Youāre entitled to your opinion, I think the young lad has serious ability and fingers crossed will come good if called upon this year.
He is a 22 year old natural forward in my opinionā¦give him a chance.
Thereās lots of lads on the panel with serious ability. What we need is lads with the serious ability to have the application of the likes of Hegarty. Thatās definitely what letās nash down imo. Heās more ability than any other limerick forward.
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Heās had various chances and hasnāt taken them. Also walked off panel in dubious circumstances last year. He has not proven he is better than 10 other forwards we have at this moment in time. Iām not writing him off, I understand he has natural talent, but will have to work his way in now and show he can apply himself properly to the task.
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Agreed, I wouldnt be writing him off though, he has an awful lot to offer if he puts his head down.
I think Kevin Downes has something to add this year. He hasnāt really had a chance to play under Kiely as he was injured last year so not sure how highly Kiely rates him. He has shown flashes of potential but hasnāt really delivered on it. He has been injured quite a bit and games can tend to pass him by. He was generally the first man substituted in 2014, but looked effective when sprung from the bench in 2013.
However, looking at his performances in the club final and replay, I think he could do serious damage in the full forward line for Limerick. He hit a few bad wides on Saturday but hit two lovely points, heās a big imposing cunt of a man and I think heās beginning to use his size more and fuck fellas out of his way.
Flanagan has been very good so far but heās still under 21 and has been inconsistent in his shooting. I know Downes can be as well but Iād nearly prefer him or Dowling starting full forward against Tipp.
Likewise Barry Murphy, excellent against Galway but heās not currently a scoring threat, his first instinct seems to be to find a team mate. When Casey comes back I donāt think heāll be starting and think he might actually struggle to make the bench as others such as Pat Ryan, Mulcahy, Nash, Dempsey, Dowling, Downes, Morrissey or whoever doesnāt start in the half forward line could add more impact from the bench.
Donāt want to sound any way critical of Murphy or Flanagan, they have been two of the success stories of the league but both are still under 21, that bit more guile will come with experience. Itās taken the likes of Richie English and Tom Morrissey about three years on the senior panel to start really laying down a marker.
Gillane, Downes and Casey, if they hit form could be devastating. I wouldnāt be any bit dismissive of Dowling either. Mobility mightnāt be great but heās got the know how to get big scores and set other scores up. With all that said, if Flanagan is number 14 I wouldnāt have any complaints either.
I think thereās nothing between David Dempsey and about 5 others for one place in the half forward line (I think Hegarty and Hayes will be in the other two positions on the half forward line).
Regarding midfield, Browne hasnāt been great the last few days, Colin Ryan does look a good bit of stuff but Browne plays the passing through the lines system very well and has a lot of experience which is important when it comes to championship so I still think he is in pole position to partner Cian Lynch, but just about.
Not going to work back the pitch any further because Iām boring myself at this stage
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Here I meant I donāt think Barry Murphy will start when Casey returns, Casey is in pole position for a corner forward spot
David Dempsey is a better hurler and forward option than Tom Morrissey and Darragh OāDonovan,heās just a bit ahead of them. Showed that he can graft hard dropping deep for Na Piarsaigh too so I reckon heāll take the role Morrissey currently has by the end of the group stage of Championship. Harsh on Morrissey but its just the way it is.
Casey is nailed on for 15. I would think Downes at 14 would suit the way weāre playing more than Dowling at 14 but I actually think Kiely will stick with Flanagan from the start and bring Downes in with 20 to go. Iāve been a huge defender of Dowling for years, I think heās a class and unique player but Iām trying to see where he fits in to this Limerick side and to be honest if you look at it carefully you could argue he doesnāt. Will he stick around on the panel as a sub?? Doesnāt strike me as the type that would. I canāt see him getting on in the half forward line, weāve moved on from that, heās not mobile enough to suit the style, so itās 14 or nowhere for him and I think playing him there changes how we play to be honest.
Also, I canāt see Hickey being dropped. I think Kiely sees him as one of the experienced heads and better equipped to deal with a player with pace than Richie Mac. Mike Casey at full back is the most recent fans favorite but unless he performs unbelievable in training I canāt see it
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Why have we in general discarded Richie Mac at full back? Iāve been critical plenty times myself of him but our last championship game he was probably MOTM.
Seemed from the off this year Kiely just decided he didnāt see him as a starter and has tried to move Hickey in there who was a complete fucking bomb scare against Dublin a few years back in there up in thurles. Think it was 2011 & to be honest i donāt see him playing any different.
You canāt judge a player on a performance from 2011 in fairness. Same with Downes, he was frighteningly good that year but has not ever reached those heights again so canāt want him in the team automatically based on 2011 and the rampage he went on in Thurles.
Richie was away travelling and only came home before the start of the league so wasnāt with the squad for the vast majority of the early season winter slog.
To be honest Condon is done for, heāll be dropped Iād say. Finn, English, Casey, McCarthy, Hickey are the full back line options
Yeah thatās fair enough, I donāt want to nor am I judging a fella based off something that happened 7 years ago but for me anyway i just couldnāt have Hickey in there full back, no chance.
Hickey seems to have matured as a player a good bit in past few years. He was a very important player in the role he played in 2013 under John Allen, All Star in 2014 when he was superb, he had an awful 2015 and 2016 but in fairness almost every Limerick player did. I thought he was good at wing back last year and hasnāt done anything wrong this year to be fair
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TG4 to screen live coverage of the Limerick v Tipperary Allianz Hurling League Semi-final on Saturday evening.
Iāve no problem with Hickey starting. Just not at fullback. A fullback needs to keep it simple IMO and Hickey just isnāt capable of that. Heās also to honest a player for fullback
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Hickey started full back while Richie was away earlier in the year and I think Kiely sees the benefit in his pace and for all his faults he is a good organizer for the two relatively young corner backs. Last year Hannon had to play so far back to protect Richie that he had no impact from center back .With Hickey at full back I think Hannon can play twenty yards further up the field. In my opinion this will give Hickey the edge for full back. Half back line is nailed on despite what a lot of people would like , just look at Kielyās record of who he picks there. Even last year when Byrnes missing , Dan Morrissey was first in. Midfield Cian and Brownie will start I think , but Colin getting closer. Hayes , Hegarty , Gillane, Peter Casey almost certain for forwards with any two. This is for first round championship V Ti pp , after that the panel will get great use , I think.
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As I said before dowling is a brilliant player to bring on. Heās an ego and he clearly hates being dropped but in 2013 he always made a huge impact from the bench. Heās a huge connect with the crowd too. When he comes on thereāll be a louder roar for him than any other player likewise when he scores. Heāll perform a Simialr to role to Maurice shanahan I suspect. Even missing the first twenty minutes for him when itās helter skelter will suit because fitness probbaly lets him done too.
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I would definitely have him as an impact sub, but close to the goal.
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If a game loosens up, Dowling is a serious man to pick off a few scores. Look at the ones Malachy was able to pick up after coming on the last day, Reidy has been able to do the same.
Dowling is better than both at that kind of thing, the role would suit him down to the ground. Could create goal chances in those situations too.
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An āimpact subā . A tautology ???
Reading this thread youād think Limerick hurling would walk all over everyone else if it was 21 a side.
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Looks like Club Championship is going to go ahead as planned? Full steam ahead from Spike.
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