And Hanley?
Thatās a pity about McNamara I thought he was a very promising option to put Quaid under pressure. Quaidās puck outs are poor enough but Hennessey isnāt the solution.
Agree and agree, I was thinking McNamara would overtake Quaid this year if not next at the rate he was going.
We donāt have shedloads of half-backs or half-forwards, theyāre both lines we are struggling to fill with the right people.
At half-back, we have a few decent defensive players who are good in the air but donāt even try to help their forwards with the type of ball they give, or we have nice hurlers who can be too easily beaten in the air or run past.
In the forwards, ideally you want fellas who can at the very least stop their opposite man winning the ball cleanly, and who will work their socks off to scrap for possession and hassle half-backs in possession. When they have the ball, ideally they can both take a score well and also take on their men and go past them.
Weāve got a couple of players who could do a job in either line, but itās where they would be most useful that we need to find out.
Are we really that low?
Itās the very basic requirement set out mate and something that hasnāt always been evident in Limerick hurlers, some of whom have been championed here recently. Itās often the difference between teams.
Weād all love to have fellas who pluck every ball cleanly but even the very best donāt do that all the time. I feel you donāt catch it clean, you have to stop them doing it too. You make it a real battle, and you make sure you have the support so that you can win those.
I think that was very noticeable in the League semi-final against Galway. The Galway forwards made it so difficult for our backs even when our backs were on top. Whereas their backs came out way too easily and were able to give handy passes. Think David Burke scored a four or five points from those situations.
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In fairness to Kiely he made some decisive moves to sort this out but was hampered by injuries and decline in form from some. Identified fairly early that it was going to be Hannon or Hickey at 6, Hannon worked out well as did Hickey moving to half back. Good move.
Tried hard with Hegarty and Lynch at 11 with not so great results. There arenāt outstanding candidates still and it depends a bit on what type of game weāre playing, if we know that. Nash Lynch and Downes are possibles but Hayes probably ticks the most boxes all round.
Canāt remember who got most league games at full back but ultimately we are waiting for English to overtake Mccarthy. Could be another year of that i think, McCarthy is underappreciated.
Full forward is completely up for grabs at this stage, thereās a few options but Dowling should be full forward.
Edit: forgot midfield This was one held back by injuries, Browne not right most of the season and WOD got injured when it looked like he might make a go of it. Pat Ryan and O`Donovan didnāt convince fully yet and jimbob was in decline. Browne again if back to his best with maybe cian Lynch OāDonoghue or OāDonovan to partner.
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THats a load of bolox. A lad that canāt hurl isnāt worth buttons to you. Liemricks biggest mistake is failing to coach And manage our most talented players to work hard.
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Joe canning was one of the laziest players around Off the ball. Good management has turned him around. All those Galway players are outstanding hurlers. Mansion and whelan didnāt chase around or work like they do now at minor level.
If Flanagan gets a good run And stays interested heās the most talented limerick underage hurler Iāve seen since shaughs. Iād have colin Ryan and Casey either side of him. Hayes, barry Nash and hegarty probably be the half forward line.
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I would pay a few buttons and throw in a snack bar for a Bonner Maher in Limerick.
Iād find room for Colin Ryan in any championship team. You know heāll never buckle when the going gets tough.
Senior is a different ballgame to u-21 obviously but he won us that U-21 Munster final in Ennis in 2015. Fought and scraped for everything that went in, high or low, and was involved in about seven or eight scores. When we were under the cosh he was the one lad who didnāt wilt.
Would agree with the comments about nailing down the spine of the team. To be fair itās not as paramount at 11 and 14 with constant rotation in the forwards.
Browne has been subdued the last few years, really need him back in form. Na Piarsaighās run has messed up the opportunity to look at WOD again and give him a chance to stake a claim.
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Thatās why Kyle hayes will spend the rest of his career in the half forward line.
Colin Ryan??? That name means nothing to me.
Heās the lad that walked all over some no mark from cork in munster under 21 final in August.
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Did he? Such a pity that the asterisk looms large over that result
Nope thereās no asterisk just the final score boss.
Well itās a pity nonetheless that he had a no mark to walk all over when he could have tested himself against a decent player
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All those lads are well able to hurl, itās not as if Iām suggesting we put in a few hard-working donkeys.
Itās also not purely work rate though, itās the quality of the work they are doing & how consistently they are involved. And I have no problem with coaching players to work harder, in fact, I would assume that is happening.
If Seamus Flanagan stays injury free he has a great chance of playing a key role through the league. Agreed heās very talented and it would be a huge plus if he went well before the Na Piarsaigh lads are back. One would imagine heāll stay focused once heās starting and fit.