Kilkenny GAA Thread

Krazy gang

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123507822#Comment_123507822

You'd want to be fairly thin skinned to be offended by daly. Constructive criticism is not having a cut. Anyway, I didn't see anything untrue that he said.

Nicky brennan said on the radio last week that beating laois and dublin was not a true test facing into a good tipperary team. And of course he was correct. But If a munster pundit said that it would be framed differently on here.

Some people on here just want munster lads to criticise us so they can act offended it feels like.

Village87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123508799#Comment_123508799

I agree completely, last week I said that if I was from Tipp I would be targeting Neary, that's exactly what they did. I got abuse on this and messages privately. I'm not blaming Neary but the half back line with him were shambolic.

Village87

How are we going to line up against Galway

Will Reid be installed number 6 ?

Will Shane Murphy start ?

Billy Ryan, Mossy Keoghan, John Donnelly, Eoin Cody, Adrian Mullen, TJ will that be our starting 6 forwards ?

Will Marty Murphy be included in the 26, as we are poor off the bench all year ?

Where can Galway really get at us ?

KK36

I doubt Shane Murphy will be able to start.

Those 6 forwards are the same as the last couple of years. Stephen Donnelly might start.

Murphy, Lyng, Vereker and Neary are part of the senior panel. They were with the u20s only for the last 6 weeks or so, so they will be back with the seniors this week. He may be on the 26 but is he good enough?

Galway will fancy getting at us the same place every one else does. Down the middle.

conor05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123510160#Comment_123510160

Reid at 6 means from now on in Huw Lawlor has perform Heroics at full back line because it is like the red sea parting when Reid is at 6 against the top teams.

Reid is a very very good ball player and will get away with it v the Antrims, Dublins etc but Clare ran at him constantly in that second half of the semi-final last year and got their rewards and Limerick the year before.

The problem is there has never been anyone to replace the great Brian Hogan yet at 6, though P. Walsh, K. Joyce and C. Buckley all done fine jobs their at certain times.

In the current climate the two most important positions on a hurling team are your goalkeeper and your centre back, and Kilkenny are struggling with both. (It is why Limerick needed Nickie Quaid back in goal and sorted their 6 position out straight away after the Cork defeat last year).

JohnCougar

The biggest problem we have in Kilkenny now is Leinster competitions from Minor to Senior are not giving us any real tests of as to what our best teams are and when we meet stonger oppposition from Munster we cant seem to cope for 75 minutes. We have no intensity or urgency in our play at times. Supporters are not going to matches due to the standard of hurling and it is very hard to watch all teams play the short game with the breaking tackles. Some players don't even strike the ball with their hurl in some games. If this does not change attendances will get even smaller as people just wont go anymore.

neverbet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123508945#Comment_123508945

Jeff Neary is an outstanding young player and alongside Ivan Bolger was one of the few that on the day brought the fight to Tipp. I have no doubt if he was given a one on one role with any of the opposition he would come out well. He was turned over for goal no 3 but at that stage the game was long decided. He is one for the future. Tipp didn't target anyone in particular, they were always in the comfort zone. Our manager acknowledged we were flat on the day and that's how it felt to me. If we had a few more with the hurling ability and bottle of young Neary we would be fine. PS I don't know the chap.

jimmythesulk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123510600#Comment_123510600

This is it exactly, we are in a leinster final, without even being tested yet. And it will probably be the All Ireland semi final before our first serious test, which is not ideal.

JJs Left Hand

He was at fault for the first goal as well in fairness. I like Neary, I think he's a lovely hurler however I don't know where you play him. He's been played in the backs by both Kierans and KK U20s and he's not a good defender. The team was moulded this year to have him free so it's pretty easy look a good hurler when the team is set up for you. I'd like to see him as a deep 11 similar to Cian Lynch but that's not to say he's anywhere near that level. I hope it works out for him but he's pretty small. I couldn't agree that he had a good game Saturday though.

Village87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123510603#Comment_123510603

Yes Neary had a good game and got on lot of possessions, but the distribution and physicality from him and the half back left an awful lot to be desired, i am not sure of how many times we were turned over or put on our arses coming out of the backs but it was sickening to watch. I said on this last week that if we go with the short game we are in for a long afternoon and it proved that way, what also did not help was when we went short to Lahouf, Mcphilips and Mcevoy in the first half, there touch was dreadful. The only player who is anywhere near senior level physicality is Murphy, a lot of them all they wanted was easy ball, as Marooned stated the management need to be called out on this, where is our savage hunger gone. It is simply not good enough.

Nedflanders02

I'd share the views of most people here and for lot of reasons Saturday was a very disappointing day. I think management will rightly get a lot of flack for how we were set up and how timid we were but the players have to take some responsibility also for how flat we were. I think Neary was unlucky for the first goal, it looked like he got caught by the sun and batted the ball out but I think Tipp were beginning to get on top at that stage. I think Tipp had the experience of losing the final last year to drive them on this year, so hopefully for the 5/6 lads who are underage again next year the pain of this defeat will drive them on for next year. As disappointing as the loss will be I still think we will get a decent amount of seniors from this team, Bolger and Murphy loo like they could make an impact at senior next year, Lyng, Neary, Vereker look good prospects also and even though they were poor at the weekend McDermott and Lauhoff look like they have something about them also. A lot of posters here have talked about the support on Saturday and it was very disappointing to once again be outnumbered in our own back yard, people say it doesn't have an impact on players but speaking to one of our senior hurlers recently he mentioned how disheartening it was to hear the roar for the opposition team and barely a whimper for us, especially at Nowlan Park. The disconnect between the supporters and county teams is very worrying and definitely something that needs to be looked at but not sure what can be done solve the issue but no doubt if we get to the senior final this year they'll all be coming out of the woodwork looking for tickets.

randd1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123510963#Comment_123510963

Since we last won the senior AI in 2015, we've been in 11 AI finals across the three grades, and three NHL finals.

We've won 1 AI out of 11 at all grades, and while it was good to win that one, Limerick were missing their best player due to a stupid rule. We've won one league out of 3. Just 2 out of 14 national finals in 10 years (and this year isn't finished yet) at all inter-county grades. That's a dreadful return.

And to boot, we've taken a few beatings as well, beaten by 9, 14 and 9 in senior in '16, '19 and '23, beaten by 11 in the league in '23. Beaten by 6 in the 2017 U20 but it may as well have been 15 we were so far off them, beaten by 9 the other day, could well have been more only Tipp sat back. A 7 and 11 point defeat respectively in '18 and '19 at minor, miles off in both, and Tipp beat us last year playing with 13 players for 3/4 of the games and then extra time as well.

We just don't seem to win finals anymore, and we've been well beaten in most of them.

And I reckon, as a county, we're a bit punched drunk right now from those repeated defeats and beatings, and no longer really believe we can win when we get there.

Realt Dearg Sec

Being in Leinster is doing us no favours at any level. Could see that at the weekend.

This weekend obviously I want us to win but a loss wouldn't be the end of the world for two reasons. One is that it means we were in a real match, which will bring us on a ton either way. The other is while it would mean less likelihood of making an all Ireland, we would probably have to beat two Munster teams to get there. This thing is sauntering through leinster then getting shellacked by a team that looks sharper, harder, and more confident than us is demoralizing and getting awfully familiar. Hope the minors break the pattern of course, but for this Saturday the main thing I want is for us to come out of it knowing we were in a real hard close fcuking match against a serious team.

I have been more confident of the seniors this year than any time since 2019 this year, but maybe the u20 match is getting to me and I'm starting to think performances in leinster are only fools gold these days.

tibruit

We were lucky we set ourselves up as defensively as we did. It could have been a bigger beating. At the end of the day, no matter how you`re set up, every player has their own personal battle to win and as far as I could see only two of our lads won theirs.

Village87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511511#Comment_123511511

That's what I thinking myself. How many of our team would make the Tipp team ?

we are going to find it hard over the next 6/7 years to beat Munster teams at IC level. Tipp, Cork and Limerick will be exceptionally strong for 5/6 years.

Nedflanders02

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511359#Comment_123511359

I think that may be a reason people aren't coming to games but I still don't think it's a good excuse, you look at a county like Mayo who have an even bigger habit of losing finals and they still come out in massive numbers to support the team, Wexford haven't even been getting to finals and still come out in big numbers. I do think a lot of it is down to how hurling is being played at the minute and a lot of people I know do not like watching modern intercounty hurling. I think you make a good point in that there probably is an element of people thinking we'll lose so we won't bother going too. I think it's a hard one for the county board to try and turn around, we criticize them a lot on here but I'm not sure how much more they could have pushed to get people behind the team and to come. There doesn't seem to be the same push on for Sunday's game but maybe the free juvenile tickets the GAA are giving clubs will help get a few extra people in the gate.

Looking at our record you present, and leaving the supports aside, it's a fairly galling record. I know we would have been big underdogs in most of those games, the '16 and '19 senior finals probably would have been the 2 we would have been 50/50 and we would have thought we'd have a decent chance. Personally I don't think this is a mentality problem but more a problem quality problem and a fairly damning indictment of the quality we have been producing at underage for the last 10/12 years and how far we've been behind other top counties. Thankfully through the Mick Dempsey review and the work Mick Fennelly and his committee has been doing we look to slowly be moving in the right direction. I think there are a good group of players who will hopefully be coming into the senior set up over the next few years who will be more ready for senior hurling than some of their counterparts that have come through over the last 10 years.

KK36

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511635#Comment_123511635

Ì think there's more to it than just that. The current minor team is as good as we have produced in a while. The work with them started a long time before Mick Dempseys review and Michael Fennelly was appointed so there was obviously good work being done in clubs, schools and development squads before then as well. No doubt the work going on at the moment is good but sometimes people get mislead by these things. A bit like Michael Duignan getting huge credit for Offaly winning an U20 football title 6 months after he was elected.

KanyeSouthEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511635#Comment_123511635

not to be picky here but claiming Wexford come out in big numbers is a myth. Have a look at the attendances for any Wexford championship game recently. Fair weather support as well.

Sir Chaz

Seems like there's a sense of weariness about Kilkenny supporters at the moment, probably borne out of numerous final losses, having been spoiled with a ridiculous amount of success for so many years. The Tap turned off in 2015 and there's been some fairly sobering defeats since then, last Saturday included.

The polite ripple of applause when the team entered the field on Saturday was in sharp contrast to the enthusiastic cheer their Tipp counterparts got. I'm sure the players themselves feel that indifference in the crowd, and whatever effect it has on performance, it certainly can't help.

We badly need something to happen and probably happen fairly fast, or support will get worse before it gets better. Sunday is a huge game, and we desperately need a win and a performance to get the county some momentum back. If the Minors could follow it up the following weekend and go on to fulfil the potential they look to have by winning the final as well, which is the weekend before we'd be up in Croke Park for a Senior semi, then perhaps we could turn a corner. A lot of 'ifs' I know, but things seem fairly bleak at the minute.

Realt Dearg Sec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123511865#Comment_123511865

Yeah, Wexford get high credit for their attendances and in fairness into lately they deserved it, they did have decent crowds even in bad times, but to be honest the state of leinster right now has affected every team in it (exacerbated by the media somewhat over hyping the Munster championship usually at our expense). I keep thinking of 2019, when you really did have three or four good teams in Leinster and the crowds were very good. Or the nineties when the leinster championship was better than Munster. When the quality of the hurling is good and the feeling is that teams are competitive, the crowds will always follow. Simple as that. And the same is true for kilkenny (although I never, ever remember us not being badly outnumbered at an all Ireland final, in 2007 I felt like me and my friend were the only kilkenny people in the whole cusack stand when the teams came out). You might give out about the fans but that's what it'll always come down to

jamesbond2022

I think there will be a lot of changes in the hurling landscape next 2 years with plenty of turn over and retirements from the likes of Clare Limerick and Waterford

If Limerick win the all Ireland this year I doubt kiely and kinnerick will go on for much longer and they will have a few stepping away similar to kk in 2014

I’d argue that Limerick while they have produced some really exciting young hurlers from midfield up they haven’t produced a back the quality of Finn Casey morrissey etc in a long time apart from hayes

Waterford haven’t much coming through once the Bennett’s Barron an de burca step away

Clare have some decent players coming through underage but conlon Kelly mcinereny and cleary will be big losses aswell as o Donnell

Cork and tipp now look like they have the most underage players coming through and will have the least panel disruption over the next few years

If Wexford lose a few more experienced players there in danger of dropping further down the pecking order in Leinster

Galway and kk will also have a lot of experience moving on from there panels aswell the next few years

It looks like it’s Limerick or corks year this year but after that I think a lot of counties will be at a very similar level

The_Tank

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123510340#Comment_123510340

Correct me if I'm wrong but a lot of our goals this season were conceded down the wings (Offaly, Antrim). There's bigger issues than just Richie Reid with that HB line but I do agree we need better cover from the centre. For me Blanchfield has been equally as poor when forced to defend.

usualstripes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123512451#Comment_123512451

That is correct so far this year. Blanch hasnt pushed on at all this year but we are only now coming to the business end. Hopefully himself and Carey drive on from here.

Nedflanders02

Looking ahead to Sunday, hopefully we get a better idea of where we stand after the game. The concern going in is our half back line, we all have concerns over Richie Reid at 6, and there's no doubt that Galway will put Cathal Mannion at 11 and try and get the space the Dublin half forwards did the last day and if the he does we will be in trouble. Blanch and Carey on the wings seem to be completely out of form and the opposition have got a lot of joy over the last few games. I think we'll probably go with a similar team to that, that played Dublin with maybe Cody back starting, so something like:

Murphy,

Butler, Lawlor, Deegan

Blanch, Reid, Carey

Kenny, Molloy

Mullen, J Donnelly, Ryan

Mossy, TJ, Cody

On paper that's a strong team and if we play to our potential we should have too much for Galway. That forward line especially looks very dangerous and with Cody and Mossy inside there are goals in this team. A problem we had last year was impact off the bench but with the team above you would have potential subs to introduce of Stephen Donnelly, Shine, Hogan, Tommy Walsh, Shane Murphy, Mackessy, Doyle, Moylan. Last year the lack of legs off the bench killed us, this year there is no real excuse and we have options, more than ever hurling is gone to a 20 man game and we have to be ready to let in these subs when needed.

Village87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123513389#Comment_123513389

That's a decent team playing a bad Galway team, Galways backs lack pace, Burke midfield is way past his best, Monaghan is a poor midfielder, Fahy in the goal is below average. Concannon really struggles against Lawlor, they lack a bit of punch in the forwards. Galway's work rate and attitude is questionable too. Can't see anything other than a Kilkenny win .

Nedflanders02

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123513424#Comment_123513424

I think Galway have improved since the first game and no doubt they'll be out to prove a point on Sunday, but I do think we are a better team and I'd be surprised if we don't win. As you say the Galway backs are slow and we need to do what we did in Nowlan Park and put good balls into them and move them around, if we revert to lobbing high balls on top of them it will suit them but if we can move them around I think we will get joy and create goal scoring chances. I agree with you on their forwards, Mannion aside they definitely lack something, loads of nice hurlers but don't seem to have someone to win the dirty ball or make things awkward for a defense. I think if we do go with Mossy and Cody in the corners if we give them the right ball they can do a lot of damage, with the way Ryan and Mullen come deep there will be loads of room in front of the full forward line so we need to put the right ball in to them, this hasn't always been our best trait but it has improved this year.

Mad about baa baas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123513424#Comment_123513424

I think fahy got a ban from the cccc for the tackle against dublin so unless he wins an appeal it will be a different goalie ..which might be even more favourable for us

Is richie reid definitely back from injury?

If we have any hope of winning an All-Ireland we really need to be winning sunday..lose and we will.have to probably beat all 3 munster teams.

We need everyone available and hurling well to progress i think..we dont have a panel like limerick unfortunately

Krazy gang

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123513389#Comment_123513389

Mannion didn't play centre forward against dublin. Seemed to be between full and half forward lines with monaghan 11. I'd think Sean linnane will try to track Kenny. Whelan is working hard at wing forward but that takes away from their full forward line unless Kevin Cooney plays who offers something different.

I just hope it's a really good leinster final and a good advertisement for leinster hurling. Can't see there being much more than 25 /30 thousand there though

Nedflanders02

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123514053#Comment_123514053

I was expecting they might put him on Reid and try to take advantage of looseness as Dublin got a good bit of joy there too. To be honest I had completely forgot about Whelan but as you say positioning him at wing forward, where probably gives them a ball winner and physicality out there takes away from their goal threat and what Whelan does best inside. Blanch or Carey can't give him any space or he will do damage. I think O'Donoghue will have a plan ready for us and will have them well set up. I'd say the attendance will come down to how many of the free juvenile tickets were taken and how big a crowd Laois and Kildare will bring, hopefully it'll be over 30k and a decent atmosphere. We need a good test to see where we are going into the knockout phase.

jimmythesulk

Won't be a big crowd, Galway are even worse than us for supporting their county.