Might be completely wrong but⌠would it not logistically be easier to spread out the game for ticket scanners⌠more referees, linesmen , umpires available than all kicking off at the same time also more journalists able to go to different matches to report on same and promote itâŚ
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Will you stop. Promote it? Get away to fuck with your promote it.
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Is that a bad thing?
This weeks odds, I like the NCW price -
Doon vs Kilmallock â 4/9, 9/1, 15/8
Adare vs Kildimo Pallaskenry â 4/11, 17/2, 3/1
Newcastlewest vs Garryspillane â 1/2, 17/2, 11/5
Ballybrown vs Ahane â 8/11, 8/1, 5/4
Na Piarsaigh vs Monaleen â 2/7, 17/2, 3/1
Patrickswell vs Mungret â 1/2, 15/2, 15/8
Who causes an upset?
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Mungret and Kilmallock seem quite long too
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Ahane are good price, if they win they are pretty much in the top 4 and ballybrown have no Coughlan and were poor last weekend.
Agree I think, both seem closer to 50/50 games
Thereâs a lot of very generous prices there.
NCW, Ahane, Mungret.
Ahane were comfortably beaten by Ballybrown last year. Hard to tell how that one will go, but Iâd lean BB.
Very hard to tell after one round what way things will go tbf
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I wouldnât say comfortable. Ahane did a lot of the running but had a calamity at FB. Ahane young lads couldnât break tackles either- BB are huge. Weâll see where the younger lads are at a year on.
Ahane couldnât deal with the direct play at all last year, even Dan was making mistakes.
Barry Adams & Bryan Griffin both got 2 goals each; they are very good in the air. Bryan wasnât playing against Doon but they did have Mikey Gavin inside with Adams.
Ahane hurled alright themselves and racked up a very decent tally but never really looked like winning because of the concession of goals.
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Ahane looked decent against Monaleen.
They did and a run out at GG will serve them well. Ibteresting to see Diarmaid Mullins on sporting Limerick pod. He was very quick to give credit to others and down play his role. Seems a good skin
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16/25 for Round 1 with two draws thrown into the mix. Not brilliant by any means but not absolutely terrible for the first day out, with no formlines to go off.
Iâve been critical of some of the scheduling (and still am) but I must give credit where itâs due, just to say that the streaming last weekend was very good. If they continue to do 6 hurling games every weekend, the odd football game and have the latter stages of the lower grades, it will make the season pass very good value.
Senior A
Thursday August 6
Doon (4/9) vs Kilmallock (15/8) @ 7pm in the Gaelic Grounds
Saturday August 8
Ahane (5/4) vs Ballybrown (8/11) @ 4pm in the Gaelic Grounds
Monaleen (3/1) vs Na Piarsaigh (2/7) @ 6pm in the Gaelic Grounds
I was 2/3 on the senior games last week, with Kilmallockâs victory over Na Piarsaigh being the one I didnât get right. Balbec will have me kilt for writing them off again because I am going to lean towards Doon. But it wouldnât be any sort of surprise if Kilmallock one; in fact, looking at the odds suggests thereâs a lot of value there. Doon were relatively comfortable against Ballybrown but it never looked like they got out of second gear to be honest. And they were without Eddie Stokes & Barry Murphy, who are key players. Donal Coughlan hit 2-2 from play, the OâDonovan brothers were prominent & they gave first senior starts to Eamonn Richardson & Sean McDonnell.
Kimallock, equally, did not have Robbie Hanley or David Woulfe on the pitch but dug deep to get the win, with a flurry of scores towards the end. Pierce Connery got some great scores in the first half, Shane OâBrien scored an unbelievable goal and was a great target man in the second half. Graeme Mulcahy was a nuisance around the middle and Ciaran OâConnor is a big addition back at centre-back. They chugged along in the group stage last year, doing what they needed to do and then had to dig very deep in the quarter-final against Monaleen. And while they were competitive in the semi-final, it just felt like they never reached the levels they needed to all year.
Last weekâs game just felt like it was one they were targeting a little bit more and the same may apply this week; Kilmallock getting a bit of early form could help them build momentum that they just never achieved last year. Doon are probably happy enough that they should reach the knockouts and the last couple of years have peaked at the right time. Iâll go with Doon by 2 but a draw is a very real possibility in this one.
A lot of people picked Monaleen to beat Ahane, but I do have this Ahane team a little bit ahead. They have the experience of playing these top teams regularly and have been improving; and the likes of John OâConnor & Jack Cosgrove proved last year that they are very nice additions. Both of them were very effective in their victory and it sets up this game beautifully.
Ballybrown were not overly impressive against Doon outside of Aido, who hit 2-4 from play, and they are now without Colin Coughlan after his red card at the end. But, last year, they hit 5 goals against Ahane and, although Ahane scored a respectable total themselves, itâs very hard to win a game if you concede 5 goals.
The one thing that Ballybrown have over pretty much every team (bar maybe Na Piarsaigh) is sheer physical size and they played to their strengths last year. Barry Adams gets goals, plain and simple. Even last week, they werenât fantastic but he could have had two. Aido did get two. When things arenât going their way, it can look a little unimpressive but that goal threat can keep them in games.
Ahane did not deal with it all well last year, even Dan struggled a little bit. Will they cope with it better this year? Itâs poised very nicely- it could nearly decide who makes a quarter-final. Ahane havenât made a quarter-final since 2019 which was the year they won the B group; ever since then, they have done enough to stay in the A group without actually making the knockouts. Which is an impressive record in itself but not one theyâll be satisfied with anymore. Iâm going to lean towards Ahane, I was impressed with them last week but they will have to deal with Ballybrownâs direct play a lot better than last year. Ahane by 3.
Monaleen were in a very good place at half-time against Ahane but just couldnât keep it going in the second half. Matthew Fitzgerald wasnât fit enough to start but came in and got a fine score; theyâll be hoping heâs ready to go from the start this week. Na Piarsaigh are often a very imposing team for the teams just up from the B group, the sheer depth of quality and physicality that they have means that they can overpower teams without even being at their best.
Monaleen struggled to get Donnacha ĂâDĂĄlaigh massively involved last week but Dara Ferland was sharp inside, and Andrew La Touche Cosgrave was excellent on the wing. But they will need Langan, the Lyons brothers, Noel Clancy, etc. to be on top form to try and contain Na Piarsaighâs forwards.
In the first half, Peter Casey, Conor Boylan, Eoin Brosnan all looked to be in top form; the Dempseys also looked lively. But they just struggled to get quality ball inside in the second half and that will probably be the key for Monaleen too. But the sheer level of work rate required to stem the supply is very tough to maintain. Still, Na Piarsaigh were only bringing current senior intercounty panellists like James Finn & Vince Harrington off the bench as well as Dylan Lynch, who was on the panel last year. The depth of quality they have is off-the-charts and I reckon theyâll get on the board here. NaP by 8.
Senior B
Friday August 7
Adare (2/7) vs Kildimo/Pallaskenry (3/1) @ 7pm in Mick Neville Park
Garryspillane (11/5) vs Newcastle West (2/5) @ 7pm in Kilmallock
Saturday August 8
Mungret/St. Paulâs (15/8) vs Patrickswell (1/2) @ 7pm in Claughaun
Adare were very impressive against Garryspillane and have certainly done their score difference no harm at all. Garryspillane took a big risk and pushed right up on Adareâs half-forwards dropping into their own half but were unable to stop the deliveries and it meant that the Adare inside line were afforded acres of space and they went to town. Patrick Kearney hit 2-3, Brendan OâConnor hit 1-2 and Willie Griffin scored 0-3 from play. And then John Fitzgibbon at 11 scored 1-3 from play as well as a penalty. And that was without the likes of Declan Hannon & Mike Keane, players who have been key from them in the past. I think Wayne Mac is 40 now and he lorded it at centre-back, mopped up some amount of ball. Their midfield of David OâMahony & Ronan Connolly also were very dominant.
You would have to think that Garryspillane played into their hands a little bit and youâd be hoping that other teams wonât be quite so accommodating but itâs still a very impressive start and thatâs reflected in their odds for this week. KP had joy with goals but you simply canât only get 3 scores in a half and expect to win a game.
I was quite critical of Garryspillane above but I think theyâll be even harsher on themselves. In fairness, it did feel like Adareâs goal just before half-time was key and the Garryspillane heads dropped after that went in. They will have two key players back this week in the form of Ciaran Sheehan & Calum Sheehan. Calum is a real handful of a forward, quite an unorthodox player but he racks up some amount of goals and leads their full-forward line. Ciaran is probably their best man marker and can also free Ryanie Tobin to play higher up the pitch. Sometimes youâd be surprised how much of a transformative effect even two quality players can have at club level (it obviously depends on the level of their replacements).
I did think John English caused Adare problems when he moved inside even if he was ploughing a lone furrow at times. Bryan Heavey picked off his usual 3 points from play from out the field and NCW will need to keep an eye on him.
NCW battled really well against Patrickswell and probably came away happy enough with their performance, but also regretting the fact that they didnât come away with something. Having cut a significant half-time lead back to just 1, they must have felt it was there for them but the Well powered on again with a softish goal being a bit of a sickener for NCW.
Ethan Hurley & Con Hayes were excellent for them in attack and Mike Dee was always an outlet on the wing. Theyâll probably be looking for a bit more from the rest of their attacking players this week. I think this one will be very tight. NCW are proper battlers, dogged as fuck. I donât think any team will beat them by much but I donât really see them hammering a team either. I could be wrong but I think if they win, itâll also be by a fairly narrow margin.
It should be a fairly enjoyable watch if you like your contests. Having watched R1, I donât think you can but go for NCW to win; Iâll say by 2.
Mungret hit a rake of wides last week but did have a nice spread of scorers, with 8 different scorers from play, not overly reliant on one player. Paul OâBrien is a nice player to have back, Killian Begley was lively inside, Rory OâCallaghan a big addition at wing-back and then the likes of Cian Moloney stepped up massively.
The Well were pushed all the way by NCW but got their win in the end. Theyâre another side who will feel there is more in them; at times, they looked excellent but it certainly wasnât consistent across the 60 minutes. But they do look to be in a better place than last year personnel-wise alone. John Kirby was some loss last year, he showed his quality by getting 0-3 from play. At club level, they donât have the depth to afford to play Jason Gillane in goal and he just added another dimension to their attack, including snagging the all-important goal. He finished with 1-2 from play as well as taking over the freetaking mantle.
Both Lynch & Aaron Gillane also were injured for key games last year and Lynch was absolutely majestic last Thursday particularly in the way he won the ball. His first touch is just sensational. He doesnât always rack up big tallies but he scored 0-3 and was central to everything good. Aaron was quiet enough; won a few frees and was always an outball but only got the one from play. But the good thing was that they didnât need him to do all the scoring; last year, it felt like every ball was hit to him and teams just sat bodies around him and they had no alternatives. This year, their forward line felt more of a unit and Aaron was just another player within that.
Itâll be very interesting, the odds do seem to indicate a bit of value for Mungret who surely wonât fear the Well. I do remember the last time they played up in the A group 2 years ago and a lot of people were tipping Mungret to cause an upset. The Well absolutely annihilated them that day. But while people were writing the Well off at that stage, they probably were overall a bit stronger than they are now while Mungret have a bit more experience and a very distinct style of play. I did tip the Well to win this group though and didnât see anything from R1 to change my mind, so Iâll give them the nod by 3.
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Premier Intermediate
Friday August 7
Blackrock vs Glenroe @ 7pm in Knocklong
Croagh/Kilfinny vs Granagh/Ballingarry @ 7m in the Bog Garden
Saturday August 8
Bruff vs Murroe/Boher @ 7pm in Fedamore
Dromin/Athlacca vs Effin @ 7pm in Kilmallock
Blackrock got a decent point in R1 but fell to newly-promoted Murroe/Boher last weekend, despite hitting 3 goals. Glenroeâs game last weekend didnât go ahead but had fallen to a fairly significant defeat against Dromin/Athlacca in R1. This is a local derby and should be fiercely-contested but, on form, youâd have to go with Blackrock. Blackrock by 4.
On paper, Croagh/Kilfinny may have played the two hardest fixtures in the team who came down from senior and last yearâs beaten county finalists. Theyâve emerged from those two fixtures with a point and now face into a local derby of their own against Granagh/Ballingarry, who were beaten first day out by Murroe/Boher. I donât think C/K have quite hit top form yet but I will give them the nod for this one by 2.
Two games in for Bruff and two draws. Would you back against another here? I certainly wouldnât. Murroe/Boher have had an ideal start to life back at the grade with two wins on the trot and sit on top of the table, alongside Dromin/Athlacca, who are just down from senior. This will probably be their toughest test yet and Bruff have done enough to get late scores in both their matches so far. Gut says this will be another draw but if I have to tip one, Iâll give the nod to M/B by 1.
Effin are another side with two games played and two draws on the board. Dromin/Athlacca have been impressive so far following relegation; they dispatched Glenroe with consummate ease and then managed to keep C/K at armâs length, winning by 4 in the end. On paper, they look to be the strongest team in the division and if they can keep everyone fit, theyâre a great shout to win it. Effin have had their injury woes already but remain hard to beat. I will be giving the nod to D/A here by 2.
Intermediate Group 1
Friday August 7
Pallasgreen vs St. Kieranâs @ 7pm in Mungret
Saturday August 8
Cappamore vs South Liberties @ 7pm in Doon
Feenagh/Kilmeedy vs Feohanagh @ 7pm in Knockaderry
Pallasgreen had a superb yet hard-fought victory over their neighbours Cappamore in R1 and it sets them up beautifully for the rest of the year. And, over the weekend, their talisman, Colin Ryan Malachy, won the All Ireland Poc Fada for the second year on the trot so there should be a bit of a feel-good factor around the place. Kieranâs sent Pallasgreen into the relegation play-off last year and, after Pallasgreenâs win, many felt that Kieranâs are the most likely to end up there from this group. The easiest way to avoid that is to get the head-to-head advantage so this match is huge from their point-of-view. They only lost narrowly themselves to Feenagh/Kilmeedy and itâs hard to imagine this will be a high-scoring game. I was impressed by Pallasâ result last weekend and Iâll give them the nod by 2 once again.
Last week, South Liberties did not have Barry Cotter, Brian Garry, David Garry, Tom Ryan, John Hickey in their team not to mind those who have gone before like Brian Ryan, Brian Nash, Conor McSweeney & William Hickey. They seem to be hit by emigration & unavailability more than most and thereâs only so much Barry Nash can do. Cappamore will have been massively disappointed with their defeat at the hands of Pallasgreen but, considering the above, will still fancy their chances here. In Joe Lonergan, Liam OâDonnell and Sean Whelan, they have decent forward outlets and Iâll give them the nod by 2.
Feohanagh got the job done impressively against Liberties with SĂŠamie Flanagan back at 6. On paper, they donât look to be quite as strong as perhaps they were in previous years; I know that they were another side badly hit by emigration over the years and maybe a few of their key players were getting on a bit too. Feenagh/Kilmeedy did what they needed to do to beat Kieranâs but will need to raise it another level to beat their neighbours in Feohanagh. Should be a very interesting encounter, another local derby this weekend. Following R1, I do have to give the nod to Feohanagh by 3.
Intermediate Group 2
Friday August 7
Knockaderry vs Knockainey @ 7pm in Ballybrown
Sunday August 9
Hospital/Herbertstown vs Na Piarsaigh 2 @ 1pm in Bohermore
Bruree vs Mungret/St. Paulâs 2 @ 2pm in Ballingarry
Knockaderry returned to intermediate hurling in style with an 11-point victory over Hospital/Herbertstown, which is nothing to be sniffed at at all. Knockainey also had an impressive opening outing by beating Mungretâs second team by a goal. This one is a hard to judge but Iâm going to give the nod to Knockaderry; 1-26 is very impressive scoring at this level.
On the flip side of that, for H/H, losing by 11 to a newly-promoted team isnât great and itâs hard to make them favourites against Na Piarsaigh. I saw the teamsheet for Na Piarsaighâs match against Bruree and while Iâm not sure where the likes of David OâKeeffe, Marcus Murphy, Padraig Heaney, Gearoid Synott, John OâKeeffe (injured, away?) were; they still had some real quality throughout the lines of the pitch. Sean Long at 6 has played a lot of senior hurling in recent years, Wayne Kearns in the middle of the field started quite a bit at the highest grade last year, his brother, Alex, alongside him was the Limerick 20s keeper this year while Evan Sweeney at 11 is a class act, even at an advanced age. I have to give NaP the nod after talking them so much, Iâll say by 6.
But despite talking NaP up, Bruree beat them by 6. I said 1-26 was an impressive score to get at this level; Knockaderry got it against H/H, Bruree getting it against NaP is no mean feat either. They look to be the team to beat at this level; theyâve got a fairly stacked backroom team this year with Stephen McDonagh, Peter Finn, Liam Reale & Claude Gough; all of whom have had plenty of success in their own right as coaches. Mungret fell to Knockainey, itâs hard to see them beating Bruree. Bruree by 5.
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Premier Junior Group 1
Sunday August 9
Askeaton/Ballysteen/Kilcornan vs Monaleen 2 @ 12pm in Crecora
Croom vs Tournafulla @ 12pm in Newcastle West
Castletown/Ballyagran vs Kilmallock 2 @ 12pm in Bruff
ABK produced a big performance against Croom and probably should have won but still secured a draw. Monaleen were massively comprehensive victors over Kilmallock and youâd probably have to make them favourites for this one. Should be a decent contest and both sides will feel they have what it takes to make it out of the group but Iâll go with Monaleen by 4.
Croom got the late scores they needed to secure a draw against ABK while Tour had a fantastic win over Castletown/Ballyagran. I didnât see either game so itâs still difficult to gauge exactly where these team are at. Iâll go with Croom by 1 but itâs a shot in the dark.
I remember back in 2019, I was at the Junior A county final where Kilmallock were fairly comfortable victors over Castletown/Ballyagran. They went up to Intermediate and spent a few years there. People kept tipping C/B to win the Junior but they ended up in the lower section following the split and only finally won that lower title last year. And these two sides have ended up in the same grade again 7 years later. Kilmallock donât seem to have quite the depth they had then (the likes of current seniors Conor Staunton, Dylan OâBrien, Stephen Quirke, David Woulfe were all playing then as well as more experienced heads like Paudie OâDwyer, Kevin OâMahony & Eoin Ryan) while C/B are perhaps slightly better-rounded than they were. Both sides are coming off the back of opening-round defeats but Iâll give C/B the slight nod here- C/B by 3.
Premier Junior Group 2
Thursday August 6
Caherline vs St. Patrickâs @ 7pm in Claughaun
Friday August 7
Doon 2 vs Dromcollogher/Broadford @ 7pm in Bruff
Saturday August 8
Crecora/Manister vs Kilteely/Dromkeen @ 7pm in Hospital
Caherline got a narrow win over last yearâs beaten county finalists, Doon, while St. Patâs were beaten quite comfortably by Crecora/Manister. On paper, youâd expect it to be a very tight game but taking both of those things into account, I have to go with Caherline. The absentees for St. Patâs may be a bridge too far. Caherline by 4.
Doon will have been disappointed by that opening round defeat and a couple of young players who were key in last yearâs run to the county final made the step up to senior last weekend. Still, with the amount of players Doon have been producing in recent years, itâs not going to unduly weaken them. Drom/Broadford didnât have a great start, falling to Kilteely/Dromkeen in the opening round and youâd be thinking Doon will get up-and-running here. Doon by 5.
On paper, with no context, C/M may have had one of the most impressive opening round results with a 12-point victory over Patâs. K/Dâs result wasnât bad either but itâs very hard to go against the Crecora men after that first-round result. C/M by 3.
Junior A Group 1
Thursday August 6
Kildimo/Pallaskenry 2 vs Templeglantine @ 7pm in Knockaderry
Sunday August 9
Ahane 2 vs Old Christians @ 12pm in St. Patâs
Ballybricken/Bohermore vs Bruff 2 @ 12pm in Hospital
Templeglantine must be absolutely sickened not to have come away with a result in their opening game; a late goal denying them victory after they had overcome a 4-point deficit late on to go 2-up. Theyâll be looking to get on the board against a KP side who fell to Bruff.
Old Christians were the team to sicken Templeglantine at the death; I donât know if scoring 6 goals every week is sustainable but, to be fair, they racked up a lot of goals last year too. Kevin Howard scorerd a hat-trick, another one of those players who stands out massively at this grade. This week theyâre up against Ahane, who were very competitive against Ballybricken/Bohermore. Still, semi-finalists last year, a win over last yearâs county finalists, I canât not go with Christians. Christians by 4.
Bruff will be delighted with their opening round victory which may do a lot to keep them safe from a relegation play-off at the very least. Maybe Ballybricken/Bohermore thought they would be more comprehensive victors over Ahane but a win is a win, as they say, and I do fancy them to back it up here. B/B by 6.
Junior A Group 2
Thursday August 6
Claughaun vs Killeedy @ 7pm in Feenagh
Sunday August 9
Ballybrown 2 vs Garryspillane 2 @ 12pm in Fedamore
Monagea vs Rathkeale @ 4pm in Newcastle West
The other junior group is so hard to call; both Claughaun & Killeedy fell in their opening round; Claughaun possibly were expecting to against Monagea but I do think that Killeedy would have felt theyâd have a bit too much for newly-promoted, Ballybrown. It wasnât to be and suddenly there is a lot riding on this game. If Monagea do go through as expected, these two may have been fancied to join them. But Ballybrown & Rathkeale both have points on the board already, whoever loses this will be under a bit of pressure. I find it almost impossible to call- didnât see either game but, having seen both last year, I thought Killeedy had that bit more firepower although Claughaun were very solid in their setup.
Ballybrown had a great result in their first game up at the grade and I fear that Garryspillane may have lost a couple of players to the seniors that they would have liked to have had for a couple of rounds at least. Hard not to back Ballybrown after a great opening win. BB by 9.
Both Monagea and Rathkeale got off the mark in impressive fashion but I waxed lyrical about Monageaâs abilities at this level last week and I donât think Iâll be going against them here. Monagea by 7.
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Every county wishes they had a poster like @Aristotle
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