We will have to agree to disagree on this one.
EK & SC both led their clubs to their only championships. SC was actually a better club player in his early career when he was more mobile, he was generally poor with Tipp at this point.
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I presume you mean with Ballyea here? He was quiet enough in 2017 alright. But he was very good for Clare in the two 2013 AI senior finals plus multiple underage finals between minor in 2010 and U21 in 2012-2014.
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We arenāt really disagreeing on anything. I donāt get your point.
At no point in the last ten years would I say the well are the best team in the county. A fair portion of the time they are probably the third best team in the county.
Theyāve done fairly well to win a few county championships but thatās it.
You look at the winners of the club all Ireland they are usually close to building dynastyās in their countyās. The well arenāt anywhere close to that level in Limerick.
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I wouldnāt be an expert but Iād say in the last 15 years only st Thomas and clarinbridge werenāt the clearly defined best team in their county or at least a heavy favourite for the club championship that won a club all Ireland and both are from Galway. Had no provincial club and I assume both beat an Ulster club as one of their two games to win an all Ireland.
Nap, ballygunnar, Cuala, Portumna and ballyhale are dominant club sides over the last decade or more and they were sort of dynasty time sides.
The well arenāt even close to that dominance in Limerick.
The fact is Lynch makes the players around him better, the key to any team and one of the main reasons for Limerick dominating the last 5/6 years.
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Shur he hasnāt played in 2 years and yer still lording it
The last game he played without an injury was Cork away when we hammered them, we have been below par in most of the games since then in truth. Lynch is the key. He makes the space. I personally think Kelly could do more for his team mates but that is just my opinion.
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Shur cork are shite
It is only a matter of time before Monaleen are a powerhouse. I have watched some of their underage sides and they are unreal. Kids very well coached in Annacotty and Monaleen benefitting from the crossover.
Ya youād have to think the all Ireland win give them massive momentum as well.
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But AG, CL & DB have won two county titles against the odds with the Well, so I donāt really know what the argument is here. Gillaneās performance in the 2016 final is one of the best ever individual performances in a Limerick county final.
Tony Kelly is obviously a brilliant forward tooā¦ but Iām not sure what relevance that has to Patrickswell.
Lynch is a superb hurler in every game he plays, but his style of play is less useful at club level, for sure. If I was over the Well, Iād probably chance him inside and almost force him to be more selfish and I certainly wouldnāt be wasting Byrnes at 6. But their supporting cast is nowhere near Na Piarsaighās at the momentā¦ the Kirbys are grand players but have a lot to prove at senior level, get physically bullied by the likes of NaP, Jason has a decent puckout but his decision-making can be questioned. KOB is the best of the OāBriens and is a goal threat but TOB is markable these days, and SOB is getting on a bit too.
If we can hold Gillane and if Lynch is struggling for fitness, weāll have a right chance against the Well. But a lot of the focus will be on limiting their stars which it presumably is for every team they play.
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Iām going to eat my breakfast in the morning and Iām going to spit my crunchy nut cornflakes out all across the island when I remember the Tipp lads want to put Jason Forde at 6 (and the justification for same is it must be easy because Hannon started out in the forwards).
Milk and chewed up cereal all over the shop. Oh well.
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The justification is very similar to Hannonās was at the time. Both played underage/school at centre back and dominated before being moved up
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Heād be absolutely destroyed in the air, itās the height of nonsense.
Not at all. Iād be 100% behind this move. Allied to this Brisn O Meara could start at 15 next year
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I was listening to the hurling pod there last night and they were talking about how TK was completely shackled by kk last year and can be shut down by a man marker. Murphy mentioned how SOD still has an influence on the game and scores a few points when man marked, and even suggested that heās harder to mark that Kelly because heās so unorthodox. Think it was Skehill then mentioned Kelly often takes on shots he shouldnāt, with teammates often in better positions, in the context of Clareās big wide counts this year. It got me wondering about Kelly, on the days he is shut down, if heās not scoring is he still finding other ways to contribute to the team? For an elite, top 5 player in the game, surely he needs a bit more? In fairness he puts in way more hooks and tackles nowadays than he did years ago and thatās a big difference. But Forde gets huge criticism on here when heās shut down, Tony Kelly doesnāt, despite being light years ahead of Forde in ability.
Its just critical thinking analysis.
When you have three Hurlers of the Year all concentrated in the one club team, its natural that a bit of focus should come on that club team and how they perform.
Patrickswell have won two County Championships in this generations playing days which on the face of it isnāt bad.
Iād give them a free pass for their Munster Campaign in 2016 as they were young but in 2019 when they went down to Walsh Park and only scored 0-09, that was a very disappointing effort. For context, a fortnight later, Brendan Maher put in a herculean effort to help an even more limited Borrisileigh supporting cast to beat Ballygunner fair and square.
I expected them to win the Limerick County Final in 2021 but again they went down tamely to an ageing Kilmallock. They didnāt raise much of a gallop last year at all albeit without Lynch. Looking in at the 2019 and 2021 defeats, youād have to say their ābig 3ā players didnt do much on either occasion.
Ballymun Kickhams are rightly lambasted for wasting a generation they will never again have and Clonlara in Clare the same. Patrickswell at least have another 2-3 year window where they can fulfil their potential.
Every club team has weak links when they lose, none more so than Na Piarsaigh who looked like they were carrying 3 or 4 lads when they were outscored 1-11 to 0-04 in the second 30 minutes of a Munster Club Semi Final last year. Having 3 Hurlers of the Year to compensate is a great starting point for Patrickswell and they could do with maximising their talent or they will look back with regrets when its all over.
Its a lot easier compete in the air as a back than a forward
Gillane hasnāt won HOTY yet.
He had the clamps put on him in that KK game, what other game was he marked out of it in the last 3 years? He really didnāt look right in that game or for Ballyea last autumn until the later stages of their season.
KK people donāt respect him. He is too stylish of a hurler for them to appreciate
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