League & Championship hurling 2022

[Onionbag]

Not necessarily.

Still highly possible we could have Birr and Rynaghs in semi.. Therfore 3 teams from group A ( KK Rynaghs and Birr)
Belmont only team from group B.


Open draw would take place...

That's way it is in football

[Fairplayalways]

yeah thanks for that, I went through it fully too and your spot on..interesting to see how Shinrone react now to their first defeat, apparently they were well well off the pace for most of the Bemont game, surely they would have preferred a straight semifinal slot..Belmont appear to have abit of form, worryingly the pulled up very ealry almost the moment Oisin Kelly made his appearance, they will not get away with that in a semi final or final..

[Dodge83]

Junior B knockout fixtures
Quarter finals - Kk vs Seir Kieran. Winners play Crinkill in semi final.
Lusmagh vs Ballinamere. Winners play St Rynaghs in semi final.

[private joker]

Senior b, clara vs Birr. Tullamore vs kk. Two 2nd teams in last four. Possibly all 2nd team county final.

[greenairfield]

Strange senior championship with Belmont really the only team who have performed consistently

You would imagine both Rynaghs and Birr would come through the QFs but neither are nailed on either still a very open championship hard pick a winner.

[Dunga]

I'd expect Ballinamere to get over Birr going from what I've seen of the two this year, won't be too much between them though. Also expect Rynaghs to beat Shinrone.

[Onionbag]

Yeah Ballinamere to beat Birr

Rynaghs are due a big game and unfortunately for Shinrone I think it will be in the 1/4

[TerraceTalk]

Hard not to agree with dunga and the onionbag, Ballinamere could be a different animal in OCP where their forwards can cut loose.
Shinrone up against it now so will be interesting to see how they respond - definitely not ruling them out though.

[Fairplayalways]

still think when the heat comes on Rynaghs and KK will be there or thereabouts for the heat of battle, alot thinking Rynaghs are not at the races after one draw and one loss in the group stages, I think they will be a different animal in the Q/F and Shinrone will surely be out to prove their only loss (the drew with Ballinamere also) so this potentially could be a a dinger of a game..as will Birr and Ballinamere....surely knockout will add to both...

[greenairfield]

KK won this evening v Birr in u20 Final.

Very impressive all over the field with some of the minors on show they just had too much for Birr who went till the very end.

9 pts winning margin was probably bit harsh on Birr but goals win games.

[frankthetank]

Very enjoyable game this evening. Particularly the first half.

Thought the Kavanagh brothers were excellent throughout. As was Ter Guinan after he was introduced at HT.

Lochlann Quinn was very good for Birr I thought. Birr probably were lacking a little bit up front.

[Dodge83]

So Crc came closest to beating Kk

[JimBwobb]

KK will be Cream of the crop in Offaly Club Hurling in a few years for a long time, can see them dominating.

Fantastic hurlers coming through, Kavanghs a class act.

[frankthetank]

Considering the group stages have now concluded of the SHC I suppose now is a good as time as any to review the County Executive vs Clubs argument on the format for this year's SHC.

As we know the County Executive wanted an 8 team SHC for 2023, which therefore would have relegated 2 teams and had no promotion from Senior B.

The clubs on the other hand wanted to maintain the current format going forward in the short to medium term.

Straight off the bat I think the Executive's decision making was highly influenced by 2 games in the 2021 SHC. Coolderry vs Drumcullen and Shinrone vs Kinnitty. These games lead to massive beatings and painted the picture of an uncompetitive championship. However while I don't have the exact figures to hand I'm pretty confident if you took these games out of the equation the average winning margin across the group stages was lowish single digit figures. Therefore if you scratch beneath the surface you get a clearer picture.

Fast forward to this year and if we look at the winning margin of all games in group stage we see the following:

Group 1
R1 Avg Win = 3.5pts
R2 Avg Win = 6pts
R3 Avg Win = 6.5pts
R4 Avg Win = 5pts (including 1 draw)
R5 Avg Win = 4.5pts
Total Avg Win = 5.1pts

Group 2
R1 Avg Win = 0.5pts (including 1 draw)
R2 Avg Win = 3.5pts
R3 Avg Win = 5pts
R4 Avg Win = 0.5pts (including 1 draw)
R5 Avg Win = 6.5pts
Total Avg Win = 3.2pts

To be honest if we analyse these numbers it seems that we are well capable of having a competitive 10 team championship. Group 2's numbers speak for themselves and even Group 1's numbers are decent and are even better when you factor in 2 of the 3 perceived weakest teams are in this group. (Kinnitty and Clodiagh Gaels (who both put in great performances vs St Rynaghs and K/K respectively).

Finally I also feel an 8 team SHC would dramatically damage any coming team's hopes of serious progress. It would be akin to the current National Hurling League's current setup and we all saw how Offaly went in that. For example, when Ballinamere got promoted a few years ago, if they had to enter an 8 team SHC would they be possible SHC finalists in 2022. Not a chance. They would have went straight back down and valuable momentum would have been lost. Yes, they may have come up again but chances are they would have went down for a 2nd time. The gap would have been too much to bridge. At least with a 10 team you are giving the promoted team a fighter's chance of staying up.

So for 2023 and further I would implore the County Board to leave things as is. We have a decent competitive championship structure. Let's not tinker with it for the sake of it. Just because football has 8 team Senior A and B doesn't mean hurling needs to. Different sports with different demographics within the county. However an upcoming spanner in the works could be a K/K or Birr win in the Senior B.

[Dodge83]

Is there relegation from Intermediate this year ?