Very strong team with real balance. Will be interesting to see if Stritch and Collins will stay inside. Both are dangerous wherever they play.
Serious depth there on the bench and extended panel.
Cork should be competitive, you’d hope. There is real pessimism here about our chances but that panel have enough to give Clare a test.
Ronan Keane is only back from injury otherwise he would be a starter. Organ was a starter last year yet can’t get back in. Marc O’Brien may feature later in the round robin.
By my count three of the starters in Casey, Eoin McMahon - son of the great Sean McMahon and Boyce all were only on the Celtic challenge squad three years ago while on the subs Morgan wasn’t part of any minor squad and neither Fox in 2022 or Loftus or Costelloe in 2023 ever saw any game time at minor despite both sides playing 8 or so matches. Tadgh Lohan is the only member of last years minor panel goes from being a sub on last years minor team to making the 20s squad too. He was pretty good off the bench too - assume Flannans harty run affected other lads chances like Harry Doherty and Cullinan.
Good to see that management are picking on form and what they see in front of them rather than reputation. Lads like Connor Rynne who is an absolute unit and did well for Inamona’s seniors last year not even making the match day squad shows there is a lot of depth about.
Quelle surprise
A Quaid/Lazarus-like recovery you might even say
Where is @Lazarus
Way to make me feel old…I refuse to believe he has a son that old:grinning:
Has he definitely had surgery? Hardly a case of being on severe painkillers and seeing how he gets on?
You could be running a few weeks after surgery. But it could be months before you could do contact training
Big Dog won’t like this
Stritch called up to senior panel?
Kennedy and Gibbons in to start. Gunning injured but the strongest side they have had out so far this year against Limerick tomorrow night
While I think he had done a very solid job over the last three years, I think Terence Fahey has made a bit of a bags of it this year with the 20s.
Some things have been outside of his control like availability to the Flannans contingent and a raft of the 2023 A/I mi or winning team being injured at various points over the spring and either unavailable or have no form.
The choice of main hurling coach this year has come back to roost and while changes have been made the balance of the team still looks off. Too many silky lads in the forwards and too much reliance on Kilroy to graft and Organ/O’Neill to win puckouts. Fred Hegarty was a two year minor but never started a game in those two years as he simply didn’t work hard enough without the ball, this is still the case yet they keep picking him.
Hopefully the surgery to the team sees a more even performance and a result.
Who is that? Did he have Aidan Harte with him previously? I know he is with Galway now
