Kilkenny GAA Thread

We need to concentrate on winning against Offaly and Kildare and hopefully get minutes into players coming back from injury and the younger players. Dublin might be the decider to see who gets to the final if they can defeat Wexford.

Munster is very interesting now and that game in Ennis next week is massive. Limerick will know if they win their 2 home games they will go through as Tipp and Waterford cant afford to lose any more games.

This AI is very open. Every team has questiona over them, IMO it will come down to a bit of luck like Tipp got last year and no major injuries or suspensions to key players. The team with the most influencial bench will probably end up winning.

We have the players to hurt any of them but we also have big questions at 3 and 6 in particular. Our bench is slowly getting better but will it hold up at the business end if we get there.

I've never thought of 2026 as a year where we need to concern ourselves with an all Ireland. My view was that we needed a rebuild and to get younger players some experience, and in that sense lawlor and Ryan leaving was not the worst thing that could happen. Thinking of them being back next year, the kind of options that would now be open to us, and the kind of experience coming off the bench we would have... For this year I think we are probably on a level with Waterford. Certainly capable of catching out any big gun on our day off they overlook us,but probably not going to consistently beat the top teams that you would need to do to go all the way. Never say never, but for this year we need to be one game at a time. Offaly is the only match that matters and the good performance on Saturday will be forgotten very fast indeed if we don't perform against them.

Factor in Garrett, Tallis, McDermott, Clifford, as well, and we're not doing too badly working in new players this year really.

In fairness if it was Nowlan Park Wexford would have all 3 of their games away.

Ye but taking that into account we could unexpectedly go far this year, as I said above injuries and suspensions could upset things yet Clare and Cork for the Munster final Limerick in third. In Leinster it’s hard to know if we beat Offaly we have a great chance of getting to the Leinster final after that anything can happen.

brain power bests me everytime, your right Billy I was in St Peter’s for an underage match and it must have been the U20’s after in Wexford park, my apologies.

Yeah that's it, u19 game before u20 game I was there too.

Camogie Senior disaster..

Beaten in a Leinster semi final by Wexford !!

That is shocking.

What in the name of god are they at.....

By no rationale available to me could it be said the absence of Huw and Billy is a blessing. For one thing you rebuild by playing your best players and learning from playing with them. This time last week many worried about relegation, 7 days on potential AI champs. Garett and Bolger emerged from under 20 last year and are potentials going forward and are being introduced as such. Doyle has taken until now to find his feet as a first team starter. It had been thrown around here many times in the past that he was only there because of the club he played for. Moore was the standout of last years local championship and made a commitment to the county this year. He is that bit further down the road as you can see S&C wise being that bit older. All in All patience is what is required and management let get on with their job. The two boys travelling are well entitled to do so but their loss can never be underestimated to us as followers but particularly to the panel and management.

will you be my substitute brain, I need help badly

VVery Poor result alright,first time since 2017 I think that wexford have beaten kilkenny. What should be a straightforward championship group may not be based on that result as wexford are poor.

Mullen should be lining out with the Shamrocks in the next few weeks to get some badly needed game time into him.

Hard to see John Donnelly getting back in to the 15 for next day anyway, barring injury. You'd hope him and Mullen could give us real options off the bench, with Stephen Donnelly as well and Harry Shine now back also.

We wouid be outsiders to win an All Ireland this year but having seen the games so far, I honestly wouldn't fear anyone in Championship bar Cork on a really good day, and even at that they've just lost the best 2 defenders from an already average defence. Limerick just won't have the legs, and are on a serious losing streak. How they are 2/1 for an All Ireland given their recent record is beyond belief. I think there's a decent chance they won't come out of Munster. Tipp are looking almost as ordinary this year, as we thought they were at this time last year before we threw the semi final away, and Clare have serious issues in defence also.
Galway will be beginning to fancy their chances right now, and I think if Kilkenny and Galway get to a Leinster Final, neither will fear anything in Munster.

Ironically if we can beat Offaly and Kildare we may not even need to beat Dublin to get to a Leinster final. Wexford will surely have a kick in them in Wexford Park the next day against the Dubs and you'd have to think Galway will win the rest of their games. Even if Dublin beat us we'd be level on 6 with Wexford and have the head to head.

Lads, we haven't a breeze of winning an All Ireland. Pure delusion to think otherwise. God bless your optimism

Haven't seen anybody predict us winning an All Ireland, but there's absolutely no doubt this Championship is wide open. Tipp came from a lower base than we did last year and won it, similar and harsher things would have been said in the Premier about their team at this stage last year also.

We're generally 10/1 to win the All Ireland. Very unlikely that we will but we're very far from no hopers. There is no big beast like there was when we were in our pomp or when Limerick were at their peak in 2020-23. Cork are the most likely winners but are as fragile a team as I've ever seen, and as I said have lost their 2 best defenders. At their best we won't have enough to beat them but in a one off semi final, there is no other team in Munster that's in any way near unbeatable. And there's no guarantee that if we go far that we'll even face Cork.

We can be as humble or even as negative as we want but realistically, we will beat Offaly and Kildare, and likely at our ease. We'll be around the 1/10 mark to beat Offaly which is in the realm of generational shock if it goes any other way. I'd understand people being cautious but the very strong likelihood is we will almost certainly win the next 2 games. If we reach a Leinster Final then Galway in Croke Park are not quite the daunting prospect that Galway in Salthill are/were.

There's plenty hurling to be done and while I wouldn't be backing us at 10/1, if we are facing Galway in a Leinster final after 4 wins in a row, and are 2 games from an All Ireland and facing into teams from what I reckon is the most average Munster Championship in a while, you can be sure our odds will be about half what they are now.