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Recent years don't matter what so ever. . . Rhode got bet last year in the first round? And like wise Edenderry the previous year. Okay Clara had a decent run that year but lets be honest only for the weather that day , portlaoise would have done to them exactly what they did in the replay ( destroyed them). And incase you didn't notice, the current Rhode team is a far cry of what it was back when they were competing in Leinster. Rhode are no longer head and shoulders above Edenderry or Clara. But Clara and edenderry arnt getting any better- rhode are getting worse!. To be honest edenderry have come on in the last few years but the Clara and rhode teams have deffinitly got worse since 2009. Hence why i say no club that wins the Offaly SFC will do well in Leinster for the foreseeable future.

Ok point taken on most of your post. But as regards the weather in Portlaoise in 2009. We live in Ireland. We play in bad weather. Edenderry won in 2011 due to bad weather. Clara didn't have officials to call off the match in the stand. Clara should have beat Portlaoise in 2009 bottom line. I doubt it would have been called off if Portlaoise were a point up with a gale on their backs.

summerindublin wrote:Recent years don't matter what so ever. . . Rhode got bet last year in the first round? And like wise Edenderry the previous year. Okay Clara had a decent run that year but lets be honest only for the weather that day , portlaoise would have done to them exactly what they did in the replay ( destroyed them). And incase you didn't notice, the current Rhode team is a far cry of what it was back when they were competing in Leinster. Rhode are no longer head and shoulders above Edenderry or Clara. But Clara and edenderry arnt getting any better- rhode are getting worse!. To be honest edenderry have come on in the last few years but the Clara and rhode teams have deffinitly got worse since 2009. Hence why i say no club that wins the Offaly SFC will do well in Leinster for the foreseeable future.

Aload of bull

Edenderry won in 2011 due to bad weather.

Where to start : )

Firstly, GoodSupporter is doing a huge injustice to Rhode. Without looking in detail at Leinster competition over the last number of years, I’m not sure if there has been a more consistent team than Rhode outside of Portlaoise? They did have a poor year last year by their standards, but adding together that defeat and the Athy-Edenderry result from the previous year is lazy. All of a sudden, subsequent first-round knock-outs mean that Offaly football teams can’t be competitive in Leinster? The real anomaly result is Rhode’s defeat last year – Leinster performances in the previous years are more than solid from Offaly clubs. Edenderry, with no disrespect to them, were too young in 2011 and just not ready. They’d already over-achieved* by winning the Dowling Cup and probably celebrated a bit too much.

As for the 2011 County Final Abercrombie, much as I'd like to find some excuse for Clara losing to Edenderry, the weather certainly wasn't it. The weather made for a dour enough and low-scoring game, but Clara played against the wind in the first half and still managed to go in level at half-time (0-5 each). Edenderry kicked on better in the second-half and scored 4 points to Clara’s 3. Don’t forget also that Edenderry kicked a penalty over the bar with about 12 minutes left to play – a goal pretty much would’ve left Clara dead and buried.

Rewinding further…

Regarding the Portlaoise game in 2009, the weather was horrendous. The amount of rain that fell at half-time that day made the pitch completely unplayable. The second half never should have started. Having said all of that, Clara did seem to have a good measure of the Laois men that day. Although I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory about guys in the stand calling it off, it was certainly strange to start the second half (which was considerably delayed), but then stop the game some minutes in with Portlaoise very much on the back-foot. If nothing else, they were a little lucky not to have to see out that game.

As for the replayed game a week later. Portlaoise certainly didn’t destroy Clara that day. That too was a game played in poor conditions. Clara completely dominated the first half and yet went in a point down, having missed a penalty and a one-on-one with the Portlaoise goal-keeper. Portlaoise won a penalty almost immediately after the restart and put daylight between the teams. They went on to dominate the second-half (as Clara had the first) and with scores hard to come-by, they had enough of an advantage in the last 15 minutes to force Clara into taking chances.

*Did Edenderry over-achieve in 2011? I think so [True Red, please comment]. They certainly benefitted from having to play only one of Clara and Rhode that year. That’s not to say they weren’t a very good team – they were, but they’re a considerably better team now. This generation of players should win another Senior championship and if they do, I think they’ll be better equipped for Leinster competition. As an aside, I think they need to beat Rhode and win a championship – they need to get that monkey off their backs and have a chance next weekend. No team has beaten Rhode and gone on to win a Championship since 2002 (Tullamore), outside of County Finals defeats (Clara in 2003 and 2009).

summerindublin wrote:

summerindublin wrote:Recent years don't matter what so ever. . . Rhode got bet last year in the first round? And like wise Edenderry the previous year. Okay Clara had a decent run that year but lets be honest only for the weather that day , portlaoise would have done to them exactly what they did in the replay ( destroyed them). And incase you didn't notice, the current Rhode team is a far cry of what it was back when they were competing in Leinster. Rhode are no longer head and shoulders above Edenderry or Clara. But Clara and edenderry arnt getting any better- rhode are getting worse!. To be honest edenderry have come on in the last few years but the Clara and rhode teams have deffinitly got worse since 2009. Hence why i say no club that wins the Offaly SFC will do well in Leinster for the foreseeable future.

Aload of bull

you're right summerindublin, there's no truth in anything i posted in that msg.....haha

And magpie im not trying to knock Rhode in anyway, i have alot of friends in Rhode and they all agree that Rhode are not the team they use to be, they are still the best team in Offaly but not by as much as they use to be. And any honest Rhode person will tell you the same.

Goodsupporter11 wrote:

summerindublin wrote:

summerindublin wrote:Recent years don't matter what so ever. . . Rhode got bet last year in the first round? And like wise Edenderry the previous year. Okay Clara had a decent run that year but lets be honest only for the weather that day , portlaoise would have done to them exactly what they did in the replay ( destroyed them). And incase you didn't notice, the current Rhode team is a far cry of what it was back when they were competing in Leinster. Rhode are no longer head and shoulders above Edenderry or Clara. But Clara and edenderry arnt getting any better- rhode are getting worse!. To be honest edenderry have come on in the last few years but the Clara and rhode teams have deffinitly got worse since 2009. Hence why i say no club that wins the Offaly SFC will do well in Leinster for the foreseeable future.

Aload of bull

you're right summerindublin, there's no truth in anything i posted in that msg.....haha

And magpie im not trying to knock Rhode in anyway, i have alot of friends in Rhode and they all agree that Rhode are not the team they use to be, they are still the best team in Offaly but not by as much as they use to be. And any honest Rhode person will tell you the same.

Still alooad of Bull

Very quiet on the football front lads. Any predictions? Very hard to see beyond a Clara-Rhode final.

Going to be Rhodes first real test of the year against Edenderry but I expect them to get by with a few points to spare. Could be a lot closer is the first game Clara and Tullamore. Meehan a big loss for Clara. Should it affect there game too much?

Clara are favourites but tullamore have talented footballers who have not fullfilled there potential for a few yrs and have decent young lads who are strong footballers I am expecting a very tight match. It is hard to make a case for tullamore on form this year. Heart says tullamore but head says clara.

Rhode vs edenderry. I have a sneaky feeling this will be alot tighter than expected rhode by a nose.

Anyway hopefully we see some decent football.

Junior football semi tullamore should have too much for ballycommon but ya never know semis are hard won.
Ferbane vs birr I expect ferbane to win this one

Well done to Tullamore and Rhode yesterday. Tullamore really wanted it more than Clara. They dominated midfield and won all the breaks. On the other hand i can safely say I witnessed one of the worst performances from a ref that i have ever seen. His decision making was appauling at times. He pretty much refed the game from the middle of the field. Serious questions have to be asked about his fitness as he was nowhere near able to keep up with the game.

summerindublin wrote:

summerindublin wrote:Recent years don't matter what so ever. . . Rhode got bet last year in the first round? And like wise Edenderry the previous year. Okay Clara had a decent run that year but lets be honest only for the weather that day , portlaoise would have done to them exactly what they did in the replay ( destroyed them). And incase you didn't notice, the current Rhode team is a far cry of what it was back when they were competing in Leinster. Rhode are no longer head and shoulders above Edenderry or Clara. But Clara and edenderry arnt getting any better- rhode are getting worse!. To be honest edenderry have come on in the last few years but the Clara and rhode teams have deffinitly got worse since 2009. Hence why i say no club that wins the Offaly SFC will do well in Leinster for the foreseeable future.

Aload of bull

Summerindublin, I think you've spent a few too many summers in Dublin and have lost touch with senior club football in Offaly.