I tell you what. The Kilkenny subs bench is pretty short of proven options.
We have some old names there that have fitness question marks.
The rest are pretty much unproven at this level.
Eoin Murphy Glenmore
Noel Hickey Dunnamaggin
Kieran Joyce Rower Inistioge
Conor Fogarty Erinâs Own
John Tennyson Carrickshock
Willie Phelan Dunnamaggin
Lester Ryan Clara
Matthew Ruth James Stephens
Aidan Fogarty Emeralds
Mark Bergin OâLoughlin Gaels
Thomas Breen St. Martinâs
PĂĄdraig Walsh Tullaroan
Mark Kelly OâLoughlin Gaels
Joe Brennan St. Patrickâs Ballyragget
My heart bleeds for you.
A bit overly empathetic there appendage but thanks for the concern.
So what lessons did JBM and Ger Cunningham learn from the Kilkenny hammering? Evidently in their eyes that we need intelligent hurlers with quick hands above all else - we lost the league final not because of physicality, but because we didnât move the ball quick enough and got bogged down into ârucksâ and impasses by Kilkenny. The panel and team selected bears this out almost completely - gone are the big men with less then exceptional hurling ability, the likes of Cashman, Corry etc have been dropped off the panel whilst Cathal Naughton was picked ahead of Cian McCarthy, Conor OâSullivan ahead of Stephen McDonnell and Lorcan McLoughlin ahead of Gardiner. Similarly, all of the new panellists - Stephen Moylan, Daniel Kearney and Killian Murphy - are all first and foremost pure hurlers but also average in size. The only exception to this trend is apparently the starting of Tom Kenny, although I wouldnât be shocked if Christopher Joyce started. And also, Kenny has always been a superior stickman to Sean Og imo, although not by much.
Regarding the actual team, Coleman is dropped from the entire panel on the back of his performance against Kilkenny which seems harsh but (a) Nash deserves a crack and was always going to start and (b) Darren McCarthy is the long term successor to Donal Og. The full-back line looks dodgy to say the least - its surely the least physical full-back line of all the âmajorâ hurling counties. Moreover the Tipp full-forward line is nicely set up to punish our lack of size, which makes the decision to drop McDonnell more disappointing as I believe he would have been an ideal candidate to man mark OâMeara. The half-back line will be interesting - I have a sneaky feeling Joyce may start, but if it is Kenny I can only assume its because he has been exceptional in training. Cadoganâs hurling was poor against Kilkenny, which has hopefully been focused in on in the last few weeks while hopefully Egan will continue his excellent form.
In reality, its in midfield and the half-forward line that Cork will have to win the game. We canât let Tipp get any kind of decent direct ball into their inside forwards, so its even essential then usual for McLoughlin and Sweetnam to hook and block constantly. There is huge responsibility on Sweetnamâs shoulders - McLoughlin works best as a foil making runs and offering support, but he falls down in winning 50/50 ball in close action, an area that Sweetnam already looks like he will excel in. Moreover, Sweetnam is far better at both scoring and at breaking tackles, so weâll need him to offer the drive and physicality in the middle of the field. The half-forward line needs to be exceptional for us to win - Naughton is pretty much our only goal threat while Lehane will both have to try and keep Maher and offer a spark and win at least a few puck-outs. Cronin will be asked to keep OâMahony quiet and win puck-outs under pressure from 2-3 Tipp players - another huge ask. Moreover Lehane will only win puck-outs that he can run on to with space around him, while Sweetnam/McLoughlin wonât be puck-out options, so it looks like 80% of Nashâs deliveries will be dropping on the head of Cronin with OâMahony and co hanging off him. Hopefully JBM an Cunningham have some kind of plan here to take pressure off our half-forwards, it will be badly needed. Our inside forwards are all wrong - Coughlan is the only one with real pace but he is too frail physically - at least a year too early for this level, but Luke OâFarrell is injured so there is no other real option. Horgan and Padraig OâSullivan neither have enough pace our enough physicality, and their stylishness doesnât really make up for their lack of goal threat.
Finally, the bench - Tippâs bench is far far far superior. Unless Tipp play below par theyâll win this by 4-6 points.
Looks shite alright. :rolleyes:
In fairness, Cody has done a pretty impressive job of rejuvenating the first fifteen. Kilkenny will have more young players in their line-up this weekend than the Dubs. This is made possible of course by the old guard still being as good as ever. You could argue that he might manage the replacement of Tyrrell and Hogan without too much of a rough transition, but Walsh, JJ, and Shefflin are irreplaceable. When one or more of those goes itâll be a big ask to keep the team at the same level.
Whatâs the story with Niall Mac turenne?
Hurt his hand against Courcies a few weeks back.
Well, our JJ replacement starts on Saturday. His look, style and technique is remarkably similar to JJ. 7/1 for YHOTY. Not bad value for a starting HB on the Kilkenny team and he has looked capable.
My concern is the midfield obviously and what happens if it doesnât work or Buckley does his hammer again.
Fogarty or Ruth come on and Reid goes midfield.
Or
Hickey/Phelan/Joyce comes on and Tommy moves to midfield.
Or both.
From what Iâm hearing Tennyson probably wonât get gametime. Could be wrong.
Either way, not ideal. This is the least depth Iâve seen for Kilkenny since the League Final last year and we all know what happened that day.
Iâd be fairly shocked if KK donât win this by a good 5 or 6 pnts. Their on different level to most teams, Dublin all included
Locke, Iâm a bag of nerves here. Get on this thread and set my mind at ease with your prediction.
Christ, if youâre a bag of nerves, Locke must be swilling the valium big time by now. You KK boys are gas.
Fear of failure is a healthy enough thing when pitched at the right level.
Iâd still wager half of those KK subs would get on any other team. Matthew Ruth, Taggy, Rambo & Hickey. Mark Bergin is unbelievably versatile too. I remember him being a half back underage and being excellent.
I reckon the 2 traditional pwerhouses will win this weekend and ultimately will be the All-Ireland final. KK by 2 in a hard fought affair and Cark by 2 in a classic. Dublin will hope to avoid Tipp in the qualifier draw as theyâd be ok against Clare or Offaly youâd imagine.
would worry more about Dublinâs backs as opposed to our forwards⌠have a bad feeling Cody will try to expose Corcoran in the corner and kk will get in for goals⌠
Would you not be at least as worried about Brady? Heâs a good hurler but heâs looked like a right pushover to me in most of the games Iâve seen him in. Too easy to bully and not half aggressive enough.
Just about to say that. Is Brady on Colin Fennelly. Bit of a pace mismatch.
Westmeath are available at 9/1 for their game with Wexford tomorrow. A bit long surely?
Yes, thatâs worth a 10
Think kk are going to beat Dublin by 6-7