Listen to me, will ye, listen to me now…
Format ill use is a quick note on mine, his opponents on the opposition and then who he’s marking. No need to discuss lads we both picked bar tactically.
Gary Maguire – an absolute steal I think, went half a dozen years as the best goalie in leinster, yes he got caught out once on a big stage but rock solid, a regular all star nominee, brave a hell of a shot stopper
Versus : Skehill. Jesus. A nice easy start. Skehill is, and theres no nice way to put it, a stupid cunt. Multiple, bizarre, recorded instances of kicking silverware down roads highlight this. He can stop shots that he literally has just time to react to. But if he has more than a split second to think, you can see the hamster start to slowly turn upstairs and chaos ensues. What positives has he? A big puck out. That might entertain and bamboozle the easily amused, but easily dealt with by serious opposition.
Damien Reale : both have him, sticky, no nonsense, underrated.
Marking: Shaughs. Familiarity breeds contempt. Shaughs was a great hurler but no speed merchant. Reale could bottle him.
Daithi Burke – come back in 6 years and he’ll be a 12. Four 4 all stars in a row in arguably the hardest position on the field. Single handedly turned a decades long disaster zone for galway into a solid unit, with makeshift backs like touhy and coen for company. Doesn’t have the hurling of JJ etc but is a serious reader and can give an innocuous off the ball jostle to bteak up a play before it even begins.
Versus: Curran, solid, but not a great
Opponent: Cloonan, Eugenes weakness was that wasn’t able to make space at full forward, daithi is suffocating. Cloonan lost the rag one night and battered a lad from tuam with a hurl. Hed lose the rag out of frustration here and try batter a lad from just outside tuam.
Sean Finn: best corner back in the country, abrasive, first to every ball and knows how to hit and not foul a lad. As big a role as anyone in limericks all ireland win.
Versus: Hickey, another limerick folk hero, but finn is the whole player
Marking: Dotsy… Finn all day here, has the lace to keep up with him as that dotsy maon advantage. Dotsy was no goal threat so finn could nearly cheat in front more.
Brendan Bugler: every team needs a tinker, a hardy cunt whos well able to stop a far better hurler from playing, he’s quietened canning a few times. Good in the air, wont be found wanting. Proper thick east clare cunt.
Versus: Gearoid, similar, gearoid had the better year but more prone to howlers.
Marking: Harnedy, perfect assignment for Bugler, harnedys big but takes too much out of the ball, and is a bit soft, bugler would be in his face and would make his life hell.
Tadgh De Burca: rolls Royce of a hurler, as strong under a high ball as any half back currently playing, two sided, looks up before delivering it. Might not get the meeja attention of gleeson but is way more complete a hurler.
Versus: Ciaran Carey, hardy cunt, headless at times but will get involved in the play, loves to get forward
Marking: Sutcliffe. De Burca far out matches here i think, Sutcliffe is a decent player but was the first real skill player that the dublin project produced, and gains too many plaudits. Good for an occasional point on the run but hes markable and de burca would destroy him in the air. Sutcliffes questionable temperament then a factor.
Tony Browne: hurler of the year, was he ever truly beaten, bags of skill, a great reader.
Versus: Daly, daly might have been a leader but he wouldn’t lace brownes boots as a hurler.
Marking: Seamus Prendergast. A handful, but browne is a far better hurler and not soft. Prendergast away from the central channels is diminished also.
Jonny Coen: has the engine you want at midfield, not the greatest striker but gets the odd important point, but more than anything is constantly involved in the play. The key attribute to an inter county hurler. Silkier individuals look nicer on the ball but won’t feel the weight of it for 15 minutes, grand in club when it will pass most by, no good in county. Jonny will buzz around it and on it for 70
Vesus and marking: Cian Lynch: class hurler, an extra attacker really so youd need a marker who can sweep back with him, which coen can, very hard to mark him, might have been lucky to win huler of the year based on those performances but looks at that level since.
James Cha Fitzpatrick: the steal of the century for me as far as im concerned. Career cut short for a variety of reasons but the few years he was there he was outstanding. Stood out on a team with shefflin jj and tommy. Shoots points, brilliant in the air cluld have captained Kilkenny to a few more all irelands than the one he did
Versus and marking: Ken McGrath, a folk hero, shot some great points, made some great catches, but liable to pull wild and loved floating around, if cha started scoring, wpuld it suit mcgrath to stay and home and mark him?
Joe Cooney: as someone said, hes a 12 in reality. Look back at the first half of the 90 final, its like the true JC stepped out of a DeLorean. Flicks turns points that would have been at home with the best of the tipp forwards last year. In the era of hip and whip he was the best hurler in the country. Suffered mainly as galway did nothing for the latter part of his career, played one game a year 94-98 so he was out of the public eye, but he was the fulcrum for one of the most skilful club teams ever. He lost a step but that wasn’t his strength, it was the wrists and weighted passes, he practically invented diagonal ball. Im sure a few hurlers on this forum attended or begged their parents to let them go to the joe cooney school of hurling. There wasn’t a seamus harnedy school of hurling….
Versus : Seamus Harnedy, look it, hes ok, hes performed for cork when least expected, flopped when expected to do something. Hes just too nice a guy and frued wpuld have a field day with him. Every game its mentioned that his mother was a famous camogie player. He can’t get past this, you can see it in his body language, repeated furtive glances to the stand… is she watching me, what does she really think of me, does she really love me? Really?
Marking: Daly, cooney would wipe the goofy grin off this cunts face, daly was good but overrated due to captaincy i feel. Far better clare defenders. Cooney loved a battle and dalys slower hands would have him all sorts of trouble.
Seamie Prendergast: the big tipp man is another steal, like coen he possessed the strongest attribute for county, hes always in the mix, lumbered but had the strength to keep tacklers off, got a few points.
Versus: Sutcliffe, ill pick a warrior 11 over a bit of a shaper all day.
Marking: Carey. Nightmare for carey, big body and tendency to get on the ball means carey would have a full time job marking him, couldn’t go foraging further himself.
Alan Kerins – im not being charitable including him, could play any line on the field including goals. The perception was he was just an athlete, reinforced by the celtic cross he won in 2001 but he was real hurler. 5 points from play off philly larkin in the first half of an all ireland semi final speaks for itself.
Verus: Prendergast, different players kerins more all rounded
Marking: G Mac, Gearoid is a catcher and battler, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up with kerins, at all. Its a mismatch to be honesy.
Eugene Cloonan: canning before canning in that he had to carry a weak galway forward line on his own, in an era when lohan and willie o connor could wrestle him away. Supreme ball strikee, from play and dead ball and as accurate a shooter as ive ever seen, both sides. Suffered from being bottled up at full forward but wit space it was a guaranteed score.
Verus: Dotsy, not even comparable ability wise
Marking: Hickey, good player, good battle but id fancy Eugene with enough ball in.
Richie Power: top class forward, virtually won 2014 on his own for kk, could get goals and points, had great movement so only need a step or two. Cody looks at colin fennelly now and wishes he was power.
Versus: cloonan, bottled at this position
Marking: Paul Curran, curran is strong in the air but powers movement would do serious damage to him
Mark O leary: fast, great vision for space, could get crucial goals and keep the the scoreboard ticking. Put him on an island with joe cooney feeding him peaches and his man would be sent off or taken off with the dragging he’d have to do to contain him.
Versus: shaughs, different players, shaughs more skilful, but didn’t have the legs o leary did
Marking: Reale, tenacious, not much in it but o learys pace is the trick