Lads please explain to me how the league structure has benefited the weaker counties in anyway shape or form. The Dubs, Carlow, Laois have upped it, Antrim seem to be stagnant, no credit for any of this can go to the new national hurling league format it goes to the Nicky Rackard and Christy ring cups and to the counties themselves. I’d go so far as to say it should go back to 1A and 1B seeing as we now have Nickey and Christy, with two quarter finals, two semi finals and a final with the two bottom teams going down and the top two from 3 coming up. I’d fear for Carlow, Laois and Antrim they will reach a certain level and aspire to noting more, they will improve if they play regularly against top class opposition not get stuck in a mire.
Perhaps I am blind to the downside of my suggestion but I can only see it benefiting the association, players and supporters
Here Kev we scored 3 goals V Waterford in the 2008 AIF,i think Corks goalscoring record will improve with Ml Cussen and Pat Horgan on board,i like the look of Horgan as a corner forward,the pebble is a bit too obvious in everything he does though,hed suit any decent corner back down to the ground.
He was excellent yesterday. I thought he’d struggle this year too, but he’s in far better form than Ben right now. Of course Ben played more than him in the last 15 months, so maybe that is having an effect.
jerry played the center forward position very well yesterday, more like a football center forward.
Sorry Link, my overall point though was waterford weren’t an opposition that day. I have to agree with you about Paudi…so far. He definitely has some class, weather or not its enough for IC corner forward i don’t know. I watched him alot on the way up in club, school and Cork underage and felt he was an outstanding half back, but was also a very good club corner forward. That was until Shane Murphy (i think, could be Pat Fitz) done a great job on him in a County Final for Erins Own.
I think he could have done with playing 3rd level, it definitely brings fellas on that little bit quicker.
I don’t think any Laois player hurled to the level you’d expect of them. Reilly was shite and while you mightn’t have expected him to stop the goal, Paddy Mullaney might have - it’s madness that he’s not there. Darren Maher is not up to full back against half decent teams. Cahir healy and Conor Dunne didn’t exactly excel either. Half back line did very little wothwhile apart from John A’s big run to set up the goal. Joe Fitz disappeared for at least 25 minutes of the second half. Scored a big hero point at the end but that’s not much use if you do nothing else. Jimmy walhs was poor also. Zane was ok considering he missed a year and had played only 20 minutes before this game. He took his goal well and I think he’ll be back in top form by the championship. Willie Hyland did nothing, same with Foyle, and Costelloe. Tommy Fitz was poor but worked reasonably hard. Rowney did nothing either but I don’t know why he got more criticism than a lot of the rest of them. I don’t remember him being passed a ball. I remember a few balls going to his man when he wasn’t near him which would suggest he was free if only whoever was passing would look up.
In summary, Laois were atrocious. Wexford could have won by 14 points and it would have been more fitting. I think they got bored which was why they only beat us by 4 as they were far far better.
If you do have Jerry center forward, I’m assuming you have Ben on one wing, Naughton on the other with Kenny and Gardiner midfield.
Who is gonna win puckouts for ye?
That’s what I said… feel free to read the whole thread.
Kev is the one contemplating Jerry as your centre forward. I’m trying to fit the rest of the team around that.
Either way I don’t see a centre forward line able to accommodate both O’Connors.
What’s your team?
Gardiner half back with Naughton and Kenny midfield…
Then Ben, Niall Mac and duine eile on the other wing.
What I think the Tipp team will most likely be, not what I would want…
Donal Og
Brian Murphy Cadogan Shane O’Neill
Gardiner Curran Sean og
Kenny Naughton
Ben Aisake Niall Mac
Horgan Cussen Fraggie
On the other hand, DW hasn’t played Cussen and Aisake together much yet, and seems to have gone cold on Mark O’Sullivan, so who knows who’ll play at the free slot in the center-forward line. It may be Niall in center forward with the O’Connors either side, which won’t work imo.
I actually think Ben will be in the corner when it comes to it. I would at the moment like to see some thing like this.
Donal Og
Shane O’ N Cadogan Shane Murphy(on form he deserves it)
Gardiner Curren Sean Og
Kenny Naughton (i’d like him on the wing, but we are stuck for experienced midfielders)
Niall Mac Jerry O’ Connor Cussen
Ben Aisake Pat Horgan
Jerrys role as an auxiliary midfielder/center forward might work. I’d have no problem landing balls down on Cussen and Niall Mac, plus you’d be taking the likes of Conor O’ Mahoney out of the equation. Remember Donal Og has the best puck out in the game, so a system like that might work, he’d be well able to find Jerry or the others with different types of pucks. It is something that would certainly trouble Brian Hogan, but maybe not so much Tennyson.
I’m getting a nice giggle out of how interested the Cats are in us all of a sudden.
Its all about balance Turrene, its easy know you’ve never been involved in looking after a team.
Anyway Ben has slowed, there is no doubt about that, his crabitness could be valuable in the corner. Cussens best displays with Sars have been out on the wing, and he can win puck outs.
I’m only toying with the Jerry idea after one game, last sunday, where Conor O’ Mahoney got fooled a little. I ain’t saying its the absolute answer, but it could be an option.
Looking ahead to the championship I’d see Leinster going as follows: Laois to beat Carlow, Dublin to beat Laois, and Galway and Offaly to beat Wexford and Antrim. Galway should get over Offaly and Kilkenny will probably beat Dublin regardless of form. From will matter come the final though and I wouldn’t be too surprised if Galway managed to win a Leinster title for themselves.
In Munster I see Tipp having too much scoring power for Cork, although PUIC is a big factor. Waterford should beat Clare, and Tipp to outgun them again in the final. Depending on the draw, Cork will probably come through the qualifiers with Offaly/Dublin/Clare. Will be very interesting after that. Cork, Tipp, Kilkenny, Waterford, Galway, and a possibly in form Dublin gunning it out for a spot in the final. If Tipp play Kilkenny in a semi I think they’ll beat them, in a final I’m not so sure. Has the makings of a good championship though.
You really are a clueless bollocks Kev, I refuse to take your jibs about ‘balance’ when you pick a big lazy lump at wing forward and your best attacker, an All Star All-Ireland winning wing forward in the corner where he will barely see the ball. I shouldn’t even need to explain this nonsense.
Dublin are overrated by people. I’m not sure why - maybe it’s due to an eagerness for a new team to challenge the better sides or something. On the other hand, Wexford are the coming team in Leinster, as evidenced by our defeat away of Laois and our holding Carlow to a three point win. We have a great record in Kilkenny (when it’s used as a neutral venue and not when we’re playing Kilkenny) and we beat Galway there in the league quarter final in 2007. We will probably beat them again there on the last Saturday in May by 4 or 5 points. I’m not sure we’ll win Leinster - Kilkenny will probably be strong this year - but we should be contesting the final as usual.
We’re not much of a team anyway if we’re not going to send the ball into the corner foward. Cussen plays half forward, its where he has got most of his scores for Sars.
Personally i think he’s a better FF than Aisake, but we probably need the 2 of them, and Aisake isn’t a half forward.
It may have passed you by, but Ben has played a bucket of hurling in the corner, including winning 2 All-Irelands as a No.13.
I leave your contradicting views on Cussen to the side, seen as you thought he was the man not too long ago.
And anyway, i was just looking at an alternative team, with the players we have. You have preiously admitted you haven’t been involved in a team in years, it shows, thats all i’m saying, its no big deal.
Are you really this fucking dim? When did I ever say Cussen was ‘the man’ at wing fucking forward? At least if your going to talk bullshit can you not falsely accuse me of contradicting myself in the process? Cretin.
Cussen is a full forward only, and no, I don’t care about what he has done coming on in the last twenty minutes for Sars, I care about what he can do a few levels higher at inter-county championship level - he CANNOT track his man or stop his man from hurling at IC level because he is too slow and too lazy.
