Clare V Limerick

Keano

Never really much between the teams bar the heavy defeat last year.

Edit: Forgot the draw option

knightmare

Limerick by 4....no wait a Draw. Yip back the draw

premierstone

Fancy clare for this one, momentum is a powerfull thing in hurling and besides i think that Limerick performed above themselves last year and got a couple of lucky breaks really think they will struggle to match that this year!!

Not convinced by Bennis's(or Kirby's if the rumours are true) team selection either a championship debutant at centre back, riordan too small at corner back imo and the full forward line would'nt go in to a dark room then again this is the munster championship and anything could happen and limerick have some class hurlers and have one of the few half forward lines around that can win clean possesion so who knows, should be a cracker though!!

lanod2407

Premierstone - what part of Ahane are you from?

IM(v biased)O - Clare have a huge edge having played a game already, but I don't see Limerick's backs giving Clare the space they had 3 weeks ago. Need the Limerick forwards to perform - and Clare backs shouldn't have it as easy again - only one of 6 Waterford forwards turned up on the day.
Word is that O'Connor is performing well - more than a handful for Lohan if he gets good ball, then there's the pair of terriers tearing in from the corners to add to Clare's full-back line problems.

The Waterford game will stand to Clare in a big way - but the question is whether or not they can improve significantly on their last outing.

Limerick by 3.

premierstone

lanod2407 wrote: »

Premierstone - what part of Ahane are you from?

The Waterford game will stand to Clare in a big way - but the question is whether or not they can improve significantly on their last outing.

Limerick by 3.

Ahane??? I dont think so wrong county for a start

Not trying to upset anyone from Limerick or anything but why do you think clare need to improve to beat limerick a repeat of their performance against waterford will be enough to win this game imo!!

lanod2407

"Location: the home of hurling" .......... = Ahane!!! End of!


Waterford would have made Offaly look good 3 weeks ago - so exactly how good are Clare???

premierstone

lanod2407 wrote: »

"Location: the home of hurling" .......... = Ahane!!! End of!


Waterford would have made Offaly look good 3 weeks ago - so exactly how good are Clare???

Think we all know where the real home of hurling is friend - take a photo if ur goin on sunday

There is no doubt that waterford were poor, but clare deserve credit for the way they hurled aswell and as the sayin goes u can only beat whats in front of you, i think you might be underestimating clares forwards btw they actually have a very decent set of forwards, probably far superior than the forwards that won two all-irelands edit that should read forward !!;)

Evil_Clown

Goin to this on Sunday and i'm really lookin forward to it. Clare have not had a second Munster Championship game in a few years so everyone is really excited about the prospect. I think the players that Limerick will be missing could be the key here (Geary, Begley, Mcnamara), It will be close and could go either way but i'm hoping for a Banner win, just !!

Pigletlover

Tough one to call, Clare will be on a bit of a high after their win over Waterford, but Waterford were terrible so it's hard to tell where they're really at. There's been a lot of talk about Limerick's poor League campaign, but Clare's was far from impressive. I'm going to say Limerick to win.

Pigletlover

Does anyone know if there's a big demand for tickets? Just tried buying some on Ticketmaster and they're not on sale any more. Should I get them handy enough in Thurles on Sunday?

buck65

Terrace will be available

Erin Go Brath

I'm going to be biased and go for a Limerick win, albeit a tentative one. I'm basing this on absolutely nothing though. It should be a good game, looking forward to it.

grenache

premierstone wrote: »

Fancy clare for this one, momentum is a powerfull thing in hurling and besides i think that Limerick performed above themselves last year.

Performed above themselves? You seem to conveniently forget that the bones of this team has 2 or 3 All Ireland U-21 medals in their pocket. For me last year was the natural progression of a group of talented players at senior level. This year we would hope that they would progress a few more steps forward. Its not surprising, Limerick had to come good some time.

premierstone wrote: »

got a couple of lucky breaks really think they will struggle to match that this year.

What lucky breaks did they get that they didn't make for themselves? Do Tipp, Cork, Kilkenny not get lucky breaks?? Good teams get lucky breaks.

premierstone wrote: »

riordan too small at corner back imo

He is the same height as Eamon Corcoran, is he too small as well?

premierstone wrote: »

the full forward line would'nt go in to a dark room

Now you've really lost the run of yourself

On a separate note, my father was talking with Gary Kirby in Patrickswell tonight, and he said that Limerick had sold around 15,000 tickets so far, and that they expect it to be near the 20k mark by Sunday. Assuming Clare sell the same amount, you're looking at an attendance of between 35-40k on Sunday.

marco_polo

I hope we can win, but this is a very talented Limerick side though who will be looking to build on the progress made last year. Just hope it is a good game in any case.

At least we won a game in Munster already this year, that is progress enough for me. I'm not sure I would be able to cope withe the excitement of a Munster Final for the first time in 9 odd years.

deisedevil

marco_polo wrote: »

I hope we can win, but this is a very talented Limerick side though who will be looking to build on the progress made last year. Just hope it is a good game in any case.

At least we won a game in Munster already this year, that is progress enough for me. I'm not sure I would be able to cope withe the excitement of a Munster Final for the first time in 9 odd years.

I have my doubts about how "talented" they really are. I think they played out of their skins last year and that they put in such a huge effort that they got more than what they would usually be capable of. This year will be a big test of this team and I can see them fallling short of the mark again. (I'd love to see them win Munster though)

deisedevil

deisedevil wrote: »

I have my doubts about how "talented" they really are. I think they played out of their skins last year and that they put in such a huge effort that they got more than what they would usually be capable of. This year will be a big test of this team and I can see them fallling short of the mark again. (I'd love to see them win Munster though)

Tipp must have been rubbing the hands watching that match.

Limerick were rubbish, just as I thought, they put in a massive effort effort last year and had nothing to follow it up this year. What a pity.

Clarehobo

deisedevil wrote: »

Tipp must have been rubbing the hands watching that match.

Limerick were rubbish, just as I thought, they put in a massive effort effort last year and had nothing to follow it up this year. What a pity.

Yup - Neither side deserved to be in the Munster final by their performance today: Tipp will get a walkover on the 13th.
Clare have been extremely lucky so far, the hurling is well below what is expected from a Munster team & the breeze had too much of an impact on their game today. The last day against Waterford they took a few nice points from mid-field but no such hurling today.

Orizio

It was clear even last year that Limerick were one of the least talented major hurling teams. No one can tell me they are as skillful as Cork, Kilkenny, Tipp, Galway or Waterford.

Glad Clare won. Limerick's 'style' of hurling isn't very entertaining.

grenache

4 goals for Clare and 3 of them absolute presents. Shocking display from Limerick and in particular their half back line, the sooner Brian Geary comes back the better - Paudie O'Dwyer out of his depth.

Clare midfield impressed me, especially Brian O'Connell, although i did think Limerick through O'Brien and O'Grady competed very well there. Frank Lohan was also on top of his game against Seanie O'Connor although Limerick played into Clare's hands by delivering absolutely no quality low ball into Andrew O'Shaughnessy........Limerick never seem to make proper use of such a talent. Clare played with huge intensity and will relish the challenge of Tipp, who i presume will not be handing out presents of goals like Limerick did today. Tipp to shade it, but it will be closer than people think.

But the last bit is left for something i don't think i've seen happen in inter-county hurling before, a player not managing to touch the ball even once in 45 minutes of hurling - take a bow Donnacha Sheehan. :eek: How on earth he managed to not be subbed at half time i cannot comprehend

grenache

Orizio wrote: »

It was clear even last year that Limerick were one of the least talented major hurling teams. No one can tell me they are as skillful as Cork, Kilkenny, Tipp, Galway or Waterford.

Glad Clare won. Limerick's 'style' of hurling isn't very entertaining.

And Clare's is?? You telling me that the Limerick-Tipp trilogy of last year was not entertaining?

seany2929

Well done to the Clare lads...another victory under the belt when many people felt waterford was a fluke or were using the whole justin mcCarthy fiasco or the missing players as an excuse for Waterfords loss.They must be given some credit for their 2 wins.
Slowly but surely clare hurling is gettin good again under the guidance of Mike McNamara and we have have a Munster final to look forward to in the Gaelic grounds.I know Tipp wiil be big favs for this game but they better be prepared for 1 hell of a game cause i can assure you Clare will more than put it up to them:):):):)

A Munster win would nearly feel like an All Ireland to us at this stage!!!:D

seany2929

Well done to the Clare lads...another victory under the belt when many people felt waterford was a fluke or were using the whole justin mcCarthy fiasco or the missing players as an excuse for Waterfords loss.They must be given some credit for their 2 wins.
Slowly but surely clare hurling is gettin good again under the guidance of Mike McNamara and we have have a Munster final to look forward to in the Gaelic grounds.I know Tipp wiil be big favs for this game but they better be prepared for 1 hell of a game cause i can assure you Clare will more than put it up to them

A Munster win would nearly feel like an All Ireland to us at this stage!!!

Keano

Come on the banner!

A poor game yesterday not helped by a bad referee. I thought Limerick carried a few passengers and should have taken them off. Clare played with great spirit something that Mike Mac has instilled.

Pigletlover

Terrible game yesterday with a brutal referee, but well done to Clare. I can't see Tipp giving away the goals Limerick did yesterday, but I think it will be tighter than people think. It will be Clare's first Munster Final in 9 years and they will fancy their chances, but they will have to raise their game, so far they have only beaten two very bad sides.

Zzippy

Fair play to Clare alright, was an entertaining game, but I think Tipp won't be too worried by what they saw yesterday. They certainly won't defend as generously as Limerick did - at least 2 of the goals were very soft and should never have been conceded. Could have been a very different game otherwise.

Brendan Bugler will be a big loss to Clare for the Munster final too, thought the sending off was a bit harsh, there were 2 of them at it and the Limerick player made a meal of it.

lanod2407

It is with a heavy heart that I must ask what the schedule for the Qualifiers is - having believed that any interest I might have in the qualifiers would be of an academic nature!!

When / How will the draw be made for the Qualifiers?
How is it structured? Will the winners of the first games be put into a draw again for the next round, or is there a structured play-off sequence?


A Munster Final place gifted to Clare - defensive blunders and Bennis not making changes in the forward lines when needed, added to by the fact that Limerick were second to the ball on too many occasions and the lack of competitive match practice for the chosen 15 ........ what a disaster!

When is Geary due back, and ........... dare I ask - where is Peter Lawlor these days???

premierstone

grenache wrote: »

Performed above themselves? You seem to conveniently forget that the bones of this team has 2 or 3 All Ireland U-21 medals in their pocket. For me last year was the natural progression of a group of talented players at senior level. This year we would hope that they would progress a few more steps forward. Its not surprising, Limerick had to come good some time.

What lucky breaks did they get that they didn't make for themselves? Do Tipp, Cork, Kilkenny not get lucky breaks?? Good teams get lucky breaks.

He is the same height as Eamon Corcoran, is he too small as well?

Now you've really lost the run of yourself

On a separate note, my father was talking with Gary Kirby in Patrickswell tonight, and he said that Limerick had sold around 15,000 tickets so far, and that they expect it to be near the 20k mark by Sunday. Assuming Clare sell the same amount, you're looking at an attendance of between 35-40k on Sunday.

I'll try and answer your questions one at a time grenache, firstly success at under age level does not guarantee anything and assuming that ''its only a matter of time'' would seem to have been a big problem in Limerick ( check also Laois footballers)

The lucky breaks i refer to were playing one of the worst prepared and organised Tipp teams in recent memory and takin over 4 hours to beat them and then playing a waterford team that were dead on their feet after playing the two previous weekends.

On the Mark o'Riordan issue, where did i say height?? I said size , big difference, one of Eamon Corcoran's shoulders would be bigger than both of riordans!!

And i think i was quite justified in my analysis of Limericks full forward line two of the three taken off and while the other is undoubtedly one of the best free takers in the country and a great finisher if he is handed the ball he wouldnt win a 50-50 ball in an u-12 match!!

BOSTIK

Never thought Limerick would cough up so many goals, 3 of them should never have been allowed happen. What must worry Clare was the low points tally this time, as lads have mentioned Tipp will hardly be so generous with the green flags. Clare’s inner defence wasn’t tested at all, though Frank Lohan was badly at fault for Ollie Moran’s goal when he did a Stephen Lucey on it and collided with his own man.

Unfortunately for Limerick they haven’t improved a jot since last year, particularly in the forwards. Mike Fitzgerald was very disappointing for a lad who showed a fair bit of promise last year, while Seanie O’Connor is too slow and cumbersome to be of much use at full forward. Donal O’Grady is still a solid performer at midfield, and the 2 Morans will always pay their way. Mark Foley is rapidly becoming a liability in defence though, with his lack of pace. Reale is a good tigerish defender though, he hadn’t much trouble with Flaherty anyway.

Clare seem to have found a new Colin Lynch in Brian O’Connell, while for an oul lad Lynch is still fairly effective. I suppose Gerry Quinn will come into the team in place of the suspended Bugler, while Barry Nugent might have done enough to displace someone in the forward line.

IrishMike

premierstone wrote: »

On the Mark o'Riordan issue, where did i say height?? I said size , big difference, one of Eamon Corcoran's shoulders would be bigger than both of riordans!!

And i think i was quite justified in my analysis of Limericks full forward line two of the three taken off and while the other is undoubtedly one of the best free takers in the country and a great finisher if he is handed the ball he wouldnt win a 50-50 ball in an u-12 match!!

Great insightful analysis :rolleyes:
Must be tough on Eamonn Corcoran not being able to find clothes that fit
what with him being the size of a haybarn :rolleyes:

Limerick didnt show up, gifted Clare 4 goals and still were in with a shout to
win it at the end.
Also think Tony Carmody should probably have gone for kicking the Limerick
player on the ground, ref had a complete nightmare and i doubt he will be
doing another big game for a while.
Tipp definitely in the driving seat and at 12-1 earlier in the year are a very
strong bet for an All Ireland.

Limericks management need to have a long hard look at themselves.
How they could watch O Dwyer, Foley and Sheehan for as long as they did
is completely beyond me. A 3rd midfielder only works if the player is actually
able to play in midfield. May as well have put Sheehan collecting money at
the gate for the contribution he made!

premierstone

IrishMike wrote: »

Great insightful analysis :rolleyes:
Must be tough on Eamonn Corcoran not being able to find clothes that fit
what with him being the size of a haybarn :rolleyes:

So do you think that Riordan is physically up to inter county hurling??? I think Eamon Corcoran has proven for many years now that he is, and anyway this thread is not about Eamon Corcoran

Amazotheamazing

To be fair, the ref was useless, not biased. He didn't favour either team, he just wasn't up to it.

Orizio

grenache wrote: »

And Clare's is?? You telling me that the Limerick-Tipp trilogy of last year was not entertaining?

They were tense. Entertaining in the sense of exceptional hurling skills? God no.

And no, Clare are not as cynical as Limerick, they have the superior forwards, Clare are just generally a more skillful team.

IrishMike

premierstone wrote: »

So do you think that Riordan is physically up to inter county hurling??? I think Eamon Corcoran has proven for many years now that he is, and anyway this thread is not about Eamon Corcoran

It has nothing to do with physical stature or size and if you think it is you are a fool.
Tommy Walsh is the same size as most inter county players kid brothers
yet he is one of the best players of recent times.
Maybe he should bulk up as he "is not physically up to it".
We are not playing rugby here you realise.
O Riordan is a much bigger man than Reale but you are not criticising him.
Physical statue is an attribute that helps a player, skill positional sense and
anticipation of the play are attributes that define a player.
You dont have to be a big man to play hurling and you definitely dont have
to be built like a brick ****house to play at corner back.

premierstone

IrishMike wrote: »

It has nothing to do with physical stature or size and if you think it is you are a fool.
Tommy Walsh is the same size as most inter county players kid brothers
yet he is one of the best players of recent times.
Maybe he should bulk up as he "is not physically up to it".
We are not playing rugby here you realise.
O Riordan is a much bigger man than Reale but you are not criticising him.
Physical statue is an attribute that helps a player, skill positional sense and
anticipation of the play are attributes that define a player.
You dont have to be a big man to play hurling and you definitely dont have
to be built like a brick ****house to play at corner back.

All of which Riordan has none and this combined with his lack of phyisicallity means he has no place playing inter county senior hurling, i notice you havent once actually directly defended him or made reference to he's hurling ability, how did you think he played yesterday and be honest???

IrishMike

You didnt ask me about the guys hurling ability.
Reread your post, you said he wasnt up to the physicality of inter county and im telling you thats bull.
Oh and how many times have you actually seen O Riordan playing 3 or 4 maybe?
He is an excellent club hurler, is extremely fast and tenacious and has plenty of ability.
If he got the right coaching he could easily make the position his own.

grenache

Orizio wrote: »

And no, Clare are not as cynical as Limerick, they have the superior forwards, Clare are just generally a more skillful team.

What makes you think Clare are the more skilful team? Or that they have superior forwards (and don't tell me its because of their fortuitous victory yesterday! ). In Ollie Moran, Andrew O'Shaughnessy and Donal O'Grady, Limerick have three of the most skilled hurlers you will see this summer. O'Shaughnessy is certainly more skillfull than any forward Clare have, Tony Griffin included.

grenache

premierstone wrote: »

All of which Riordan has none and this combined with his lack of phyisicallity means he has no place playing inter county senior hurling, i notice you havent once actually directly defended him or made reference to he's hurling ability, how did you think he played yesterday and be honest???

How exactly does Mark O'Riordan lack physicality? And could you explain, with examples, as to why he's not up to inter-county standard?

If you think he's no physicality, you've obviously never seen him play for the Limerick footballers, he was probably the most physical player on the team during his period with them, got sent off twice in the munster championship. For the record, i thought O'Riordan and Damien Reale were Limerick's only good performers in defense on Sunday. Gilligan scored a whole 0-1 from play off the former.

Amazotheamazing

grenache wrote: »

What makes you think Clare are the more skilful team? Or that they have superior forwards (and don't tell me it because of their fortuotous victory yesterday! ). In Ollie Moran, Andrew O'Shaughnessy and Donal O'Grady, Limerick have three of the most skilled hurlers you will see this summer. O'Shaughnessy is certainly more skillfull than any forward Clare have, Tony Griffin included.

Perhaps, but when have you ever seen Limerick make good use of Andrew O'Shaughnessy other than when it comes to taking frees?

I wouldn't worry too much about what the critics say about Limerick hurling, there's plenty of cynicism in Cork, Clare and even Kilkenny hurling too. It's the way the game has gone, it's acting the real hard man when the Rock does it, it's cynical when Limerick do it.

Keano

Shaughnessy was not at the races on Sunday and was left on as Limerick had no other free taker. Reale destroyed Flaherty so Clare took him off as they had Gilligan for the frees.

buck65

There really wan't alot between the teams on Sunday except the Limerick backs (excluding Reale) were dreadful. Mark Foley was a shadow of himself, O Dwyer lacks something for centre back and the other 2 on the full back line were atrocious.
Clare took their chances well and won the midfield battle. O Shaugnessy got
no proper ball , Gerry O Grady is a very sticky man marker. Clare do seem to have developed strength in depth this year and all their subs made a difference - O Rourke, Nugent.
However Plunkett at 6 is a liability, no pace whatsoever. Bugler will be a big loss in defence for Clare, personally I would bring in Quinn for Plunkett and put Keogh back in the full back line.
Fair play to Colin Lynch , 2 great games under his belt (he was in a car accident on Saturday!!)
Tipp should be too balanced for Clare in the final though. For Limerick the qualifiers will prove a treachorous path.

IrishMike

grenache wrote: »

How exactly does Mark O'Riordan lack physicality? And could you explain, with examples, as to why he's not up to inter-county standard?

If you think he's no physicality, you've obviously never seen him play for the Limerick footballers, he was probably the most physical player on the team during his period with them, got sent off twice in the munster championship. For the record, i thought O'Riordan and Damien Reale were Limerick's only good performers in defense on Sunday. Gilligan scored a whole 0-1 from play off the former.

Dont bother grenache, you are debating with someone who is saying what
they are saying just to provoke a response.
O riordan is a fine hurler and people who say otherwise have either seen him
once or else do not know what they are talking about, plain and simple.

premierstone

IrishMike wrote: »

Dont bother grenache, you are debating with someone who is saying what
they are saying just to provoke a response.
O riordan is a fine hurler and people who say otherwise have either seen him
once or else do not know what they are talking about, plain and simple.

Seriously Irishmike im not trying to start anything here i was just giving my honest opinion and ok he may be a fine club hurler but its a world of adifference to intercounty hurling and personally i thought he had a poor game on sunday, you disagree, fair enough everyone is entitled to their opinion, but i think if you read back over my original post before the game i got more right than wrong.

premierstone

buck65 wrote: »

However Plunkett at 6 is a liability, no pace whatsoever.

I wouldnt write plunkett off yet buck he had a fine game against waterford and Ollie Moran is probably the best centre forard in the country at the moment, he certainly wont be facing anyone of that calibre in the final unless Tipp do what they should have done along time ago and play Eoin Kelly centre forward, and even if they do that then pace wont be an issue!!

IrishMike

premierstone wrote: »

Seriously Irishmike im not trying to start anything here i was just giving my honest opinion and ok he may be a fine club hurler but its a world of adifference to intercounty hurling and personally i thought he had a poor game on sunday, you disagree, fair enough everyone is entitled to their opinion, but i think if you read back over my original post before the game i got more right than wrong.

Damien Reale played for a Junior club for a few years, he is good for his club but not
outstanding.He also plays a fair amount in the forwards, despite this he is
in the top 3 corner backs in the country.
Being a good club hurler doesnt translate to being good at intercounty but it helps.
O Riordan is strong fit and tenacious and is a skillfull hurler and was not
to blame for any score on Sunday, he played behind the worst half back line
we have had in years. Thought he performed very well under the circumstances.
You however are saying he was poor and in my opinion you are ill informed to say the least.

premierstone wrote: »

I wouldnt write plunkett off yet buck he had a fine game against waterford and Ollie Moran is probably the best centre forard in the country at the moment, he certainly wont be facing anyone of that calibre in the final unless Tipp do what they should have done along time ago and play Eoin Kelly centre forward, and even if they do that then pace wont be an issue!!

Plunkett spent a lot of the Waterford match marking Dan Shanahan who couldnt walk not to mention run.
He had 2 half backs who also dominated in their positions.
Easy to play well under those circumstances.
If Hugh Moloney is back for the final he will probably play centre forward and
will pose Plunkett a lot of problems.

BOSTIK

Hugh Maloney won’t be starting in the Munster final, having played virtually no hurling all year. It’s likely that Seamus Callinan will retain the no. 11 jersey, though who the wing forwards will be is another matter. Unfortunately nobody with a say seems to want to play Kelly at centre forward, only the much maligned Ken Hogan ever considered it, when he regularly moved Eoin out in the 2005 championship. It’s a position Tipp have had a lot of difficulty with since the peerless Declan Ryan’s time; Eddie Enright was probably the closest thing we’ve had since then to a conventional centre forward, and he was always far more effective as a midfielder anyway. Callinan could make it his own, still only 20, yet to hurl U21 for the county, and absolutely flying for his club at the minute.

As for Plunkett’s perceived lack of pace, not really such an issue at centre back. What pace did Brian Geary ever have, for example, didn’t stop him having a fine season last year. Pace is far more important in the full back line, as it’s the last line of defence.

I didn’t think Mark O’Riordan was too bad on Sunday, especially considering how poor Foley was outside him. I’d agree that Limerick’s half back line was the weakest in years on Sunday. O’Riordan looks more of a half back to me though. It’s a shame for Limerick that Ollie Moran can’t be afforded in his optimum position at no. 5, but with no feasible alternatives for the no. 11 shirt he has to stay up there.

Is there any sign of a return for Denis Moloney? He was very unlucky 2 years ago with that injury.

premierstone

IrishMike wrote: »

Damien Reale played for a Junior club for a few years, he is good for his club but not
outstanding.He also plays a fair amount in the forwards, despite this he is
in the top 3 corner backs in the country.
Being a good club hurler doesnt translate to being good at intercounty but it helps.
O Riordan is strong fit and tenacious and is a skillfull hurler and was not
to blame for any score on Sunday, he played behind the worst half back line
we have had in years. Thought he performed very well under the circumstances.
You however are saying he was poor and in my opinion you are ill informed to say the least.




Plunkett spent a lot of the Waterford match marking Dan Shanahan who couldnt walk not to mention run.
He had 2 half backs who also dominated in their positions.
Easy to play well under those circumstances.
If Hugh Moloney is back for the final he will probably play centre forward and
will pose Plunkett a lot of problems.

That is exactly the point i was makin club hurling has nothing to do with intercounty its a completely different scenario i know some guys who are absolutely fantastic club hurlers but will never make it at intercounty level, and the opposite holds through aswell there are some intercounty hurlers who dont stand out for their club at all.

Maloney probably will play centre forward if fit, but he hasst played for he's club for 5 or 6 weeks and is still a week or more away from training it would be a big risk considering he has only ever played 15 mins intercounty centre forward and that was in the league and only really ended up there because the half back line is going so well he couldnt make it there but tipp are really lackin options in this position, rumours in tipp suggest that if maloney doesnt make it that Diarmuid Fitzgerald could well play centre forward which would be interesting to say the least.

shawnee

I am very critical of the Limerick selectors for Sunday's game. As has already been said the half back line was atrocious. Hickey was the best of them but the other two should have been taken off or moved. What is the point in having Geary, Moloney, Lalor in the subs if they are not fit enough or good enough to replace these guys who are having a nightmare. This was obvious after ten minutes, yet there was not change. Murrays puck outs were also terrible and he will be lucky to start the next day. Compare him to Donal Og who regularily finds a man with puck outs. Murray was skying the ball against the wind. I don't think he actually found a man with any of his pucks.
Limerick however did play to form, this is the form that they have been playing for the past three months. I hope the selectors bite the bullet at this point and make some serious calls. Bring in the young guys , James Ryan , Denis Moloney, Kieran Breen. These are the future for Limerick.
Richie should not have been blaming the ref, he should have been looking at himself and his fellow selectors.

IrishMike

BOSTIK wrote: »

Is there any sign of a return for Denis Moloney? He was very unlucky 2 years ago with that injury.

Just back a few weeks, miles away from starting yet however.
2 cruciate injuries in 2 years is a huge ask for any man to recover from.
He is not far away and its a credit to him, had the makings of a brilliant
corner back and lets hope injury hasnt ruined his chances.

premierstone wrote: »

That is exactly the point i was makin club hurling has nothing to do with intercounty its a completely different scenario i know some guys who are absolutely fantastic club hurlers but will never make it at intercounty level, and the opposite holds through aswell there are some intercounty hurlers who dont stand out for their club at all.

The point you were making is that Riordan isnt good enough because he isnt -physical enough.
I told you that was bull.
You have yet to reply so i assume you were criticising the player just to have something to say.

shawnee wrote: »

I am very critical of the Limerick selectors for Sunday's game. As has already been said the half back line was atrocious. Hickey was the best of them but the other two should have been taken off or moved. What is the point in having Geary, Moloney, Lalor in the subs if they are not fit enough or good enough to replace these guys who are having a nightmare. This was obvious after ten minutes, yet there was not change. Murrays puck outs were also terrible and he will be lucky to start the next day. Compare him to Donal Og who regularily finds a man with puck outs. Murray was skying the ball against the wind. I don't think he actually found a man with any of his pucks.
Limerick however did play to form, this is the form that they have been playing for the past three months. I hope the selectors bite the bullet at this point and make some serious calls. Bring in the young guys , James Ryan , Denis Moloney, Kieran Breen. These are the future for Limerick.
Richie should not have been blaming the ref, he should have been looking at himself and his fellow selectors.

Agree that changes need to be made but i think its a bit early for Moloney.
He had 2 shocking injuries and the last thing they want to do is rush him.
Breen is very very similiar to O Dwyer - big guy, limited pace and poor in
the air for his size. Dont see why he is on the panel when he is always going
to be behind both O Dwyer and Geary in the pecking order for centre back.
Not fast enough for wing back on a county team but he is still young.
James Ryan and Wayne Mack both are outstanding prospects and hopefully
both will get a run against Dublin/Offaly.
Hopefully in the next year or 2 the likes of Gavin o Mahony and Mulcahy from
Kilmallock will make the step up as both have huge huge potential.

grenache

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Perhaps, but when have you ever seen Limerick make good use of Andrew O'Shaughnessy other than when it comes to taking frees?

This is the very problem though, Limerick never make use of such a talent. He likes low direct ball fed into him, its what he thrives on and whats he's used to with Kilmallock. The only time i can remember Limerick's half back line giving him low ball in, was against Waterford in the semi final last year - we all know what happened that day. For the most part, he has to make do with unaccurate pointless high balls arrowed in his direction, if Limerick had made proper use of him last Sunday, they would have won the game, regardless of the banners four goals. Ditto Donie Ryan and Pat Tobin, all small forwards who like low ball. Keep the high ball for when Begley's on the field.

Orizio

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Perhaps, but when have you ever seen Limerick make good use of Andrew O'Shaughnessy other than when it comes to taking frees?

I wouldn't worry too much about what the critics say about Limerick hurling, there's plenty of cynicism in Cork, Clare and even Kilkenny hurling too. It's the way the game has gone, it's acting the real hard man when the Rock does it, it's cynical when Limerick do it.

'The Rock' does what? By cynical I mean time wasting and generally playing puke hurling in a 'win at all costs mentality'. Simply enough, anyone with any sense will tell you that the likes of Kilkenny, Cork or Tipp play more skillful and more entertaining hurling then Limerick.

grenache

Orizio wrote: »

'The Rock' does what? By cynical I mean time wasting and generally playing puke hurling in a 'win at all costs mentality'. Simply enough, anyone with any sense will tell you that the likes of Kilkenny, Cork or Tipp play more skillful and more entertaining hurling then Limerick.

All teams time waste. Limerick can only play to their strengths, they are not as good as the likes of Cork, Kilkenny, etc so therefore must utilise to their best ability whatever players they have at their disposal - if their hurling is not as 'entertaining' as that of the other counties, then so be it. However calling their brand of play ''puke hurling'' is a tad bit unfair. I don't think there is such a thing, not in the same sense that there's 'puke football' where one team puts 9 or 10 players behind the ball in an attempt to strangle the game.