The big difference to previous seasons when the nap players came back is limerick are actually in good form and winning and John kiely is a good man manager. Thereās very little between 23-24 of our players and you can make a reasoned argument for 4 or 5 of the nap lads coming or keeping the team as it is. Most of the calls are 50/50. The great thing is for a change the nap lads will have to work their bolox off to get back into the team. Which can only benefit limerick.
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All you can ask of anyone is that they grow and learn from the past and much like beloved forumite @bandage, JK has shown that he is flexible in his views/approach and can take criticism on board and learn from it.
On form and performing to their abilities ā Dowling, Downes, Dempsey and M Casey are very good options to come in off the benchā¦ The jury is still out on WOD and R Lynch. Young Breen wont make the cut.
Peter Casey is probably the only one who has some hope of starting against Tipp in May ā¦ the rest will depend on injuries as we move forward.
But youāre correct, itās a fantastic place to be inā¦ The NaP lads have bags of experience and having them battling for their place, instead of needing them to come back like weāve done in the past, is a huge boost for Limerick hurling.
He is. Iām fairly sure he played a few games last year.
Throw in times confirmed for our championship fixtures.
Limerick v Tipp, Gaelic Grounds, Sunday May 20th, 2pm. (Footballers at home to Clare the night before at 7pm).
Cork v Limerick, Stade de Frank, Saturday June 2nd, 7pm.
Limerick v Waterford, Gaelic Grounds, Sunday June 10th, 2pm.
Clare v Limerick, Cusack Park, Sunday June 17th, 2pm.
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Hard to predict but that Clare game could be very interestingā¦ needing to go to Ennis to get a win ā¦ eeek.
It could well be a dead rubber for one , if not both teams . Then again it could be for a place in the final or 3rd .
I bet the NAP lads are wearing dickie bows
A Saturday night fixture in Limerick wouldnāt have gone astray
I wonder how the training will go when Na P come back in to the fold ? There are now pretty viable in house 15 v 15 matches .
Put the whistle in the back pocket and let them flake a away ??
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Need to beat Tipp at home first day out really. I know theyāre probably the strongest team but you need to win your home games really.
Would give us serious confidence, a bit of momentum and I think weād go through from there.
Lose and youāre playing catch up all the way through, with two away games ahead.
Nobody gives a fuck about playing home and away in Gaa. Thatās bolox from rugby and soccer.
It would be great to win but letās be honest the three games most see as winnable are Cork , Wd and CE . As things stand Lk are underdogs in all three ties . I said in January that Lk need to be competitive in all games and that still stands . Lk are coming from a low base and there still needs to be realism. For all the faults of CK , WD & CE all three will see us as tricky but if they lose to us probably are better off going no further . I still saw winning 1 game will be progress .
The danger with carrying a panel of well above 30 is the disenfranchisement caused when the lads from 31 to, say, 38 are told to tip around themselves behind the goal during 15v15 games. This unfortunately happened to two valued TFK posters when they were called up to the Wexford football squad in the late 1990s.
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That big pitch in Ennis definitely suits Clare. And look at Dublinās league record in Parnell Park versus Croker.
Itās not a massive deal but certain teams suit certain pitches.
2pm throw ins are a pain in the hole for championship 4pm gives you the full day.
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Winning one game would be progress, but it might not be achieving our full potential.
I know weāve only seen league games yet so itās risky to base anything on it, but it would appear both Cork and Waterford have regressed. And we came very close to upsetting Clare last year too, coming off of a far worse league campaign. Getting the upper hand on them this time is very doable.
2pm throw in times. A serious buzz kill.
Canāt beat the 4pm starts to allow for a few relaxed pre-match 
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We were well behind Clare last year . Clare won by 4 , having their free taker malfunctioning , missing a penalty , butchering a couple of goal chances and Tony Kelly having a stinker . Also w got a late goal .
Time will tell if Cork and Waterford have regressed . They could well have but I await confirmation .
Also Iād say we had closer to a full team out than Clare did the last day.