Official All Ireland Minor and U20 Hurling & Football Thread (Part 2)

Sport
4808

I believe O’Connor never made a Clare minor panel, was in at u14 and let go. Had his breakthrough with Flannans this year.

4809

Didn’t start all the group games with them either. Late bloomer.

Played Clare cup this spring for D/B and was unmarkable.

4810

You’d half expect an O’Connor from Doora Barefield to be a boy wonder more than a late bloomer but I could see him being a nightmare for full back lines to handle at Senior level for the next decade if he keeps up his rate of progress.

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4811

That’s absolutely class :clap:

4812

The clare fullback and gunning looked very good.

O Connor looked like a star though - just like young rabbit in Galway, they need to fire him in asap.

4813

His first cousin - Jamsie’s young fella was started centre back in the first couple of games for the 2023 minors while James Hegarty was injured. He seems to have disappeared completely off the scene.

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4814

https://x.com/i/status/2052123246674251998

Great taste in tunes :muscle::muscle:

4815

I’d say there’s a fair chance Oisin O’Donoghue is held in reserve like Sam O’Farrell in last years final.

My own view is that you should always start your best team and put your best foot forward (especially your captain) Senior or no Senior, but there may be a perception that because Tipp were 7 points up and kind of coasting on the 60 minute mark v Clare two weeks ago - with O’Donoghue doing hurleys/water on the sideline - that if they got 20 minutes out of him, it will be enough to see it out properly this time and not play like an u14 team for the last 4 minutes.

Its a risky enough thing to do though and there’d be hell to pay if it backfired.

Tobin will play the 20’s regardless I’d imagine.

4816

Very entertaining game (just watched it back there).

Clare definitely the better team, Gunning did a really good job on Walsh. I know we have our own boy wonder corner back in Cathal O’Reilly but this Gunning guy really is class, dare I say better.

Walsh is a good young player but is fairly one dimensional, he gets the ball and breaks the tackle by taking about 10 steps then strikes off his left from the 12/15 wing.
It seemed strange he spent so much of the game inside when he’s not suited to it. Was it to save energy for Saturday?

Clare hit a fair mountain of wides. They’ve an excellent team.
I could literally see this team backboning Clare for the next decade. They prob lack a real sharp inside forward although Marco Cleary and Rodgers have potential.
O’Connor looked limited enough to me in the Harty cup final but he’s after improving exponentially since then.
Even their subs like Ball, O’Doherty, Moylan are all excellent.

I’d make them favourites for the final v Tipp.

That Cork team had a decent year. Their full back line was under constant pressure. Garde, Biggane, Murphy, O’Flynn have potential but Clare and Tipp were far more balanced teams.

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4817

Lovely to see a lad stick his chest out like that

Breeding

4818

I think the two things that are heartening is that for the most part the lads who backbones the 2022 and 2023 minors like Gunning, Sheedy, Hegarty x 2, Moylan, O’Halloran and Collins have trained on but also that lads who either weren’t in the mix or a long way down the pecking order like Loftus, Casey, Costello, Boyce etc who were all Celtic challenge players at minor who have now two years at this grade hurled while lads like O’Connor and Cleary who weren’t even in the mix at minor stepping up.

This group doesn’t have the superstar quality of the three in a row group from 2012 to 2014 but the talent pool looks to be a good bit deeper with the 2022 to 2025 minors.

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4819

Are the u20 matches on you tube or where would you see them?

4820

TG4 YouTube in the main

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4821

Tipp will probably put Adam Ryan back full back to mark O’Connor with Euan Murray sitting deep to pick up the breaks and go from there.

Cummins won’t allow a ‘wan on wan’ inside.

In the last 20 minutes especially when Cork tired, they resorted to lamping the ball from deep dropping around the 45 where Clare ate them alive on breaks.

I’d hope Tipp will be a bit cuter in possession than that.

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4822

are you not better off with superstars on an underage team rather than a more well rounded team as these will be the mainstays on future senior teams.

the Limerick 2000-02 U21s had a lack of genuine star quality which meant no breakthrough was made at senior level.

Clare 2012-2014 and Limerick 2015 & 2017 had loads of stars which subsequently translated to senior success.

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4823

There are plenty of excellent hurlers on it who will be very good seniors. The good thing is that lads who couldn’t make the 24 at under 17 have improved exponentially due to playing Harty and senior club and look like really good senior prospects.

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4824

Last night’s one was broadcast on the TV channel so you’ll find it in the GAA Beo section of their website

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4825

Clare never feared Tipp

4826

Galway won a heap of minors in a row with no stand out performers. Morrissey is the only lad I can think of that has come through from that 4 in a row.

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4827

It would be a shame for Cummins’ anti-hurling to win out but it was definitely the toughest game of this competition for Clare thus far.