Naas have two players involved in both I think.
2 Likes
Must be just a notion but Tipp teams have a terrible win record when he is officiating.
Winning Junior in their first year back hurling was a very good achievement to be fair. Burren Rangers hurling since 2015 and havenât gotten out of Junior yet. Although they won a Minor A hurling title this year so theyâll be coming soon enough.
Craanford will probably make an Intermediate quarter-final next year so theyâre moving well. Theyâll hoping to replicate what Horeswood achieved last year by winning the Leinster Junior. Although Tullogher-Rosbercon could be a bridge too far in the semi-final. Kilkenny clubs have an *excellent record at Junior level.
*John Lockes losing to Fethard in 2017 aside.
Tipp teams have a terrible record in it anyway.
Ballygunner are the Club Team that Thurles Sarsfields could and should have been,
1 Like
St Rynaghâs almost taking out Ballyhale in 2021 being an absolute classic of the genre.
Brigids brought Corofin to ET in 2017.
Crossmaglen needed a replay against Ballinderry one of the years and would often stumble over the line by a point or two benefitting from some dodgy referee call or something.
Unlike in those provinces though where there was always a potential challenger on the horizon that looked like they were a threat, there is currently no prospect of any team in Munster knocking Ballygunner off their perch any time soon.
Youâd think clubs of a similar demographic base like Douglas in Cork/Monaleen in Limerick might start to come but they are a million miles away at present.
1 Like
No late afternoon match on TG4 next Sunday? Thatâs a rare occurrence. Theyâll probably have to show womenâs Aussie Rules as filler.
No.
A 1pm throw in at the BOXIT Athletic Grounds is a real throwback to last years final in the low winter sun.
i was a big fan of the full day/night match for a good few years but i have come to the conclusion that daylight with the floodlights merely on just for effect creates the best possible spectacle for these games.
To be fair to him he did win an All-Ireland senior club title in 2018 as an impact sub.
I had to head back the country for a removal this evening. Met an old friend and his wife at the funeral home, went to Flanneryâs on Shannon street and I see the majority of the Na Piarsigh team are in on the Monday Club.
They are a civilised bunch to their credit. Plenty of chatter between them but not one lad steamed up or making an ape if himself. I supposed they are well versed to the Monday Club after the last decade or so.
1 Like
All sporting empires ultimately crumble. Ballygunner do have an officer class which is largely well into their 30âs now - SOKY, Barry Coughlan, Shane OâSullivan, Philip Mahony and Pauric Mahony. David Franks has been the key man in the coaching set up for a good few years now. Heâs part of the Keith Rossiter backroom team in Wexford next year. Not sure with the split season model whether that necessarily rules him out. Difficult to see an end to Ballygunner dominance in Waterford or Munster at the moment but things do change.
3 Likes
Correct & right.
1 Like
Every single one of them are officer class. Conor Sheehan midfield epitomises it.
Even the young lads are all made of the right stuff. Power wing back is limited but he goes and goes and goes.
The hunger will eventually start to go i suppose but i donât know who takes over from them in Munster. At least in Leinster you can see the likes of Kilcormac coming like a train.
Theyâre very hard to warm to , even down to the jersey.
Ballygunner put in a shift for each other. They were emptied coming off that pitch yesterday. Every single one of them run themselves into the ground.
1 Like
I remember going to see them v Toomevara as a young lad back in 2001 and being fascinated by the kit. I was a big Denis the Menace fan at the time so that probably influenced me.
Thereâs not much to dislike about them bar the success thing. They arent dirty or arrogant as such.
I suppose all the lads flying around with iPads/laptops along with the drones flying overhead during challenge games probably would wind a lot of people up the wrong way alright.
Conor Sheehan is very much from Officer class. His old man was a Deputy Garda Commissioner and the man that sorted out Limerick when he was Chief Super there. I actually marked him once in a challenge match against Rathnure back in the late 1980âs. He was a good hurler too, hard as nails. I was just a whippersnapper starting out.
2 Likes
Heâs turned into some player for them. Wasnât far off Club Player of the year last year.
Great going considering he only really broke into the starting team aged 26 in 2019.
Himself and Paddy Leavy compliment each other very well.
1 Like