Fantastic to see the Limerick lads enjoying themselves. They are giddy. Its like a teenager the first time they ever have a crush on someone.
Great post @Julio_Geordio. I was just coming in to raise the point about next year I want to see things freshened up again and everyone starting off on the same slate again with the intention to earn the right to a jersey. You correctly pointed out that Galway actually had the same outfield team in the 2018 as they had for the 2017 final. The likes of Conor Cooney for example I donât think he hurled well all year and it should have been obvious to Donoghue to put someone else in there. Maybe he wanted to show loyalty but surely thereâs another forward in the panel who could come in and perform on a higher level.
Dublin are winning the football every year and each new year the starting 15 is different to the one that played the final the year before. I hope to see the same with Limerick next year. Iâm not going to name fellas in danger of being dropped next year because at this moment in time and forever more they are all heroes but the likes of Barry Nash, Malachy, David Reidy, Paddy OâLoughlin, William OâMeara, Barry Murphy are guys youâd imagine will be absolutely raring to get into the starting 15 next year as those lads in particular never really got near the starting 15 for championship all this season. Obviously Peter Casey of the subs looks like the most likely then to become a starter next year. Weâre going to need new options in the full back line as it must be a fair possibility that Condon, Hickey and Richie Mac will hang up their boots now. Iâve seen Dan Joys name mentioned and he looks a good bet to come into the fold next year. Hopefully Robbie Hanley too and the Doon goalie McNamara to really put pressure on Nicky. I know that McNamara itâs said he wanted to concentrate on his studies for longer but he has looked outstanding from a few years out, hopefully this win changes his mind and he can make it happen.
The great thing is there will be a real spice to the rest of the club championship in Limerick now too as fellas not even in the 36 and on the few names mentioned just there will want to make a name for themselves and put their hands up. I would see Cork and Clare as our main dangers next year tbh, Cork in particular if they can unearth a few better bench players. Clare will have that same team more or less this year. I see Tipp and Kilkenny still in transition, Tipp in particular will do fuck all as a lot of those guys are old players now and have bad attitudes anyway. They need to start all over, and there will be a new man in charge which is another unknown for them. Waterford are young enough but we donât know who will be over them either and I donât know if he will do better with them than McGrath. With Galway they have a lot of miles in the legs and this year it was apparent or at least they led us to believe that there was nothing outside the 15 in the starting line up. I suspect Donoghue will go so again a new man in there which is another unknown but I suspect it might be the best thing for them now. Iâm really not convinced they are most likely to win it next year. Cork will really believe theyâve a right chance next year. But is Meyler the right man. Maybe he can bring in clever people around him. Exciting period for hurling ahead anyway and in particular Limerick who other counties can no longer laugh at and mock. We have the monkey off our backs now and there should be another All Ireland at least in the coming years from this group.
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Id be hopeful too. We were lambasted all year that cork were woeful. But despite having a far worse starting 15, worse bench, worse wider squad members and a worse management team we lived with Lmk for 140 mins.
Iâd love to see Denis OâBrien or John Magnier get involved in Cork hurling like JP McManus
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Galway wonât be back anyway. The game has moved on again, you wonât see a team bulldoze to an all Ireland for a long time again
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only for hitting 20 wides in both games, Clare had the measure of them easily, the ref rode us aswell, the first day in Croke Park. Clare and Limerick in the final would have been an absolutely wonderful and far better occasion, you need that bit of local rivalry, Iâd love to see it next year
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Thereâs nothing to say that Limerick wont end up like Clare did after 2013. A lot of these young lads might just start believing their own hype and might choose the path of least resistance. Some might over indulge. With Clare though they had a manager who was highly volatile and the ups and downs were too accentuated. At least they have some chance with Kiely as he is a bit more relaxed and is used to dealing with young lads through his principalship with the Abbey. It was a point reiterated at the homecoming last night that theyâll be same people they were 12 months ago. But unfortunately with any group of players a few will go AWOL.
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To me, looking at Galway, they were seriously lacking in the tactics side of things this year. Even in the final, Kiely & Kinnerks definitely out-thought Galway. They do have some serious players still but werenât getting the most out of forwards who were running riot last year. Did they become over-reliant on Glynnâs ballwinning ability?
Obviously when a team wins the All-Ireland, everyone looks to see how to beat them. Maybe they were a bit agricultural in their use of possession last year but the players were so big & strong and playing so well that it didnât matter. Some of the players definitely didnât hit the same form this year and they didnât seem to have faith in the replacements.
Advantages that we have over Galway- I do think that we have more depth in our panel in attack (maybe not in defence, itâll have to be seen). That should hopefully keep players on their toes. Obviously our use of the ball has been quite good, but again, teams will look to see how to beat us and we have struggled with teams who move the ball very quickly and allowed their half-forwards to drift out to the middle. Do we stay static or do we also advance as a team?
Disadvantages compared to Galway. Tbh no matter how poor Galway were, I reckon they would have qualified through Leinster this year. We wonât have the same luxury. Everyone in Munster could beat us and will be gunning for us. There is definitely no guarantee that we will make it out of Munster, were performance levels/hunger to drop. Tipp & Waterford will have new management and do have some very good players, Cork & Clare were Munster finalists (although we have both at home next year). If the likes of Hickey, Richie Mac & Condon retire, we are very short for replacements in the full-back line and couldnât really afford an injury to any of our starters.
On the flip side, you could say that the fact that Munster will be so cut-throat could work in our favour. Thereâll be no sleepwalking along, they will need to be tuned in. We didnât defend either of our most recent U-21 titles well, particularly in 2016 when we had a very very strong squad. Itâll be interesting.
Weâre in a great place at the moment, and the celebrations have been great and Iâm sure theyâll continue to be. But you canât stand still either, once they go back into training again, they have to look to drive it on again. A very competitive panel is key.
Far worse? Ye had a better starting 15 than us.
Still think galway have more out and out talent than us although they struggled for form this year. We may lose a couple of the older heads, but against that the squad now has built up a wealth of experience. I wouldnât be getting ahead of ourselves, as @johnnysachs said, we could end up like Clare and take 5 years to get back to Croke Park. Dowlingâs interview about the set up being enjoyable again this year stands out for me. The set up sounds sustainable, in a way that Davy Fitzâs wasnât in the long term.
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We did in our eye. Cahalane wouldnt make your 23. Nor Meade. Lehane wouldnt have the workrate and would be used like Dowling. Would O Donoghue start ahead of either of your corner backs?
Would Cadogan make your 23?
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When youâre winning, everyone thinks youâre great when in reality a lot of teams have a lot of good players, itâs trying to get as many as possible and add that to a good manager, backroom team, etc.
Like Tuohy & Hanbury were potentual weak links last year too but Galway ended up against a Waterford side in the final who played with one full-forward at times and were never going to exploit them in one-on-one battles. In fact, this Galway team seem set up to beat sweeper systems. Very good at shooting from distance but not the biggest goal threat (despite the 2 in the final) and when that area was congested couldnât mix it up.
Iâm sure everyone is looking at flaws in our team, but I always felt we had the best players in the country for the way we want to play (well, I presume that the way we play was made to suit the players we play).
Iâd be shocked if we went the way of Clare, but you never know, I suppose. There are a number of factors and we wonât really know until the league next year. If we want to play the same way- it requires huge fitness & work rate. They canât drop just because we won an All-Ireland.
Itâs one thing to have a crush. Itâs another to take them into the bank vault.
I donât think Meade would start in this current Limerick team because we play a very particular way and he doesnât really fit in the mould. But heâd surely make our bench.
I rate him highly, and think heâs perfect for the way Cork currently play, very clever hurler. Again, Lehane is very suited to the Cork running game. Has Lehane ever played corner-forward? Thatâs where I think heâd play if he was added to the current Limerick squad.
I rate Finn & English highly but again, OâDonoghue would fight it out and earn a spot if he was available.
Cahalane did alright against Flanagan day 2 but Iâd still view the spine of the Cork defence as a weakness. We also found it too easy in general to create space in front of your full-back line. I wouldnât have Cadogan.
Cork need a 3 and a 6.
And an 11. Lehane with current workrate is a luxury. Limerick have no luxuries
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Kiely might get more out of him. He is as talented as anyone but we needed a lot more from him
Cork were a puck of a ball from beating Limerick. All the top 5 hurling counties could beat each other on a given day.
Cork will start to see talent come through now. Dublin next year are the wild card. Dermo will be a big boost.
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Exactly my point. With a much worse team
You can easily see Wexford finishing fourth in Leinster next year.