Waterford GAA thread - mod warning post #1 and #51

Parishman wrote: »

That was a mad comment from Liam Cahill to make as half the senior clubs did not play Ballygunner this year.

Can see very few coming into panel but on a brighter note many of the county panel did play well in fairness. For me the most impressive was Callum Lyons overall, Conor Prunty's display against Lismore and Dessie Hutchinson. someone who I think might be worth a call is Martin O' Neill of Mt Sion even if only for his free taking always good to have a back up. There are a few others who are in the Under 20 ranks, but it is probably a year too soon, Kevin Mahoney & Rory Furlong to name a few. On the championship as a whole Ballygunners' defence is their rock and I was very impressed with them as a unit. Well marshaled by Philip and Socky they suffocated teams and was a great platform for the forwards to score at will.

I agree that it's a crazy comment. Jamie and Tom Barron wer poor against Ballygunner as he was targeted specifically as it's known that if you stop them, you'll go a long way to beating Fourmile so does that now mean they aren't at the required level for intercounty? Cathrach Daly was equally poor for Lismore, is he not at the level? Then Passage and Tallow (unless Jordan Henley is in?) have no panel member so no player can be judged. A strange comment from Cahill.

Callum Lyons was very impressive but it must be remembered that he played at a lower level. I know Callum was excellent around the middle getting 4 from play in the county final but I cannot understand why he wasn't pushed back on Mikey Kearney in the 2nd half if not even earlier. Kearney hit 10 from play (and won frees that he scored) but you would imagine that this total would have at least halved if he was on Lyons? Instead, I think number 19 followed Kearney for most of the match and he ran amuck. a strange decision from the Ballyduff Lower management I thought.

Overall I thought the majority county players stood head and shoulders above the rest for their respective clubs which augurs well for the intercounty championship but a few disappointed in their club's knockout matches. Hopefully the fact that most do not play football, will leave Cahill have the team well prepared for Cork.

Parishman wrote: »

That was a mad comment from Liam Cahill to make as half the senior clubs did not play Ballygunner this year.

Can see very few coming into panel but on a brighter note many of the county panel did play well in fairness. For me the most impressive was Callum Lyons overall, Conor Prunty's display against Lismore and Dessie Hutchinson. someone who I think might be worth a call is Martin O' Neill of Mt Sion even if only for his free taking always good to have a back up. There are a few others who are in the Under 20 ranks, but it is probably a year too soon, Kevin Mahoney & Rory Furlong to name a few. On the championship as a whole Ballygunners' defence is their rock and I was very impressed with them as a unit. Well marshaled by Philip and Socky they suffocated teams and was a great platform for the forwards to score at will.

I think its strategy to justify him not calling up Maurice or Connors again because neither had a great day against Ballygunner.

Mastermcgrath wrote: »

I think its strategy to justify him not calling up Maurice or Connors again because neither had a great day against Ballygunner.

Did Cahill make the comments directly after the county final? In that case I think it was a throwaway statement to say something nice about the county champions

A recurring feature of club hurling in Waterford in recent times has been the fact that, despite the closely-contested nature of the intermediate championship, the eventual winners have found it difficult to retain their senior status in subsequent years. A clue to explaining this may be gleaned from the fact that, as observed here recently, intermediate championship matches are frequently high-scoring affairs. If intermediate teams are able to rack up high scores against each other, then how are they likely to fare when they come up against senior teams?

Last Sunday’s intermediate final between the Ballyduffs was very enjoyable to watch, but the shooting statistics were almost ridiculous for a 60-minute game: 58 scores and 18 wides. This represents an average of a shot for every 47 seconds of play (including stoppages for puckouts, frees, etc.).

County player Mikey Kearney led the scorefest with a total haul of 19 points (nine from play). Kearney was not as tightly marked as he was in the Western final, but even more important was the excellent service he received from out the field, where Ballyduff Upper enjoyed much more latitude than the previous week.

Ballyduff Lower’s concentration was really poor in the first quarter. Their goalie kept hitting puckouts straight to unmarked opposition players, while their marking on Ballyduff Upper puckouts was non-existent. Also, their sole tactic of trying to find full forward Jack Kennedy with long balls was paying no dividends, with Kennedy’s marker Oran Leamy playing brilliantly. Only some excellent individual scores by their wing forward Ronan Dunphy gave them any kind of foothold in the game.

Ballyduff Lower improved somewhat in the second quarter, with Calum Lyons coming more into the game and Cormac Dunphy providing stiff resistance at centre back. Still, they went in at half time six points down, 0-17 to 0-11.

Ballyduff Lower dominated the third quarter with Calum Lyons exerting dominance in the midfield area and Jack Lyons storming into the game at centre forward. They got a great boost with a 42nd minute goal following a brilliant save by the Ballyduff Upper goalie. At this stage, Mikey Kearney was single-handedly keeping Ballyduff Upper going with some excellent scores from play and frees.

When Jack Kennedy goaled in the 52nd minute to put Ballyduff Lower ahead for the first time, it seemed that Ballyduff Upper’s extra-time exertions over the previous two weeks would finally catch up with them. However, exactly the opposite happened. Eoghan Murray’s goal two minutes later put them back in the saddle and they completely dominated the closing stages, during which they hit eight points to just two for the opposition to run out six point winners, 1-32 to 2-23.

Normally a senior team, Ballyduff Upper have a great fighting spirit, a strong half-back line and, in Andrew and Kevin Casey, a good supporting act for Mikey Kearney up front. I would give them a good chance of at least retaining their senior status in the coming years.

In the junior final, Tramore should have won much more comfortably than their eventual four-point margin. Their total of 16 wides included some really bad misses, especially in the second half when they were clearly the dominant team. Their full forward, in particular, sent a penalty over the bar and sent two close-in frees wide.

They did, however, get a couple of lucky breaks. In the first half the Colligan goalie came out to take a free which he failed to lift. He then hit a ground stroke straight to a Tramore player and was left stranded as the latter – quite skillfully, it must be said – lobbed the ball into the empty net. Then, in the 61st minute, with the game on a knife-edge, the Tramore goalie sent a long free straight to the Colligan net. The thing here is that no Tramore player challenged for the ball as it entered the Colligan square where the defending side had too many players who got in each other’s way.

In the first half, Colligan more than held there own in general play, with Colin Dunford hitting a series of excellent points and centre-back Dan Booth giving an exhibition. Fullback Martin Whelan and wingback Liam Beresford (a son of the legendary Jimmy) also impressed. The main features of the second half were two shots for goal by Dunford which went the wrong side of the post, and an excellent display by Tramore forward Charlie Kelly.

The senior final was the predictable damp squib. This largely inexperienced Passage side were never likely to be able to mount a serious challenge here. Even then, their inept game strategy surprised me. This consisted mainly of trying to hit long balls into Liam Flynn at full forward, obviously in the hope that he might reproduce his semi-final form. Any ball that fell short was gobbled up by the unmarked Philip Mahony and promptly returned with interest. Any ball that got through to the full forward line found Flynn double-marked by Barry Coughlan, a wiley player with the full complement of little nudges and flicks, and an accompanying corner back. Even if Flynn did manage to get possession, which he rarely did, he was unlikely to be able to do much damage in this situation.

Elsewhere, there was a stark contrast between Ballygunner’s ability to find unmarked players in open space, and Passage’s repeated tendency to hit long stick passes to players with markers in close attendance, with the intended passes rarely sticking.

It is a pity that there is no intercounty club championship this year, in order to see how Ballygunner would fare against better opposition than they met within the county. It was easy for many of their newer players to look good, given the amount of space they were able to work in. It will be interesting to see how they fare when faced with tighter opposition.

thesultan wrote: »

Legs are gone for both at intercounty.

Connors I agree. Also he was very disappointing as captain last year under Paraic Fannings reign, when leadership was needed he was absent.

But Maurice should still Be there. Absolutely still has value to add in some capacity.

friendlyfun wrote: »

Bring in Maurice ffs

He should be given a chance at least

More than likely it will be the league panel going back on the 14th

carter10 wrote: »

Think it would be foolish of Cahill not to recognise some of the players not on the panel who played well in the club. By doing this he is sending out the message that no one can play themselves onto the panel once it's picked. Have to give fellas something to work towards

Good interview here

https://www.spreaker.com/user/wlrfm/liamcahill7inarow

Waternut wrote: »

So who else do you think he should bring in? For reasons outlined before, I think Shanahan should get recalled, but apart from Maurice, I'm struggling to think of anyone else.

Shane Bennett

PTH2009 wrote: »

Shane Bennett

Shane Bennett opted out of the panel. He didn't want to play, Maybe he has changed his mind since but if he wants to play that's up to him to contact Cahill and not the other way round

As for Maurice he is a liability with his temperament. That's why he is not on the panel. After seeing him get sent off against Cork in the 2018 league relegation final after less than a minute on the field i never wanted to see him in a Waterford jersey again

DiscoStew wrote: »

Based off Ballysaggart’s two games? Are people not suggesting he calls people in based on their club championship performances? There’s a case to be made for Bennett, but it certainly isn’t that!

Apparently he is already back in the mix

Ballygunner beat DLS 4-12 to 0-1 to win u13 final.

Combined scores for u13 and u14 finals see ballygunner win 10-34 to 0-1.

Deisegodeo wrote: »

is that joxer from lismore the ballyhale manager ?

KK senior championship is less competitive than Waterfords.

Deisegodeo wrote: »

is that joxer from lismore the ballyhale manager ?

Yes first year with them

emergingstar wrote: »

Is it time for a Senior B or Premier intermediate in Waterford in butch football and hurling

I think a third grade would make the championships more competitive and way more enjoyable

Stop with your common sense. Don’t you know preserving The traditional values of the divisional boards far exceed the importance of improving the standard of games in the county

Mastermcgrath wrote: »

Stop with your common sense. Don’t you know preserving The traditional values of the divisional boards far exceed the importance of improving the standard of games in the county

Surely if a club put in a proposal, clubs would back it?