All Ireland Senior Hurling (Liam Mccarthy Cup) 2019

PTH2009

Munster

Round 1- Sunday 12th May
Waterford vs Clare- Walsh Park 2pm
Cork vs Tipp- PUC 4pm

Round 2- Sunday 19th May
Tipp vs Waterford- Thurles 2pm
Limerick vs Cork- Gaelic Grounds 4pm

Round 3- Sun 2nd June
Waterford vs Limerick- Walsh Park 2pm
Clare vs Tipp- Cusack Park 4pm

Round 4- Sat 8th/Sun 9th June
Cork vs Waterford- PUC 7pm (Sat 8th)
Limerick vs Clare- Gaelic Grounds 4pm (Sun 9th)

Round 5- Sun 16th June
Clare vs Cork- Cusack Park 2pm
Tipp vs Limerick- Thurles 2pm

Final- Sun 30th June 2pm Venue TBC

Leinster

Round 1- Sat 11th//Sun 12th May
Kilkenny vs Dublin- Nowlan Park 7pm (Sat 11th)
Galway vs Carlow- Pearse Stadium 3pm (Sun 12th)

Round 2- Sun 19th May
Carlow vs Kilkenny- Netwatch Cullen Park 3pm
Dublin vs Wexford- Parnell Park 3pm

Round 3- Sun 26th May/Sun 2nd June
Galway vs Wexford- Pearse Stadium 4pm (Sun 26th May)
Carlow vs Dublin- Netwatch Cullen Park 3pm (Sun 2nd June)

Round 4- Sat 8th/Sun 9th June
Wexford vs Carlow- Wexford Park 7pm (Sat 8th June)
Kilkenny vs Galway- Nowlan Park 2pm (Sun 9th June)

Round 5- Sat 15th June
Dublin vs Galway- Parnell Park 7pm
Wexford vs Kilkenny- Wexford Park 7pm

Final- Sun 30th June Croke Park 4pm

All Ireland

Sat 6th/Sun 7th July
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals
Joe McDonagh Cup winner v Leinster 3rd placed team
Joe McDonagh Cup runner-up v Munster 3rd placed team

Sat 13th/Sun 14th July
All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals
Leinster runner-up v Joe McDonagh Cup runner-up or Munster group 3rd placed team
Munster runner-up v Joe McDonagh Cup winner or Leinster group 3rd placed team

Sat 28th/Sun 29th July
All-Ireland SHC semi-final
Provincial winner v quarter-final winner- Croke Park
Provincial winner v quarter-final winner- Croke Park

Sun 18th Aug
All Ireland Senior Final- Croke Park 3.30pm

RMAOK

They still have the Munster and Leinster finals on the one day :rolleyes:

kala85

RMAOK wrote: »

They still have the Munster and Leinster finals on the one day :rolleyes:

Absolute madness.
Why two of the most important games all year have to be on the same day is crazy

grbear

The treatment the Joe Mcdonagh tournament gets is going to end up killing any plans for a second tier football championship. Why would any county board between 10 and 24 on Laoismans ranking table vote for a championship where the only evidence available points to them getting very little media exposure as a result?

The final of the Joe Mcdonagh should be televised live on RTE, not through some fella streaming it to Facebook/YouTube.

EDIT: They can't even rely on Buff Egan covering it as he'll be off to the Munster final.

RayVaughan1984

PTH2009 wrote: »

Munster

Round 1- Sunday 12th May
Waterford vs Clare- Walsh Park 2pm
Cork vs Tipp- PUC 4pm

Round 2- Sunday 19th May
Tipp vs Waterford- Thurles 2pm
Limerick vs Cork- Gaelic Grounds 4pm

Round 3- Sun 2nd June
Waterford vs Limerick- Walsh Park 2pm
Clare vs Tipp- Cusack Park 4pm

Round 4- Sat 8th/Sun 9th June
Cork vs Waterford- PUC 7pm (Sat 8th)
Limerick vs Clare- Gaelic Grounds 4pm (Sun 9th)

Round 5- Sun 16th June
Clare vs Cork- Cusack Park 2pm
Tipp vs Limerick- Thurles 2pm

Final- Sun 30th June 2pm Venue TBC

Leinster

Round 1- Sat 11th//Sun 12th May
Kilkenny vs Dublin- Nowlan Park 7pm (Sat 11th)
Galway vs Carlow- Pearse Stadium 3pm (Sun 12th)

Round 2- Sun 19th May
Carlow vs Kilkenny- Netwatch Cullen Park 3pm
Dublin vs Wexford- Parnell Park 3pm

Round 3- Sun 26th May/Sun 2nd June
Galway vs Wexford- Pearse Stadium 4pm (Sun 26th May)
Carlow vs Dublin- Netwatch Cullen Park 3pm (Sun 2nd June)

Round 4- Sat 8th/Sun 9th June
Wexford vs Carlow- Wexford Park 7pm (Sat 8th June)
Kilkenny vs Galway- Nowlan Park 2pm (Sun 9th June)

Round 5- Sat 15th June
Dublin vs Galway- Parnell Park 7pm
Wexford vs Kilkenny- Wexford Park 7pm

Final- Sun 30th June Croke Park 4pm

All Ireland

Sat 6th/Sun 7th July
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals
Joe McDonagh Cup winner v Leinster 3rd placed team
Joe McDonagh Cup runner-up v Munster 3rd placed team

Sat 13th/Sun 14th July
All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals
Leinster runner-up v Joe McDonagh Cup runner-up or Munster group 3rd placed team
Munster runner-up v Joe McDonagh Cup winner or Leinster group 3rd placed team

Sat 28th/Sun 29th July
All-Ireland SHC semi-final
Provincial winner v quarter-final winner- Croke Park
Provincial winner v quarter-final winner- Croke Park

Sun 18th Aug
All Ireland Senior Final- Croke Park 3.30pm

Munster Leinster

Limerick 8 Galway 8
Waterford 6 Kilkenny 4
Clare 4 Dublin 4
Tipperary 2 Wexford 4
Cork 0 Carlow 0

Preliminary Quarters : Dublin Vs Laois
Clare Vs Westmeath

Quarters : Dublin Vs Waterford
Clare Vs Kilkenny

Semis : Galway Vs Waterford
Clare Vs Limerick

Final : Limerick Vs Waterford

Controversial...haha

puzl

Well that's my daydreams sorted for the next 6 months.

tipp_tipp_tipp

When do munster championship tickets go on sale lads?

big_drive

RayVaughan1984 wrote: »

Munster Leinster

Limerick 8 Galway 8
Waterford 6 Kilkenny 4
Clare 4 Dublin 4
Tipperary 2 Wexford 4
Cork 0 Carlow 0

Preliminary Quarters : Dublin Vs Laois
Clare Vs Westmeath

Quarters : Dublin Vs Waterford
Clare Vs Kilkenny

Semis : Galway Vs Waterford
Clare Vs Limerick

Final : Limerick Vs Waterford

Controversial...haha

Would agree with a lot of it expect Cork won't be finishing bottom in Munster thats for sure

puzl

Cork have a tough draw this year with Clare and Limerick away. Cork vs Tipp is a home game but I think there's so much history between them that home advantage isn't a huge factor. They play Waterford in PuC on Waterford's last game of the Munster championship.

I don't expect them to beat either Clare of Limerick away. Not even Limerick could beat Clare in Ennis last year.

Munster is so difficult to predict. You could pick any team and see a reasonable way in which they win Munster and also see a reasonable way in which they finish on 0 or 2 points.

Joe_ Public

RayVaughan1984 wrote: »

Munster Leinster

Limerick 8 Galway 8
Waterford 6 Kilkenny 4
Clare 4 Dublin 4
Tipperary 2 Wexford 4
Cork 0 Carlow 0

Preliminary Quarters : Dublin Vs Laois
Clare Vs Westmeath

Quarters : Dublin Vs Waterford
Clare Vs Kilkenny

Semis : Galway Vs Waterford
Clare Vs Limerick

Final : Limerick Vs Waterford

Controversial...haha

When i looked at that first i thought the championship was now being played off by penalty shoot outs.

big_drive

I think Limerick & Cork will cruise through Munster and the other 3 will have a battle to pick up last position


I'd go:
Munster- Limerick, Cork, Clare
Leinster- Galway, Kilkenny, Dublin

RayVaughan1984

Joe_ Public wrote: »

When i looked at that first i thought the championship was now being played off by penalty shoot outs.

Hahah,sorry its a bit of a minefield

caddy16

big_drive wrote: »

I think Limerick & Cork will cruise through Munster and the other 3 will have a battle to pick up last position


I'd go:
Munster- Limerick, Cork, Clare
Leinster- Galway, Kilkenny, Dublin

I don't think anyone will cruise through Munster but beyond me how anyone would think Cork will.

big_drive

caddy16 wrote: »

I don't think anyone will cruise through Munster but beyond me how anyone would think Cork will.

Cork have won the last 2 Munsters with a limited panel and should have made the All Ireland final last year, now have a stronger panel so shouldn't have much trouble getting into top 3. Winning Munster wouldn't be a certainty though and they might be better off not winning it and going a different route this year

Edgware

RMAOK wrote: »

They still have the Munster and Leinster finals on the one day :rolleyes:

Its important to get that oul hurling out of the way so that the football can take over for the rest of the Summer

lim4ev

caddy16 wrote: »

I don't think anyone will cruise through Munster but beyond me how anyone would think Cork will.

I'm one of the ones expecting a big yr from cork, i hope ur right

threeball

lim4ev wrote: »

I'm one of the ones expecting a big yr from cork, i hope ur right

There's been nothing so far this year to indicate that it's going to be a good one. Not likely that they can just switch it on in a matter of 4 weeks. People were saying the same of Mayo in the football last year and they didn't even make the super 8s who turned out to be not so super. The hurling is a shark tank in comparison

nice_guy80

threeball wrote: »

There's been nothing so far this year to indicate that it's going to be a good one. Not likely that they can just switch it on in a matter of 4 weeks. People were saying the same of Mayo in the football last year and they didn't even make the super 8s who turned out to be not so super. The hurling is a shark tank in comparison

No hurling team gets to play all their games at home though, including knockout games.
For the last 10 years!

I think the football will be more competitive this year.

Edgware

threeball wrote: »

There's been nothing so far this year to indicate that it's going to be a good one. Not likely that they can just switch it on in a matter of 4 weeks. People were saying the same of Mayo in the football last year and they didn't even make the super 8s who turned out to be not so super. The hurling is a shark tank in comparison

As Christy Ring used say when people doubted Cork because of league form " Wait till the cuckoo comes"

puzl

Ah lads please don't let this thread turn into a pissing contest.

Munster is a mine field. Cork are going for three in a row. You can list any three teams to progress and it wouldn't be outlandish. Limerick is the only team I would bet on qualifying but I also wouldn't be shocked if they didn't go through.

Championship form will change everything. Neither league finalist contested an all Ireland semi final last year and one of them didn't even get out of their provence. Cork were in the 1A relegation playoff and went on to win Munster and got very close to winning a semi.

One thing is certain: every team in Munster has a plan to win it.

PTH2009

Hate this new structure tbh

In Leisnter KK, Dub, Wex and Gal have a guaranteed win against Carlow and the Mcdonagh Cup champs other years (no disrespect but there not at the level of the rest and could never be sadly). Munster is dog eat dog

Unlike the old system you dont get a chance too play another team from another province unless you finish top 3. The old system at least gave u that chance

RMAOK

PTH2009 wrote: »

Hate this new structure tbh

In Leisnter KK, Dub, Wex and Gal have a guaranteed win against Carlow and the Mcdonagh Cup champs other years (no disrespect but there not at the level of the rest and could never be sadly). Munster is dog eat dog

But there's no spectre of relegation hanging over the 5 munster teams........

PTH2009

RMAOK wrote: »

But there's no spectre of relegation hanging over the 5 munster teams........

Be grand if there was you could get away from that minefield

Will never happen as the Munster council would have uproar

I'd play off the Munster and Leinster with 5 teams in each as a knockout with it determining seeds for an All Ireland grp stage

Grp 1
Leinster champs
Munster Runners up
Munster semi final loser
Leinster semi final loser
Munster QF loser

Grp 2
Munster champs
Leinster runners up
Munster semi final loser
Leinster semi final loser
Leinster QF loser

Top team in each go too AI semi finals
All Ire QFs- 2nd Grp 1 vs 3rd Grp 2 and 3rd Grp 1 vs 2nd Grp 2

I says

RMAOK wrote: »

But there's no spectre of relegation hanging over the 5 munster teams........

Rightly so if any Munster team was relegated the would cruise thru to the AI final and win it as the standard down there at the moment is plenty high enough.
The game isn’t far of a champions league type groups with winners and runners up in each group to AI semis. Have a relegation playoff with bottom teams in each group, losers go down and champs of 2nd tier comp promoted.
Anyways limerick ahead of the pack but the grass gets long during the summer.

rebelyell99

Limerick deserve to be favourites but I wouldn't say there so far ahead that there going to dominate , the intensity will be different in summer and let's not forget they were on the ropes a few times last year Cork and Kilkenny could have both taken them out.Personally I don't think they will win it , I'm expecting a big year from Tipp.

PTH2009

Only 4 weeks to go til the opening weekend

Limerick for Munster
Wexford for Leinster

All Ireland final will be Limerick vs Tipp with Limerick winning

Road-Hog

Cork all the way, they will do their 3 in a row in Munster and Win all Ireland too.....their classy and nippy forwards will run riot through all defenses even limericks.

lim4ev

I'd be surprised if tipp do it but could be wrong limerick or cork for me

C__MC

Big year for Wexford, Leinster is wide open

I’m expecting Dublin to knock out one of the other 3

Bonniedog

Leinster will be competitive. Top three apart from Galway by no means certain, and will have to see them to determine how absence of Canning will impact. Not so much as 5/6 years ago when it would have been total disaster.

Fancy Dublin to reach Leinster final, but probably not win it. That would be reasonable progress for first year of MK. A lot will depend on how the bodies are after a series of injuries.

conor05

PTH2009 wrote: »

Only 4 weeks to go til the opening weekend

Limerick for Munster
Wexford for Leinster

All Ireland final will be Limerick vs Tipp with Limerick winning

If Wexford can keep Lee Chin, Rory O Connor and Conor McDonald injury free I am going to put them down for the Leinster crown too, it’s **** or bust this year for Davy under them with no champ silverware so far he will go all out.

I am going to go for a Tipp Munster win. Brendan Maher back will be a huge asset.

PlayByTheRules

conor05 wrote: »

If Wexford can keep Lee Chin, Rory O Connor and Conor McDonald injury free I am going to put them down for the Leinster crown too, it’s **** or bust this year for Davy under them with no champ silverware so far he will go all out.

I am going to go for a Tipp Munster win. Brendan Maher back will be a huge asset.

Tipp will come last in Munster, less pace than a bale of turtles. Brendy will add a lot but it won't be enough. Too much dead weight on that team and players that have regressed every year since 2016.

I do agree with you about Wexford though.

puzl

People seem keen on Cork, but in order for them to even appear in a Munster final you really have to see them beating Limerick or Clare away and I honestly will be surprised if Cork can pull either of them off. So then you're down to seeing Cork beat both Tipp and Waterford at home to even progress out of Munster, never mind make the final. I'm not trying to belittle the Cork team - clearly they have the players and the form to win every single one of their games - but I wouldn't be betting on them.

Anyway, it's not that relevant because Limerick get to host Clare and Cork at home this year so I think they're going to make the finals and win it too.

Galway for Leinster. There'll be a whole "do it for Joe" mentality in the camp. If they can get to a semi final off of Leinster then they'll have everyone back for it and fighting fit.

threeball

Cork have shown absolutely no form this year so I don't get the idea that they'll win munster. They'll do well to progress. Limerick, Clare and Waterford look the best teams in munster at the moment.

Galway will reach the Leinster final but it's a toss up for the other 2 spots imo. They're all very capable of downing the other. At the moment Dublin and wexford look like the next best but I think kk will shunt one of them into 4th.

Bonniedog

I know the league is not a great guide to the championship, but it does provide some clues.

Having seen Dublin playing Galway, Waterford, Limerick and Tipp, I would think that Limerick are a bit ahead of the pack, and with more to come. Galway and Waterford pretty close to one another, and hard to see where Tipp are going to improve enough to be there at end of Summer.

Someone mentioned Canning's absence as being a motivation for Galway. Perhaps. We won't know until we see them. They are not as dependent as they were, as said above, but he is still a massive loss.

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057973647

Hurling Championship Pools 2019 is now live

tipp_tipp_tipp

My predictions:

I hate to say it, but this will be a bad year for Tipp, no pace in the time, full back role is still a weak point and too many players past there sell by date. Callanan as captain I fear will not go well. Beyond that, hard to tell. It will be very interesting to see how Waterford fair in Walsh Park. Clare are so tough to beat in Ennis, which gives them a great chance of qualifying. Given how Waterford were screwed with home advantage last year, I think the players will rise to the occasion and they will win both home games.

So assuming Waterford and Clare both progress thanks to good home records, I put Limerick going joining them. I also think Limerick will win Munster. Winning Munster will be a big motivation for this Limerick team, and with the way they're playing I don't see anyone stopping them.

In Leinster, I think it will another Galway Kilkenny final. Dublin will join them in progressing from Leinster. I think this will be a tough year for Wexford. There's pressure to achieve something in what must surely be Davey's last year in charge. I don't think they will handle this pressure well. Dublin looked good in the league, and they've the right man in charge and will build nicely over the coming years, but are ready to challenge the top teams yet. Carlow will struggle, and I think the annoying thing is they will not have a chance to improve next year as they will be straight back down to Joe Macdonagh.

As for All-Ireland champions, I think Galway will do it again. They were dreadful in the final last year, I think that will motivate them back to the top this year. They have the hurlers, though whether Joe will be match fit for the latter parts of the year is a worry.

So those are my thoughts, I will no doubt be wrong on most of it, but will be fun to look back at this in a few months and see how far off it was. Looking forward to it hugely now. Can't wait to be driving through the jack lynch tunnel in a few weeks on the way to Pairc Ui Chaoimh. H'on Tipp!

lim4ev

I think the 3 teams from munster will be limerick cork and clare I think it'll be limerick v clare munster final with limerick winning it. I think tipp have too many questions with speed being the biggest one they've class forwards but think their backs are the weak point. Waterford will be close to progressing but think they're lacking at least one top class forward but with home advantage could surprise a lot.

Leinster will be v competitive for me people talking of galway winning all Ireland's is crazy I might be wrong but galway have to go to Parnell pk and nowlan pk where they'll struggle they prob will get out of leinster but not guaranteed I'll go for kk Dublin and galway to progress but I think it'll be a Limerick v cork all ireland final which will be a toss up

iebamm2580

Reckon tipp are going to surprise a lot of people this year, a good game plan can make up for their lack of pace and i dont think there is a better set of forwards in the country, a win against cork however is vital for their chances.

jr86

lim4ev wrote: »

Leinster will be v competitive for me people talking of galway winning all Ireland's is crazy I might be wrong but galway have to go to Parnell pk and nowlan pk where they'll struggle they prob will get out of leinster but not guaranteed I'll go for kk Dublin and galway to progress but I think it'll be a Limerick v cork all ireland final which will be a toss up

Its not too often you'd hear the term "crazy" in reference to the All Ireland chances of the bookies favourites and finalist for the previous 2 campaigns (won one of them)!

lim4ev

jr86 wrote: »

Its not too often you'd hear the term "crazy" in reference to the All Ireland chances of the bookies favourites and finalist for the previous 2 campaigns (won one of them)!

Fair point

Still don't think they'll win it out and reason they're favourites is the bookies think they'll win out leinster so they'll be in a semi straight off. I don't agree with this thinking I think leinster will be v competitive

Bonniedog

Galway will be there or thereabouts and ostensibly easier run explains where the money is going.

Having said that, I reckon like yourself that Leinster will be close. Most games apart from Offaly and the final in fairness were close. A puck of the ball was the difference in three of our games. So, expecting it to be same way again with four teams, including Galway minus Joe, not too far apart,

jr86

lim4ev wrote: »

Fair point

Still don't think they'll win it out and reason they're favourites is the bookies think they'll win out leinster so they'll be in a semi straight off. I don't agree with this thinking I think leinster will be v competitive

Not necessarily, the bookies have them at odds against to win Leinster and very close with Kilkenny. Obviously the Canning factor plays a role in that, but they're certainly not expecting them to have a free run to the semi or anything.

There's still a lot of quality in that Galway side overall, and very few weaknesses in their starting 15 if they play to form, so in my mind it makes sense to have them as neck and neck favourites with Limerick. The bench has been a slight issue but it only needs 1 or 2 lads to step up this season

puzl

The important point there, jr86, is "if they play to form". Last year Galway didn't in fact play to form. Not to take away from Limerick's win, because you can only play what's in front of you, but Galway played maybe 80 minutes of top class hurling all year and the rest, though better than what most were fielding, was way below their potential. I think Limerick are ahead of everyone right now, but a Galway with their best 15 playing 70 minutes of 2017 standard hurling will surely be their equal, if not their better. This is why I still fancy Galway to win Leinster and Limerick to win Munster.

Having said that.. just look at the last few years to see how predictions in April are extremely difficult.. everyone talking up the recent form, but in all honesty I wouldn't be shocked to see Kilkenny and Tipp win the provices too.

Nic_Col

Leinster;

Wexford have the trickiest run of games and are the most vulnerable to a resurgent Dublin. In round 1 Galway will almost certainly beat Carlow and I'd expect Kilkenny to shade their game at home to Dublin.

After that you're looking at Wexford facing away games against Dublin and Galway in successive weekends. They really need to hit the ground running and that in my opinion will be the deciding factor in Leinster. Whoever loses Dub v Wex in round 2 could have a mountain to climb.

Genuinely four competitive teams here though, I'd tip Galway to make the final (what a brave prediction!) but after that I couldn't really confidently call second to fourth. I don't see any team getting more than 6 out of 8 points. As much as I'd love to see Carlow claim a scalp along the way it is very hard to see them avoiding relegation.


Munster;

No clue, anything could happen.
One away win in the 8 (not counting Waterford's neutral) games, the three teams who claimed points away from home were the teams who went through. Waterford have home games and fingers crossed won't have a full blown injury crisis to deal with again.

Limerick not streets ahead like some feel, the AI was won by getting over the line in tight games, they weren't blowing everyone away, they have their noses in front at the moment but there are around 6 teams capable of beating them, they won't be easily beaten but Waterford and Tipp would back themselves to beat them at home, Cork turned Limerick over at the Gaelic Grounds two months ago and Clare won't be fazed by their trip to Limerick, since Limerick defeated Clare in the 2015 Munster championship the last 5 competitive meetings have yielded four Clare wins and a draw.

Potentially the biggest shock of the championship wouldn't really be a shock at all; Limerick not making it out of Munster.

All five teams in Munster will rightly back themselves though.

All-Ireland? I think Cork are very close, if they make it out of Munster I think this could be their year, forget the league when it comes to Cork; summer hurling suits them and particularly their forwards down to the ground.

lim4ev

Nic_Col wrote: »

Leinster;

Wexford have the trickiest run of games and are the most vulnerable to a resurgent Dublin. In round 1 Galway will almost certainly beat Carlow and I'd expect Kilkenny to shade their game at home to Dublin.

After that you're looking at Wexford facing away games against Dublin and Galway in successive weekends. They really need to hit the ground running and that in my opinion will be the deciding factor in Leinster. Whoever loses Dub v Wex in round 2 could have a mountain to climb.

Genuinely four competitive teams here though, I'd tip Galway to make the final (what a brave prediction!) but after that I couldn't really confidently call second to fourth. I don't see any team getting more than 6 out of 8 points. As much as I'd love to see Carlow claim a scalp along the way it is very hard to see them avoiding relegation.


Munster;

No clue, anything could happen.
One away win in the 8 (not counting Waterford's neutral) games, the three teams who claimed points away from home were the teams who went through. Waterford have home games and fingers crossed won't have a full blown injury crisis to deal with again.

Limerick not streets ahead like some feel, the AI was won by getting over the line in tight games, they weren't blowing everyone away, they have their noses in front at the moment but there are around 6 teams capable of beating them, they won't be easily beaten but Waterford and Tipp would back themselves to beat them at home, Cork turned Limerick over at the Gaelic Grounds two months ago and Clare won't be fazed by their trip to Limerick, since Limerick defeated Clare in the 2015 Munster championship the last 5 competitive meetings have yielded four Clare wins and a draw.

Potentially the biggest shock of the championship wouldn't really be a shock at all; Limerick not making it out of Munster.

All five teams in Munster will rightly back themselves though.

All-Ireland? I think Cork are very close, if they make it out of Munster I think this could be their year, forget the league when it comes to Cork; summer hurling suits them and particularly their forwards down to the ground.

I'd agree with a lot of that I'd be surprised if we(Limerick) didn't get out of munster but it's so competitive you could play great for four matches do v little wrong and get beaten by a pint in all 4. For me personally I never thought I'd see us winning one as we'd had a lot of heartbreak down through the yrs so we're in bonus country. But I want it so much again and whats more important is the players do too.

For me cork and clare are v strong too but my tip outside of limerick would be cork their only downfall (as with clare) might be their backs aren't as strong as their forwards of course they're a lot of other teams that are well capable of winning it out too.

Time will tell I personally can't wait for the whole shebang to get going am I correct in saying its Dublin v kk in kk on 11/5? That'll be a cracker with no guaranteed winner

Bonniedog

Kilkenny May 11. And I have to go to a fkn Communion party. So any excuses welcome!

That should be some game. No illusions about what is awaiting Dublin, but be one of rare occasions Dublin be going down with good expectation of beating them. Injury situation looks a bit better and Kenny knows how to prime teams for a big day out.

Should be good. On TV …:-(

Overall, looking at the fixtures and judging where teams are at, I would say it will be cracking Summer. Fancy Limerick but they will have to work for it. Great structure apart from a bit of a chasm for whoever bottoms out in Leinster, but might as well be playing at proper level than shipping hidings.

Realt Dearg Sec

lim4ev wrote: »

we're in bonus country.

Wouldn't agree there at all. A very young, very talented team, playing an intelligent brand of hurling, not just the team to beat but the style of game that you need to overcome to win out. If that core of players don't get at least two, maybe three all Irelands in the next five or six years, they haven't fulfilled their potential. The county's history has nothing to do with the possibilities for the current team.

puzl

Yep, this Limerick team will win a few but they might just need to lose one to really get that obsession burning.

mountgomery burns

Great to see so many contrasting opinions on this thread. Really highlights the competitiveness of the championship or at least the expectation that it will be.

A far cry from people writing it off as only one foreseeable winner in years gone by.

Personally think it's gonna be a bad year for Tipp again, not sure how far Galway will go but don't see any all Ireland in them and quite possibly not even Leinster. Too reliant on the same fellas and the format suits young blood. To that end, Kilkenny may well prevail in Leinster. Dublin will definitely throw a spanner in the works.

Munster is a bear pit. Thinking Clare, Limerick and Waterford at the moment but Cork won't be far off. Tipp have the a great full forward line but a lot of problems elsewhere.

lim4ev

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Wouldn't agree there at all. A very young, very talented team, playing an intelligent brand of hurling, not just the team to beat but the style of game that you need to overcome to win out. If that core of players don't get at least two, maybe three all Irelands in the next five or six years, they haven't fulfilled their potential. The county's history has nothing to do with the possibilities for the current team.

Hope your right I didn't want to be cocky but would be v disappointed if we didn't get another at least one from this team but you just never take anything for granted, injuries etc etc