Waterford GAA Thread - Mod note post #1

TheScoringGoal wrote: »

Folks, where would you play Kieran Bennett?

Probably the half forward line even though I think he is a better wing back because we are desperately short of scoring forwards

Mastermcgrath wrote: »

Midfield with Barron

Id have a half back line of Daly, Prunty and Lyons. Shane Fives staking a big claim for fullback this year. Interesting to see if Cahill sticks him in there v Limerick next weekend

Yeah I'd be inclined to agree. in tadhg's absence we need someone to step up for centre back and Prunty looks to me like he could do the job. will be interesting to see if Cahill tries fives back and Prunty centre back in the remaining 3 league games against top opposition.

Last Sunday’s game against Westmeath was mainly an exercise in getting hurling minutes into the legs of as many of the Waterford hurling panel as possible, while again being careful to avoid injury. Between this and the Cork game, 31 players in all have got game time. This leaves just six of the 37-man panel named in the Dungarvan Leader a couple of weeks back who have yet to see any action - Shane Bennett, Jamie Barron, Shane Ryan, Ciarán Kirwan, Thomas Douglas and Darragh Lynch. Some of these may not still be on the panel given the current GAA rules about the size of training panels.

This meant that the game was essentially between Waterford’s second team and Westmeath’s first team. In fact, Westmeath probably had a more experienced team, as the majority of the Waterford team had little or no previous experience of senior intercounty hurling. Westmeath had good basic skills and a well-rehearsed short passing game which they were able to implement given the lack of intensity in what was a half-paced game.

Waterford looked content to maintain a lead of 5-6 points and always had that extra bit of class which they could draw upon as required. This was particularly apparent when, after Westmeath’s late goal, they knocked over three good, well-worked, points in a row to restore their advantage.

While one would not want to read too much into a low-intensity game against this opposition, it is still worthwhile to comment on individual performances, especially of those on the margins of the panel. A lot of people on this board have picked out Shane Fives as a star performer, based mainly on three or four high-profile plays on his part. For me the outstanding performer was Peter Hogan, who put in a very busy shift picking up ball in the middle third and generally moving it on efficiently. He topped the possession count with a total of 19.

Second in line for me was Iarlaith Daly, who had a very effective game at centre back. He performed a very similar role to Limerick’s Declan Hannon, sweeping up behind two big wing backs, and getting possession on 17 occasions. His positioning was good, and he concentrated on simple passes to loose team mates. I was also impressed with his constructive free-taking.

Of the two wing backs, while Kieran Power did okay (and earned three converted frees), I was particularly impressed by Seamus Keating who worked very hard from start to finish (nine possessions in each half) and looked out on his feet in the closing stages. He is big, mobile, and a good striker of the ball, and I especially liked the way he was able to get forward in support of the forwards. He was wing forward in the Dungarvan schools team which won the All-Ireland title in 2013, and his size, pace and ability to win ball could make him a useful forward prospect.

I thought that Tom Barron did quite well at corner back. He certainly worked hard (17 possessions), and although his use of possession was not good at times, he has strength, poise and hurling ability. He also showed glimpses of the wonderful sidestep for which his older brother is famous.
Billy Power was completely out of the game in the first half (just one possession) but, ironically, he was just coming into it (five possessions and a good point) when he was replaced by Jake Dillon after 45 minutes. DJ Foran wasn’t in the game much (a problem we have seen with him before), but he showed that, when he does get possession, he knows how to score, with three excellent points.

Michael Kiely was up against Westmeath’s best player (Tommy Doyle) and didn’t get much ball coming his way. When he did get two balls out in the corner in the second half and came in along the end line, showing his trade-mark sidestep, he had nobody in support and was eventually crowded out.

While Shaun O’Brien failed to stop the one shot that came his way, it was a wet ball bouncing off the surface which is always hard to deal with. Otherwise, his distribution was a mixed bag – he picked out players out the field very well on a regular basis, but also gave away possession on a number of occasions.

Of the remaining players, Ian Kenny gave an exhibition of corner back play in the second half. A poster here suggested that Patrick Curran contributed little from play. In fact he was one of the most industrious players on the Waterford team, moving widely around the pitch and picking up 13 possessions en route. He also earned two of the frees which he converted.

An interesting observation on the impact of water breaks on hurling games. In the first quarter there were just two wides (and 15 scores). In the second quarter there were 13 wides and only seven scores. In the third quarter there were again just two wides while in the final quarter there were eight wides. Go figure.

Waterford possession counts:

S. O’Brien 5); I. Kenny (10), S. Fives (7), T. Barron 17); S. Keating (18), I. Daly (17), K. Power (8); P. Hogan (19), B. Power (6); J. Fagan (6), P. Curran (13), DJ Foran (8); J. Prendergast (8), M. Kiely (5), M. Kearney (7); J. Dillon (6), K. Moran (3), D. Hutchinson (2), K. Bennett (3), D. Lyons (3), C. Prunty (0), C. Sheehan (0).

KevIRL wrote: »

Wat v Lim
1 B Nolan
2 C Lyons
3 C Prunty
4 S Keating
5 S Bennett
6 I Daly
7 K Bennett
8 J Barron
9 A Gleeson
10 J Fagan
11 C Gleeson
12 J Dillion
13 D Hutchinson
14 St Bennett
15 J Prendergast
SUBS SO'Brien,S Fives,KMoran,K Power,P Hogan,BPower,DJ Foran,P Curran,MKiely,T Barron,M.Kearney

interesting 15

Someone here got there wish and said they should try Shane Bennett in defence

Lets hope for a massive performance sunday

Disagree with posts above

No way is that our best starting 15, yes a lot of the big names are back but hardly phasing Fives out given he was our best defender last weekend. Cahill is still trying things out and from what I can see his only focus is Munster championship v Clare.

formerlyET wrote: »

I'd be surprised if this match in the league wasn't the major focus of Cahill and Bevans.

I'd be astonished if it was. The league is utterly irrelevant this year apart from getting players fit.

Footballers losing 0-10-0-8 to Wexford at HT

Superb result for footballers

Great spirit shown especially after last weeks shambolic performance.
Delighted for Shane ronayne and the entire panel.

formerlyET wrote: »

The league is irrelevant, I agree, but out of all the teams that Waterford need to make a physical statement against and put in a performance (closer than last year) - it's this one. None of the other league games come close in terms of importance to this one for Waterford. Just my opinion. If they're bullied again tomorrow, the psychological factor will be there again if they meet later in the year. They need to get that dealt with, put it to bed, before they can think of winning against them later in the year.

You could well have a point. Galway certainly addressed it last week and as you could see by kielys interview after the game Limerick were rattled. In fact Galway may have done us all a favour and Limerick may need to rethink their physical approach this year give the amount of frees they gave away last week. It does look a strong looking team out on Sunday though and theyre looking for their first win of the league.
Again, Cahill I reckon will be after a performance more so than the result.

Venom69 wrote: »

Superb result for footballers

Great spirit shown especially after last weeks shambolic performance.
Delighted for Shane ronayne and the entire panel.

Great win for the much maligned footballers....unbeaten in Wexford since 2016.

Walsh Park pitch was inspected this morning and has been deemed playable

Best of luck to the team today

A lot of mistakes and lucky to be only 5 down at HT

Limerick backs not giving our forwards much space. I’m not sure about all the switches. Aussie is playing a sweeper role? Prunty was class in that first quarter.

We need a strong start for the 2nd half