GAA over the weekend

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A lot of stuff went down.

Joe Canning got 1-8 for LIT as they won the Fitzgibbon Cup. jackflash exclusively revealed on this forum that JC was doing the whole J1 thing this summer and wouldn’t be available to Galway. At the moment the media are still full of ‘will he or won’t he play’ tales. JC says he wants to enjoy a summer abroad before committing to 15 summers of inter-county action but part of me reckons there remains a bad taste in the mouth after the county final last year, especially with Ollie after retiring too. Most talked about young hurler for years though.

Waterford beat Cork 0-16 to 0-12 and have started the season very impressively. It’s a real case of now or never for them.

Wexford won up in Belfast against Antrim in the football, 2-14 to 1-10. Starting to put some performances together after the shock defeat to Waterford in the first round. Ciaran Deely kicked 1-4 and has become a very important player for us. Still, looking at the team we just don’t have the necessary depth of quality to win a Leinster imo. Meath and Cavan lead the division on 7 points with us behind them on 6. We have to play Cavan away and Meath at home and these are crucial games with the new structure in place for next season. The top 2 teams in Div2A and 2B go to Div 2, 3rd and 4th in each go into Div 3 with 5th-8th heading for the bottom division. It’d be a boost to get one of the top 2 places. We also have to play Sligo so our least 3 games should have a decent edge to them.

In the top divisions; Donegal have started the season on fire and had a great win in Omagh. They have Kevin Cassidy and Brendan Devenney back this season and if the young lads who came in last year can gel with them then they’ll be a real force in the summer.

Important win for Dublin also as the knives were beginning to sharpen after the defeats to Tyrone and Donegal.

Fair play to Louth also who gave Westmeath their first defeat of the season with the two of them surprisingly topping 1B.

Good to see the Junior and Intermediate Club Finals being played in Croker over the weekend too. One of the arguments over the opening up of the ground to soccer and rugby was that the average club GAA player never got a chance to play there so why should players from other sports get a chance to. In that sense playing these games in HQ was a pretty clear counter to this argument.

Bad news about Ronan McGarritty’s cancer scare. There’s been some high profile soccer players that have come back from it so hopefully we’ll see him back soon.

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Those Cavan and Meath games will tell an awful lot about Wexford’s current abilities. Beating Antrim should be expected and the Waterford result was a real shock.

Good win for Dublin over Cork. Keaney continuing on this season from last season.

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Do or die for Waterford, do we not say the same at the beginning of every year? I think your right though, this really is their last throw of the dice and to be honest I reckon theyll fail again. They have been just that little bit short for the last few years and cant see it been any different this year either.

The media should just accept that Joe Canning will not be lining out for Galway seniors this year and forget about it. Hes made his decision and they should respect that. Hes a class act and hell be around for a few years yet. I think your correct on the whole county final thing as well, if that hadnt happened I reckon hed be playing for Galway this year.

The bookies seems to be writing off Loughreas chances against Ballyhale on Saturday. Read somewhere that their 4/1. Youd have to fancy Ballyhale as on paper they should have way too much class for Loughrea. There lucky enough to have probably the best 2 players in the country in their ranks namely Sheflin and Cha and have a number of other players who have represented Kilkenny at various levels. They also had a great win over perennial chokers Toomevara in the AI semi and should have no fear of their less distinguished Galway opponents.
Having said that though Loughrea will be no pushover. Their defence is unbelievably tight and they havent conceded a goal in championship hurling since they lost the county final in 2005. They have a few decent forwards as well with Johnny Maher and Johnny OLoughlin the main threats. Last I heard Nigel Shaughnessy was out with a broken collarbone and Brian Mahony was a serious doubt. That may well have changed but if neither of these are available then thats a massive blow to Loughreas chances. They dealt with the loss of Shaughnessy well in the county final last October however Mahony is the engine of that team and his loss may well be critical to their chances.

Doubt Ill see the game due to the time difference and the fact that I may have had one or two too many during the Paddys day festivities but hopefully Loughrea can pull it off and start the year on a good note for Galway hurling.

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I see Eoin Brislane who was on and off the Tipp hurling team over the last few years made his debut for Meath the other day.

I think there was a motion passed at congress that allows all Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard teams to recruit 3 players from outside their county, who are not involved in their own county teams, to help increase standards and promote the game.

Think that David Kennedy guy is playing for Kildare too.

Am I right or talking scheidt?

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Just on the Waterford theme, I don’t think its this year or never. Maybe for Justin MaCarthy it is but not the team. Their main men - McGrath, Kelly, Mullane, Murphy, Brick Walsh etc are in thier prime for the next few years. True Browne and Flynn have alot of miles up but they’re not as dependent on them as they once were. There are alot of newbies there since the “breakthrough” of 98.

Dunno what you’re on about Bandage, can’t understand Brislane’s move though, did he not figure for Tipp last year? Bit of a Damien Duff move…

Hard to see Shamrock’s getting turned over. Unless they give away soft goals again which would be a problem! Another concern would be the amount of effort Fitzpatrick and Shefflin have put in for the last 15 months. Loughrea’s tight defence is likely to be well scrutinsed by officals given the co final aftermath, and the fookin massive pitch in Croke Park makes it hard to contain a forward line, especially with Shefflin likely to roam through the 6 positions if not dominating. 4/1 are stupid odds on Loughrea but Ballyhale to win.

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Article on Brislane from the Indo. Doesn’t totally clarify the rule though.

Ring glory is Brislane’s Royal ambition
Wednesday March 14th 2007

AFTER playing a dramatic role in helping his adopted county snatch their first brace of league points in the current NHL campaign, born-again inter-county hurler Eoin Brislane has set himself two personal targets.

“I’d love to help Toomevara make the All-Ireland title breakthrough, and it would be great to help Meath win the Christy Ring Cup,” declared Brislane, who, after coming on at the start of the second half against Carlow last Saturday, helped the Royals overturn an eight-point half-time deficit by shooting three points. Brislane, who made a number of appearances with Tipperary seniors in 2003 and 2006, was cleared to join the Royals when his services were not sought by team boss ‘Babs’ Keating following Toomevara’s recent semi-final exit from the All-Ireland Club Championship at the hands of Ballyhale Shamrocks.

To some, it might appear a regressive move, but the powerful 6ft 2ins midfielder jumped at the opportunity when sounded out by the Leinster minnows.

“I’m 26 now, and so I don’t have that long left in inter-county hurling, so I would have been mad to turn down this opportunity,” stressed Brislane, who was plagued with injuries during his spells on the Tipperary panel.

“I think this new rule is great where you don’t have to change clubs when you transfer from one county to another,” he said. "My main priority will always be Toomevara, but it’s fantastic to get a chance to play inter-county hurling again. I qualify to play for Meath because I live most of the week in the county due to my work, and, as well, I have an auntie living there. I know Kevin Dowd (brother of All-Ireland winning captain Tommy), and he’s a fanatical hurling man.

“Kevin is one of the Meath hurling selectors, and he was one of the first people who approached me. As well as Kevin’s enthusiasm, I was considerably impressed by the fact that Meath have fantastic training facilities, with six hurling pitches near Trim, and by the fact that the training is carried out in a very professional manner.”

And the fact that the Royals suffered a first-round loss to Wicklow failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the ex-Tipperary minor star to even a minimal degree.

“Because of holidays and other factors, Meath were missing five regular players, and, of course, Wicklow showed they are a handy side by going on to beat Laois,” he stated.

Paddy Hickey