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Post by veteran on Sept 6, 2015 18:02:52 GMT
Well you have to hand it to the cats. I was astonished at two aspects of their game in the first half. First of all, how timid they were. Galway horsed into them and put them totally off their hurling stride. Secondly, how primitive their hurling was. Most of the time they simply belted it it in high, hoping for a lucky break which might result in a goal.Indeed many of those pucks were over hit, with a scarcity of Kilkenny forwards in around the goal area. What a transformation in the second half. Gone was the timidity and primitiveness. They smothered Galway all over the place. Inevitably their skill and hurling nous kicked in, swamping Galway in the process and Galway were flattered to be just three points back at the final whistle.
So the stage is now set for the big ball game. Nerves are beginning to get taut.
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Post by homerj on Sept 6, 2015 18:04:32 GMT
How any of last years final panel were missing today for Kilkenny?
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Post by Ballyfireside on Sept 6, 2015 19:23:51 GMT
An anti climax or what?
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Post by ballynamona on Sept 6, 2015 20:11:31 GMT
Definite anti-climax, particularly with the way the game was poised at Half-Time.
Galway failed to get Joe Canning on the ball in the 2nd half.
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Post by kerrygold on Sept 6, 2015 21:02:23 GMT
The Cats are relentless under Cody, albeit in a small pool of challengers. Probably not Kilkenny's finest team of recent times but I think that speaks volumes about the credentials of the rest of the hurling pack.
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Post by Mickmack on Sept 7, 2015 22:44:41 GMT
The cats should from now on be called the "boa constrictors" The boa will first strike at the prey, grabbing it with its teeth; it then proceeds to constrict the prey until death before consuming it whole.
On 62 mins Galway were only a goal behind and Joe had a handy free which he missed. You know then that Galway were gone. Cody selects men with character first of all.
One decent game all summer. The 2015 hurling championship was a damp squib.
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Post by glengael on Sept 8, 2015 9:08:18 GMT
There's the u-21 Final on this Sat, Wexford v Limerick which will hopefully be more competitive.
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Post by givehimaball on Sept 8, 2015 11:53:03 GMT
The cats should from now on be called the "boa constrictors" The boa will first strike at the prey, grabbing it with its teeth; it then proceeds to constrict the prey until death before consuming it whole. On 62 mins Galway were only a goal behind and Joe had a handy free which he missed. You know then that Galway were gone. Cody selects men with character first of all. One decent game all summer. The 2015 hurling championship was a damp squib.Was the worst hurling championship over all for a long time.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 5, 2015 22:38:16 GMT
I expect Dublin to beat Galway. Galway are not a happy camp per the rumour machine. I was told this by a Galway aficionado last May. They didnt want Anthony Cunningham to be still there for 2015
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Post by MrRasherstoyou on Oct 11, 2015 14:41:49 GMT
Hurling desperately needs a team that will capture the imagination. That would have been Clare but Davy has gone about dismantling and wasting the great talents at their disposal. I cannot see them recovering.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 25, 2015 10:47:15 GMT
Naas nurturing a generation of hurling trail-blazers
Damian Lawlor Féilim MacDonncha drove his car through the deserted streets of Naas town, out towards the Sallins Road and stopped off at the GAA club. He walked to the main field and, blocking the early morning October sun from his eyes, peered up at the scoreboard where the result from the day before still read: Kilkenny Under 16 Division One Shield hurling final. Naas 6-12, Ballyhale Shamrocks 0-6.
There was nothing brash about re-checking the scoreline, it was more incredulity that the fruits of 10 years hard labour had finally paid dividends. At training, Naas hurling mentors wear sweatshirts with a logo proclaiming: 'Hurling - it's in our DNA'. And the proclamation rests easy with them. It wasn't always like this, however. When men like Jim Sheridan, the late Denis Hanley and John Holmes began farming for talent, the terrain was pretty barren. Where they now have 70 youngsters training every Saturday, they struggled to even get 10 during the 1980s. Gaelic football, rugby and soccer all stood ahead of hurling in the commuter town, but Holmes, a former St Vincent's hurler in Dublin, wasn't for standing idly by.
"Back then there were 575 pupils at the local school, St Corban's, and we had to tap into that market," he says. "The Super Nintendo video game console was massive so we produced a membership card with 10 boxes and got permission to go into the schools. We told the kids, 'if you come to 10 training sessions you get 10 ticks. And anyone with 10 ticks gets entered in a draw for a Super Nintendo.'"
Over the following Saturdays 275 youngsters showed up. Very few had any interest in hurling and most were there for a shot at the Nintendo. Still they were togged and ready. "We didn't know what to do or how to handle them," Holmes smiles. "But we soon learned."
Gradually, the numbers fell away but a core remained. Holmes, who worked for the Maxol Group, stopped off in Dundalk one day to enquire where he could buy some hurleys to keep the momentum going. He was directed to Kevin Reynolds of NURI sport and introduced to the plastic hurl. With the weather worsening at the time, Holmes brought his new army indoors. They loved it. So much so that, gradually, he began taking calls from irate parents intent on spending their weekends back home in their native counties only to cancel those plans because their children wanted to go hurling training. "That was another breakthrough, Naas is deep in football heartland so the hurling tradition wouldn't have been here," Holmes continues. "But challenges remained. Even when we got going, youngsters were being asked to choose very early between hurling or football. Many of our best young hurlers would not have progressed further because they were focused on football. That's fair enough.
"So we must build on what we have now. We're dominating underage hurling in Kildare. More importantly we are also developing dedicated lads with a great grá for the game. You can never tell if they will stick with hurling, but there's a better chance they will." Kildare hurling, if it gets the right help and attention from Croke Park, is a coming force in the game. Leading coach Paudie O'Neill works with them on behalf of the GAA but powering the Lilywhite revolution are those in Naas, men like MacDonncha, Holmes, Austin Bergin, and others working diligently in the background.
Last year was a turning point in their journey. Both of their under 15 teams topped the table and dominated the league to such an extent that there was no final played, nor any meaningful games either. Something had to give. "The Kildare board knew action was needed and so did we," says juvenile chairman Austin Bergin. "Thankfully they were open to ideas."
In November 2014, Bergin attended the retirement function of his old friend, former Leinster GAA Chief Executive Michael Delaney, who knew all about the fight Naas faced. He referenced Bergin in his farewell speech. "Austin, you have a number of issues at hand in trying to drive the game on in Naas and all the people you need to speak to are here tonight," Delaney said. Bergin sought out Kilkenny secretary Ned Quinn and floated the possibility of Naas joining the Kilkenny under 16 league. Quinn was enthusiastic and once the paperwork was complete, and approval received from the Kildare board, the wheels turned. The support of their football brethren in Naas was also welcome as 11 dual players are on the current under 16 hurling and football panels.
That night the door also opened for the Naas under 8, 9, 10 and 11 hurling teams to play in the Dublin league. "Things started happening that evening," Bergin says. "Kilkenny really couldn't have been more helpful, so in we went to division one, straight into the lion's den." They played five games, all in Kilkenny, and won four - against James Stephens, Dicksboro, Erin's Own and Bennettsbridge. They lost heavily to O'Loughlin Gaels but still reached that Duggan Steel Division One Shield final a few weeks back. There was huge novelty attached to making a Kilkenny final but the feelgood factor was enhanced when their opponents, Ballyhale Shamrocks, asked if they could travel to Naas to play the final.
That request gave the Naas hurling fraternity perhaps the biggest day in their history. It was another milestone following a successful year when they reached the semi-final of the All-Ireland Division One Féile na Gael after winning the Division 2 title last season.
Currently, Naas have around 250 hurlers in their nursery and they form the spine of the under 15 and 16 Kildare development squads, both of whom will be with Division One teams next season. Obstacles remain, however. Ten of the Féile football squad that won the All-Ireland Division One football title recently are hurlers too. And 11 of the current under 16 hurling panel are strong footballers. "Our biggest assets are our dual players and there is great work being done in looking after them," Bergin says. "Without the dual players we are in trouble and if we don't mind them we'll lose them because they're so busy with both codes and Kildare hurling and football development squads too. But the communication between hurling and football is very good at Naas and we have a super relationship with Alan Napier, the juvenile football chairman. We all agree that the lads are our number one priority."
In the last census, there were over 20,000 people living in the town, on the back of a 37 per cent population increase in Co Kildare. Naas has been a favoured choice for young families putting down roots outside of Dublin. With the local economy boosted by the Kerry Group who have set up a €136m research and development division there, the influx will continue. Huge numbers relocate there from Dublin but there are just as many from the midlands and west of Ireland, which makes it difficult to forge a distinct identity.
"But we are a home from home for many people from traditional hurling counties," says Bergin. "People have joined us from Tipp, Cork, Kilkenny, Galway and they were in with us making sandwiches and stewarding the traffic last Saturday. They have made Naas their home and their children are driving us forward. "The next step is to move up the ladder. Things have not happened for us at adult level yet but that will come, we are not far off. We lost a few games narrowly this year but we won the league. Down the line winning Kildare senior titles and Leinster club championships are targets. That's our vision anyway."
Bergin is asked about the prospect of Kildare one day competing in the Liam MacCarthy championship. Increased funding from the top is required for that but the county has a new manager in Joe Quaid who brings experience and profile after Brian Lawlor's breakthrough years. And Kildare, with its growing population, should surely be seeking a step up.
"I'm not close enough to that level to comment," Bergin says. "But if we start winning county senior titles and competing at Leinster down the line it can't but help them." For now it's tunnel vision. Naas have applied to take part in the 2016 under 16 Kilkenny league and the gospel continues to be spread - they have played tournaments in 25 different counties this year.
"It's two-fold," he says. "We are developing and also spreading the word that we are a hurling force. Teams from outside are looking to come up here to play us. In the past we'd have to go down to them. But the pride is in seeing lads who couldn't make our under 14 team two years ago out there playing against the best club in the history of hurling last weekend. For most, it was their last day in juvenile hurling and what a way to end that period of their lives."
It will be up to them to take the journey further. Certainly, everything is in place for them.
Sunday Indo Sport
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Post by kerrygold on Oct 25, 2015 11:00:28 GMT
Fascinating project, totally visionary for an under age hurling club team, in a big satellite town, from one of weaker hurling counties, to be playing county league games in both Kilkenny and Dublin . It will be interesting to see how it develops as the players move into the senior ranks. Ten out of ten.
Should the north Kerry hurling clubs be doing something similar in Limerick and Clare? These are the projects worth funding.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 25, 2015 12:22:56 GMT
I met a lovely old man socially during the summer. He is a member of Coill Dubh hurling club in Kildare. He told me that Bord na Mona decided to harvest turf from the bog down there in the 1950s. They built 52 houses near the bog and housed 52 families, all whom worked for them. A Limerickman, a Tipp man and a Wexford were among them. They brought their hurls and as the kids arrived and started to grow they created a hurling tradition that saw the club contest every club hurling final in the 1990s. When the turf cutting stopped they were able to buy out their homes from Bord na Mona for a very reasonable price.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 26, 2015 23:08:04 GMT
Donal Óg Cusack has left his positions with RTE and the Gaelic Players Association to become a coach and a selector with Davy Fitzgerald's Clare team in 2016.
The former Cork netminder has also ended his club career with Cloyne to embark on his new project. The three-time All-Ireland winner has praised the approach adopted by the Banner men despite disappointing in the championship since their All-Ireland triumph in 2013.
Announcing Cusack's appointment, Fitzgerald said in a statement: "I am delighted to welcome Donal Óg, Aonghus (O'Brien, coach) and Jimmy (Payne, strength and conditioning) to the setup. Their collective experience and expertise will further strengthen the already high quality backroom team in place. "Over the next few weeks, there may be one or two additions announced to the backroom team and the panel. It is my intention to finalise the provisional panel at the end of January ahead of the commencement of the Allianz National Hurling League."
Cusack confirmed: "I am looking forward to the challenge and want to thank Davy Fitzgerald for the opportunity. Ahead of assuming my coaching position in Clare, I have met with RTE and following mutual agreement I have been released from my contract. I would like to sincerely thank RTE for the experience they have given me. "I will be seeing out my term as chairperson of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), which will come to an end this year. I have also spoken with my local club, Cloyne to confirm my decision to retire from club hurling. I would like to thank the club for the support it has shown me throughout my career."
As reported last week, Podge Collins has also returned to the panel for next season
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Post by MrRasherstoyou on Oct 28, 2015 19:05:31 GMT
Great work in Kildare & Carlow hurling, and Laois & Westmeath, amongst other places. This is not just lip-service, it could save the gave, make it flourish again.
I have long come to the conclusion that Davy Fitz has sadly gone over the edge and anything he does now is just more proof of it. I think DOC is a great writer and commentator on hurling and sport in general. I do however also think his fame has gone a bit to his head. I certainly don't believe more high profile, big personalities and more attention from the media will help this ailing collection of great talent in Clare that looks like going down as the greatest tragedy after winning an All-I that I can remember. Hurling so badly needed this Clare generation to become a great team and challenge Kk. The opportunity looks like it was spectacularly missed/messed up
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 28, 2015 23:30:09 GMT
The absolute last thing you need in a leader or manager is a big ego.
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Post by kerrygold on Oct 28, 2015 23:33:36 GMT
One thing I've noticed on here over the last 10 years is that there are no big egos on this forum. Lol !!!
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Post by inforthebreaks on Oct 29, 2015 11:13:00 GMT
The absolute last thing you need in a leader or manager is a big ego. The two most successful Kerry managers of my lifetime both have very healthy ego's... didn't hurt them or their teams.
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kerryexile
Fanatical Member
Whether you believe that you can, or that you can't, you are right anyway.
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Post by kerryexile on Oct 29, 2015 13:22:09 GMT
The absolute last thing you need in a leader or manager is a big ego. The two most successful Kerry managers of my lifetime both have very healthy ego's... didn't hurt them or their teams. Are you saying there are 2 that have as well as the very obvious 1 that had !!!!!
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Post by gin3013 on Oct 29, 2015 16:55:20 GMT
The two most successful Kerry managers of my lifetime both have very healthy ego's... didn't hurt them or their teams. Are you saying there are 2 that have as well as the very obvious 1 that had !!!!! ICQ 670329344 - YAHOO: GIN3013 - SELL CVV-CC-TRANSFER WU-BANK LOGIN-CARD DUMPS GOOD CHEAP ALL COUNTRY
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Nov 5, 2015 14:01:47 GMT
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