Tipperary have gotten progressively better all year, while Kilkenny have been distinctly average.
If Kilkenny were all fit and well then I reckon it would be very much theirs to lose, with Hogan gone there will be question marks about their centre back position…
It is a hard game to analyse, Tipp will certainly be ready for it, whether they get up to last years level is another story, have the feeling they will have to start well and get an early advantage on the score board as I cannot see them coming from behind to beat this Kilkenny team, they will also need to take their goal chances and probably need to score one or two more goals than Kilkenny…The last time I remember a team coming from behind in the second half to beat Kilkenny was Wexfordin 2004…They certainly have a chance but I feel that Tipp’s backs had a better balance to them last year with Maher at 3 and Curran in the corner than they currently do, Cahill looks as though he could well be a weak link in their…Will John O’Brien play as well as he did the last day, will McGrath do as much damage at centre forward, can’t see Gearoid Ryan doing much on JJ, but in saying that Lar Corbett is flying and they have a very dynamic midfield and how Kilkenny go counteracting these will be interesting
Would also rather see Rice at Midfield, he was excellent there last year and is far more suited to there than the half forward line, where it looks as though he will be accomodated…Presume if Shefflin does start it will be in the corner
Reckon Kilkenny will win by 5 or 6 if Tennyson holds his own at centre back
That’s my thinking. If Kilkenny play average enough they’ll scrape a win. If they click and get a few early goals it will be a massacre. The build up to this is starting to remind me of '08 and all the false hope Waterford had.
Ah in fairness these are two totally different scenarios. This Tipp team have come closer than anyone to beating Kilkenny and only for a few key things that went against them, they would have won the All Ireland last year. Waterford had very little substance to back up the hype.
I can see this being another classic.
Draw a form line back through Waterford and Galway and Tipp aren’t too far off kk and not sofar that these injuries won’t make a difference. It’s only if you apply real significance to the cork tipp game in May that you can make a case for Tipp to be hosed
Your best bet on this is to get in to coppers early and get the stamp and leave. Come back then whenever suits
[quote=“Fagan O, post: 505844”]
Tipp barely beat Galway while Kilkenny put on an exhibition against them - how does that mean they’re not too far off them?
You’ll surely manage to get yourself a 
out of one of them.
Like I said it is a very tough game to analyse…Have the feeling Tennyson won’t last the 70, I also said on another thread that I wouldn’t be surprised if Tipp win and will be the first man in Ballina on monday if they do win…5/2 is value on Tipp, doesn’t mean they will win but is certainly worth a punt
An exhibition? :lol: The Leinster Final was a terrible game; Kilkenny were average and Galway were utterly inept.
Was it a different Galway side that played Tipperary?
Why would you want to go to Tipperary if they win? Hanger on cunt.
He’s from Clare sure.
Great men to jump on a bandwagon.
Munster,Munster,Munster!!!
It’s very difficult to read formlines through this year’s championship, Cork hammered Tipp, Waterford dominated Cork, Tipp blew Waterford away.
It won’t matter a fuck come 3.30 on Sunday.
I will guarantee that Tipp will be a different animal to the one that got trampled in the Pairc, whether that will be enough to win is anyones guess.
Alot of people seem to think that Tipp played to their absolute peak in last years final, yet the likes of Noel McGrath, Brendan Maher, Padraic Maher all have another years’ experience under their belts.
I hope we beat the cunts anyway…
+1
Plus Kilkenny got every break going in last year’s final - a penalty which shouldn’t have been given, Benny Dunne getting himself sent off, Eoin Kelly slipping in front of goal, and a magnificent performance by PJ Ryan. And Kilkenny still had to turn in their best performance of the year by a mile on top of all that in order to win narrowly.
Throw in Hogan being out and that Shefflin and Tennyson can’t be up to the level of fitness needed and I see Tipp pulling away in the second half to win by six or seven.
That’s fair enough but the likes of Pauric Maher hasn’t come anywhere close to the standard he was at last year, Eoin Kelly gave his best performance in 4 years in last years final, there are huge question marks as to whether he will do it again…Kilkenny’s backs will be better balanced with Hickey at three and JJ at 7 this year, centre back is a problem alright, but like I said earlier there are so many variables in this game it is very hard to call with any real confidence
Kelly is coming to the boil very nicely, think he has a really big game in him Sunday. I’m only half joking when I say I think he will retire Noel Hickey. What positional switches in the Tipp forwards can we expect to see on Sunday? Will Lar Corbett go roving like last year?
Pukey you’re as well off calling this one with your gut and my gut is strongly favouring Tipp. You can say Maher isn’t as good as last year but then I’d argue Tipp have a better midfield pairing than last year and as Mullach Ide says their young players are a year older. Their graph has been rising all year and it’s been aimed squarely at this.
I also think the five in a row thing will upset Kilkenny slightly.