Kilkenny GAA Thread Part 2 **MOD NOTE POST 1***

Very happy with the performance on Saturday and there most definitely was a game plan in place. Was at the game and haven't watched it back yet but seemed like Buckley sat very deep and when Deegan and Holden got ball they looked for him or Delaney or Morrissey and they moved right out to the wing and to give them an option and then better ball played around from there.

TJ and Walter were both very aware of De Burca and were on him very quickly. It worked well besides a few loose passes from Lester and Deegan but to play the shorter passing game in what was a bog showed that they have a bit of confidence in themselves.

Conor Delaneys touch looked assured, took an extra second on the ball once or twice but for his first outing it was impressive. It was Joeys best game for a long time, in fairness to him he has had it tough since the 16 final so fair play to him for sticking at it and his attitude has been good.

Pat Lyng and Keoghan flew into every ruck and fought for everything and are staking huge claims for a jersey. Love the way Pat Lyng has turned provider and is a real team player and Keoghan works hard and is great at running into space for a pass and pick off a score. He was visibly stumbling around down in Pairc Ui Chaoimh after 40 minutes from exhaustion but he paced himself well since and has settled to the pace of inter county very well for a 19 year old.

There will be a few changes out of necessity for next week but if they attack the game like that we will have every chance.

I think Walter has showed unbelievable leadership in this league so far, he has led from the front and has been the spearhead of everything. He might not be running up big scores but the amount of turnovers is massive. Barry Coughlan was up to his usual stuff on Sunday and Walter gave it right back to him, will have to know when to give it back and when to take it and he did that well on Sunday, all part of playing full forward.

You would be glad of what we have in Nowlan Park compared to Walsh Park, poor stand and awful pitch down there.

Mankbag wrote: »

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/hurling/tony-browne-the-new-tactical-cody-could-just-pull-off-his-greatest-trick-467379.html

If Waterford manage to turn around this season and do anything ill be shocked.

No forwards, no pace in the backs. There in big trouble

danganabu wrote: »

Waterford's season hasn't started yet and rightly so, they have the same forwards and same pace in the backs as they had last year.

FWIW I think they are a busted flush as well but not for those reasons, they simply dont have the squad to deal with the new structure and there has to be certain members of the team/panel becomming more and more disillusioned with the puke hurling to coin a phrase. And from what I seen of Walsh Park there isnt a chance in hell of them hosting games there, another disadvantage in a ultra competitive province.

Making definitive calls about teams in February is crazy. I think it's common knowledge that Kilkenny have much more work done than Waterford at this stage of the year and that certainly showed on Sunday. While the Munster group is going to be a minefield I certainly wouldn't be ruling anyone in or out at this stage of the year. And considering Waterford haven't won a match in Walsh Park in over two years maybe it would be no harm if they moved their "home" matches to Nowlan ( where they won last year) or Wexford Park.

danganabu wrote: »

Agreed, cant ever see the Munster Council agreeing to Munster Championship games being played outside of Munster though.

Money talks, they could get close to 25,000 in Nowlan Park for the Tipperary and Cork matches as opposed to what 12 or 14000 in Walsh Park.

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Might as well play the match out on the beach at low tide.

might have trouble getting the lines down though ....
unless they use hurleys to scrape them into the sand .........

babyjesus14 wrote: »

minty81 wrote: »

I was really encouraged by the fact we actually looked like we put some thought into our game plan, working the ball up the field rather than lashing it down blindly on a loose man. Maybe TJ got his meeting afterall!
I'd expect O'Shea back in the corner and Holden who's in good form to take over number 3. Though the interview i heard with Cody he said anyone playing Saturday definitely wouldn't be involved - maybe theres a chance of Padraig lining out as his game is Friday?

Padraig's semi is Friday ( for which they will be favourites) then the final is Saturday, so we can assume he won't be available. Here's the team I would like to see on Sunday.

E Murphy
C O'Shea
J Holden
P Deegan (assuming he's not still in Maynooth)
R Reid
C Buckley
E Morrissey
C Fogarty (if unavailable, J Maher)
L Blanchfield
M Keoghan
TJ Reid
P Lyng
A Murphy
W Walsh
R Leahy (if unavailable, B Sheean)

I've listed Leahy at 15 which would be an unfamiliar position for him but he could be given a freer role similar to the one Eoin Larkin played in his last couple of seasons where he wore 15 but you were as likely to see him pop up in the half back line as the full forward line.

I was at the game last Sunday so didn't see the live (deferred) coverage, was there any mention from the Kilkenny management team as to why Richie Leahy didn't play?

Didn't hear what was wrong with leahy hopefully nothing serious. interesting to see Lyng doing interviews lately has something happened with cody?I think I seen lyng wearing an earpiece as well which would be something I haven't seen before if it was.
I agree with most of the team above richie Reid should be tried half back.Joey has got his confidence back which is great but I'd leave him in the corner and start tom aylward full back he'd be a better option than lennon but I'd say he'll go for joey.No sign of john walsh or chris bolger lately I wouldn't mind seen them on the panel.

babyjesus14 wrote: »

A lot of the minors particularly with the smaller country clubs who have less of a pick will be doing Junior Cert and having previous experience of it July is a nightmare due to family holidays and then obviously space has to be created for the county minors matches. So they are the main reasons why so many fixtures are crowbarred into the dates you mentioned above. It's far from ideal but I would imagine it's a thankless task trying to come with a fixture list that suits everyone.

I agree it's not simple to work out these fixtures. And I appreciate summer months are complicated with holidays.  But surely there has to be a better way than 10 games in less than 6 weeks, 6 games over 10 months or so.

Will Kilkenny be trying out anymore players over the course of the league now ? Clubs back in action now and Kilkenny carrying 55/60 players and u21 also carrying a lot will these players be released to there clubs over the next few weeks ?

droppingball wrote: »

Took another look at the game last night, Enda Morrisseys use of the ball was very good, picked out the man very well. Have only seen him 3 or 4 times before but would hope to see him get time in the next two games and see how he develops.

Pity Kevin Kelly and Ger Alyward have not been fit or available as they could do with game time to get form with the team.

Interesting if Maynooth lose on Friday will Padraig be picked on Sunday, it would be no harm if he wasn't playing as we need to get a look at someone else at full back.

Padraig Walsh was u 21 5/6 years ago ?
He must be in college 7/8 years now

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

I never understood why the colleges were doing that kind of shady stuff. There's only a very small handful of people really paying much attention to the Fitz/Sigerson when it comes down to it, so while for the sport it's a very important competition in terms of showcasing up and coming players and developing them in a competitive environment, beyond the college's GAA club I don't see what benefit the college gets out of it, it's not like winning it makes a massive difference to the profile of the institution or anything. I remember going to see a match in UCD once where the likes of Noel McGrath, Joe Canning etc were all playing, and if there were 30 people watching I'd be surprised. Most students weren't even aware there was a match, and if they were they didn't care.

Well the competitions are prestigious and any county hurler who I spoke to about it really value the part it played in their development and any who were lucky to win it are proud of the fact.

But completely agree about the attendance at these matches. I was at the NUIG-Carlow IT a few weeks ago and there was more retired men(local hurling fanatics) than students at it. The handful of students were probably just friends and housemates of the players. I use the gym in NUIG are there is never even a mention on the notice board in there about upcoming matches, 95% of the student population probably don't even know they are going on.

A lot of lads get offer scholarships to go universities I think.

babyjesus14 wrote: »

Cornerback1 wrote: »

A lot of lads get offer scholarships to go universities I think.

They do indeed and this has become a major issue in the last few years and most notably this year due to the changed fixture list. Most of the guys who are on scholarships are guys playing county hurling and a lot of colleges feel they are not getting bang for their buck. A lot of them are very rarely training with their college and were unavailable for the pre-Christmas league competition matches due to their county commitments.

There was a very interesting article on this subject in the Irish Times about a month ago where Nicky English (who was involved with UCD for a number of years) was suggesting that perhaps the colleges should consider offering scholarships to non-county players who they will have greater access to. Which obviously would be very unfair on the county boys who need the money to pay their rent and for their daily living expenses, but they are very much caught between a rock and a hard place.

Good point. I think the way to go would be to have it for non-county players only. This would cut all of the lads who are signed up on scholarships or lads you are doing day courses etc. It would also develop the hurlers who would benefit from development.

The disadvantage I suppose is that intercounty lads, like the Railway Cup, want to play in it and test themselves against their peers.

It's a good competition but slotting it into the calendar is tricky. The final is usually played on a football only week-end.

Regardless, big game at week-end. Should be interesting if management change team much, apart from Donnelly and Delaney etc. Obviously, I want to see the same workrate and intensity. With this brings tiredness, so good subs are crucial to continue the graft. Hopefully we create a few more goal chances and take them. That will boost confidence!