National Hurling Leagues 2026

Loads of throw balls not blown. As usual, analysts/reporters ignore these and concentrate on the odd one that refs might get wrong.

Did any of the cork contributors think the introduction of Damien Cahalane with 3-4 mins to be go was a bit strange…?

I reckon most handpasses these days are illegal, so absolutely it is annoying when the ref decides to just pick out 2 or 3 of them at what seems randomly, especially when a goal chance is on.

Perhaps in next year's league the refs shoukd be instructed to implement the rules with the full backing of Croke Park. And coaches are left in no doubt but that throw balls, overcarrying and pulling/dragging will be ALL blown. The coaches are ruining the game and so the onus should be on them to save the game by coaching within the rules. I think it would be worth "ruining" one league campaign by blowing everything in order to save hurling. Come the championship one would hope that every player is playing within the rules and hence fewer frees.

Ya VAR really fixed soccer 🤣

There's not too many players im any county who handpass the ball legally all the time. I've seen sean Finn have a clear striking action lately. Blanchfield of kilkenny is another who comes to mind

No it didn't.

Limerick forwards are the masters of turn the player and hold onto their hurley and fall to the ground

the handpass has become a joke at this stage

I have no interest in what team thinks its a ploy to take them down. I hate Throwball and think it is a blight on the game.

I didn't like it in 2024 when Tipp didn't win a single game, I didn't like it in 2025 when we were AI champions and I still don't like it in 2026. Tipp are doing as much of it as any team.

Those who don't mind it or even like it, that's fine, but those of us who don't like it are perfectly entitled to give out about it without the petty accusations of trying to take some team down.

Hurling is poorly served by its pundits who have no interest in highlighting any issues with the game, any attempt to correctly implement rules that "don't allow the game to flow" are instantly decried. I think this is the primary reason the refs have just washed their hands at dealing with it and just pick 2 or 3 instances almost at random per game in a pretense that they are doing something about it.

Absolutely agree with this, it gets tiresome when some counties supporters interpret genuine concerns as some sort of an attack on their team. To be honest it comes across as very juvenile and immature and leads to endless whataboutery. You can admire the successful teams or any team for that matter while still having concerns about where the game is going.

Calling out the amount of throwing versus proper hand passing and other obvious breaches of the rules isn’t whinging, it’s a genuine discussion about standards and how the rules are being applied . It’s because people who love hurling want to protect the game and the skills that make it unique.

There’s a difference between begrudgery and wanting consistency , nobody’s trying to take any team down as Robbie said , they’re saying apply the rules that are already there so that the core skills and values of the game don’t get eroded.

If we can’t debate that without it being dismissed as some sort of jealousy , then we’re shutting down a pretty important conversation about the future of the game.

You've lost me there to be honest. If you have issues with two or three posters you can call them out yourself if they bother you that much. Nothing to do with me or the point of my post. I didn't mention Cork, Limerick or any other county.

@The_Kew_Tour Again I'm confused, I'm actually making the same point you're making?.. I want freedom to discuss the hand pass and all hurling matters. If you read my post my point was we shouldn't shut down these important topics? You're actually agreeing with me.

I didn't mention any team or County and I also agree with you when you say all teams are guilty of it… that's my whole point, this applies to all so theres no need for some counties supporters to get paranoid about it , although I take your poin about some posters specifically picking on Cork and Limerick… I'm just not one of them.

I also didn't mention any player. If you have issues with other posters take it up with them. I have no idea what part of my post annoyed you to be honest. Maybe I shouldn't have said posters can be immature so if thats what has you worked up I apologise for my choice of words … I certainly meant no offense. You definitely appear to have misunderstood the context of my post though.