Offaly Hurling Championships 2014

[kingscounty]

Shamrocks 0-22 St.Rynaghs 1-06 . Shamrocks were by far the better team from the very start today and deserved this big win . Their attitude today was spot on and they played a good brand of hurling moving the ball quick into the forwards and taking some lovely scores. Nigel Dunne was outstanding at 13 as was O " Toole at 10 and both scored some sweet points today. St.Rynaghs were very poor and seemed to have one game plan just hit the ball high into the big corner forward. Well done and fair play to Shamrocks , congrats and enjoy the celebrations .

[shannonbanks14]

Cant argue, well done Shamrocks much the better team. Enjoy celebrations no championship is easily won. I expect our seniors to make up for it though and go one step further.

[sam88885a]

lads if e murphy s coughlan d kelliher or d shortt are all either too slow or too old for inter county ,who are we gonig to put full back or centre back for the next 5 years?
d kenny g healion p cleary r hanniffy k brady j brady and p healion are not going to get faster no matter who trains them.
can we convert someone like d kilmartain into defence but would that not rob of of our best midfielder .
s gardner played full back and d kelliher went to centre back during the second half of the u 21 game against wexford . both play well even if the game was over by that stage .
both positions are key to building a new team

[Plain of the Herbs]

It's September (okay, nearly October). At this stage I'd keep an open mind but the four named are the front runners and none should be ruled out at this stage. And once more, with feeling - if either of the four (Murphy, Coughlan, Kelleher or Shortt) are too old what do ye want? The Minor full-back?

I know 2014 has been a terrible, terrible year for Offaly hurling but we need to get away from the negativity. I note the need for positivity was one of the first things demanded by Diarmuid Healy in the County Arms recently. It's terrible that every possible Offaly full-back or centre half-back has been dismissed by some here four months before the first match of the year. Most, maybe all, of those lads would prosper if they were properly prepared over the course of the hurling season. Éanna Murphy was decent when thrown in at centre half-back at relatively short notice against Dublin in 2011 and was unlucky to get injured prior to that year's qualifier against Cork. Seán Coughlan did well on Jack Guiney at U21 level, hurling on a team that was on the back foot throughout. Kelleher's future is up to himself more than anyone else - he has potential anyway. Dermot Shortt continues to improve at club level and appears ready to step up.

Actually, looking at that short list of four, the county is not that badly off for central defenders.

lads if e murphy s coughlan d kelliher or d shortt are all either too slow or too old for inter county ,who are we gonig to put full back or centre back for the next 5 years?
d kenny g healion p cleary r hanniffy k brady j brady and p healion are not going to get faster no matter who trains them.
can we convert someone like d kilmartain into defence but would that not rob of of our best midfielder .
s gardner played full back and d kelliher went to centre back during the second half of the u 21 game against wexford . both play well even if the game was over by that stage .
both positions are key to building a new team

[sam88885a]

plain of the herbs i agree all 4 have potental ,i think if they are developed correctly they all make fine hurlers . it will take patience .NO hurler is flawless but it important to see his potental and he can learn from his mistakes .
finally i think both k kinahan and k martain were 23 or 24 when they made it at senior level and did both win all stars that year?

[Killeighman]

Was at the Junior A quarter final between Ballinamere and Edenderry today and by god the standard of referring was terrible poor. He sent Edenderry full forward off after 10 mins after he went to block the full back who then decided to roll around the ground like he was levelling the pitch and after this the game was dead and buried . There was defenders who were fouling all day but no cards shown and one player got a finger broke with a dirty strike and no card or warning . Clara beat Gracefield to progress and Clareen beat Kinnitty so all that is left is Killeigh v K/K next weekend , I will go for Killeigh to win that game by 3 or 4 points . Clara favourites now to win it but Id fancy Killeigh as a dark horse to come good in the knock out stages .

Spot on with the result there Kingscounty. Very good battle between two very well drilled teams

[kingscounty]

Was at the Junior A quarter final between Ballinamere and Edenderry today and by god the standard of referring was terrible poor. He sent Edenderry full forward off after 10 mins after he went to block the full back who then decided to roll around the ground like he was levelling the pitch and after this the game was dead and buried . There was defenders who were fouling all day but no cards shown and one player got a finger broke with a dirty strike and no card or warning . Clara beat Gracefield to progress and Clareen beat Kinnitty so all that is left is Killeigh v K/K next weekend , I will go for Killeigh to win that game by 3 or 4 points . Clara favourites now to win it but Id fancy Killeigh as a dark horse to come good in the knock out stages .

Spot on with the result there Kingscounty. Very good battle between two very well drilled teams

Yeah Killeigh are always in with a shout every year like Edenderry, I fancied Killeigh after I heard they played some good challenge games in Laois. I think they play Ballinamere next who are a very big strong side but if they hurl like they can at their best Killeigh will give as good as they get . Ballinamere have some big men at centre forward and full forward and have a very good free taker , goals win games and I think Killeigh could get a few against Ballinameres full back line . Anyone know when and where the semi finals are ?

[Killeighman]

Two weeks time in OCP is being mentioned. I presume before the senior games on the saturday and sunday.

[Toxicity234]

Congrts to Shamrock and Hard luck to Rynagh's.
I saw Shamrock earlier this year and thought they were a very good team.
I missed the Final on Saturday cause i though it was on sunday.
They be defending the Leinster title for Offally this year so best of luck to them in that and i be hoping to see some of their games later in the year.

[Plain of the Herbs]

That will be interesting. At this stage I would guess the Senior semi-finals would be on Sunday 5th October (OCP) with the Junior semi-finals perhaps the day before at the same venue.

That's dependent on a number of factors. The first being a SFC semi-final requiring a replay. The second would be how Clareen are fixed making trips to Tellamore on consecutive days. Speaking of which, that they are in the semi-finals of both Senior and Junior is quite phenomenal.

Any thoughts on a curtain-raiser to the Senior hurling Final? The Minor Final couldn't be on the same bill if K-K were involved (due to Cillian Kiely's involvement in both). In any event it doesn't look like the Minor championship will be ready in time. In that case, will the Junior Final be played on the big day? Could Clareen cope with being in the two finals on the same day (they've a Senior panel of 19)? We'll have to wait and see.

Anyone know when and where the semi finals are ?

[Plain of the Herbs]

Ah, Shamrocks dominated from start to finish. Dominated the contests in the air and on the ground. Won their own puckouts and the Rynagh’s ones as well. And used that possession well, generally picking out a colleague and they supported the ball-carrier well too. And took their chances – I think it was nearly half-time before they hit a chance wide.

Paddy Kelly at 6 and Ciarán Buckley at 7 dominated The former never let Declan Tanner into the game. Johnny O’Toole superb in attack, while nigel Dunne was a pleasure to watch.

Yet Rynagh’s might have pilfered a couple of first-half goals – one was somehow saved by the goalkeeper. Colm Daly, probably the only Rynagh’s hurler to really hurl well, moved out around midfield for the second half and looked like he could bring them back into it, scoring a quick ooint while I think he played a part in the goal too. The introduction of Glen Mooney was instrumental in Shamrocks dominating the remainder.

I expected this Final to be much, much closer and it’s tough on Joe White and Colm Keane to have lost four Intermediate finals in recent years. I think the latter was on when they lost to Coolderry in 2005 too, for which he won't thank me for pointing out! Ciarán Butler, Nigel White and Damien McLoughlin have lost three of the four finals.

Leinster is set up nicely for Shamrocks. First out of the hat, they are at home all the way up to and including the final. The Kilkenny representatives are on the opposite side of the draw. The Dublin representatives are first (who I think is Clontarf) while the winners are at home to the Carlow representatives (who possibly are Carlow Town). Heads right and injury-free, there is potential for Shamrocks here.

[Killeighman]

The junior championship is a strange one. It is one we can not look into until the semi final stage. The 4 teams in the semi finals came from the same group. The majority of the teams from the other group got easily disposed of in the quarter final apart from the mighty KK who are always going to be a challenge all the time. At this point in time i dont think anyone can call the winners of the semi finals just because nobody can read how each team really perfomed in the group or quarter finals. Should be an interesting one when the time comes around.

[kingscounty]

The junior championship is a strange one. It is one we can not look into until the semi final stage. The 4 teams in the semi finals came from the same group. The majority of the teams from the other group got easily disposed of in the quarter final apart from the mighty KK who are always going to be a challenge all the time. At this point in time i dont think anyone can call the winners of the semi finals just because nobody can read how each team really perfomed in the group or quarter finals. Should be an interesting one when the time comes around.

True that the 4 teams left are all from the one group , it's hard to call alright , Clara beat Gracefield by a big margin, but Edenderry beat Gracefield by more so how good are Clara. Killeigh won one game in the group and qualified for the quarter final but seem to be finding form at the right end of the championship. Ballinamere had a big win in their quarter final helped hugely by the sending off of Edenderry full forward after 10 mins. Seir Kieran's are at the same stage as last year when Crinkill just beat them to progress to the final and are always hard to beat in the Junior A. It's to hard to call but il put my neck on the line and go for a Killeigh v Clara final !!

[kingscounty]

I would be surprised if the semi finals are in OCP , the final was in Killurin last year , but I have nocticed that the Junior A football semi finals were in OCP so surely hurling should be in the same venue.

[Buttons]

4th October Clara vs Seir Kieran 2pm Rath
Killeigh vs Ballinamere 4.30pm OCP