*Limerick GAA news/discussion thread*

Just going to throw down a few points on yesterday.

Firstly, delighted to be back in the semi final this year. I'd have taken any victory yesterday but it was very pleasing to put in a performance like yesterday against a team like Wexford. We don't ever really give any team a trimming so that was satisfying enough.

Was extremely happy with the hunger our forwards showed in the first half. Some of the hooking and blocking and the pressure play was exceptional. We forced Wexford into a lot of mistakes and we took some of our scores very well along with hitting some incredibly bad wides.

I thought our half back line was in trouble after 15 minutes as Wexford were getting a bit of joy when they ran at us. They started to get on top soon after and when Wexford hit their bad wides and missed their goal chance I felt the result was never in doubt.

Very happy with Hannon's performance. He really got involved in the game and won some important frees. A good performance from him so I was delighted for the lad. Hopefully he can kick on and put in a performance against Kilkenny. Mulcahy has found some form. Great effort from him and I felt he was our best man against Cork. Dowling got some lovely scores. He has some ability in fairness to him and leaves us all think what might have been had he actually started against Clare last year. Downes won some good ball but he hit some very bad wides and he'll be disappointed with them.

Full back line put in a very accomplished performance again with Hickey having a great day in the corner.

Very happy for TJ. Not many expected us to be here after the Donal O'Grady episode at the start of the year but the way we reacted to that shows the hunger and drive that's in the squad. We have to believe now that we can go and beat Kilkenny. It'll be a big day out in Croke park with a massive crowd and it's set up for us to have a right crack off Kilkenny. Luimneach abú

Thoughts on each player:

Quaid- I'd be one of the people who would like to see him moved outfield, because I think he could be the answer to our half-back problems, and Aaron Murphy is a fine keeper. But he's just so reliable in goal, safe as a house under the high ball, never loses the ball, his puck-outs were top class yesterday, made most saves he had to make and couldn't do anything about the goal. Excellent again. 8/10.

Condon- Wexford didn't really threaten much inside, Condon was a lot more solid than he was against Cadogan. Couple of mistakes but I wouldn't worry about him. 7/10.

McCarthy- The best full-back in the country at the moment. McDonald had some joy when he moved out to centre-forward, I think he scored 1 off McCarthy, but Richie was dominant. So strong, a very intelligent hurler. Okay, the ball in wasn't always the greatest, but he was excellent. And his block with his head, and being subbed off to a rousing reception. Class. 8/10.

Hickey- He even out-did McCarthy. McGovern had been identified as one of the biggest threats, he caused huge problems for Clare in particular, getting Browne sent off. Hickey completely cleaned him out, was a fantastic display of corner-back play. Everything went right for him- in the air, on the ground, in possession. Class. 9/10.

O'Brien- I thought he was a bit better than the last day but Diarmuid O'Keeffe did cause us problems on that side and he made a horrific error for the goal. Was mostly good on the ball. Still wouldn't be against a switch, but seems unlikely now. 6/10.

Wayne- Bit shaky early on, McDonald scored 2 points when he moved out to centre-forward and he let Podge Doran escape too easily. But scored a wonder point, and is so strong. I think he did well, but can do better. Definitely think he's more suited to the wing than the centre, but he's not going to be moved at this stage. 7/10.

Gavin- A few people are saying he was very weak, I watched the game back and thought he was okay. Not brilliant, not at his best, but better. Made a couple of excellent interceptions. Would still worry about him in the air or tracking the movement of someone like TJ Reid. But he did better. 7/10.

Jim-Bob- What a man he is, an absolute warrior. Again, covers so much ground... if Hogan, Kearney & Walsh weren't all in top form too, I'd be saying both our midfielders would be shoo-ins for All-Stars, but there is so much quality in that area these days. One bad wide, but 2 good points, some great hard running. His move back to midfield has worked excellently for us. 9/10.

Browne- Brilliant performance from him too, again hit a couple of bad wides, scored one good point, and took his goal well. But he uses the ball so intelligently, he's always there as an option to pass to and if we are to go further, he'll be key. 9/10.

Breen- Wiped Ciaran Kenny out, showing aerial prowess that we wouldn't always associate with him. Very hard to stop when he gets going too... scored 1 goal, directly assisted 2... probably should have had another if he didn't make the basic error of catching the ball 3 times. In excellent form, and brings balance to our forwards. One of his best displays for Limerick. 9/10.

Hannon- Also class, the move to centre-forward was a master-stroke by TJ and he can't be moved from there now, even if it is Brian Hogan he's up against. He couldn't catch a ball and wasn't fighting for it the last day, but he won a few great balls against a Wexford half-back line which had been known for its aerial ability. Scored 0-4, picked up the space well, could have had a goal or two... put his body on the line as well a couple of times, and showed the commitment we need. 9/10.

Ryan- He did well. Worked very hard, has a huge engine and his defensive contribution in the first half was superb, made one great intervention in particular. Hit a couple of bad wides, but finished with 0-3. He's not a forward tbf to him, and he's unlucky not to be starting at wing-back, because you'd imagine Dodge will be back the next day. 8/10.

Downes- Oh Downesy..... such a frustrating day for him. 5 times I think he did brilliantly to beat his man and set up what looked like a fairly handy score. And 5 times he put the ball wide. I don't think he's suited to playing in the corner tbh, but he still should be doing better. The fact that he's winning the ball, doing the work, and beating his man is good... but sometimes he takes the wrong option, and then his confidence must have taken a beating, because he missed some easy chances. He's probably the forward most in danger of losing his place now, but still a threat..... hard to know what to do... 5/10.

Dowling- Absolutely class. 2-3 from play, unerring from frees, his handpass to Breen for the 1st goal was genius. 2 real poacher's finishes, unlucky not to get a hat-trick (great intervention by Ryan). He's not the quickest, but he's very very smart, he's able to create space for himself, he creates chances for others and when he gets the ball in hand, he's lethal. Did miss a few chances and that's something to work on. 9/10.

Mulcahy- My man-of-the-match was Mulcahy, because I think he tortured Ryan. Broke some amount of ball for a small guy, he's impossible to stop, and he'll be frustrated he didn't score more. Set up a huge amount, but went for goal a few times when it wasn't on... I know the game was over, but he should have just taken his points. Great to see him in this kind of form though, he caused major problems for KK in 2012, I hope he'll do so again. 9/10.




Tobin was class from the bench, scored 0-3, won some great ball, did lay down a marker but I imagine TJ will opt against throwing him in, he's just not as physically strong as Downesy. Walsh was very solid again.... I would be in favour of bringing him into the corner (even if his mistake against KK in 2012 really killed us). Moran was very quiet, looked rusty. Tommy O'Brien didn't touch the ball, which was a real pity, because he's so pacy and a threat with ball in hand. King didn't have much time tbh.


A great win... I know Wexford weren't good, but we obliterated them in the 1st half, all the match-ups went our way, we played a really good style of hurling that suited the players we have. It won't be as easy against KK, but that was promising. Still need the few tweaks... half-back is still a major problem, and how do we contain Richie Hogan? But still... to have Dowling, Hannon, Breen & Mul in that form is just great, and Dodge to come back.

slegs wrote: »

Does anyone know if you can pick your seat location i.e. block and row on the SuperValu ticket interface or is it the same as tickets.ie where you can only pick the stand and the block is whatever they are selling at that time?

No you can't pick the seat.

One thing in relation to O'Grady/TJ... O'Grady did great work with us in 2011, he got us set after a disastrous year. But I don't think he should have come back in the 1st place, I'm not sure he ever wanted it, and he's perhaps a bit too stubborn with regard to his style of play. Limerick have some players suited to playing how he wanted, but others need more direct ball. It may have come good, it mightn't have, but so far TJ does seem to be playing a nice mix of styles that suits us. I would have liked an experienced coach to come into to join the group, but they seem to be doing fairly well... just being a bit quicker on the sideline would be my main complaint. But we're doing better than I'd have thought after Galway hammered us in the league, we were awful that day.

paddy no 11 wrote: »

Im going to totally disagree with you on the half backs. We lost v cork because of them, and in the first 20 yesterday when the game was on they were well beaten (GOM being very poor again). It'll be a shame to leave an all ireland behind us because of something that is so obvious. Every other line on the field is good enough to beat Kilkenny, this line are currently underperforming and unless there's a massive turnaround in form we wont hold reid and walsh.

I didn't think they were great against Wexford, but I thought they were much better than the previous 2 days.

I'd still swap the 2 of them for Hickey & Tom Ryan, but I can't see that happening after he didn't make the changes after the Munster final. The talk of Hannon switching back there, or possibly even Breen didn't happen either... I just don't think he trusts others there yet. It could be costly alright.

paddy no 11 wrote: »

Downes playing great, just shooting off balance needs to settle and he'll be MOTM the next day.

Your right on breen, he stepped left and the ball was too close so he caught when he couldnt strike, still mulcahy was unmarked if he looked up he'd have seen him and could have tapped the ball across to him for an easy goal, its getting serious now, some criticism might seem petty but they'll all count for the next 2 games

Yeah Hannon 11, dodge 10 (would be Ryan 7 for me but TJ will go same again)

Agreed on Hannon centre-forward, Dodge & Breen wing-forwards for now. But if Downes holds his place, he cannot afford to be as wayward again... you can't miss easy chances like those.

At least our 21s didn't get embarrassed to the same degree against Clare as Cork did. Clare were slightly better today, but we were a bit tighter defensively in the first half. Still doesn't excuse our performance, I don't think, I think that team had some good players, some who will go on to play senior.


I do think it's disappointing that our U-21 team from 2011, which had a lot of very young players for the grade, didn't do more at that level. It has produced a good few senior players alright- Hannon, Mulcahy, Dowling, Downes, Dempsey, Allis, etc. but most of those were underage again the following year.

Let's hope the minor teams of the last 2 years can do more up along the grades.

if they wast the amount of chanches as they have in the last two games, then its all over against kk, no teaam can afford that many wides when they reach the buisness end of a compition.

mickaleen wrote: »

I would imagine Limerick will line out v KK with one change. O'Grady in for T Ryan. I think O'Grady should come in but I would have T Ryan play at 5 or 7. Take your pick as both have been poor in the past two matches. 7 in my view being the more obvious one. Conceded alot of possession v Wexford, one which cost us a goal. Also I think Condon is a liability in the corner. Up front Downes needs to find his radar again. If he does Limerick will have a very good forward unit. He hit 4 very poor wides the last day and two terrible wides v Cork. Anyway, apart from all that, Limerick are going to be a massive challenge for KK. Limerick by 2.

Agree on Tom Ryan, for sure, although I think Paudie was more at fault for the goal... whatever about the concession of possession, he should have cut it out. Ideally, we'd replace both imo- Hickey & Ryan coming in.

Would disagree about Condon... a liability? He's our best corner-back imo, got a tough time off Cadogan but he's better than Walsh, Carmody, King.

Obviously Downes needs to find his radar, his shooting the last day was woeful.

I hear Kilkenny are flying it in training.

I do think it's probably harsh to single out some players over others, as they are working well as a unit.


If you took McCarthy out of the team, we'd be a lot weaker, because he is our only proper full-back. If you took Hickey out, we'd be weaker. If you took either Jim-Bob or Browne out, we'd definitely be weaker. And the same for Dowling, Mulcahy and Breen.

I wouldn't have said Breen is an "exciting hurler", he's probably not as naturally talented as the other forwards we have. But he's a big strong unit and he works very very hard... very hard to stop when he gets running at a defence.

BarcodeMuncher wrote: »

Anyone know where tickets for the hill would be available?

Tickets.ie
Or any centra or super value store