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

PTH2009 wrote: »

reading Davy Fitzs new book atm and a few good storys of his time with Waterford

John Mullane is a funny man and some of the main guard at the time of the mids 2000s didnt exactly shine to Davys appointment and some in davys words 'made up lies about him' in there books. Going by Davys book the davy years 2008-2011 were mixed but the reaction after the 2011 Munster final hammering was good reading and every man in the squad that year stood up and made the rest of the campaign respectable. The end of 2011 was the right time for Davy to walk away from us. Davy himself was left confused to why Mullane and Kelly celebrated so openly in front of him when we beat the Clare run Davy in 2012. few good stories of the built up for the 08 final with the players having 'a night of craic' the night before the final and Adrian Power being in charge of music on the way too Croke Park

Stopitwillya wrote: »

Kilmac wouldn't murder anyone at hurling. Although at least they are back fielding a team.

PTH2009 wrote: »

TDB gone from the panel ?

Anyone else hear

Giveitfong wrote: »

I had written a piece on how Waterford might best use Tadhg de Búrca's talents and was about to post it when PTH2000 raised an alarm that Tadhg may have left the county panel. Since there has been no confirmation of this, for what it's worth, here is the piece in question.

One of the marks of a good coach in any sport is the ability to identify how a particular player’s skillset can best contribute to overall team performance. Take the case of Limerick hurler Declan Hannon. At underage level, Hannon was an outstanding scoring forward, but when he moved up to senior level he found it very difficult to make an impact. With the emergence of Limerick’s new forward talent over the last couple of years Hannon looked like being completely sidelined. However, this year manager John Kiely decided that Hannon’s skills would best be deployed in the problematic position of centre back. Hannon went on to have a great year and make a key contribution to Limerick’s All-Ireland success.


There are clear parallels here with Ken McGrath. Despite his superb underage showings at centre back, when McGrath moved up to senior it was generally reckoned that half-forward was his best position. However, despite occasional outstanding performances (the 2002 Munster final being a case in point), McGrath frequently saw games passing him by, the ensuing frustration only making matters worse. Justin McCarthy’s failure to move him away from Gerry Quinn’s iron grip in the 2002 All-Ireland semi-final was one of the great managerial blunders in Waterford’s hurling history. McCarthy eventually saw the light and moved McGrath back to centre back where his career – and his contribution to the team – really blossomed.


We are seeing something similar happening with Austin Gleeson. Gleeson was superb at centre back in the winning Waterford minor team of 2013 and under 21 team of 2016 (his second-half performance in the Munster final that year against Tipperary brought back memories of Mick Roche at his best). Yet Derek McGrath seemed determined to play him everywhere except centre back and, despite occasional flashes of brilliance and genius, his performances tended to be patchy. This, for me, was a terrible waste of almost unprecedented talent and I hope his clubmate Pádraig Fanning will do the right thing in this respect.


Or take the case of Jamie Barron. Barron was first selected on the Waterford minor team at the age of 16 at corner back, even though he was playing up front for his club. Because of his outstanding skills he stood out in the position, where he then remained for most of the remainder of his under-age career. When his fellow clubman Michael Ryan took over the county senior team he moved Barron to the half forward line, where he had been shooting out the lights for his club. However, he just could not seem to get to grips with the position at intercounty level, until some bright spark (reputedly Ger Cunningham) moved him to midfield at UCC. The rest is (and hopefully will continue to be) history.


Conor Gleeson is another gifted Fourmilewater hurler who played in the forwards in Waterford’s 2013 minor winning team. However, in his first year at under 21 he was deployed at corner back where the team was stuck, whereas it was well covered for forwards. Like Jamie Barron, Gleeson’s skills meant he did a good job in the position, and ever since he has been looked upon as a man-marking defender. While he is excellent in this role, I reckon it does not make the best use of his abilities and that he would be of more benefit to the team in a forward position.


At the moment, Waterford appear to have no shortage of half back material. Apart from Austin Gleeson (hopefully), Tadhg de Búrca, Darragh Fives and Philip Mahony, we now have Michael Harney and Jordan Henley challenging for places with Seamus Keating, Conor Gleeson and Kieran Bennett (and possibly Shane Bennett) all capable of doing a job here. In this situation I think serious thought should be given to trying Tadhg de Búrca out in a forward role. He is undoubtedly a superb defender, but the skills be brings to bear in that position – including fantastic anticipation and reading of the game, ability in the air, great ball skills, ability to go past opposing players, pace, two-sided striking and good judgement – are all skills that any forward would love to have. Winning ball in the half forward line, running at defences and linking up with the likes of Stephen Bennett and Patrick Curran, de Búrca could cause havoc. With Tom Devine and Maurice Shanahan now gone, Waterford could struggle in the ball-winning department up front, and de Búrca, in my mind, has the ability to more than make up for our deficiencies in this area.

Giveitfong wrote: »

I had written a piece on how Waterford might best use Tadhg de Búrca's talents and was about to post it when PTH2000 raised an alarm that Tadhg may have left the county panel. Since there has been no confirmation of this, for what it's worth, here is the piece in question.

One of the marks of a good coach in any sport is the ability to identify how a particular player’s skillset can best contribute to overall team performance. Take the case of Limerick hurler Declan Hannon. At underage level, Hannon was an outstanding scoring forward, but when he moved up to senior level he found it very difficult to make an impact. With the emergence of Limerick’s new forward talent over the last couple of years Hannon looked like being completely sidelined. However, this year manager John Kiely decided that Hannon’s skills would best be deployed in the problematic position of centre back. Hannon went on to have a great year and make a key contribution to Limerick’s All-Ireland success.


There are clear parallels here with Ken McGrath. Despite his superb underage showings at centre back, when McGrath moved up to senior it was generally reckoned that half-forward was his best position. However, despite occasional outstanding performances (the 2002 Munster final being a case in point), McGrath frequently saw games passing him by, the ensuing frustration only making matters worse. Justin McCarthy’s failure to move him away from Gerry Quinn’s iron grip in the 2002 All-Ireland semi-final was one of the great managerial blunders in Waterford’s hurling history. McCarthy eventually saw the light and moved McGrath back to centre back where his career – and his contribution to the team – really blossomed.


We are seeing something similar happening with Austin Gleeson. Gleeson was superb at centre back in the winning Waterford minor team of 2013 and under 21 team of 2016 (his second-half performance in the Munster final that year against Tipperary brought back memories of Mick Roche at his best). Yet Derek McGrath seemed determined to play him everywhere except centre back and, despite occasional flashes of brilliance and genius, his performances tended to be patchy. This, for me, was a terrible waste of almost unprecedented talent and I hope his clubmate Pádraig Fanning will do the right thing in this respect.


Or take the case of Jamie Barron. Barron was first selected on the Waterford minor team at the age of 16 at corner back, even though he was playing up front for his club. Because of his outstanding skills he stood out in the position, where he then remained for most of the remainder of his under-age career. When his fellow clubman Michael Ryan took over the county senior team he moved Barron to the half forward line, where he had been shooting out the lights for his club. However, he just could not seem to get to grips with the position at intercounty level, until some bright spark (reputedly Ger Cunningham) moved him to midfield at UCC. The rest is (and hopefully will continue to be) history.


Conor Gleeson is another gifted Fourmilewater hurler who played in the forwards in Waterford’s 2013 minor winning team. However, in his first year at under 21 he was deployed at corner back where the team was stuck, whereas it was well covered for forwards. Like Jamie Barron, Gleeson’s skills meant he did a good job in the position, and ever since he has been looked upon as a man-marking defender. While he is excellent in this role, I reckon it does not make the best use of his abilities and that he would be of more benefit to the team in a forward position.


At the moment, Waterford appear to have no shortage of half back material. Apart from Austin Gleeson (hopefully), Tadhg de Búrca, Darragh Fives and Philip Mahony, we now have Michael Harney and Jordan Henley challenging for places with Seamus Keating, Conor Gleeson and Kieran Bennett (and possibly Shane Bennett) all capable of doing a job here. In this situation I think serious thought should be given to trying Tadhg de Búrca out in a forward role. He is undoubtedly a superb defender, but the skills be brings to bear in that position – including fantastic anticipation and reading of the game, ability in the air, great ball skills, ability to go past opposing players, pace, two-sided striking and good judgement – are all skills that any forward would love to have. Winning ball in the half forward line, running at defences and linking up with the likes of Stephen Bennett and Patrick Curran, de Búrca could cause havoc. With Tom Devine and Maurice Shanahan now gone, Waterford could struggle in the ball-winning department up front, and de Búrca, in my mind, has the ability to more than make up for our deficiencies in this area.

TheScoringGoal wrote: »

Any reason why you didn't name Conor Prunty? To me he's the obvious next in line if he can stay injury free.