National Hurling League 2016

Realt Dearg Sec

Bonniedog wrote: »

Yesterday was much better game, but first game was interesting in its own way. Its just tactics. skills are all there.


People were saying same about yourselves and Cork back in the early noughties!

Doesn't make them wrong. I'm not on the "this is killing hurling" bandwagon just because the game was bad, but the game really was bad. Interesting in its own way is like telling a girl she has a nice personality.

Bonniedog

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

. Interesting in its own way is like telling a girl she has a nice personality.

You must spend a bit of time in the Lower Deck so with the Tipp ones

blackcard

I think it would have been fun if the boot was on the other foot, Clare had been a point ahead and were denied a blatant free and then Waterford got a soft free and went on to win the match. Imagine how Davy would have reacted, the air would have turned blue. In fairness to Derek McGrath, he reacted with dignity. As a neutral, I am really looking forward to the Championship meeting between these sides. Hurling needs more teams stepping up to the plate

kiddap

Couldn't have worked out better for Clare, scraped it a bit luckily after a cracking game but most people are convinced by the media stuff about the styles of play and the first game. Genius. Clare now have the upper hand in the noggin over Waterford and it will probably be a dirty scrap of a game.

They will advance on a Munster final with more bad press and doubts and yet exactly where they want to be, consistent performance, getting the job done, and a serious trophy under the belt. If they can take Munster they will have had a great year no matter what and be almost fully on the way to rehab after the worst post-All-I-winning two years I've ever seen. That would be some feat.

But if they win Munster they won't win the All-I this year, I can't see them winning it anyway, next year more likely.

mountgomery burns

You're only fooling yourself if you think Clare are under the radar. They've been tipped for the all Ireland since Donal Og joined the backroom team in some quarters.

There's been a serious hype train with them the last three years to be hones, understandably since they won the all ireland in 2013. And also again to be fair they are justifying the hype at the moment.

robbiezero

kiddap wrote: »

Couldn't have worked out better for Clare, scraped it a bit luckily after a cracking game but most people are convinced by the media stuff about the styles of play and the first game. Genius. Clare now have the upper hand in the noggin over Waterford and it will probably be a dirty scrap of a game.

They will advance on a Munster final with more bad press and doubts and yet exactly where they want to be, consistent performance, getting the job done, and a serious trophy under the belt. If they can take Munster they will have had a great year no matter what and be almost fully on the way to rehab after the worst post-All-I-winning two years I've ever seen. That would be some feat.

But if they win Munster they won't win the All-I this year, I can't see them winning it anyway, next year more likely.

Why have Clare the upper hand in the noggin over Waterford? Neither team will have any psychological advantage out of the league final saga.

kiddap

robbiezero wrote: »

Why have Clare the upper hand in the noggin over Waterford? Neither team will have any psychological advantage out of the league final saga.

Simply by having stolen such a tight game. It's not a defining issue yet but it could contribute to becoming one. Clare have an All-I and now a Nat League under their belt. They beat Waterford in the NLF. Ergo the Deise need to get one over them in June or they will really feel under the thumb. That's in their noggin.

They also don't seem to quite have the talent Clare have so they need a bit extra to beat them when it really matters. Waterford have been operating to their max, I would argue, for the past 2 years, maybe more. Clare have been dormant or in disarray to some extent the last 2 years. Clare are on the way back up, and if Waterford don't beat them in June they will be left behind. That's also in their noggin.

kiddap

robbiezero wrote: »

Why have Clare the upper hand in the noggin over Waterford? Neither team will have any psychological advantage out of the league final saga.

Simply by having stolen such a tight game. It's not a defining issue yet but it could contribute to becoming one. Clare have an All-I and now a Nat League under their belt. They beat Waterford in the NLF. Ergo the Deise need to get one over them in June or they will really feel under the thumb. That's in their noggin.

They also don't seem to quite have the talent Clare have so they need a bit extra to beat them when it really matters. Waterford have been operating to their max, I would argue, for the past 2 years, maybe more. Clare have been dormant or in disarray to some extent the last 2 years. Clare are on the way back up, and if Waterford don't beat them in June they will be left behind. That's also in their noggin.

But maybe they will win in June. I don't think they will.

kiddap

mountgomery burns wrote: »

You're only fooling yourself if you think Clare are under the radar. They've been tipped for the all Ireland since Donal Og joined the backroom team in some quarters.

There's been a serious hype train with them the last three years to be hones, understandably since they won the all ireland in 2013. And also again to be fair they are justifying the hype at the moment.

It's all relative. They are more under the radar than they could easily have been. As you rightly point out they haven't handled the media well the past couple of years, they allowed it to get completely out of hand after the All-I win. Let's be clear here, full credit but what did they actually do? They won 3 games after another mediocre Munster Champ performance, and nothing special in the league.

Limerick didn't show up or live up to their own hype (celebrated Munster win too much?) in the semi-final. Cork were relatively limited by the standards of the leading teams of the era, it was a freak year. So Clare still had a huge amount to prove in order to build on 2013. They spectacularly didn't. And the hype was ridiculous. Team of the Year? In the same year that Dublin footballers won everything and played the best football of any team in ages? Not Clare's fault but they lapped it up. Very young talented team, very unexpected Snr All-I, and Davy. Say no more.

After two years of self-destruction they bring in DOC. A recipe for only greater madness you would think, I said it myself. But actually what has happened? They have won the league in dramatic fashion, yet if anything their hype has decreased below anything since 2013. Somebody there is very cleverly pulling the right strings, at last. I suspect it's a combination of the two figureheads and the trainer, lessons learned.

So far................

kiddap

robbiezero wrote: »

Why have Clare the upper hand in the noggin over Waterford? Neither team will have any psychological advantage out of the league final saga.

Simply by having stolen such a tight game. It's not a defining issue yet but it could contribute to becoming one. Clare have an All-I and now a Nat League under their belt. They beat Waterford in the NLF. Ergo the Deise need to get one over them in June or they will really feel under the thumb. That's in their noggin.

They also don't seem to quite have the talent Clare have so they need a bit extra to beat them when it really matters. Waterford have been operating to their max, I would argue, for the past 2 years, maybe more. Clare have been dormant or in disarray to some extent the last 2 years. Clare are on the way back up, and if Waterford don't beat them in June they will be left behind. That's also in their noggin.

But maybe they will win in June. I don't think they will, not as long as Clare keep doing the right things.