Allianz National Hurling League 2023

What was more interesting were the comments about Tipp picking on certain players… Basically saying Cahill thinks Waterford are weak mentally.

Reidy looks a hurler to me anyway.

What’s to be done about the league at all. You’ve games like Galway Clare yesterday where neither side were really interested. Interested in an oul game, but not much more. Clare looked outstanding in the first 15, then sort of fell asleep because deep down they weren’t bothered, galway though fcuk me we’re going to get a right trimming, Henry will go ballistic, and actually I’d quite like a start in the championship, so worked a lot harder, but the hurling overall lacked cohesion, with a pitch opening type atmosphere, a cold day, and a claggy surface. Moments of brilliance from both teams, but that’s the absolute beauty of hurling, you can go to a random junior b game out the country and see moments of brilliance.
It really is time to get rid of the provincials, and let them run them separately as straight knockout over two weeks in July.

The issue with the league is that there is no real consequence to it, therefore no real benefit or drawback to winning and losing. The league when we had two tiers with 6 each worked much better as there was the very real threat of relegation for those in tier 1 and 3 teams very much in the hunt for promotion in tier 2.

It wasn’t perfect but it was a very solid and competitive league compared to what we have now.

7 Likes

He’d find something

1 Like

What we have now is a league with no consequences. Clare v Galway yesterday was a classic example. Poor fair as neither side were hugely interested.

The previous system that you alluded to was much better.

The match between the same two teams last year was also a complete non event. They then played a challenge match two weeks later and went at it hammer and tongs.

Teams far too interested in shadow boxing in the league

1 Like

How many matches of consequence does an intercounty team play per year ? Train all year for a guarantee of 2 or 3 games … at least back when they were guaranteed just one championship game the league was taken seriously

1 Like

Stop whinging or watching?

Eh, they used to play it in the Winter and no one gave a flying fuck about it :grinning:

1 Like

Laois would, we picked off wins against Kilkenny and the likes back then. Twould be like gatecrashing a wedding back then.

1 Like

Ah they did . There was some great league finals in both codes back in 90s

You are suffering from another case of the “everything was better in the old days” I’m afraid.

Ok.

Waterford v Tipp was a great game. Cork v Wexford decent too. The current format is also more beneficial to developing counties like kildare who haveva genuine shot at playing in the top division next year. The old format would not allow that.

2 Likes

How have Dublin looked under new manager ?

Absolutely septic yesterday ,reasonably promising before that. Truth be told with players missing for various reasons getting out of leinster would be a great result.

1 Like

Wexford look very beatable

I saw the latter stages of the Wexford game yesterday. It’s only the league & all that, but it’d be nice if we didn’t make really dumb decisions/mistakes when games are going down to the wire. Jack O’Connor blemming a big, wild, high wide from the sideline when 1 up with some little forward wan on wan around the 21 & nobody else in the vicinity. Just knock the ball into the space in front like. The amount of goals scored in ball sports when everyone’s watching the initial challenge & nobody tracks someone running off it for a break/second ball is huge. Really poor ball watching for that game losing goal. That said, the long free in came from a blatant frontal charge/shoulder that the ref let go (even Donal O’Grady said the free should have been istigh & not amach) & he then penalised the next Wexford man into tackle. I guess we can’t really complain about Sean Cleere too much after 2019, albeit we lost that game too. We apparently looked much stronger with the returning players but another 3 or 4 went off injured yesterday. Is anybody that wasn’t already considered a mainstay for us hammering down the door and showing that they can mix it against the top teams? I dunno.

Wexford are a different team with Chin playing. We get a lot of snobbery from other counties about Chin and how he’s manufactured or not a proper hurler, but he really is an excellent player. Rory O Connor too is a top class player. Get both of them in our forward line and it changes things immeasurably. Conor Mac has the tools to be similar, but he isnt. With how he contributes and plays, he isnt a loss when he is out in the same way Chin or ROC are missing. He’s done fuck all being the lead attacker or figure head of that team with a lorry load of players around him doing all the donkey work.

Anyway, as you alluded to there, one of our biggest failings is taking on ridiculous stupid shots that have a low probability of scoring. And its one of Chins faults, but he is poor in this regard too, but does sometime pull them off. He also missed a handy 65 too at a critical stage in front of goals. Free taking is still an issue. But some of the more marquee players are terrible for woeful shooting and its usually the newer players to the scene are the unselfish ones laying it off to team mates in better positions.

Anyway, a few decent players coming through, would be interested to see how the 20s game went as it seemed they acquitted themselves well in the warm up game beforehand.

1 Like