Kilkenny GAA Thread Part 3 **MOD NOTE POST 1***

therealdonster

brookville wrote: »

reports this morning is maher fractured his leg.
i think the idea of joey at 6 might work but not much time to work on players in these positions

So could he make it vack for latter stages of the championship if it's a fracture?

brookville

therealdonster wrote: »

brookville wrote: »

reports this morning is maher fractured his leg.
i think the idea of joey at 6 might work but not much time to work on players in these positions

So could he make it vack for latter stages of the championship if it's a fracture?

kilkenny people said broken bone in ankle and time line 2 months or more

Joe Daly

Heard that from somebody in Freshford its not as bad as thought at first they gave a time scale of two months but then he said it all depends on the healing. He was operated on yesterday hopefully he can make a full recovery he went through enough with that farm accident it took a lot out of him, all the best to him in his recovery.

therealdonster

Is Richie Hogan playing for Danesfort this weekend?

brookville

therealdonster wrote: »

Is Richie Hogan playing for Danesfort this weekend?

not sure i heard the boro have a long list of injuries anyway.the bridge missing rob and brian lannon although they might have a few of the younger lads like ciarian brennan who should be a good addition this year.padraig unlikely play for tullaron john tennyson on his honeymoon and dalton not playing for the shocks so i guess alot of teams will be understrenght but use this to blood a few lads for later in the year.

jeff bingham

Looking forward to getting to a few games this weekend, hard to know what way clubs will look at these matches, last few years for example mullinavat and gowran have flew out of the blocks and fell away later on in the year, the village were absolutely hammered first round last year didn’t looked like they had touched a hurl but regrouped and had a decent year.

brookville

i went to two enjoyable games today firstly the village and the bridge.I was very impressed with brassil.jackie didnt play.Ciarian brennan started very getting 2 points with his first two touches.scanlon was full foward and seemed to be moving well.
clara and the shamrocks another entertaining game clara wanted it much more and full value for their win although the shamrocks finished strong colin won a penalty which tj scored and won a few frees and got a goal he has continued his good form which is pleasing.Claras half back line and half foward lines were both very strong and the winning of this match and playing some smart hurling head up into space.Bolger was good and got bout 1-3.
adrian mullen quite enough darren has hamstring injury

conor05

brookville wrote: »

i went to two enjoyable games today firstly the village and the bridge.I was very impressed with brassil.jackie didnt play.Ciarian brennan started very getting 2 points with his first two touches.scanlon was full foward and seemed to be moving well.
clara and the shamrocks another entertaining game clara wanted it much more and full value for their win although the shamrocks finished strong colin won a penalty which tj scored and won a few frees and got a goal he has continued his good form which is pleasing.Claras half back line and half foward lines were both very strong and the winning of this match and playing some smart hurling head up into space.Bolger was decent.
adrian mullen quite enough darren has hamstring injury

Just saw buff Egans highlight reel on Snapchat of B’hale and Clara.

Clara looked very very fit, they must have put in a good winter. Was an exciting match with a good standard of hurling on show.

northern lad

brookville wrote: »

i went to two enjoyable games today firstly the village and the bridge.I was very impressed with brassil.jackie didnt play.Ciarian brennan started very getting 2 points with his first two touches.scanlon was full foward and seemed to be moving well.
clara and the shamrocks another entertaining game clara wanted it much more and full value for their win although the shamrocks finished strong colin won a penalty which tj scored and won a few frees and got a goal he has continued his good form which is pleasing.Claras half back line and half foward lines were both very strong and the winning of this match and playing some smart hurling head up into space.Bolger was good and got bout 1-3.
adrian mullen quite enough darren has hamstring injury

I was at the Bridge v Village too. Brassil did well enough but his man, Jason Cleere was the man of the match. He was outstanding. Ciaran Brennan scored 0-4 and had a very good debut. Sean Morrissey, Nicky Cleere, Liam Blanchfield had too much for the Village defence. Eoin Guilfoyle played well for the Village until he was substituted. Matthew Ruth was doing very well until David Blanchfield went back on him. Bridge definitely a team to watch

brookville

northern lad wrote: »

brookville wrote: »

i went to two enjoyable games today firstly the village and the bridge.I was very impressed with brassil.jackie didnt play.Ciarian brennan started very getting 2 points with his first two touches.scanlon was full foward and seemed to be moving well.
clara and the shamrocks another entertaining game clara wanted it much more and full value for their win although the shamrocks finished strong colin won a penalty which tj scored and won a few frees and got a goal he has continued his good form which is pleasing.Claras half back line and half foward lines were both very strong and the winning of this match and playing some smart hurling head up into space.Bolger was good and got bout 1-3.
adrian mullen quite enough darren has hamstring injury

I was at the Bridge v Village too. Brassil did well enough but his man, Jason Cleere was the man of the match. He was outstanding. Ciaran Brennan scored 0-4 and had a very good debut. Sean Morrissey, Nicky Cleere, Liam Blanchfield had too much for the Village defence. Eoin Guilfoyle played well for the Village until he was substituted. Matthew Ruth was doing very well until David Blanchfield went back on him. Bridge definitely a team to watch

yea guilfoyle is a good little free taker got one monster...the few younger lads will be a good addition to the bridge lads this year although i think rob lennon will be out for a good bit

therealdonster

Ballyragget were comfortably better than the Rower and should have won by more - in fact they were almost caught with two late goals. They had a man sent off which told in the end as they tired badly.

They have a set of forwards that is as good as any when they are motoring which they were yesterday. Kevin Kelly grew into the game and scored some great points from play and a few monster frees to boot. Michael Brennan, Joe Brennan and young Jack Morrissey tormented the Rower backs all afternoon.

Richie Leahy was quite and would want to improve on this showing if he wants his place on the county team. The Rower are under pressure now and will need to improve drastically if they want to challenge in 2019.

conor05

The Ballyhale lads Joey Holden, Mick Fennelly, Adrian Mullen, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody and Colin Fennelly all collected their awards at Croke Park last night on making the AIB Senior club hurling team of the year.

Adrian Mullen won Senior club hurler of the year.

brookville

therealdonster wrote: »

Is Richie Hogan playing for Danesfort this weekend?

heard he came of today injured hopefully just a precaution

blackcard

brookville wrote: »

therealdonster wrote: »

Is Richie Hogan playing for Danesfort this weekend?

heard he came of today injured hopefully just a precaution

Richie walked off of his only accord after about 20 minutes, hopefully only a twinge but has to be a concern. Paddy Hogan was best for Danesfort who were 11 points down at half time after playing against the wind. They reduced the deficit to 4 points before Comer got a goal to seal the victory. Comer were not overly impressive and got a couple of soft goals

blackcard

Dicksboro had 2 points to spare over Ballycallan with both teams hitting a lot of wides. Ollie Walsh, Aidan Nolan and Shane Stapleton were best for Dicksboro who needed a late goal to win. Billy and Sean Ryan tried hard for Ballycallan who could be a force in a couple of years

babyjesus14

northern lad wrote: »

I was at the Bridge v Village too. Brassil did well enough but his man, Jason Cleere was the man of the match. He was outstanding. Ciaran Brennan scored 0-4 and had a very good debut. Sean Morrissey, Nicky Cleere, Liam Blanchfield had too much for the Village defence. Eoin Guilfoyle played well for the Village until he was substituted. Matthew Ruth was doing very well until David Blanchfield went back on him. Bridge definitely a team to watch

Couldn't make any of the matches yesterday as I was otherwise engaged but I was at the 3 Senior today. Was talking to someone I know down in Thomastown this morning at the O'loughlins v Mullinavat match who was at the Village v the bridge match yesterday and he said Jason Cleere was "very poor"! Now I am confused!

blackcard

OLG beat Mullinavat by 2-21 to 2-12. Vegas look to have gone a bit backwards over the last 12 months. Tom Aylward not back yet. Davy Burke scored 2-3, Sean Bolger 0-4. Paddy Deegan played in the half forward line and scored a couple of points. Conor Heary also did well for OLG. John Walsh tapped home a goal but he only played okay, I think he hasn't been great in most matches I have seen over the last year. Vat could struggle this year.

minty81

northern lad wrote: »

brookville wrote: »

i went to two enjoyable games today firstly the village and the bridge.I was very impressed with brassil.jackie didnt play.Ciarian brennan started very getting 2 points with his first two touches.scanlon was full foward and seemed to be moving well.
clara and the shamrocks another entertaining game clara wanted it much more and full value for their win although the shamrocks finished strong colin won a penalty which tj scored and won a few frees and got a goal he has continued his good form which is pleasing.Claras half back line and half foward lines were both very strong and the winning of this match and playing some smart hurling head up into space.Bolger was good and got bout 1-3.
adrian mullen quite enough darren has hamstring injury

I was at the Bridge v Village too. Brassil did well enough but his man, Jason Cleere was the man of the match. He was outstanding. Ciaran Brennan scored 0-4 and had a very good debut. Sean Morrissey, Nicky Cleere, Liam Blanchfield had too much for the Village defence. Eoin Guilfoyle played well for the Village until he was substituted. Matthew Ruth was doing very well until David Blanchfield went back on him. Bridge definitely a team to watch

Wouldn't have said that about Cleere. Thought he got on the world of ball but ran himself into trouble so often.
Nicky Cleere the difference for me on placed balls. Best freetaker in the county. Liam Blanchfield showed what potential he has too. Some great scores

Neewollah

babyjesus14 wrote: »

Couldn't make any of the matches yesterday as I was otherwise engaged but I was at the 3 Senior today. Was talking to someone I know down in Thomastown this morning at the O'loughlins v Mullinavat match who was at the Village v the bridge match yesterday and he said Jason Cleere was "very poor"! Now I am confused!

Was at 4 of the Senior games this weekend. Starting with Bridge and the Village. Probably the best game of the 4 I saw. The Bridge definitely deserved the win. Both teams played well in patches. Better scoring forwards decided it for the bridge. Jason Cleere was excellent. Hurled an amount of ball but did get turned over twice in 1st half that led to scores. Got a score himself and put some great ball into forward line. Nicky Cleere was my MoM. Super reliable and Ciaran Brennan is a great addition to the Bennettsbridge forwards. For the Village Niall Brassil and Eoin Guilfoyle were best. Scanlon dangerous but not in the game enough in full forward line in my opinion.

Mullinavat v Loughs. Loughs were always in control here with Mullinavat very poor. Seem to have a good few injuries. Loughlins very good team and will be involved down the stretch this year no doubt. Jack Nolan, Sean Bolger and Davy Burke did most of the damage. A lot of their younger players starting to mature nicely. Could be a long year for Mullinavat unless they can improve asap...Tom Aylward leaves a huge hole for them while out

Boro v GBC. This was an enjoyable game. GBC showed enough today to say that they'll will be very competitive and with some better shooting in 1st half they could have won it. Boro very hit and miss today. Down a few regulars but they have improving to do. Late Eddie O Donoghue goal got them over the line. Shane Stapleton excellent for the Boro as was Aidan Nolan. GBCs best were Bob Murphy, Ryall in 1st half, Billy and Sean Ryan

Comer v Danesfort. Game of 2 halves here in Jenkinstown due to the wind. Danesfort played into it in 1st half and were poor. Few mistakes led to Comer having a comfortable lead at half time. In fairness to danesfort they had a great start to the 2nd half and were well positioned with 15 to go and then got hit with a sucker punch goal. Few changes at half time improved the team. Comer looked their usual selves...solid but not spectacular. Pity to see Richie Hogan not complete 1st half. You would have to think his hurling career is in serious jeopardy at this stage.

blackcard

I would agree with Neewollah's summary of the Bridge Village match except I thought Liam Blanchfield also did well, scoring 1-2 and winning a few frees, he did hit a few wides. Jason Cleere played well.

Neewollah

blackcard wrote: »

I would agree with Neewollah's summary of the Bridge Village match except I thought Liam Blanchfield also did well, scoring 1-2 and winning a few frees, he did hit a few wides. Jason Cleere played well.

Definitely. Liam Blanchfield is starting to show form again. Real leader for them in the forwards. Very hard to handle when the right ball goes in. Shooting needs improving though

babyjesus14

My thoughts on the six Senior teams I saw yesterday:
O'loughlins: The fact that Gotta is still starting at 41 and Paddy Deegan was moved from centre back to half forward is an indication of where they might have problems come the business end of the season. Though they did put up a big score (2-21) that was more of an indication of where the oppositions problems are. For all the success they have had at underage level the only potential top level forward I can think of that could break through this season would be Conor Kelly. Considering 5 of his colleagues from last year's county Minor team, Brennan (the 'bridge), Guilfoyle and Kenny ( the Village), Morrissey (Ballyraggett) and Dempsey (Mullinavat) made their Senior debuts yesterday that will probably happen sooner rather than later.

Mullinavat: On yesterday's evidence, considering they are in the stronger group, they could see themselves dragged into a relegation playoff. Badly miss Tom Aylward at full back.

Dicksboro: Still playing a nice brand of hurling though their shooting was very wasteful. Still seem to lack a physical presence up front, Stapleton seemed to be the only one willing to give and take a few hits.

GBC: Consolidation is be the name of the game for them this year. Very young team, 6 of yesterday's starting team aged between 18 and 20, but will really need to avoid getting dragged into a relegation playoff as they are in the weaker group. So very big game for them in the next round against Ballyraggett.

Comer: Could see why they were the only team in the country to put it up to the Shamrocks last season in the first half and then came out in the second half and conceded 6 unanswered points and allowed themselves to be dragged into a battle, needing a soft third goal to open up a bit of daylight again.

Strong in defense which will make them difficult to beat come the knockout stages but lacking upfront which will probably prevent them from challenging for silverware.

Danesfort: Turned to the lad I was with (who is involved with GBC) at half time and said at least ye are safe from relegation, implication being that's Danesfort's place in the pecking order. Then they came out in the second half a team transformed, without Richie Hogan, and made a game of it. Still think relegation is their likely destination.

Hawkeye6

Not doubting the standard of hurling within a Kilkenny hurling style context. In general people seem to have been happy with what they saw.

But going back to previous discussion. Anyone witness anything that would transfer into in our evolving inter county style? For example, did people see much short puck outs, followed by running the ball through the lines and off the shoulder support with short handpasses up to the scoring zone? If they did was is efficient and what players looked comfortable in possession?
Or were the short puck outs vamped down the field by the receiver in the full back line?

brookville

i was impressed with clara over the weekend i know it was hard for the shamrocks to get going again and st thomas also bet over the weekend but there they made the middle third a real battle field and really out worked the shamrocks.liam ryan was very lively and james bergin and and bolger very dangerous up front.I still think its an awful shame bolger isnt in with the county.
i thought there would of being a hangover with the bridge and without brian lannon and rob lennon but they put enda back full back and jayo centerback the 2 blanchfields mf and nicky cleere at 11 and liam at 14 its a very good spine.Throw in young ciarian brennan who was very lively and a roaming sean morrissey the bridge are heading in the right direction and will hope to go one better this year.

Neewollah

Hawkeye6 wrote: »

Not doubting the standard of hurling within a Kilkenny hurling style context. In general people seem to have been happy with what they saw.

But going back to previous discussion. Anyone witness anything that would transfer into in our evolving inter county style? For example, did people see much short puck outs, followed by running the ball through the lines and off the shoulder support with short handpasses up to the scoring zone? If they did was is efficient and what players looked comfortable in possession?
Or were the short puck outs vamped down the field by the receiver in the full back line?

Of all the games I saw this weekend the Boro were the only team to use the short puck out on a regular basis. Holohan was ready to restart the game the second the ball went dead. They did try work it out a few times but not very often. All the other teams were pretty standard in their play. Bennettsbridge were definitely more direct than they have been in last couple of years I suspect to try and utilise Blanchfield and Brennan inside. Village the same with the speed they had in their full forward line. OLG have plenty of runners and would have used the short pass a lot around the middle but the majority of puck outs were long.

Limerick have the running game down to a fine art but they have all top quality players playing it. Harder for a club team to try and play a game like that when some players might not be capable of it.

babyjesus14

Hawkeye6 wrote: »

Not doubting the standard of hurling within a Kilkenny hurling style context. In general people seem to have been happy with what they saw.

But going back to previous discussion. Anyone witness anything that would transfer into in our evolving inter county style? For example, did people see much short puck outs, followed by running the ball through the lines and off the shoulder support with short handpasses up to the scoring zone? If they did was is efficient and what players looked comfortable in possession?
Or were the short puck outs vamped down the field by the receiver in the full back line?

Of the six teams i saw yesterday the only one who seem to have a rehearsed Puck out strategy was the 'boro. Darragh Holohan had a sliotar in the net beside his puck out hurl and his restarts were rapid. Pinging it 50 to 60 yards to one of the half forwards or midfielders moving into space before GBC had time to reset. And it worked a treat, I don't remember them losing many if any of their own puck outs. Having said that on another day a more officious ref might have put a stop to that tactic by telling him to wait for the whistle.

On the subject of refs I had an interesting conversation with a young in my opinion good Kilkenny referee who expressed his frustration with how things are run. He described the set-up in Kilkenny as being "an old boys network" with the older refs carving up all the Senior games for themselves with the result that the younger lads are struggling to gain experience at the top level to help them progress.

That might go some way to explaining why Sean Cleere is the only Kilkenny ref who has operated at the highest level at Inter County in the last 25 odd years.

droppingball

Any stand out performers in intermediate games?

Village87

Good game between James Stephens and Bennettsbridge. Open hurling and some good scoring on both sides. Young players on both sides did well. Need to see more of Luke Scanlon, not sure full forward is his best position. Liam Blanchfield is looking more like the player when Bennettsbridge won Intermediate, very direct but better with the ball now he is getting older. Bridge will be close again this year.

I attended the Hugginstown for Tullaroan v Tullogher. First half was poor ref, blew everything and Tullaroan very much on top. 2nd half was a very good contest and either team could have won it with Tullogher a point ahead near the end. Wally Walsh got into it in the 2nd half and got a lovely goal, Padraig Walsh got the winner i think(hard to know the Walsh's all have the same helmet), although i thought Padraig looked sluggish. Young Tommy Walsh and Mossy were quiet also. Tommy Walsh at full forward had a busy game.

I went to Piltown to watch Glenmore v Carrickshock.Poor game with a lot of frees. Eoin Murphy was very dangerous full forward, Michael Rice hurled well centre back. Ger Aylward looked sluggish coming back from injury. Glenmore will be kicking themselves as they prob should have won and were lucky to draw in the end.

Neewollah

Village87 wrote: »

Good game between James Stephens and Bennettsbridge. Open hurling and some good scoring on both sides. Young players on both sides did well. Need to see more of Luke Scanlon, not sure full forward is his best position. Liam Blanchfield is looking more like the player when Bennettsbridge won Intermediate, very direct but better with the ball now he is getting older. Bridge will be close again this year.

I attended the Hugginstown for Tullaroan v Tullogher. First half was poor ref, blew everything and Tullaroan very much on top. 2nd half was a very good contest and either team could have won it with Tullogher a point ahead near the end. Wally Walsh got into it in the 2nd half and got a lovely goal, Padraig Walsh got the winner i think(hard to know the Walsh's all have the same helmet), although i thought Padraig looked sluggish. Young Tommy Walsh and Mossy were quiet also. Tommy Walsh at full forward had a busy game.

I went to Piltown to watch Glenmore v Carrickshock.Poor game with a lot of frees. Eoin Murphy was very dangerous full forward, Michael Rice hurled well centre back. Ger Aylward looked sluggish coming back from injury. Glenmore will be kicking themselves as they prob should have won and were lucky to draw in the end.

Did Ken Coogan start corner back for Tullaroan?

blackcard

Of the matches that I attended, no team played with a sweeper which was surprisingly considering that all were wind affected. No running off the shoulder either. As stated above, Dicksboro had a puckout strategy whilst a few of the teams were definitely attempting to play quality ball into the forwards