It was so good people stopped turning up.
A championship won by a big strong physical Galway team
Cork are BACK!
I remember Limerick playing Galway in a league quarter final that year in the Gaelic Grounds and we were blown away by them physically, Limerick werenât long though in getting themselves to the right intensity and conditioning
People stopped turning up to the business end of the Championship when they brought in the stupid round robins and messed about with the Calendar.
They were a big team but were all able to hurl too and played a traditional game.
They werenât running and throwing their way up the field.
Ah I get you,. You have moreand more conditions every day as to what teams can be in order for Tipp and Coleman and Fitzgibbon to prosper
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They had a forward line of monsters that year, they physically destroyed teams.
They still had big lads after that but maybe lost a little bit of mobility? Now, the likes of Whelan, the Cooneys, Flynn, etc are all still well able to move but they seemed to be in unbelievable shape that year, and just looked a little flat in 2018.
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The link between those eras has been the Tipp and Galway teams. Both teams have been 9/10 points off Limerick during recent years.
Youâre trying to pedal the narrative that teams were stronger a few years back and hurling is weaker. Reality is game has moved on and the likes of the bubbles Callahan McGrath era were found wanting
Tipp 2023 would not have got within 20 points of Tipp 2016 yet still managed to draw with this all singing all dancing Limerick outfit.
Galway 2023 wouldnât get within 20 points of Galway 2017 either.
In fairness, Callanan was class around then and theyâd kill for someone like him now. Morris is very good but heâs ploughing a lone furrow in terms of mobile, scoring inside forwards. Mark Kehoe still not consistent enough (and hasnât got much of a run this year?)
Tip 18â 19â, 20â and 21 took serious beatings off Limerick
This is the Tipp 16,17 team
The game moved on and they were left behind physically and hurling wise.
Fuck it, how unfair of teams and time to move on. How did Tipp 16 get on in defending the title in 17?
They were monsters for sure. Limerick did serious conditioning from the end of 17 to start of 18 season to get to the required level. Lots of lads and other counties since have spent their time crying about big bad Limerick and the ruination of the game
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You need a mix. Tipp had plenty workers yesterday, not much scoring ability though.
Fitz plays midfield/half forward. You need workrate in these areas
Iâm not sure about that. Granted they upped it between 2017 and 18 but you donât get to that level of conditioning in 6or7 months. That Limerick team probably took 3 plus years to get to that level.
Yes took at least 3 years to get to peak conditioning but in 2017 many of the Limerick players were no match for Galway in strength and conditioning, by 2018 they had largely closed that gap
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Fitz at 11 is the way to go IMO. Coleman will walk on to the team if fit, he will show his class again this Summer.
Ethan Twomey is a player I love and would be very close to starting if he could get a proper run at preseason IMO. Injuries have been a serious balls for a lot of the younger guys it seems - Power, Mullins, Cunningham etc. have all had extended periods out this year.
I expect E Downey, OâConnell, Joyce, Barrett and Connolly all to start against Waterford. Brian Roche, Hayes and SeĂĄn Twomey wonât be too far away as well.
Slowly we are integrating the u20 winners into the team which is good to see. We await to see, Joyce aside, if they can start to lead the team this year.
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Is Eoin Downey U-20 again?