Shots fired!
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Looking like David Mc and Shane OâDonnell are out for Sunday.
He prefers the long grass
Colm Lyons reffing this Sunday.
Paud OâDwyer got Limerick v Cork.
Surprised to see them all backing Limerick to win the All Ireland.
Galway seem to be the team to beat.
Donnell is a big loss, he was doing some amount of link play.
A lot falling on Shanagher now
Not so much compared to last year. Cathal Malone and Aidan McCarthy have been very consistent score getters throughout the league and one of the main pluses of the league was that different forwards were stepping up each day like Reidy, Rodgers and Diarmuid Ryan from wing back to provide a scoring threat rather than it all falling on Kelly like it was last year.
I havenât seen any Clare games in the league, have ye come on a lot since last year? Can ye reach, say, the level Waterford did last year?
Surprising how much they turned the ship given the start against Antrim and the backdrop of shenanigans at committee level.
Think they could surprise in Munster but not sure panel depth there for full Summer assault
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They have improved by the looks of it. But still have some glaring weaknesses at the back. Aaron Fitzgerald looked promising at corner back, a physically strong and athletic no nonsense defender but he is out with broken ribs. Most likely replaced by Paul Flanagan who is an honest trier but potential weaklink. David Mc at wing back would have been a boost as well but has struggled with injury all league.
Backs look to have improved as a unit as the league went on and were very impressive for spells in the second half of the Dublin and Kilkenny games but still struggle to deal with runners. Diarmuid Ryan had an excellent league at wing back while Conlon is growing into centre back, while he may not be dominant there he is far more influential in the role than Morey was last year.
Aidan McCarthyâs form in the forwards has unlocked a good bit of potential too, he is excellent and drifting from sideline to sideline and winning balls. Has a good turn of pace and backs himself to take scores. While Shanagher is Shanagher, he has very much thrown his weight around during the league and caused a lot of problems for teams. Clare have developed a nice mix between going long and direct to him and playing off the shoulder to get the likes of Kelly and McCarthy on the ball in scoring positions.
OâDonnell is a loss as his workrate at half forward has been very good and would have been needed.
I would see this game as 50/50 if Prunty and Barron are struggling for fitness. Clare are capable of taking scalps and will have a punchers chance against anyone but hard to see the backs holding up consistently against the better sides to make an A/I semi or better.
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Good run down as always. I think everyone underrates Waterford a bit and while the injuries will affect them Iâd expect the team overall to be better again this year for another year with Cahill. I think Waterford have some real quality forwards that can damage any team, and will put up a big score against the Clare backs. The one thing making me doubt Waterford was their moving of Gleeson, he should have been left in the forwards where he was performing, moving him around continually us really holding him back from delivering on his potential consistently.
If Waterford donât have Prunty they are in real bother . Huge loss to the spine of their defence from last year with TDB missing as well .
And OâKeefe in goals is a big loss too. New chap completely unproven at senior level
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Soky
Prunty
Tadhg
Barron
All through the spine of the team.
Throw in Pauric Mahony too as potential center forward and it leaves huge gaps that have to covered so the overall panel / bench will be a lot weaker too.
100 on the Killinan End will tell a lot about transmissibility at crowded events.
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Will the dog track be selling cider that evening ???
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We can only hope.
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Wouldnât mind going to this.
I have all the right friends in all the right places so should hopefully pull a ticket out of the bag.
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