THE Reason Reid wasn’t on the team because they had 6 superstars ahead of him all the time. Almost no forwards made in roc thst Kilkenny under the age of 23 between 2002 and say 2014.
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Lads
What was Dowling 's graft like ??
Gorta and Taggy 
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There were in their hole. Nor 6 ahead of Callanan either.
Taggy fogarty was criminally underrated in a team of superstars. Very important to the cody system over the years.
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It is laughable you think Dowling can reach anywhere near the levels of Tj Reid or Seamus Callanan. Limerick delusion at its best.
For the record and I’m one of his biggest critics he seems to be really fit and finally focused on his hurling and not giving quotes to the leader. He is very good in air, blessed with good vision and is unerringly accurate off his left but the lad is 24 or 25 and probably isn’t even in top 20 forwards in the country at the moment.
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Richie Hogan and Seamus Callanan both started and finished the 2009 AI final at the age of 20, TJ Reid came on as a sub (he was 21). @glasagusban, I think you’re underestimating how good the players were that these three had to replace to become regular starters, for the two top teams in the country since 2009.
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Let’s try straighten this out here. I said it took Reid and Callanan years to reach their current level.
Weirdly, you are trying to disagree somewhere and said they only weren’t on the team because there were superstars ahead of them, suggesting that they were always at their current level.
So, either I’m right and Reid and Callanan took all of their early 20s to improve to their current level, or you’re right and Fogarty and whoever was knocking about Declan Ryan’s tipp team were better than Reid and Callanan are now.
Which is it?
I have only mentioned Reid and Callanan and how many years it took them to develop to their current level.
It is beyond strange that you can’t acknowledge these simple facts.
My point exactly. It took them a further four or five years each to nail down a starting place, despite their talent. That is all I’ve said.
Taggy was a very good but on his best day he wouldn’t lace current day Reids boots (I know he had one very good day).
What about Gorta?
Thank you. In callanans first season in 08 as 19 year old he scored 1-3 on his debut v cork, 4 points v clare in a munster final and scored 1-3 v waterford in all ireland semi final. All from play. Also won the national league that year. Shane Dowling was a sub in 2013 when limerick won their only trophy of note since 96. The manager picked 3 defenders ahead of him in the forwards for the game.
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We haven’t had a marquee forward since Cregan
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but you are completely ignoring the reasons why. Are you trying to say dowling getting on that limerick aged 24 is some sort of achievement?
Big Joe?
Gary Kirby was a marquee forward ffs, he was often a one man band in attack!
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And to be fair to Shaughnessy, he was class. In limited enough Limerick teams, he was someone who could pull out a moment of magic.
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Possibly. But Cregan was the best.
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Not marquee tho. At no point in his career was he one of the 3 or 4 forwards in the country.
Dowling will make mugs of all ye non believers this year.