Senior A Hurling 2019

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.

Senior A County Champions 2019

St. Rynaghs
9
29%
Coolderry
4
13%
KK
4
13%
Kinnitty
0
No votes
Belmont
4
13%
Ballinamere/Durrow
1
3%
Shinrone
0
No votes
Birr
9
29%
 
Total votes: 31

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

I'd imagine that is next on the agenda. I suppose it couldn't really be prepared until the championship formats were agreed. Though the confusion over the Intermediate football format could hold it up too.
frankthetank wrote:I suppose a Master Fixture List for 2019 would be too much to ask for?? Some of us have lives we'd like to plan around!!

In fairness a comprehensive one was set out for 2018 so hopefully one will be forthcoming pretty soon.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

If you are including me in your "bullshit wailing" accusation, I wasn't basing my argument on 'tradition', but rather on what was best for Offaly hurling.
joe bloggs wrote:It would appear similar to the bullsh1t wailing that went on here last year when we were dispatched from Leinster....we should be in it because of our tradition. You either are good enough or not.
Now if it was a dual club coming forward with the proposal there might be some grounds for proposing a 10 team championship with 2 groups. Reduce group games down to 4 rounds. If we ever start competing again at intercounty level we would need a different structure than present. Alternatively club championships could be put on hold until July and get rid of the split season.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

The order of the fixtures in each round is now up on the People.ie thing.

http://people.gaa.ie/club/offaly/
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

This is recently released. Thanks, as ever, to St Rynagh's Hurling club who again published the list on their website.
http://www.strynaghs.gaa.ie/Pages/Offal ... s2016.aspx

Two rounds of Senior A, Senior B and Intermediate hurling on weekends 31st March and 7th April. Championships scheduled to resume on weekend of 14th July and continues every fortnight thereafter. So that's group matches on 14th July, 28th July, 11th August, 25th August and 8th September, quarter-finals on 22nd September, semi-finals on 6th October and finals on 20th October.
frankthetank wrote:I suppose a Master Fixture List for 2019 would be too much to ask for?? Some of us have lives we'd like to plan around!!

In fairness a comprehensive one was set out for 2018 so hopefully one will be forthcoming pretty soon.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

frankthetank
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by frankthetank »

Thanks for that POTH. As per my annual gripe, I hate to see the concluding stages of hurling championships played in October but c’est la vie.

One noticeable aspect in Offaly to come from the club only April month and condensing of the IC hurling championship is that we still haven’t been able to fix our top level hurling finals for the time of the year that is more conducive to quality hurling. Instead we chose to play 28 group games to eliminate 2 teams. Just think about that for a second!

SearingDrive
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by SearingDrive »

frankthetank wrote:Thanks for that POTH. As per my annual gripe, I hate to see the concluding stages of hurling championships played in October but c’est la vie.

One noticeable aspect in Offaly to come from the club only April month and condensing of the IC hurling championship is that we still haven’t been able to fix our top level hurling finals for the time of the year that is more conducive to quality hurling. Instead we chose to play 28 group games to eliminate 2 teams. Just think about that for a second!
I have to agree with Frank on this one. Surely in a county that will be out of the hurling championship by June/July, it should be capable of playing finals in September. The All Ireland finalists will have their finals in October, I know someone will say Galway are worse, concluding finals in November, but taking 28 games to eliminate 2 teams defies logic. I expect the football championships will also finish in October. A June or July end to the season looks likely for the football team.
Maybe one way of speeding matters up, would be to scrap quarterfinals in the championships, and go straight to semi finals, and finals.

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Lone Shark
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Lone Shark »

frankthetank wrote:Thanks for that POTH. As per my annual gripe, I hate to see the concluding stages of hurling championships played in October but c’est la vie.

One noticeable aspect in Offaly to come from the club only April month and condensing of the IC hurling championship is that we still haven’t been able to fix our top level hurling finals for the time of the year that is more conducive to quality hurling. Instead we chose to play 28 group games to eliminate 2 teams. Just think about that for a second!
Just to be clear, this is what the Offaly hurling clubs chose, as they always do. The view that is widely held in most hurling clubs in this county is that league is irrelevant, so if you gave them a programme with nine league matches and three guaranteed championship games before the knockout stages, as the footballers have, the answer you'd get is - to quote one delegate from a meeting a few years back - "We'd only have three hours of hurling all year!".

I will say that in the case of the hurling clubs, the action tends to be decent, even if it's no more important than league is in most counties. They tend to compete well and I enjoy the games I get to, even if I know that they're going to have very little bearing on what happens later in the year.

I don't know that I'd agree with trying to get your senior hurling finals into September though. IF you had a bit more scope, getting rid of championship action in March would surely make far more sense.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

Fixtures for the opening two rounds (including times, venues and referees) are up on the people.gaa.ie/club/offaly database.

Round 1 gets underway on Saturday 30th with a Rath double header involving Kilcormac v Shinrone followed by Birr v Coolderry.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

Round 1 and 2 fixtures:

SENIOR A HURLING ROUND 1
Saturday 30th March
Kilcormac-Killoughey v Shinrone at Rath at 3.30pm
Coolderry v Birr at Rath at 5pm

Sunday 31st March
Kinnitty v St Rynagh’s at Birr at 1.45pm (preceded by Senior B Seir Kieran v Kilcormac-Killoughey)
Belmont v Ballinamere at Bord na Móna Park at 2pm (followed by Senior B Shamrocks v Clodiagh Gaels)

SENIOR A HURLING ROUND 2
Saturday 6th April
Ballinamere v Coolderry at Birr at 3.30pm
St Rynagh’s v Kilcormac-Killoughey at Birr at 5pm

Sunday 7th April
Birr v Kinnitty at 12 noon at Coolderry
Shinrone v Belmont at 5pm at Rath
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

greenairfield
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by greenairfield »

Predictions for this year fellas?
Coolderry - we all wrote them off last year and look what they done I still think there age will come against them this year but could be hard beat with confidence high.

K/K- have plenty of good hurlers around the park especially Keily who most teams will struggle to find someone to mark him , but like Coolderry Grogan, Slevin Leonard and Currams have been around a long time now I think they will be beaten in Q/F this year.

Belmont- the surprise team last year have some players who can trouble back lines could go very far this year.

St.Rynaghs - great management team gone in with them so they feel there is a county final in them they still have no forwards though so that is a concern.

Birr- all the talent in the world but have yet to produce it when it matters, the talk is they are super fit let's see how they go v Coolderry in the first round.

Shinrone - haven't produced it yet have some nice hurlers but probably lacking in strength and depth.

Kinnitty -I think they could really struggle this year haven't found too many young players coming through.

B/D - young team whether they can mix it with the big boys is another story.

chimbonda
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by chimbonda »

Coolderry - Cannot see them topping the group this year but will still be thereabouts come semi finals

K/K - Age will probably come against them and not too many young players to come through that could make a difference. Can still see them making a semi final

Belmont - All the talent in the world going forward but their defence is their achilles heel which will probably mean another defeat in quarter / semi finals

St Rynaghs - My favourites for this years championship. Hogan will play a more direct gameplan with more forwards at the right end of the field

Birr - Nice mixture of youth and experience, can see them making semi finals

Shinrone - Some nice hurlers but Del Morkan will be a huge loss this year and can see another defeat in quarter finals

Kinnitty - May cause a surprise or 2 in group stages but unlikely to make quarter finals

Ballinamere - Can see them really struggling and unlikely to pick up any points

Winners: St Rynaghs
Runners Up: Coolderry
Relegation: Ballinamere

LooseCannon
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by LooseCannon »

Coolderry: beaten semi-finalists
KK: beaten semi-finalists
St Rynagh’s: finalists
Belmont: beaten quarter-finalists
Birr: finalists
Shinrone: beaten quarter finalists
Kinnitty: Survival
Ballinamere: relegation

I have a feeling about Birr. Still can’t decide who I think will win it.
Hopefully a good championship is in store.
Good Luck

frankthetank
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by frankthetank »

Just a few thoughts on the teams before the championship commences next weekend:

Coolderry - Absolutely deceived the county last year with their championship performances and all told were worthy county champions. Managed also to put up a great show in the Leinster Club Championship. However the key men are now a year older yet again, and how often can Trevor Corcoran, Kevin Brady, Barry Teehan, Martin Corcoran, Brian Carroll et al keep going to the well? Also a really tough opening assignment awaits them against Birr considering suspensions carried over from last year and David King's unavailability. Just can't see them making county final day 2019.

Kilcormac / Killoughey - Still look the most likely of all the contenders to win the Sean Robbins. Okay you have Ger Healion and Ciaran Slevin pushing on but there is a lot of talent coming through. Although Stephen Byrne didn't like the look of his roster after number 18 in last year's final. They have a huge hurling pick and can field 4 adult teams giving them a numbers advantage straight away. Very interesting to see how the return of Danny Owens fares out - they do say you should never go back. I like the look of them and with the 2 Geraghtys, Conor Mahon, Ciaran Slevin and Cillian Kiely in the forward line they should put up decent returns. Also inevitably having their knockout stage games in OCP rather that SBP is a big plus for them. The team who beats them in September or October wins the county final in my opinion.

St Rynaghs - What will Ken Hogan bring? A more direct game seems to be the most common refrain but it's not as simple just switching to a new game plan after years of a different one. Those Rynaghs players have been conditioned to play the game pretty short for a while now and they are going to need time to find their feet. Positioning players in their best positions would also make sense and a good start would be Dermot Shortt at 3 and Pat Camon at 6. Physicality should not be an issue for them and they should be able to bully some teams but goalscoring is their achilles heel but admittedly that was probably down to the previous management's gameplans. Can't be written off but just don't convince me enough days they play.

Belmont - Probably over simplistic to say they are over reliant on Oisin Kelly but let's be honest here, if you hold him (much easier said than done by the way) you are going a long way to having their number. He's an absolute goal machine and if they dry up due to injury or lack of form I dont think A) Belmont have someone to pick up the scoring mantle or B) they will put up enough of a point tally to compensate. However last year's U21 success shows us there's talent in Ferbane / Belmont and they could have a major say in the championship. Is there back line a little bit suspect and can David Kenny's lack of pace be exploited? Also Trevor Fletcher could be about to enter that 3rd season lull that some managers enter (see J. Mourinho). Season 1 - Everything is fresh and new which brings huge enthusiasm, Season 2 - Extend the progress of Season 1 (Technically there wasn't any as they lost semi-finals in both years) and Season 3 can sometimes see a bit of staleness set in. Who knows but it is something to consider.

Shinrone - Where to start? Hugely talented with a nice bit of squad depth. Fantastic users of the ball who are really skillful. Really good performers in key positions - Michael Cleary, Conor Doughan and a razor sharp forward threat in Seán Cleary. So many times I see them play in games and I go "these lads could actually do it this year"..... but (it was obvious there was a but coming!) the mind is a terrible thing. I think they have played in the last 12 county quarter finals and won one. No way is that down to talent alone. There just has to be something in their mentality at this stage. A team with their ability should really have at least a 50% success rate in those Quarter Final games. And maybe that quarter final defeat to Kinnitty in 2016 has left some residual scar tissue. Still by all accounts Arien Delaney has them training since October with no county distractions, so if they can't hit the ground running next weekend no one can.

Birr - A lot of positivity coming out of the Birr camp and they will be licking their lips at the prospect of hurling Coolderry in the first round. I have to admit I'm not hugely au fait with them either that's a bad reflection on me or it's a bad reflection on Birr that they lack the star appeal they once had. One thing is for sure the fear factor about hurling Birr is long gone and this current team will have to go and win games on their own merits. Again positioning of players is key. Paul Cleary's days in the backline appear to be over. Seán Ryan is probably best served at wing back and I like the look of Dylan Quegan. If the rumours of their performances so far are true and with Coolderry having quite a few unavailable a first round win should be paramount for them. After that who knows. Also could anyone tell me how many seasons this will be now for Breeder Mullins in the goal?

Kinnitty - If Trevor Fletcher might suffer from year 3 staleness with Belmont then surely the opposite will be the case with new Kinnitty manager Nick Weir. Played in what probably was the game of the year last year vs Coolderry and could have stolen it only for a sending off, drew with Birr and also led Shinrone by 8 points in the second half only to need a free to claim a draw. So on their day can probably mix it with the best of them but seem to have a small panel to choose from. Colm Coughlan still leads the attack and is their pivotal player and they seem to have found a good spot for Shane Kinsella at centre back. Their first match against Rynaghs could be a real indicator of how their year will go. A hiding and another relegation final beckons but a performance or even a surprise win could see the year open up for them. Wouldn't surprise if they made top 6.

Ballinamere - The common opinion seems to be that Ballinamere are going to be out of their depth at Senior A level but I don't really buy into that at all. They have the confidence of underage success and those guys have learned their trade and are a year older. The addition of Chris McDonald is a nice coup and they have beaten Belmont and Coolderry in the first two rounds of the league scoring 6 goals in the process. We''ll have a clearer picture after Rounds 1 and 2

Champions - Kilcormac / Killoughey to beat (wait for it!!) Shinrone in the final. That prediction could make me a laughing stock by the Winter but I'll steer away from the obvious Kilcormac / Killoughey vs St Rynaghs prediction.

chimbonda
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by chimbonda »

K/K v Shinrone
Imagine shinrone will have more done than Kk at this stage. Shinrone should win but I will go for a draw
KK 2-15 Shinrone 1-18

Birr v Coolderry
Coolderry will be missing a number of players so I will go for Birr
Birr 2-17 Coolderry 1-15

St Rynaghs v Kinnitty
Should be close but Rynaghs to prevail
St Rynaghs 0-18 Kinnitty 1-12

Belmont v Ballinamere
A game ballinamere should be targeting but likely to come up short
Belmont 3-15 Ballinamere 0-13

LooseCannon
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Re: Senior A Hurling 2019

Post by LooseCannon »

KK v Shinrone -I’d opt for a draw like Chimbonda.
Birr v Coolderry -Birr
St Rynagh’s v Kinnitty- Rynagh’s
Belmont v Ballinamere- Belmont
Good Luck

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