Waterford GAA Thread - Mod note post #1

willbeuptuesday

It's easy to blame the county board but to be fair we are expecting armatures to run a professional outfit. We need the paid employees of Waterford GAA to assume responsibility for the running of GAA and the volunteers should be harnessed to support whatever initiatives they come up with. We certainly need some sort of commercial expertise to come on board because we are not making money to sustain Waterford GAA at the level required to be competitive on a regular basis. Area's which need to be improved in my opinion
1. Coaching- Secondary schools should have an assigned GDA who is supported by S&C, Nutrition and County Coaches (Minor coach's or a senior coaches or even retired players who conduct classes on particular skills or game based scenarios). What is required is a structure that supports high level coaching in secondary schools so we start competing at Harty Cup level.
2. Competitions - need to be redrawn, players and supporters are fed up (Proof-amount of walkovers and poor attendances). Waterford loose a lot of revenue by allowing the junior and intermediate championships be run on a divisional basis. If proper all count championships Senior, Intermediate Premier, Intermediate, Junior Premier and Junior. They would generate way more money than EAST and West which in the past few years(Excluding last year when the county board got these boards to hand over more money because they were struggling) have delivered on average 30k to 40k per annum. This if administered centrally would generate more novel games and give more clubs a realistic chance of winning something which would lead to more revenue.
3. Waterford GAA has by far the biggest Social media reach in Waterford and if harnessed properly it can be of real value to local businesses and in turn raise money that currently is not there.

These are just a FEW thoughts, but something needs to change or else we will be hear again next year!!

friendlyfun

I'd love to see us win a Munster title. We need a bit of silverware

Waternut

By the way, well done to everyone who donated on the Club Deise Gofundme page. Every little helps and I’m sure that extra funding was appreciated by both Club Deise and the Senior Team. I do have the following issues:

Can anyone tell me of another county team or county board that set up a Gofundme to pay for the running of their senior team? I’m not having a go at Club Deise, but does it not comes across as being a little amateurish? Surely it’s the County Boards job to look after the stream of funding for the Senior Team and leave Club Deise do their thing with underage funding?

I also found it disappointing that only 930 people donated. The Team brought so much excitement, yet we failed to hit the funding target!! I also hope the County Board are keeping a note of the 900 odd names for the next ticket rush at Walsh Park!!

Lastly, of the 930 donations, only a handful were from businesses. Even at that, a number of them are not based in Waterford! Surely the County Board (and not Club Deise) could have reached out to local businesses to help finance the Senior Team’s training fund.

A commercial manager is an absolute must and the appointment needs be made independent of the County Board. The County Board have consistently shown to be incompetent on such matters.

I know Tipperary and Cork have business / commercial managers and I assume a well run set up like Limerick also has one. Why is it that Waterford GAA are always dragged kicking and screaming into the 21 century with everything!

PTH2009

friendlyfun wrote: »

I'd love to see us win a Munster title. We need a bit of silverware

Be nice, need to win the big one in the next 4/5 years

Can see Mayo win tomorrow and further damping our hope's. We would be the last big county to not bridge the gap

killbillvol2

PTH2009 wrote: »

Be nice, need to win the big one in the next 4/5 years

Can see Mayo win tomorrow and further damping our hope's. We would be the last big county to not bridge the gap

Mayo must be f***ing thrilled to have you tip them. As if there wasn't enough pressure

PTH2009

PTH2009 wrote: »

Be nice, need to win the big one in the next 4/5 years

Can see Mayo win tomorrow and further damping our hope's. We would be the last big county to not bridge the gap

Sure we may aswell wait for the new bridge to be built to break the curse

Mastermcgrath

whiteandblue wrote: »

The county secretary job is a paid position and is interview based so there is an interview every 5 years I think but there is no stipulation that Pat Flynn can't get the job again. I know Frank Murphy was county secretary in Cork for donkey's years.

I felt the last regime weren't progressive enough & really panicked on the appointment of Padraig Fanning. The biggest disappointment was in that they were a joke in terms of not standing their ground when it came to Walsh Park & having to play home games in Limerick & Thurles in 2018. The time it took to decide on Walsh Park & get the funding also didn't sit well. The whole saga of rows on Deise Today & on WLR in general was an embarrassment at the time & still today, has proper work started on Walsh Park?

For 2020, it was nice to see Seán Michael O'Regan get the position of chairman rather than the constant merry go round with former chairman coming back in or people on the board changing jobs but the financial figures are worrying when compared to other counties.

However I want to say, for once, praise the county board for certain things. They got in a young, enthusiastic manager & a progressive coach for our senior team & backed them. The streaming of the club championship was excellent, even if it wasn't financially a success. Club Deise was the main driving force but the fundraising night in advance of the final was a success & raised vital funds to prepare the team. The football championship not being finished is a blip on the year & could have been avoided in my opinion.

I think when Waterford GAA people reflect on 2020 in terms of hurling, it will be generally positive. Our senior hurling team have made great strides & were beaten by a superior team in the final, that's all to be said on that but 2021 is a new year & with Cahill & co and our committed players who give up their own free time & more, there is a lot to look forward to.

The 2 things you praised the co board for 1) the fundraising you state yourself was entirely driven by club deise, totallly seperate entity from co board. 2) the appointment of Liam Cahill - yes was a great appointment but let’s not forget the dogs dinner they made out of the process the previous year, a recent interview with Sean Power on the Irish examiner who is quite a placid and reserved individual stated how he was treated, he wasn’t interviewed after applying for it and met with one co board official for a coffee and was told to ‘take a club job’
It’s probably a good thing that they did stuff up the Fanning appointment as we would not have ended up with Cahill

Also what’s happening with Walsh Park? They’ve been pissing around with that for long enough too

PTH2009

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40193829.html

NHL starting the end of February 2021 with the 2 groups of 6 (1A and 1B) with the top team in each group playing in the final. No QF or semis

If its same group as last year where playing
Westmeath,Limerick and Tipperary at home
Cork and Galway away

seananigans

PTH2009 wrote: »

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40193829.html

NHL starting the end of February 2021 with the 2 groups of 6 (1A and 1B) with the top team in each group playing in the final. No QF or semis

If its same group as last year where playing
Westmeath,Limerick and Tipperary at home
Cork and Galway away

great chance of being in the league final with that group, home and away setup nicely, be nice if we could take limerick, but might be able to rely on them slipping up somewhere

PTH2009

seananigans wrote: »

great chance of being in the league final with that group, home and away setup nicely, be nice if we could take limerick, but might be able to rely on them slipping up somewhere

Championship also been knockout once again and you just know we will draw Limerick in Munster

Could be an interesting league as teams will be that little fitter than normal giving the timeline of the 2020 championship. Id be happy to see us competitive in the league

Waternut

PTH2009 wrote: »

Championship also been knockout once again and you just know we will draw Limerick in Munster

Could be an interesting league as teams will be that little fitter than normal giving the timeline of the 2020 championship. Id be happy to see us competitive in the league

I assume it will be run off similar to this year’s championship with a backdoor.

PTH2009

Waternut wrote: »

I assume it will be run off similar to this year’s championship with a backdoor.

guess so, would there be anyway of tweaking it a little ?

Mulbert

One way around limericks fielding superiority is to start pulling on the dropping ball once in a while. It might set doubts coming up for a ball if there is a possibility you won't field cleanly and a good chance of having your hand broke if you don't execute your catch perfectly.

Waternut

PTH2009 wrote: »

guess so, would there be anyway of tweaking it a little ?

I’d personally like to see it start a little later. Maybe run it off between the end of August and October?

Firstly, it would give the country time to get a proper handle of COVID. Secretly and selfishly I’m hoping that by September the Government is well into their vaccination programme and maybe there might be an opportunity to attend the games - reduced capacity. A bit like the premier League.

Lastly, it would give some of the younger players a run out in the club championship and an opportunity to stake a claim for a championship spot. The club championship did wonders for Kenny this year. Anyway, my tuppance worth.

PTH2009

Waternut wrote: »

I’d personally like to see it start a little later. Maybe run it off between the end of August and October?

Firstly, it would give the country time to get a proper handle of COVID. Secretly and selfishly I’m hoping that by September the Government is well into their vaccination programme and maybe there might be an opportunity to attend the games - reduced capacity. A bit like the premier League.

Lastly, it would give some of the younger players a run out in the club championship and an opportunity to stake a claim for a championship spot. The club championship did wonders for Kenny this year. Anyway, my tuppance worth.

Same opinion as you but sadly has been decided already and its county first

hurler on de ditch

Waternut wrote: »

I’d personally like to see it start a little later. Maybe run it off between the end of August and October?

Firstly, it would give the country time to get a proper handle of COVID. Secretly and selfishly I’m hoping that by September the Government is well into their vaccination programme and maybe there might be an opportunity to attend the games - reduced capacity. A bit like the premier League.

Lastly, it would give some of the younger players a run out in the club championship and an opportunity to stake a claim for a championship spot. The club championship did wonders for Kenny this year. Anyway, my tuppance worth.

Sweet Jesus

blacksuir

whiteandblue wrote: »

The county secretary job is a paid position and is interview based so there is an interview every 5 years I think but there is no stipulation that Pat Flynn can't get the job again. I know Frank Murphy was county secretary in Cork for donkey's years.

I felt the last regime weren't progressive enough & really panicked on the appointment of Padraig Fanning. The biggest disappointment was in that they were a joke in terms of not standing their ground when it came to Walsh Park & having to play home games in Limerick & Thurles in 2018. The time it took to decide on Walsh Park & get the funding also didn't sit well. The whole saga of rows on Deise Today & on WLR in general was an embarrassment at the time & still today, has proper work started on Walsh Park?

For 2020, it was nice to see Seán Michael O'Regan get the position of chairman rather than the constant merry go round with former chairman coming back in or people on the board changing jobs but the financial figures are worrying when compared to other counties.

However I want to say, for once, praise the county board for certain things. They got in a young, enthusiastic manager & a progressive coach for our senior team & backed them. The streaming of the club championship was excellent, even if it wasn't financially a success. Club Deise was the main driving force but the fundraising night in advance of the final was a success & raised vital funds to prepare the team. The football championship not being finished is a blip on the year & could have been avoided in my opinion.

I think when Waterford GAA people reflect on 2020 in terms of hurling, it will be generally positive. Our senior hurling team have made great strides & were beaten by a superior team in the final, that's all to be said on that but 2021 is a new year & with Cahill & co and our committed players who give up their own free time & more, there is a lot to look forward to.

WLR should stay well clear of the GAA, or maybe the GAA should stay clear of WLR. Everyone knows that the management of the station have no interest in sport and least of all in the GAA. The 10am-midday slot on the station is an embarrassment since Billy McCarthy died. The last two main presenters were/are only interested in sensational journalism. The present presenter wont ask the right questions. He will shout and roar for X or Y to speak to him on the show, and give out when they wont. Damien Geoghegan is an example. Would you blame him not going on the same way John Deasy did not go on with years. Geoghegan has spoken to other stations however. When someone worth listening to goes on, the interview is pre-recorded so listeners who text in cannot have their view put to the guest. And even when an interview is live and someone texts in, there is a better chance of the Queen of England becoming a Catholic than to have it read out if presenter has an different view to the texter.

Giveitfong

Limerick 0-30 Waterford 0-19

When watching the All-Ireland hurling final live, it struck me that Waterford overall did better in the second half in terms of getting good field position. Looking at the play statistics, this was reflected in one key indicator – puckouts won. In the first half, Limerick won four of their own seven long/contested puckouts and seven of Waterford’s eleven for an overall count of eleven wins out of 18. In the second half, this was completely reversed: Waterford won no fewer than eleven of their own 13 contested puckouts and eight of Limerick’s 12, for an overall win rate of 19 out of 25. For some reason, Limerick only hit two short puckouts in the second half compared with nine in the first half, even thought they were being beaten up a stick when Quaid went long.

Despite this major change in winning primary possession, the fact remained that Waterford only scored eight points in the second half compared with eleven in the first, whereas Limerick scored more in the second half (16 points) than they did in the first (14). The main explanation for this is that, from the 55th minute on, when Waterford had fallen eight points behind, they became preoccupied with scoring goals. In the remaining 18 minutes they scored just two points and had five shots for goals stopped. They also had a number of attacks where they went looking for goals but the moves broke down.

All of the goal attempts made in this period were low percentage shots, and none of them seriously troubled Nicky Quaid. If Waterford had taken points in each of these instances and a couple more from the goal-seeking attacks which broke down, they could well have ended up with a total of 25 points or more. We should also note that just before half-time, Stephen Bennett hit a goal shot straight at Quaid when a tap-over point was there for the taking. Waterford, in fact, had five scoring attempts blocked in the first half, although two of these were shots for points. When you add in Jack Fagan’s early goal miss, it is clear that Waterford could well have ended up with a score total not far short of Limerick’s. This is reflected in the shots total for both sides – 44 for Limerick and 40 for Waterford.

However, on a day when Waterford needed a few breaks to be in contention, they didn’t get any. This was particularly evident in Tadhg de Búrca’s early injury. His mobility and ability to cut out incoming ball, read the breaks, provide support to the full back line and initiate attacks were all sorely missed. Already in the 19 minutes he was on the pitch he had six possessions, the same number as was recorded by his replacement Iarlaith Daly (who otherwise did okay) in the remaining 57. It is reasonable to suggest that had de Búrca seen out the game, the finishing gap between the teams would have been three or more smaller.

This is not to suggest that Waterford would ever have won the game. Limerick’s combination of work rate, power, technique and game plan, when put into effect as optimally as it was here, is unprecedented in the game of hurling. Apart from their ability to create scoring opportunities, their exploitation of these opportunities was exquisite. I regarded at least 15 of their scores as being absolutely superb. Apart from their long-distance shooting, the beautifully directed and weighted balls which they sent into Aaron Gillane and Seamus Flanagan made them virtually impossible to mark. Even when the full backs did all they could to keep them on the back foot, they still produced a string of outrageous scores.

After the early double save by Stephen O’Keeffe, Limerick concentrated on taking their points, and did not trouble O’Keeffe again. Even where their forwards got into position where they could have created goal chances if they needed to, they took their points. If Waterford had done the same, they could have been in a position going down the straight where a lucky break or a piece of brilliance could have made for a really tight finish, but this was not to be.

The combination of work rate and drive which Liam Cahill has combined with Waterford’s high skill levels is probably sufficient to beat all the other counties, but more is needed to overcome Limerick playing at the top of their game. In particular, Waterford need to get better at retaining the ball, and using it to create space, when they have possession. They need to develop a system for using short puckouts to get Callum Lyons, Tadhg de Búrca (assuming, if not indeed praying for, his safe return) and Jamie Barron into space where they can either bring the ball forward or look up before delivering the ball forward.

On this point, rewatching last week’s game showed the very narrow lines Waterford use in getting the ball forward. This involves a heavy reliance on balls down the near wing which gives target forwards very little room for manoeuvre, even when they get possession of the incoming ball. Waterford need to look up more, or develop patterns of play, to move the ball laterally across the field, or play diagonal balls forward, in order to create space and pull the opposition out of shape. I noticed numerous occasions where Waterford players had either moved into, or been left in, open space on the far side of the field but players in possession were not looking up to observe this. It was also noticeable how, whenever Waterford sent a long ball into the forwards, Limerick almost always had an extra man, and frequently two, in the landing area. This means that some Waterford players had to be free, and players in possession should be looking out for these rather than sending low-percentage balls to the inside line.

A key liability against Limerick is Waterford’s tendency to run at players when they get possession. Apart from their powerful physiques, Limerick have a well-practised ability to bring two or three players to converge on, and gang-tackle, players running at them. This led to Waterford turning the ball over at least eleven times in the final. Limerick themselves have a well-rehearsed system where a player who has won possession in a tight space immediately transfers it to a team-mate who frequently then transfers it to a third player in space. And if Limerick have two or three players converging on an opposition player who has possession, then the latter player must have free team-mates in the vicinity.

This quick transfer of ball out of contact zones was also a key feature of Kilkenny when they were in their pomp under Brian Cody. In fact, this Limerick team are similar to that Kilkenny team in many ways. They are physically powerful but very skillful, have a massive workrate and a well-organised and highly-practised game plan. And, of course, they are always playing on the edge and getting away with it. I always felt that Cody’s team, and Cody himself, had an intimidating effect on match officials, and there are signs that it is getting the same with Limerick.

By my count, Waterford committed nine personal fouls in the final. Ian Kenny was the only player to commit two fouls, and he got booked for it. Jamie Barron was also booked for a hurley around Tom Morrissey’s neck. The corresponding total for Limerick was 20, divided between no less than 12 players, six of whom committed at least two fouls. Top of the list was Gearóid Hegarty who, following his yellow-card-free laying waste of Galway players in the semi-final, notched up four more personal fouls here. Two of these were clear bookable offences – his shoulder into Jack Prendergast’s chest in the 31st minute and his blow to Stephen Bennett’s hand in the 36th minute (a classic example of the “Kilkenny handshake” which was a trademark foul of Kilkenny teams in Brian Cody’s heyday). Neither was punished with a yellow card by Fergal Horgan, nor was Declan Hannon for deliberately tripping Dessie Hutchinson in the sixth minute.

Horgan did issue three yellow cards, to Seamus Flanagan for a late tackle on Ian Kenny in the 45th minute and to Kyle Hayes and William Donoghue for pulling down Jack Prendergast and Stephen Bennett as they were running in on the Limerick goal late in the game. Thankfully it looks as though the GAA are finally going to penalise this foul with a sin-bin (and perhaps a penalty) next year.

I also counted at least four cases of clear fouls on Waterford players which were not penalised at all. These included the high tackle on Jamie Barron by Seamus Flanagan as he emerged from a ruck in the first minute and, worst of all, Tom Morrissey’s 17th minute highly dangerous and, at best, extremely careless, jab into Austin Gleeson’s groin area. Possibly a red card offence, this episode did not even earn Waterford a free. All told, I counted six refereeing errors by Horgan which favoured Limerick and just one the other way. Of course, based on past experience, Horgan does not require to be intimidated to produce decision-making like this against Waterford.

As regards individual performances, Calum Lyons led the possession count for Waterford on 14, just ahead of Jamie Barron, Stephen Bennett and Austin Gleeson on 13 each. To put things in perspective, five Limerick players exceeded 14 possessions, with Kyle Hayes well out in front with 23. Almost amazingly, Darragh Lyons had 12 possessions despite only being 33 minutes on the pitch, and his input also played a key role in Waterford’s greatly enhanced second half performance.

Austin Gleeson had a particularly strong second half (nine possessions) and his much improved contribution in both this game and the semi-final are a tribute to Liam Cahill’s and Mikey Bevans’s influence. Jack Prendergast also deserves special mention. Although he had only nine possessions, he won a lot of dirty ball in both halves. I would also single Conor Prunty out for individual mention. Although he conceded four points to Aaron Gillane, I thought he did very well in this fascinating contest. He got eight possessions himself and got in a further eight blocks and tackles which denied possession to his opposite number.

Waterford (possession counts in brackets): Stephen O'Keeffe (3); Ian Kenny (8), Conor Prunty (8), Shane McNulty (9); Kevin Moran (10), Tadhg de Burca (6), Calum Lyons (14); Jamie Barron (13), Kieran Bennett (6); Jack Fagan (11), Austin Gleeson (13), Neil Montgomery (4); Dessie Hutchinson (10), Stephen Bennett (13), Jack Prendergast (9).

Subs: Iarlaith Daly (6), Darragh Lyons (12), Conor Gleeson (3), Patrick Curran (2), Shane Fives (2).

PTH2009

Looking forward to next season, let's hope its not as bad a hangover as the 2018 season

No doubt its going to be tough with so many teams that will be improved. The Munster draw will be important getting into a semi final will be key . The last thing we need is a QF draw against the likes of Limerick or Tipp

blue note

PTH2009 wrote: »

Looking forward to next season, let's hope its not as bad a hangover as the 2018 season

No doubt its going to be tough with so many teams that will be improved. The Munster draw will be important getting into a semi final will be key . The last thing we need is a QF draw against the likes of Limerick or Tipp

Was that a hangover from the previous year? I thought the problem that year was that half our team was injured or gone travelling?

PTH2009

blue note wrote: »

Was that a hangover from the previous year? I thought the problem that year was that half our team was injured or gone travelling?

Yeah the season after the 2017 AI final defeat

2018 was the first year of the them new calendar and the league started very soon after we can back from the team holiday.

Jjjjjjjjbarry

Has any work been done on Walsh Park since or was all that work just postponed? Seems like it would have been a good time to get it done when there's no crowds in so wouldn't affect spectators.

Tiger Roll

Jjjjjjjjbarry wrote:

Has any work been done on Walsh Park since or was all that work just postponed? Seems like it would have been a good time to get it done when there's no crowds in so wouldn't affect spectators.

If you Google it there is an interview with county chairman from May basically saying it's been put on the back burner due to covid

Deisegodeo

Tiger Roll wrote: »

If you Google it there is an interview with county chairman from May basically saying it's been put on the back burner due to covid

No work done. county board chairman said they want to press ahead with redevelopment of Walsh park but also indicated they were looking at changes to the approved plans, not sure what that entails but would indicate further delays if they want to change the proposals as they stand.

Ian OB

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=461054774694111&id=693278824126385

Merry Christmas folks

BloodyBill

The best draw for Waterford and Clare would be to draw each other in a semi. Tipp v Cork with the winner playing Limerick on the other side would be grand..

PTH2009

Happy Christmas everyone

Jesus if we had won 2 weeks ago I'd be on about the 20th watch

Anyway still a great championship for us

Venom69

Waterford football manager 2021


Any news/update on who may possibly be next senior football manager?

conor05

Venom69 wrote: »

Waterford football manager 2021


Any news/update on who may possibly be next senior football manager?

You’d half forget Waterford still have a football team.

Would they have much commitment from players these days?

Mastermcgrath

conor05 wrote: »

You’d half forget Waterford still have a football team.

Would they have much commitment from players these days?

Half forget? Do you suffer from partial amnesia?
Yes there is massive commitment from the players