Kilkenny GAA Thread

What did ye think of “the back of the goal or nowhere “. Protest on the terrace?

I take it you were at the match and observed that O'Sullivan who is some hurler scored the first point off Reid , next four off Carey and the goal off Blanchfield? None of the half backline are playing well at the moment. Reid on the other hand is the only one that consistently delivers the right type of ball to the forwards. He wasn't CB v Galway,Cork or Tipp in the league or Offaly last weekend and we still had problems leaking goals and goal chances.Everybody has their views on Centre back and all four options play CB for their clubs. All four are fine hurlers but pointless comparing them to Kyle Hayes. He makes any best team of any generation. If somebody knows a better option than that four within the county I would love to hear it.

Most other teams would just name Ritchie Reid at corner forward and then let him play that sweeping role with a conventional six behind him. . Maybe I’m wrong but it appears to me that Mullen gets the free role but it’s not defensive or as a link player. perhaps we should play mullen in that role and have the ball going through him as a formal link man/sweeper but I’m not sure he reads the breaks as well as Ritchie does.

Unless choice is voted through I can't see the championship starting.

So where did they want ye to go Marooned? Into the stand where people had paid €25 to sit? Brain dead stuff indeed 🙄

I would say physically he is bulkier than Kyle's Hayes but he doesn't have half the physicality or pace that Kyle Hayes has. He does not use his size well and he is passive in comparison to Hayes.

It Is worrying how Richie Reid can be run around and he doesn't lay a glove on the man. Definitely the biggest problem facing Derek Lyng, we will be sliced open in a big game if he doesn't find a solution.

His distribution is top class and maybe he didn't get much help but look at the way he is rounded time after time in one on one situations.

He tries to jockey everytime but gets no body contact on the man, thinking of the wonder goal hegarty got in all ireland final not even a nudge from Reid to put him off, David Fitzgerald turned him twice and Richie let him walk past in last years league final. He was rounded by the Dublin runner on Sunday and they goal from the free came off it. That is just off the top of my head three identical situations. They need to get him tackling or change him.

I agree he is unreal on the ball but it should be an insult as an inter county back to be rounded and not get a tackle in. It's harsh but is this year 4 of this now, we have to try a different option.

We are conceding all the same type of goals and we have a small window to get it right now. We are walking blindly into the same situation again.

Maybe the midfield need to help more as well I would have to analyse it again. I was feeling positive until the weekend but lots of the old failings with the falling asleep letting leads slip and lack of intensity reappeared and the puckouts not providing us with outlet to get on ball and stem the tide and also offering them short ones. The puckouts is the big thing when the game is slipping Murphy can't find the ball to hand to get us back going again, we lump it long and it comes back at us.

Mossy, Billy Ryan and the cameo from Luke Hogan being the positives. More physicality down the middle and puckouts sorted and we are better than we are showing.

Hopefully a decent crowd from Kilkenny for their U20 Leinster Final against Dublin in Portlaoise tomorrow. Kilkenny beat Dublin by 7 points at Nowlan Park earlier in the campaign helped by 2 soft goals. Dublin were also missing Ollie Gaffney and Callum Graham who combined for 6-10 in their last 2 matches against Offaly and Galway.

In their last match against Laois, Kilkenny overdid the handpassing for 40 minutes resulting in ball being turned over. Marty Murphy played well but will need more assistance

I cannot believe that the U20 team is the same as the last day.

I have no problem with the same team, maybe Anthony Ireland Wall is a bit unlucky.

Best of luck to the u20s tomorrow night. I was impressed with Dublin last day after the win over Galway. They have defeated 2 very good teams to get to a Leinster final, you can be guaranteed they will show up with a performance again. This is very much a 50-50 match, Kilkenny have set up to be very hard to beat this year after being run ragged last 2 years. As marooned stated few lads are lucky to hold there place, I was impressed with Ireland-Wall and I think it was Lyng last day off the bench, both seemed very efficient on the ball.

As long as Brennan starts on the frees I’d have no issue with the team

My biggest issue with the performance on Sunday was the fact that we stood off the puck outs and allowed them to go short and get the running game going. Once they got their running and slick interpassing game going the half back line wasn't stopping them. I think we need to be aware of who were playing Cork and Dublin play this game and I think you have to push up on the puck out and cut it out at source force them to puck it long and play to our strengths. We allowed 3 and sometimes 4 men to be marked by 1 or 2 forwards one of them being TJ who was never going to close the game. He needs to be beside his man for the puckout not 15 yards away trying to cover two. A team like Limerick perhaps we could sit back as they will go longer more often. Dublin just ran through us like water. I would 100% agree though that Richie Reid stand way to far off his man and makes little if any attempt to tackle. He'll put his hurl up to block a shot but is rarely close enough to actually make the block. I think Richie and all of the half back line would be better served if we pushed up on running teams puck outs more often than not.

Every team is giving up the puck out now it seems to be very fashionable
Its a bit like football teams used to do a lot the last few years

Doesn’t make sense to me as the sliothar travels so much quicker than a foot pass while teams are more set and have an extra man back the ball is landing on the edge of the square sooner and causing chaos I think it’s why we’re seeing a lot of goals the last 2 years

Pushing up makes a team have to work the ball up and you can turn them over as a result rather than basically giving them a free puck up to whatever area of the pitch they want

The U20's are going well, the ball they play into the forwards is excellent, bouncing in front of them as they run out.

They could teach the seniors a thing or two.