Kilkenny GAA Thread

A sweeper/spare man is someone who can read the play adjust his position according to what he sees going on in front of him so if he is good at his job will very rarely get caught out of position so best way to deal with him is to put someone on him never leave his side not complicated at all

T alyward was the best fullback in the senior grade the last few years enda morrisey was very good there also for bennettsbridge as was Burke for thomastown before he went away all lads that were in under Cody

Conor Delaney would have been the other option until he stepped away he was more of a squad man though

Honourable mention to Holden from the shamrocks not far off 37 and also one of the best fullbacks going in the last 5 years

You could say all thoose players never got a fair craic of the whip or it was just soon for them in a kk jersey most of them hurled better after there stint with Kilkenny as maturity probaly came into there game excluding Holden

I'm not sure I understand how we can push someone up to mark their spare man in the backs without taking from elsewhere on the pitch (backs or midfield) to mark them. I'm clearly missing a part of your point, so maybe you could explain a bit more how we mark the spare man. Thanks.

No bother at all, don't we all! That's why my messages are always so long, trying to make my point but need too many words to make it

Jaysus I’m glad that’s cleared up I was totally lost my fault not yours

no wonder the players couldn’t get it going trying to play that shite catch the ball hit it left or right up and down the field SIMPLE

I am curious what disrespect was shown to Mark Dowling and Niall Bergin?

Have you personally spoken to Huw Lawlor and Billy Ryan to confirm they are available for next year? Have they both confirmed to you they are coming back? Or are you clutching at straws

Or perhaps you are family or friend to both players and have the inside track

Or maybe you’re just Derek Friend and little annoyed that most people hope he gets on with and stands down after successfully avoiding relegation from division 1 of the league and not qualifying out of Leinster for the first time in 30 years

Good job all round

just read tonight on Kilkenny live by Liam Kelly O Rourke,

He stated on the shameful KK supporters who voiced displeasure at Niall Bergin’s handling of the minor team that was beaten in the All Ireland final by thirteen Tipp men. And said Niall told him it was all about development, I always thought it was about winning All Irelands that’s why there is a roll of honour. He also stated the shameful way they were treated after losing such a wonderful sporting spectacle, go figure. No wonder we are not winning anything if that’s the attitude of the people put in charge of these teams.

An absolute fabulous article by PM with great insights great reading for those who want to understand where we are and how bad it really is.

Essential reading!

Lads Limerick haven't won a minor all Ireland hurling title in 42 yrs,we've came close a few times most notably versus yourselves in 2014 with what would turn out to be some of the best players to play the game . Of course I would love to be winning them but developing players for the senior team is the most important part in my opinion anyway.

Regarding Kilkenny , things can change very quickly,either way, I read here someone saying cork will dominate hurling for the next decade??? They haven't won one in 21 yrs and if they don't win it this Yr it's arguable that they'll have to tear that team apart and start again as a lot of their 1 to 10 have been there for yrs. So possible problems there too you just can't tell.

Limerick are on the slide downwards albeit from a very high level but will be there or thereabouts for a few yrs, Galway tipp clare yourselves and others of course will be in the mix in the next few yrs with no real dominating team on the horizon for me.

I don't think it's lazy commentary by me to suggest that Kilkenny will always have hurlers, I for one will be watching ours and your minors today on that fantastic platform that is tg4 YouTube ( don't get me going on the way the powers that be seem to want to get hurling out of the way as quickly as possible)

Very good article covering s lot of the stuff we’ve discussed on here . Some of it makes for depressing reading.

The whole “we just don’t have the players “ or “we’re not producing top players like we used to” argument is probably the most frustrating thing you hear when it comes to Kilkennys current predicament. The lack of underage success over the last number of years can’t just be ignored they say. As the writer alludes to there… there may be some truth to those statements but does that mean there’s nothing we can do?… does that mean we give up?

I’m honestly getting very frustrated with the idea that “ that’s just the way it is “ and there’s nothing we can do until a better generation comes along. Thats too simplistic and a bit of a cop out for our county board to be honest. There’s no transfer market in hurling, so counties have to maximise every ounce of potential from the players they produce.

That means proper coaching structures , elite strength and conditioning, sports psychology, player welfare supports and individual development programs to help players work on weaknesses and improve specific areas of their game. Thats what’s happening in other counties lads, and the player welfare side of it is huge , we lose so many players with huge potential for the lack of it and when you’re not providing these things , then we’re leaving so much behind us in comparison to others.

The top counties are not just relying on natural talent talent anymore… that day is gone. They are developing players properly from a young age and preparing them physically and mentally long before they ever reach senior level. There’s a huge amount that can be done at underage and at development squad level to make sure the best young hurlers are genuinely ready when the time comes. A coach worried about who he might upset (as the above writer puts it) if he points out a young players faults is just off the scale absolute madness…. thats what he’s there for for f**k sake …. how is the chap supposed to learn? It’s the same on here… if I call certain things out in a post, will I be offending someone? It has to stop lads.

To do what’s needed in Kilkenny takes planning, organisation and forward thinking from the right people. And that’s where the real concern is , because it feels like we are being reactive instead of building anything long term. Look there’s obviously a growing sense that the county board and those in charge don’t have what it takes to drive things forward at the level required.

Look at Limerick… as the Limerick poster said earlier they haven’t been massively successful at underage level apart from an excellent under 21 team nearly ten years ago now, and no minor title for 42 years….but the work they’ve done in player development and striuctures has clearly paid off massively at senior level. Yes we all know they have strong financial backing, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they’ve built something properly or are doing things right.

We should still be doing everything we can in our own control to match that level of organisation and professionalism. Not throwing our hands in the air and saying the players are not there at the moment so let’s wait for something to happen.

No county.., not even Kilkenny… are guaranteed a golden generation , but you absolutely can build an environment that gives players the best possible chance to reach their ceiling . And right now we’re not doing anywhere near enough of that . Not even close to it.

Article in the indo today where Richie Power & Michael Walsh raise a lot of the issues that get mentioned here, read on app so can't link, hopefully someone can link the full article

Power takes issue with the set-up of development squads, strongly questioning the wisdom of bringing in between 90 and 120 players at each level.

"A lot of these players aren't good enough to be on a county squad. We need to get back to getting the top 40-50 underage players in the county and concentrate on developing these guys,” he advocated. "Yes, there will be late developers, but trying to develop 90-120 players is just ridiculous.

"I saw last year there were young lads who should have been on a minor team that weren't even on a minor panel and probably the same this year.”

He recalled his own pathway through the Kilkenny 'south' teams that came together to play the 'north' before the best 30 were put forward. What's wrong with that now, he wondered

my thoughts exactly

KK minorslaying with a strong breeze in the second half. We handed cork about 1-04 too

Many Cork running through us and spare men on there shoulders this will have to be stamped out. They will have to hit the ground running in the second half.