Hurling 2015

[The D Man]

Two very exciting semi finals yesterday. Brilliant comeback from cork as they were 12 pts down at one stage. Dubs must be gutted. And great credit to waterford who beat tipp by one point. A great achievement .

2 interesting games alright. When a team loses momentum in a game it can be very hard to get it back as Dublin found out. Cork sensed theere was achance and went for it. Winning installs confidence and that can certainly be said of Waterford. Mixing new and old methods together to suit the players they have. Interesting final ahead and it is good that it is on Thurles rather than Croke Park.

[roxyodeo]

well thats a bit off - nobody saw Clare coming a couple years ago - Kilkenny/Cork/Dublin/Clare/Tipp/Galway/Limerick. Then there is always hope Wexford pick it up

[The D Man]

National League Final Cork v Waterford Sunday Semple Stadium Thurles.

Waterford have been the team of the league so far. Blending young and old playing to style that suits their players. Players like Kevin Moran, Brick Walsh and Padraic Mahony are providing the leadership. They have the minors from their All Ireland win in 2013 as well.
Cork will have taken great confidence from the semi final win against Dublin. Some good fowards in Patrick Horgan and Conor Lehane. Doubts may still remain about their backs.
The other shadow over this final is the fact that they are due to meet in the Munster Championship at the start of June.
Could both sides be "shadow boxing" on Sunday. At this stage both sides would like a national title to cement what they have done up to now so they should be going out to claim the title. Waterford might just shade it.

[The D Man]

You were right about waterford winning d man. A ten point win for them and fully deserved too. Great to see them winning a national title and beating a few of the big guns along the way. Alot of work to be done by cork before their championship meeting.

Thanks Ketchup. I felt that Waterford would win because they are playing a style that suits them and the players they have. Everybody working hard and sticking to the plan. I didn't expect that they would win by 10 points but they were by far the better team. They are making huge progress. The big issue they face now is keeping expectations amongst supporters at a reasonable level. They have won the league and that is a great achievement however there are much bigger tests ahead and they know that.
Cork on the other hand, the failings that have been evident for some time now re emerged yesterday. 3 good fowards the rest average to be kind. One ball winner in the fowards. Defence shaky although it wasn't all their fault yesterday. However in saying all that you can never write off Cork in the championship. They can come along from what seems no where and do very well. The Munster semi final between the 2 will be a different game.

[The D Man]

Yesterday saw the hurling championship begin. The Leinster hurling championship started with the round robin section.
Antrim relegated from 1B in the league had a fanastic victory over Laois in Ballycastle. A last minute penalty securing victory. Excellent work being done in Antrim hurling against the odds. Speaking to hurling people from there and they are just as passionate as anybody else about their hurling. Laois also making huge progress under Cheddar Plunkett.
Westmeath defeated Carlow in Mullingar. 2 more teams making strides especially Carlow. Have seen these 2 sides play and they are working very hard.
Hurling needs these teams to continue to grow and develop.
Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups began on Saturday. Great credit to all the teams in these competitions. Most of them are swimming against the tide especially in their own counties. Personally interested in Kildare in the Christy Ring Cup.

[The D Man]

Ah yes the Munster Hurling Championship. Brought up on it all my life. Many days of disappointment which make the good times even more special. So for the 2015 version. Any of the teams could claim they will be champions on final day. All teams there isn't much between them unlike other years. An excellent start on Sunday with Clare V Limerick. Both counties are so interlinked at this stage that it would be hard to separate them, that is until it comes to hurling and playing each other. Then you know straight away who is on what side.

Both counties had a mixed league. Clare have lost Colm Galvin, Brendan Bugler and Conor McGrath for the match. Doubts remain about Cian Dillion and Conor Ryan. Thats 5 from the 2013 All Ireland winning side. Limerick have lost Nicky Quaid their goalkeeper and added Cian Lynch, a massive prospect for them. Limerick have been more consistent in the Munster Championship in recent years.

However form goes out the window when these 2 teams meet. At the final whistle I think Clare will have just scrapped by however don't be surprised if it is a draw.

[RodeoMan]

It makes no sense that Galway have to play there home match in tullamore
When did tullamore arrive in Galway
just shows u what lenister think of them

[willie wacker]

Well it,s a step in the right direction , a good display by the backs and the front 6 now look like a unit
Hopefully now we start to show to the rest of Ireland that we have the most skillful hurlers and now we can become more of a team...

[The D Man]

Big weekend ahead in the hurling championship

Laois V Galway in the Leinster Hurling Championship

Galway had a huge win over Dublin in last round. Capable of beating any team when on form. However the old story is that nobody knows which Galway turns up until the sliothar is thrown in. Need to put 2 performances back to back to convince alot of people. Yes they are capable of doing so. Laois have come a long way since that hammering against Cork a couple of years ago conceeding 10 goals. Slowly but surely building back up and are no pushovers any more. Have hurlers in Willie Hyland and Zane keenan that would make any other county team. Had a fanastic win over Offaly last time and were getting stronger and stronger as the match went on.
Galway to win but Laois to really push them all the way. Less than 5 point victory

Wexford V Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship

Wexford need to push on from last year and this is their chance. Hype and over excitement eventually caught them last year. A massive performance is needed and they can produce it. Kilkenny missing all the retirements could be vulnerable but you would expect them not to be caught with a flat performance. Cody has been secretly working away 1 would assume. Wexford need to stay with them all through but especially the first 10 mins after half time.
Kilkenny to shade it

Limerick V Tipperary in the Munster Championship

Limerick going for a third win over Tipperary in the Championship. Tipperary under pressure to deliver silverware. Limerick at home with a vocal crowd urging them on. Over 30,000 tickets sold already. Could make arguements why both sides should win.
Tipperary need good start to quieten home crowd and drive on from there. If Limerick still in the match in the last 10 minutes they could be winners.

[RodeoMan]

There will be handy wins for
Galway
Kilkenny
tipp

Galway will be dark horses this year they have a strong panel compared to other years
Wexford always falter to the black and amber
and tipp will be gunning for a victory and will be too strong for limerick