SHC Final

[trueblue78]

I think it's about time that people here started to concentrate on the 2 teams that have made the county final rather than giving any more notice to Kilcormac.

Tullamore are in a second county final in 2 years for a reason. They are a good hard working team. They work hard for each other and their level of intensity in the game against Kilcormac last year was what won the match for them. In my opinion if they can bring that level of intensity to this final the blues will be celebrating 2 in a row. The backs that tullamore possess are as good as any in the county and Coolderry have not come up against a defence of this stature in the championship to date.
In the first match of the group which coolderry beat tullamore, tullamore were missing several key players and all of these players are back and in my opinion players are playing now in their correct positions and this is why tullamore are winning games.

[backofthenet]

Its going to be an interesting game, I think it is a tough one to call...if Coolderry score anywhere close to what they have in the last 2 it should be well over by half time as i dont think Tullamore are capable of high scoring. I know Tullamore's backs are good, but statistics show Coolderry have the most solid backline in the championship letting in only one goal in 7 games. However Tullamore have shown in the last 2 games that they can make things very difficult for any forward line and their hard work and determination are a credit to them, they get 110% out of every player when it matters, Coolderry on the other hand tend to get by on a lot less than that at times. However a county final for Coolderry, their first in four years and there is a real hunger about them, There are a number of players here who are really starting to see the end of their careers looming fast, Damien Murray, Brian Carroll, Joe Brady to name but a few are fast approaching their thirties, They have the confidence from beating tullamore the last two years, the experience of being in the county final before and the hunger to know that this could be one of their last chances to add to '04, I expect Coolderry to leave no stone unturned and to come through with some points to spare. A lot of Tullamores hopes ride on Shane Dooley, he was well marshalled by Barry Teehan in the opening game of the championship and he has now moved to the forward line, who stands beside Dooley could decide the closeness of this game.

[1964]

i think tullamore are going in as underdogs which is fine by us it suits us to be honest. after coolderrys perfromance vs kinnity they are justifably favs but underestimate this tullamore team at your peril.

coolderry have a very strong half back line and inside forward line. but i believe we have the back line to look after there forwards and in stephen egan we have prob one of the best backs in offaly and young!!!! dagg at centre back is very solid. if we can keep there half back line from dominating we wont be too far off.

i obviously think and believe tullamore can win and if the lads produce the intensity of last years final tullamore wont be stopped

come on the town woooooooooo

[Long John]

It would be great to see Tullamore put back to back titles together but It will take one hell of an effort and a little bit of luck. Coolderry are overwhelming favourites and rightly so. They have a squad full of players who have worn the county jersey at various levels, the majority of this team were part of the successfull underage teams and are now in their prime. The likes of the Bradys, Brian Carroll, Murray, Barry and Paddy Teehan, Martin Corcoran, all have huge experience of big games. Parlon is another player who could win this game for Coolderry if he hits form also.

For Tullamore to win they need everybody hurling to their max and hope that Dooley performs well from general play aswell as frees. This is an area Tullamore can win in. Joe and Kevin Brady are players who dont like to be run at and if Tullamore can open up the play a bit they can be exploited and draw fouls. Coolderry can thread a thin line with some of their defending. However the Bradys are two players that can have a huge influence if they get on the ball, both are excellent strikers and their huge clearances will put Tullamore under alot of pressure. The Tullamore half forwards have to be on their game. Interestingly Shane Kelly has caused Kevin Brady problems in the past but he will start as normal at midfield. It could be an option to move him to half forward if they are struggling. The battle between Dagg and Teehan will be interesting. Teehan took Rigney to the cleaners the last day but I expect him and Dagg to be a tighter battle.

Tullamore in recent years have not had great results against Coolderry. I know Coolderry people and they expect to win this and losing to Tullamore would be unforgivable. It all points to a Coolderry win but hopefully a good competitive encounter is on the cards and wouldnt it be nice to see the underdogs strike again.

[townman]

This is last chance saloon for some on this Coolderry team on sunday, i thought they played some lovely hurling
in the semil-final again kinnitty people say kinnitty were bad but i think they just came up again a coolderry team at the top of their game.

Tullamore love a close tight game and have came through a few in the last few year's and will be hoping its close finish again on sunday
kevin Martin and James Keane will be a big lost to tullamore and a lot will rest on Shane Dooleys shoulders again on sunday.

I think Ken Hogan and his Coolderry team will go out and try and put tullamore away early in this match and not to have them on their tails
near the finish. i just wonder what tullamore would do if they fell 6 or 7 points behind a team we might just see that come sunday evening.

The winning of this game will be tullamore's back's again Coolderry forwards and i think as in the semil final again kinnitty they will have to much
fire power for tullamore, also Coolderry have one of the best half back lines in the game Kevin and Joe Brady and young David King who has a good future
in the game Trevor Corcoran had been solid at full back since Brendan o'Meara got hurt.

I can't see tullamore getting enough scores to win on sunday Edwin Finnerty,Jody Duffy, Francie Kerrigan, don't score enough in game's
wheres Cooderry have Damien Murray,Cathal Parlon,Brian Carroll,Kevin Connolly, who get on the score sheet in most their game's.
have to say its a great achievement bye tullamore to get into back to back finals and they are a credit to their club.

But i just can't see tullamore winning on sunday Ken Hogan has Coolderry very fit playing a lovely brand of hurling and from 1 to 15 they
all know what they are doing they are playing a running game and they know where every player should be and can pick them out with a pass
if they can avoid going to war with tullamore which was K/K down fall in the semil -final i think Coolderry will win bye 6 to 9 points.

[Bord na Mona man]

On the advice of John Delaney, K/K will be lining out in the county final next Sunday and 3 teams will play each other at the same time!

[My Left Foot]

I'm a Tullamore man and will travel (up the road! )in hope again this Sunday - this years opponents look stronger than K/K were last year or this year.

Coolderry are worthy favourites as I think the loss of Kevin Martin & James Keane is too much at this point.

But I do expect us weak windy townies to challenge all the way to the end and who knows what might happen.

[trueblue78]

It will be hard for Tullamore, Coolderry are worthy favourites and beat a team that alot of people thought would cause them problems in kinnitty and in the end beat them by a cricket score.
Hopefully tullamore can keep things tight and be there towards the end of game.
But yes Coolderry are worthy favourites

[Kevin]

The big question is...

When will Lone Shark 'stir up' the Tullamore supporters so we can get some atmosphere going around here???

Go on Lone Shark, time to spike the punch lad!

Good luck to all involved.

[Lone Shark]

The big question is...

When will Lone Shark 'stir up' the Tullamore supporters so we can get some atmosphere going around here???

Go on Lone Shark, time to spike the punch lad!

Good luck to all involved.

If the semi final taught me nothing else, it's that my words seem to stir up Tullamore supporters irrespective of what I actually say. Suggest that they are unlikely to beat an unbeaten Birr team after barely scraping through the championship that far, and that offends them. Tip them to win, and that offends them. I'm somewhat at a loss actually.

How about this - I have a strong suspicion that this game will be played on grass!

That should keep everyone happy.....

[arbarg]

Ah here LS,
give us something to chew on will ya?

whats ur honest opinion on this now! I promise there will be no angry mob with torches and pitch forks.....well unless

[Lone Shark]

As he speaks with the sound of sharpening pitchforks in the background.....

Honestly, I actually think Tullamore have a great chance here. Coolderry will go out to rack up 2-5 in the first ten minutes, but if Tullamore can beat back the early waves, then the game will start to be played on their terms. After all, they must surely know what's coming.

The bit they'll have to get sorted is their own puckout. Coolderry can gather momentum very quickly because after a score, the puckout is then quite often sent down on top of Joe and Kevin Brady, who are as good under the dropping ball as anyone in Offaly. That means that the ball is straight back down to the Coolderry forward line, giving the chance for another quick score. More than anything, Tullamore have to gain control of their own restart - whatever it takes.

This is why the loss of Keane is huge and why tonight's appeal will have a huge bearing. Partially because Keane is good to scrap for breaking ball, but also because Keane's presence in midfield gives Tullamore the option of moving Shane Kelly to the half forward line if needs be. If Keane is out, that's not really an option. Worse still, a bad run could force Wyer to move Dooley out, and once that happens, you may as well head out home and beat the traffic.

All that said, the aim is to win the game - and while Coolderry are great and beating the daylights out of teams, they aren't always the best to come through in a tense finish - while there is no-one I would back ahean of Tullamore in Offaly once the game is tight with ten minutes to go. Dooley is the best forward in Offaly, not because he has skills that Brian Carroll or Cathal Parlon doesn't have, but because those skills hold true even when the game is on the line. For Tullamore, the challenge will be to make sure that the game is on the line - which is why the early burst must be prevented.

I do think Tullamore might have to be a bit more ruthless on the line as well. They have three or four forwards who aren't really playing to senior championship winning standard, and they can't afford to leave it for 50-55 minutes if players aren't chipping in and either creating or taking scores. That young sub the last day whose name escapes me did very well, it could be the time to let lads like that loose from an early stage.

But yeah, at the odds quoted, Tullamore are definitely the value for me.

[keenonsport]

That young sub the last day whose name escapes me did very well, it could be the time to let lads like that loose from an early stage.

Kevin Waters is his name...Offaly minor 2010 although in the backs.Quite light but a good prospect nonetheless.

[True Red]

Odds on the final - anyone have them? i backed clara last week and got burned need a chance to get me money back

[townman]

That young sub the last day whose name escapes me did very well, it could be the time to let lads like that loose from an early stage.

Kevin Waters is his name...Offaly minor 2010 although in the backs.Quite light but a good prospect nonetheless.

He wasn't a sub i know he had number 18 on his back but he started the game in the half forward line and had a good game
he is a nice skill full hurler and can take a score.