This current crop from Waterford are better than Kilkenny, when they are tuned in, as they are this year.
I’d find it hard to disagree with that post. The only thing is that Waterford will be coming out for the third week on a row. Granted they have youth on their side and the Croker surface may suit them. But Clare were flogged after the second water break yesterday and this is something that Waterford will need to counter
Kilkenny got 22 scores from 28 shots in the Leinster final. That amount of score conversion is unsustainable and that low amount of chance creation would probably have lost you every other championship match this winter
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The have a knack of bringing the opposition down to their level tho…
what were Galways equivalents during the Leinster final?
Agreed but going off that the Leinster final win was smash and grab stuff. Very hard to do that type of scoring two days in a row
Let me dig it out. I’d say the mean would be around 60%
Waterford were 8 points up yesterday when. Clare got the third goal after 57 minutes. Waterford pushed on and out scored Clare 8-4 in the closing minutes albeit helped by a super save. In the same situation against Kilkenny Waterford will tie up and try to sit back and hold out on the five point lead. 2017 in Thurles was a great example of this playing out. We were blessed in the end to get out with a draw after leading by 10 points and only won AET because KK were spent after reeling us in. The previous year we played them off the field in Croke Park were 3 points ahead heading into injury time, hit a point that was chalked off by Hawkeye and immediately fell into our shell and conceded the three points and lost the replay.
I wouldn’t put money on Waterford to beat Kilkenny.
I’d say teams scoring efficiency drops off a cliff when playing Kilkenny because of the pressure the shooter is put under
Different calibre of men over the team now though.
Maybe that experience will stand to them.
Gerald, Justin, Skully and Derek all failed to get Waterford to beat weaker KK teams. In fairness to Davy he failed miserably with a weak Waterford team against a mighty Kk.
Or as likely it will play on their minds.
I don’t think so, I think they learn from it. And take the confidence from what they did to Clare. I think this Waterford team in the same position will go after them. Kill kill kill. Whether they have the ability is a different story.
were any of those KK teams weaker than this current one? I don’t think so
I think Austin Gleeson will cut loose next week and make some of these dogged Kilkenny lads in mycros look like mugs, the same way he used to do it back in the good old days of 2016/2017.
Obviously I want Limerick to destroy all - but it would be unrale to see Waterford win it — but if they did it during covid it would be a little bitter sweet… not having your fans there at Croker and the home coming and all that goes with it would be cruel… I know the Blaas would say they’d take it any old way but the emotional outletting deserves a full house and traditional victory celebrations … I also want to see old man O’Dowd and his gammy knees tearing onto the pitch at the full time whistle. I think we all deserve that.
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Have ye the bunting up yet?
Not a chance we have the legs for Waterford.
The only route as I see it would be get to the 55min stage with the game in the balance at which point we could grind out a victory.
To get there though depends on a lot of things going right for KK and wrong for Waterford including another 15/20 injection of creativity by Richie Hogan being sprung from the bench.
Novel to have KK as the perceived soft touch at this juncture in the championship.
We wouldn’t begrudge them .