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Wexford hurling 2018

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Replying To beano:  "I assume that rules it out being shown live on TG4 then, seeing as the Division 2 football final is down for decision at the same time and was already scheduled to be shown? Unless they go down the live streaming route that is a good new initiative but unreliable at times.

Can anyone clarify whether Eir Sport tend to broadcast soccer of a Sunday afternoon, or is there a chance they could step into the mix? Just looking to have my options on the table in front of me before I make the decision of travelling or not."
Eir have the right to Saturday night games and don't show Sunday games they only showed Dublin v Kerry because of so many matches being on and they don't show soccer on Sunday afternoons

Dtownhurler (Wexford) - Posts: 71 - 26/03/2018 15:50:12    2088345

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Replying To beano:  "I assume that rules it out being shown live on TG4 then, seeing as the Division 2 football final is down for decision at the same time and was already scheduled to be shown? Unless they go down the live streaming route that is a good new initiative but unreliable at times.

Can anyone clarify whether Eir Sport tend to broadcast soccer of a Sunday afternoon, or is there a chance they could step into the mix? Just looking to have my options on the table in front of me before I make the decision of travelling or not."
if you can go then go,many us in the hospitality industry dont have that luxury....particularly when you work near wexford park!

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 26/03/2018 16:47:37    2088367

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Replying To gannett83:  "Great game today and a great atmosphere aswell we are great supporters... we have to match Galway today physically and once ya do that ya always have a chance.. i think we can and have proved we can match anyone on our day.. like chin was quiet today and other lads stepped up to the plate... Ryan is turning into a top class full back but for me he has put on a lot of weight... o hanlon is consistent 7/10 man everyday d o keefe has returned to form paudie foley is a massive edition this year regards physical size free taking and being a good hurler helps a lot....on devereax i was critical of him but to be fair he has done well while called upon against kk and today... Rory o Connor is a class act and it's great to have him back but what is his best position I think around midfield picking up breaking ball.. anyway roll on next Saturday up Wexford"
I think that the extra weight Ryan has put on is surely intentional i.e. as a result of weight lifting programmes that all the players do over the winter...if anything he needs it as a modern day full back and it definitely suits his aggressive style of play when he is bursting out with the ball. He is developing into one of the best full backs in the country but that means he has to be equipped for the physical side of the game...don't forget he was a slender enough young lad back in 2014 when he first appeared on the scene

wexford1997 (Wexford) - Posts: 88 - 26/03/2018 16:56:23    2088375

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Replying To wexford1997:  "I think that the extra weight Ryan has put on is surely intentional i.e. as a result of weight lifting programmes that all the players do over the winter...if anything he needs it as a modern day full back and it definitely suits his aggressive style of play when he is bursting out with the ball. He is developing into one of the best full backs in the country but that means he has to be equipped for the physical side of the game...don't forget he was a slender enough young lad back in 2014 when he first appeared on the scene"
True enough alright he was a slender lad back then but he was 18 to... now his 22 and he has bulked up I thought he had more pace back then and I think he has lost a bit of pace now with the muscle... I think he is a great hurler though and in the same mould of darragh Ryan

gannett83 (Wexford) - Posts: 322 - 26/03/2018 20:01:20    2088455

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Replying To gannett83:  "True enough alright he was a slender lad back then but he was 18 to... now his 22 and he has bulked up I thought he had more pace back then and I think he has lost a bit of pace now with the muscle... I think he is a great hurler though and in the same mould of darragh Ryan"
Lads just develop physically with 2 or 3 years of strength and conditioning under there belt. The body shapes of Ryan, Jacko and Paudie Foley have all changed from when they were 19 or 20,same with Conor Whelan of galway and countless others.

Looking at next Sunday what did we learn from the outing in nowlan park 2 weeks ago? Kilkenny have certainly changed there approach from last year. There less direct playing more through the lines. Padraig walsh did alot of damage in the game as the free man, we need to try keep him out of the game, Kilkenny I'm sure are thinking likewise with shaun murphy. Who's picks up TJ? I actually taught O'Hanlon did reasonably well the last day or do we get someone to stick to him like a leech like Breen last year.fancy us to win by 3 or 4 points but if conor mac is out he'll be a big loss.

bostonredsox (Wexford) - Posts: 4368 - 26/03/2018 22:45:43    2088526

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Replying To perfect10:  "would agree,get rid of the nonsesne and cut to the point.league,championship,thats that.
if i had my way,we would play the all-ireland final in july.leaves more than enough time to plan a calender for the clubs."
Hurling is big trouble believe it or not. It is only taken seriously by ten or eleven County Boards and while largely thats the way it's always been, other counties were making strides some years ago. However, it has slipped hugely in Counties that were competitive I. e. Laois, Antrim, Carlow and dare i say even Offaly, who were the best hurling team in the Country, for the greater part of 20 years in 1980's and 1990s. Only for this bunch of quality players arriving at the same time, Wexford were heading in the same direction as those Counties. Apart from our recent under 21 success, under age hurling in Wexford hasn't been good; one All Ireland minor in 50 years. Hurling can't be marketed as a viable product if it's national exposure is limited to six or seven months a year, which would be the case if you had your way. I certainly don't have the answer, but in my opinion, greater exposure at intercounty level would create more interest, thereby increasing the number of kids wanting to play the game, in all Counties. One suggestion would be; if the GAA want County teams hurling from mid January, then it should be the league and not meaningless Walsh Cups etc. By doing so would give greater wriggle-room later in the year, to the benifit of the clubs.

gminor (Wexford) - Posts: 488 - 27/03/2018 01:57:20    2088564

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Replying To gminor:  "Hurling is big trouble believe it or not. It is only taken seriously by ten or eleven County Boards and while largely thats the way it's always been, other counties were making strides some years ago. However, it has slipped hugely in Counties that were competitive I. e. Laois, Antrim, Carlow and dare i say even Offaly, who were the best hurling team in the Country, for the greater part of 20 years in 1980's and 1990s. Only for this bunch of quality players arriving at the same time, Wexford were heading in the same direction as those Counties. Apart from our recent under 21 success, under age hurling in Wexford hasn't been good; one All Ireland minor in 50 years. Hurling can't be marketed as a viable product if it's national exposure is limited to six or seven months a year, which would be the case if you had your way. I certainly don't have the answer, but in my opinion, greater exposure at intercounty level would create more interest, thereby increasing the number of kids wanting to play the game, in all Counties. One suggestion would be; if the GAA want County teams hurling from mid January, then it should be the league and not meaningless Walsh Cups etc. By doing so would give greater wriggle-room later in the year, to the benifit of the clubs."
I honestly think hurling is in a better place than it has been for a number of years. There are 8/9 teams with genuine hopes of winning provincial / all ireland titles. In comparison football is a dead duck, a game that is getting more unattractive by the day and completely dominated by one team.

dumptruck1 (Wexford) - Posts: 206 - 27/03/2018 12:16:06    2088661

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Replying To beano:  "I assume that rules it out being shown live on TG4 then, seeing as the Division 2 football final is down for decision at the same time and was already scheduled to be shown? Unless they go down the live streaming route that is a good new initiative but unreliable at times.

Can anyone clarify whether Eir Sport tend to broadcast soccer of a Sunday afternoon, or is there a chance they could step into the mix? Just looking to have my options on the table in front of me before I make the decision of travelling or not."
It's live on youtube through tg4 youtube channel with deferred coverage on television

bostonredsox (Wexford) - Posts: 4368 - 27/03/2018 12:30:01    2088667

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Replying To dumptruck1:  "I honestly think hurling is in a better place than it has been for a number of years. There are 8/9 teams with genuine hopes of winning provincial / all ireland titles. In comparison football is a dead duck, a game that is getting more unattractive by the day and completely dominated by one team."
Agree 100%. Modern tactics are ruining football. And soccer too. Being realistic there are twice as many counties in with a shout of Liam than Sam. As regards the "lesser counties" while the 1b teams and 2a teams have to some extent a hurling tradition of sorts in some clubs or areas (north Kerry, the glens of Antrim, south Carlow, etc) there are many counties that if you saw a bunch of young lads with hurls in hand you would start running! Where there is no tradition of hurling it must be very hard for the odd diehard to try introducing it when young lads just arent playing it.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 16573 - 27/03/2018 13:33:54    2088701

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Any word on Reck and Mac?

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 16573 - 27/03/2018 13:35:56    2088706

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Replying To dumptruck1:  "I honestly think hurling is in a better place than it has been for a number of years. There are 8/9 teams with genuine hopes of winning provincial / all ireland titles. In comparison football is a dead duck, a game that is getting more unattractive by the day and completely dominated by one team."
at county level yes,at club level the game has never been in more of a state.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 27/03/2018 14:05:24    2088717

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Replying To perfect10:  "at county level yes,at club level the game has never been in more of a state."
Counties need to follow the likes of KK and plough on with their club hurling irrespective what the county team is at. It is a joke that club players are left idle waiting on county schedules, only answer is to push on regardless.

dumptruck1 (Wexford) - Posts: 206 - 27/03/2018 15:25:47    2088759

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Replying To dumptruck1:  "Counties need to follow the likes of KK and plough on with their club hurling irrespective what the county team is at. It is a joke that club players are left idle waiting on county schedules, only answer is to push on regardless."
I wouldn't use kilkenny as an example to be fair they only pay lip service to football. But I agree time for clubs to plough on without county players.

hurlorhurley (Wexford) - Posts: 1660 - 27/03/2018 15:58:37    2088776

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Replying To dumptruck1:  "Counties need to follow the likes of KK and plough on with their club hurling irrespective what the county team is at. It is a joke that club players are left idle waiting on county schedules, only answer is to push on regardless."
Kilkenny don't plough on with their club hurling irrespective.

890202 (Wexford) - Posts: 1278 - 27/03/2018 16:58:10    2088802

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Replying To 890202:  "Kilkenny don't plough on with their club hurling irrespective."
Exactly this is a complete myth basically when they were at there peak they would have a 5 or 6 week break mid summer inbetween the Leinster final and all Ireland semi final and got 2 or 3 rounds of club matches in, this is no longer the case

bostonredsox (Wexford) - Posts: 4368 - 27/03/2018 17:24:16    2088808

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Replying To wexico15:  "Exactly this is a complete myth basically when they were at there peak they would have a 5 or 6 week break mid summer inbetween the Leinster final and all Ireland semi final and got 2 or 3 rounds of club matches in, this is no longer the case"
If we win Leinster we would get a bye to the semi too. Could the county board not have a plan in place to run off a couple of rounds of club championship games then? How about that for positive thinking!!!!

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 16573 - 27/03/2018 20:22:40    2088849

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From what I heard mac has no Broken bones just a badly sprained thumb... as regards Reck I believe it's a hamstring strain..I agree about Walsh we have to keep the ball away from him or he wil travel with the ball and deliver good quality ball... on tj Reid I would go with o hanlon to man mark him again.. have to cut down our frees though or there could be 10 points after his name again

gannett83 (Wexford) - Posts: 322 - 27/03/2018 20:34:23    2088853

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Replying To dumptruck1:  "I honestly think hurling is in a better place than it has been for a number of years. There are 8/9 teams with genuine hopes of winning provincial / all ireland titles. In comparison football is a dead duck, a game that is getting more unattractive by the day and completely dominated by one team."
Hurling as a game has always evolved and will continue to do so. What i was talking about was the number of Counties playing competitive hurling at a high level. Go back 50/60/70 years nine counties - Cork, Wexford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Galway, Dublin, Clare, Tipperary and Limerick were playing hurling at a high level. Fast forward to the present and apart from Offaly, who were a great team for 20 years and Antrim who reached an All Ireland final in 1989, what has changed throughout all those years? Offaly can still match any team on a given day, but where is Antrim gone? Can you honestly say hurling was never in a better place when only nine or ten Counties out of thirty two are playing it at the top level? Look what''s happened with the provincial championships, you have Munster on one side and the rest of Ireland on the other. Enough said.

gminor (Wexford) - Posts: 488 - 28/03/2018 00:20:06    2088908

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And in the 50/60/70's, how many teams won All-Irelands? Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipp, Cork won many, and Limerick and Waterford won 1.
So in 30 All-Irelands, 4 counties shared 28 of them? How was that better?

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 28/03/2018 09:38:20    2088938

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Replying To gminor:  "Hurling as a game has always evolved and will continue to do so. What i was talking about was the number of Counties playing competitive hurling at a high level. Go back 50/60/70 years nine counties - Cork, Wexford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Galway, Dublin, Clare, Tipperary and Limerick were playing hurling at a high level. Fast forward to the present and apart from Offaly, who were a great team for 20 years and Antrim who reached an All Ireland final in 1989, what has changed throughout all those years? Offaly can still match any team on a given day, but where is Antrim gone? Can you honestly say hurling was never in a better place when only nine or ten Counties out of thirty two are playing it at the top level? Look what''s happened with the provincial championships, you have Munster on one side and the rest of Ireland on the other. Enough said."
gminor,

I believe you have contradicted your argument.
In your original post you say that hurling is in real trouble!! But then you say that 9 counties have been competitive for 70 years. If that is the case then hurling has always been in "real trouble".

Hurling is such a difficult game to master and hence it is a very difficult game to create a cluster of high quality clubs in a county which in turn will lead to a high quality county team. The biggest difficulty hurling has always faced is Gaelic football. I am not bashing football. It's just that, historically, those who wanted to play gaelic games would gravitate to the predominant game in that county. In most counties that is football.
(PS: I have the greatest admiration for those counties who keep BOTH hurling and football going, rather than concentrating on 1 only)

I despaired for hurling in the late 2000s (particularly 2008) when kk were dominating so much. This domination, I felt, would lead to a drop off in general interest in the sport as no other counties were seen as having a chance of winning the big prize. My worry was tempered somewhat, when I was at the league final in 2009 when Tipp stood up to kk and showed that they could be matched.

Since then, although kk have still dominated at times, other counties have have great success at underage and senior (Tipp, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Wexford for example). THis "high level" success is the tide that raises all boats and drives interest also at club levels.

Right now a number of counties have realistic prospects of silverware (not just the all-Ireland - which is a strong argument for retaining the provincials). Both the leinster and munster championships have realistic contenders which results in an intriguing season.

However, I do realise that all is not rosy in the garden. There are some potential threats:
Super 8s in football at the "business-end" of the championship will take a lot of the oxygen of publicity from the hurling.
Reducing the length of the intercounty season cedes some ground to other sports where that publicity no longer exists in September for example.
Conflict between the club and county fixtures is turning a lot of club players off.

I agree with a previous poster who said that the smaller competitions (e.g. walsh cup) should be stopped so that the league could start a little earlier... weather permitting.
I think we need to get to the stage where club matches must go ahead even if the county players are unavailable. I know this is controversial, but it is the only way that the club player can get a structured season with regular matches.... this is a MUST!!! I do not think it will turn the top players away from playing intercounty AND it gives more players a chance of playing for their club on big days.

Waldorf.Salad (Wexford) - Posts: 36 - 28/03/2018 09:53:53    2088942

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