by Plain of the Herbs » Fri Feb 03, 2017 7:21 pm
A few things -
As long as the Offaly underage system (for want of a better word) continues in its present state, and young Offaly hurlers remain deficient in basic skills, Offaly hurlers are no use to a serious college team. There may be exceptions (Conor Doughan looked comfortable in last year's NHL quarter-final, for example). The follow on is that young Offaly hurlers will not experience the elite type training that Fitzgibbon hurling offers. They won't be training like elite hurlers, they won't be hanging with elite hurlers and they won't be living like elite hurlers. And while at enough of a disadvantage at age 18, they will fall further behind during their student years.
And as for the perception of bias - how many of the Clare lads chosen by Brian Lohan or David Fitzgerald have won one or more All-Ireland U21 championships? I'd say most of them. And good luck to them. Wails of 'bias' don't wash at all. Not from a county that treats several core skills as unnecessary.
The Offaly lads who hurled Fitzgibbon yesterday were -
Pádraic Guinan - played almost the full match for UCD in their narrow defeat to UCC
Joey O'Connor came on in the first half and scored a goal for Waterford IT in their big win over Trinity
Conor Slevin was in goal for Galway RTC in their defeat by DIT
And I think that's it.
As for hurlers from Offaly's main rivals at the moment -
Rowland, Palmer, Dwyer & Maher played for Carlow IT in their draw with Mary I, as did Carlow's Kavanagh and Doyle.
Gillen (goal) and Killian Doyle were on the DIT team pipped by Limerick IT. Tommy Doyle, Robbie Greviille and Derek McNicholas played leading roles for DIT.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.