I personally believe nowadays we wonāt see players improve from 19/20 to say 25/26 as much as we did in the past. The players are exposed to such high standards of coaching from 13 or 14 nowadays. Also when these players are in college theyāve a lot more free time on their hands to focus on simply hurling and recovery. Different when youāve a wife/kids/full time job.
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Experience and decision making come on a lot from a youngfella his age. Heās only starting college.
If I said up youād say down. You honestly donāt think heāll improve?
Iāve said that for many years on here. How many of the clare 2013 team have improved? Has Austin Gleeson improved much since 2014? Or the bennets?
Heās in his third year of college chief.
How many of that Clare team were 19 in 2013?
Gleeson has gone backward, but I think thatās down to the individual. Iād say Barron and De Burca have improved steadily. Waterford is a tricky one because of the year they had with injuries. Letās see what improvement is there next year.
Cian Lynch has improved massively from where he was at 18/19 to now. And heāll improve on again in the next few years. Mike Casey the same. Finn and English the same. Byrnes improved no end this year. Tom Morrissey. Hegarty. Flanagan.
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He did the leaving young so, fair play to him.
Flanagan is the really key one. An outstanding minor. He wasnt involved with the Limerick 21s in 2017.
But in 2018, he just set the tone.
Another one I think will improve massively in the next couple of years. Experience, confidence and decision making added to his athleticism and ball winning. Frightening stuff.
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A Callinan with a set of balls, he has it pal.
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A terrific talent. Add a bit of ruthlessness in front of the goals and heās the full package.
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Iām not sure you really understand what Iām saying. Obviously players can improve, change of manager, change of tactics, change of position like lynch will improve them etc. The Limerick squad has been exposed to extremely high levels of coaching and fitness but so have the 21s and minors. The gym programmes have been in place for years now. Hayes was ready for senior hurling at 19. Mentally and physically. Before youād think lads at 19 would need time but not anymore.
Also the big difference between gaa and other sports is time. Once these guys leave college it becomes a lot more difficult for them. Theyāve less and less time to work on their game. The vast majority of that Limerick squad were semi pros this summer. Thatāll change as the years go on.
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Thats all he needs to brush up on. His head is right, physicality is rightā¦if he can add points scoring and goals to his game he could be anything.
As is, heās a top top lad anyway regardless.
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I wouldnāt see any comparison between callanan and flanagan. Seamus is far more of a creater and a worker. He often sacrifices his own game for the team. Callanan is a finisher and far more selfish. It will be interesting to see how flanagan develops but it is going to be very tough for limerick next year.
I know what you are saying.
The improvements arenāt as drastic as years ago, physically and skills wise but fellas benefit greatly from having a few years senior intercounty experience.
Byrnes is the classic example. The wildness is gone out of him, Dan Morrissey is probably the most improved hurler in Ireland at 24/25 years of age.
Your point is valid, kid. Iām not disputing that, just saying there are improvements to be had
I disagree mate, I see an awful lot of similarities, maybe originally it was the socks are pulled up etc. But the lad has itā¦he really is a great bit of stuff. I dont ever rememeber a Limerick forward running into space as much as him.
Not to mention his paw.
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It will be a travesty if we donāt do three in a row.
They even have a similar stride. Iād say the similarities are only aesthetic.
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It really wonāt.
I canāt wait for Clare in the Gaelic Grounds. Iād say itāll be absolute bedlam.
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Weāve 20 wides to cut down on from that final. And thereās at least 3 lads who should be on the panel based off the last two weeks of club championship.
Not a bad place to be for Kiely and Co.
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