put in a good performance against them in the league, but with All the retirements in Kilkenny Tipp probably stand as the experienced and established inter county team at the moment, so in with the real big boys now.
A big open pitch with the ground after hardening it is into the real deal now.
We threw away opportunities to get to league quarters under this system a couple of times. Hard to believe after the despair of last year we are in a semi Now
We are are very well drilled, fit, highly motivated team with the confidence to stick to the plan, the way we steadied after Galways initial second half spurt is so encouraging.... But at the same time Galway were totally leaderless..

Still roll on three weeks

seananigans · 29-03-2015 8:50pm

TyrionPower wrote: »

Right...
Anyway...

Hopefully we can put in a good showing against Tipp now in a few weeks, we always seem to put in a good performance against them in the league, but with All the retirements in Kilkenny Tipp probably stand as the experienced and established inter county team at the moment, so in with the real big boys now.
A big open pitch with the ground after hardening it is into the real deal now.
We threw away opportunities to get to league semis under this system a couple of times. Hard to believe after the despair of last year we are in one.

We are are very well drilled, fit, highly motivated team with the confidence to stick to the plan, the way we steadied after Galways initial second half spurt is so encouraging.... But at the same time Galway were totally leaderless..

Still roll on three weeks

first time in semis since 2007 , how did we do that year again ?

TyrionPower · 29-03-2015 8:52pm

seananigans wrote: »

first time in semis since 2007 , how did we do that year again ?

And you know what it was all nice and calm after the final whistle from what I could see, now big celebrations of histrionics from the players, got the win move on to the next one

skaface · 29-03-2015 9:13pm

Are we sure semi finals are on in Thurles ??
Last year they were on in Limerick.
I'd rather Thurles any day!!

TyrionPower · 29-03-2015 9:15pm

skaface wrote: »

Are we sure semi finals are on in Thurles ??
Last year they were on in Limerick.
I'd rather Thurles any day!!

Not sure just going by previous posts. Haven't heard anything official

hurler on de ditch · 29-03-2015 9:51pm

Great win today ,knew they could do it from 1 to 23 were unbelievable,one of the best performances iv'e seen in years ,fantastic superb ,,up the Deise

stumblingblock · 29-03-2015 9:55pm

hurler on de ditch wrote: »

Great win today ,knew they could do it from 1 to 23 were unbelievable,one of the best performances iv'e seen in years ,fantastic superb ,,up the Deise

Are you goin soft on us lad? ðŸ˜‰

redlead · 29-03-2015 10:03pm

stumblingblock wrote: »

Are you goin soft on us lad? ðŸ˜‰

Next thing we know PTH will be on predicting a Waterford win against Tipp!

deiseach · 29-03-2015 10:12pm

redlead wrote: »

Next thing we know PTH will be on predicting a Waterford win against Tipp!

That's it, we're screwed.

Cake Man · 29-03-2015 10:34pm

Very well done to the lads today, great win and showed character to withstand Galways onslaught at the start of the second half. I kind of feared the worst when Galway rattled off a few scores without reply but we got scores at the right times. Good that Gal only had one decent chance in goal which was well saved by Iggy but not so good that we barely threatened their goal (I was listening on WLR so I'm open to correction by anyone at the game).

Aussie, Tadgh, Barron, BOH, Moran all seemed to do very well, the backs were solid. Tipp in 3 weeks will be a serious challenge against arguably the most in form team in the country. I don't think many of us expect a win but a good showing and it won't do us any harm. We're in bonus territory now so anything can happen and its a nice position to be in when we'll be written off.

Would people mind playing Tipp in Thurles? I wouldn't tbh, I think we need s game there as the last time we played there was last May/June v Cork so a run out there to refamiliarise ourselves doesn't bother me.

stumblingblock · 29-03-2015 11:33pm

I’m a happy man, had a nice little wager on us to come out on top and I wasn’t disappointed. Even more pleasing obviously is the performance and victory. Tipp will be another step up again but a challenge I think the lads will relish such is the confidence they are playing with at the moment. Win lose or draw I think we are in great shape going into the championship. We know what our best team is, were improving all the time and these young players are playing with so much confidence now. There is a system in place and like it or lump it we are getting results. I think this notion of 1B teams being at a huge disadvantage to 1A teams was blown out of the water today. Wexford pushed Cork all the way aswell today so our win last week was better than many of the critics have given us credit for.

archieknox · 29-03-2015 11:39pm

Genuine question for ye- If for some reason we do fall behind against Tipp lets say by about 6-7 pts is there a plan B or will this game plan be followed to the end? Now I am genuinely asking the question because I am curious to know as I don't honestly have the answer.

HatchetMan7 · 30-03-2015 12:15am

IMO i think that as the ground drys up and playing in bigger pitches like Thurlas and Croke park that our defensive style won't be as effective and we'll become more attacking as the year goes on. I felt sorry for Stevie Bennett as the ball coming into him wasn't accurate enough and the extra Galway defender picked up alot of loose ball. I think the Tipp game will tell us alot as i think we are in bonus territory now. Tipp are the team to beat this year and to play them this early is great for Waterford just to see exactly where we are. It will be interesting to see what type of game we play but i would imagine they'll start with a defensive set up and keep it tight early on. If Waterford did fall 6/7 points behind they'll have no choice but to push more players forward. Tipp certainly won't be as naive as Wexford or Galway. They'll have there homework done and their extra defender will use the ball alot better the previous opposition have.

Ropaire · 30-03-2015 12:17am

archieknox wrote: »

Genuine question for ye- If for some reason we do fall behind against Tipp lets say by about 6-7 pts is there a plan B or will this game plan be followed to the end? Now I am genuinely asking the question because I am curious to know as I don't honestly have the answer.

We won't know until we're in that position, i'd expect us to stay the same way to be honest but maybe move a target man closer to goals. We were excellent today, thought Galway lost the match when they decided to play into the wind first half. Once we got ahead we never looked like getting caught, the workrate and skill levels were very impressive and the lads oozed confidence. Thought Maurice was excellent when he came on, we didn't have a clear goal chance but O'Halloran and Maurice were both hauled down when they had put the head down and started running in on goals. A support runner for either would have given us a better chance of opening up a route to goal, minor gripe but there isn't a huge amount of tweaking needed to give us a goal threat that we're missing!

TyrionPower · 30-03-2015 8:51am

I was thinking there that there is no real hope of seeing the best out the likes of Stephen Bennett with this system.
It can't be too appealing to Patrick Curran to come on to the panel and play that role either...
A guy that could hold up the ball for a few seconds by working and harassing is preferential to the outstanding forward talent we have been producing...
Hopefully I am wrong on that but time will tell

blueflame · 30-03-2015 8:59am

Delighted with the result, delighted with work rate, but still very unsure about the system. First 10 minutes of second half Galway tore us to shreds, and I am sure everyone felt we were in big trouble. In fairness we did steady the ship but that 10 minutes enough to sound serious warning bells.

Our defensive system is working mainly because we have at the moment a rather exceptional set of backs particularly half backs who are on top of their game. It still worries me that at one stage yesterday we had five backs around Joe Canning but he had 10 yards of space as each looked defender looked to the other to pick him up. The old saying "too many cooks....." comes to mind.

We have got to stop isolating the full forward as much as we are. At different stages yesterday Jake and Maurice won great ball in the full forward line but were so isolated we had no hope of fashioning a goal or threatening to do so. Stephen Bennett was just so frustrated it was unreal. You can pull our forwards deep to flood midfield and even pull out one corner forward but we must have a minimum of two inside forward to function.

One this is certain, that is that we do have the hurlers to make a big push over the next couple of years and to compete at the top.

Deise_2012 · 30-03-2015 9:00am

TyrionPower wrote: »

I was thinking there that there is no real hope of seeing the best out the likes of Stephen Bennett with this system.
It can't be too appealing to Patrick Curran to come on to the panel and play that role either...
A guy that could hold up the ball for a few seconds by working and harassing is preferential to the outstanding forward talent we have been producing...
Hopefully I am wrong on that but time will tell

I agree, I was delighted with the work rate yesterday and of course the result. But seeing Bennett surrounded by an extra defender every time, he wasn't able to run at them or utilise his strengths, I can imagine how frustrating it must be for him

deiseach · 30-03-2015 10:24am

I suppose the concern for everyone is whether they have a plan B. We seem to have had awfully convenient opposition so far. No better buachaillí than Galway to react to a strange gameplan by adopting a rabbit-in-a-headlight position. But there is so much to be pleased with. The players look teak tough, blowing teams out of it, the fitness levels are up - I'm certain we'd have closed out the drawn game against Cork last year if were as fit then as we look now - and there was a real swagger about us which translated into some great scoring. There was no wild over-the-shoulder rubbish. It's great we're playing Tipp, just the people to puncture any false confidence.

Deise Vu · 30-03-2015 12:31pm

Was Soky injured? Iggy performed well making one crucial save but I would like to see a definite No 1 for goal and that has to be Soky on age grounds alone.

Outside of that quibble, it was the most heartening display I have seen in a while. Solid full back line, talented half-backs and midfield (the sky's the limit for that half-back line if they keep their feet on the ground) and hard working honest forwards.

What we are missing is a bit of star dust in the forwards. We know there are goals in Stephen Bennett , Patrick Curran (when he gradates to this level) and maybe Maurice and Brian O'H. The trouble is we will never see it playing one forward up front on two or even three defenders. It was soul destroying in the stand watching Bennett trying to deal with two defenders on his own or watching a half-back, with time to burn, delaying delivery looking for an opening that was never going to materialise until he was eventually swallowed up. God knows what it was like for Bennett, all that hard work only to be the first substituted.

There is no arguing with results though and, like previous posters, I am looking forward to seeing this young skilful team playing on bigger and better pitches. If their handling and execution is that good on a horrible march day in Walsh Park, what will it be like on a sunny Temple Stadium? Exciting times could be on the way back again.

Professey Chin · 30-03-2015 12:38pm

Cant really complain about that display at all. On top for the majority, comfortable, good scoring and the occasional flash of brilliance. There was one lovely move with Tom Devine flicking it over back over his head and 2 Galway players to a player running in and a point came off it.

2 things that I hope get worked on are our backs releasing the ball faster. It seemed like no matter how much time and space they had, they always ended up having to break a tackle or 2 instead of clearing it. Second would be players running with someone to help. Brick won the ball at one stage and had to stop and turn over and over because nobody was running for a lay off.

Mountainlad · 30-03-2015 12:42pm

I think the player with the greatest capacity to get goals is,Dunford, but while I saw him up there chasing balls played into Dillon as the second full forward, I also have seen him back in his own halfback line the last two games at times. The faster players seem to be swapping out to play a deeper role and track back. Like anything, pros and cons.

deiseach · 30-03-2015 1:01pm

Semi-finals are going to be in Nowlan Park. Great idea, if you ask me. I'd rather a venue was approaching capacity rather than have everyone rattle around in Thurles.

TyrionPower · 30-03-2015 1:20pm

We were lucky to finish with 15 as well Philip Mahony by the letter of the law should have gone for pulling off the galways centre backs helmet during the flare up. He played very well actually uses the ball very well and is as strong as an ox. Great to seem him back so strong after his injury.

Two more Committed players then the o mahonys you couldnt meet

blueflame · 30-03-2015 2:17pm

Have to agree with backs holding the ball a bit longer than necessary too often for my liking. Noticed De Burca several times waiting and trying a side step instead of releasing the ball when not under pressure. This unfortunately appears t be part of the possession game but we do need to vary it. Also agree we need to keep the likes of Dunford closer to goal where he does most damage. The game plan we are trying to master demands a massive running effort particularly from the forwards and this i fear will show toward the end of tight games. Too many times we end up isolated.

With regards to the Mahony's Philip, delighted to see him back and getting a sustained run. Solid out, no nonsense defender, just goes about this business and seldom looks troubled. As regards Paudi, i have read on here and heard at games, lads saying he only contributes from frees, - RUBBISH - the get through a massive amount of work, is always making himself available and wins more than his fair share of dirty ball. Almost always contributes a couple of scores from play and is still only learning his trade, and had a long injury lay off - there is much more to come from this lad,.

Giveitfong · 30-03-2015 2:25pm

If/when Darragh Fives returns, we could move Austin Gleeson to the forwards. Imagine a forward line with Maurice, Pauric Mahony and Brick in the half forwards, Gleeson at full forward with Colin Dunford and Stephen Bennett in the corners. There would be a read goal scoring threat there and with that full forward line we could well afford to go 15 on 15 (given a half back line of Fives, De Búrca and Philip Mahony).

And that doesn't include Jake Dillon, Shane Bennett, Tom Devine or Brian O'Halloran. And in time we will have Patrick Curran and perhaps DJ Foran in the mix. Hopefully Stephen Daniels will also be returning soon. Could be a bright future for the Déise!

TyrionPower · 30-03-2015 2:33pm

Does anyone know how close Stephen Daniels is to returning? A serious hurler

Giveitfong · 30-03-2015 3:16pm

Cistercian College Roscrea 1-13 St. Declan’s Community College Kilmacthomas 0-11

It will offer little consolation to St. Declan’s, but they are to be applauded for their contribution to a marvellously absorbing All-Ireland Schools C hurling final in Carlow last Saturday. This was an excellent game of hurling and you wondered at the end that if is the C division, what must A division hurling be like?

While based in the town of Roscrea, Cistercian College is actually located on the Offaly side of the county boundary which runs through the town, and competes in the province of Leinster. In fact, the school’s rugby team won the Leinster Senior Cup for the first time this year.

Despite the five-point difference at the end, this was a game which St. Declan’s could well have won, given the amount of possession they enjoyed for much of the game. However, their inability to turn this possession into scores, especially in the second half, was to prove their undoing.

The game was dominated by a very strong wind blowing straight down the pitch. With the wind at their backs, St. Declan’s started very strongly, but initially found it hard to make an impression on the scoreboard. However, as their pressure began to force the Roscrea rearguard into fouls, excellent freetaker Jamie Murphy exerted full retribution, nailing five frees and a 65 (plus one from play) in the first half.

Led by their captain, Martin Phelan, at midfield, Cistercian College did fight their way back into the game to put some scores on the board, but St. Declan’s finished the half strongly to go in at half-time 0-11 to 0-4 ahead. Indeed, it could have been more, given that they also shot seven wides. In addition, full forward John Kennedy was unlucky to see his screamer for the top left hand corner go inches over the bar. Against this, at the other end the St. Declan’s goalie Ryan Murray was forced to make a brilliant save to deny the Cistercian College full forward in the 28th minute.

Cistercian College started the second half strongly and got the vital breakthrough with a goal in the 35th minute. St. Declan’s were desperately unlucky when corner forward Craig Fraher’s rasper went inches wide of the post in the 40th minute. Cistercian College drew level in the 43rd minute and just a minute later St. Declan’s bad luck continued when centre forward Ciarán Kirwan’s shot again went the wrong side of the post. Cistercian College were hitting some excellent long-range points and finally went ahead in the 48th minute.

St. Declan’s continued to take the game to their opponents with strong running from midfield and the half forwards, but shooting into the strong wind was difficult while the Cistercian College full backs had the upper hand when the ball was played into their area. At the other end, they made maximum use of wind advantage to tack on further points.

St. Declan’s last chance went abegging when substitute Kevin Cheasty made a great catch in front of the goal but his shot was deflected outside the post with the umpire, amazingly, signalling the ball wide.

St. Declan’s can feel proud, not only of reaching the All-Ireland final, but of putting in an excellent team performance here led by their outstanding centre back and captain, Calum Lyons.

St. Declan’s: Ryan Murray (Ballyduff Lower); Noah O’Brien (Clonea); Craig Tyrrell (Ballyduff Lower); Billy Power (Clonea); Conor Dalton (Clonea); Calum Lyons (Ballyduff Lower); Dylan Reade (Ballyduff Lower); Cormac Dunphy (Ballyduff Lower) (0-2); Eoghan Casey (Dunhill); Ciarán Kirwan (Kill); Jamie Murphy (Portlaw) (0-7, five frees, one 65); Jake Scanlan (Portlaw); Craig Fraher (Portlaw) (0-1); John Kennedy (Ballyduff Lower) (0-1); Eoin Bray (Clonea).

There were other substitutes apart from Kevin Cheasty but I didn’t take a note of their names. The full substitutes list was Niall Power (Dunhill); Alan Fitzsimons (Kilmacthomas); Ben Kennedy (Ballyduff Lower); Colm Dempsey (Ballyduff Lower); Ross Coffey-O’Shea (Ballyduff Lower); Gearóid Murphy (Dunhill); Jeff Halley (St. Mary’s); Jonathan Long (Kilmacthomas); Kevin Cheasty (Ballyduff Lower).

waterfordgirl · 30-03-2015 9:42pm

Anyone know how the footballers got on yesterday? (The London game was yesterday, wasnt it?!)

Mountainlad · 30-03-2015 9:44pm

waterfordgirl wrote: »

Anyone know how the footballers got on yesterday? (The London game was yesterday, wasnt it?!)

Draw, 6-5 to 2-17. London got a last gasp goal.

tomwaterford · 30-03-2015 9:44pm

waterfordgirl wrote: »

Anyone know how the footballers got on yesterday? (The London game was yesterday, wasnt it?!)

draw afaik

Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 3 ***Updated Mod Note Post 1***

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Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 3 Updated Mod Note Post 1