personally i think this year is set up perfertly for clare, here is why;
1. motivation will not be a problem as we will have a point to prove after last year
2. got one of the best up and coming teams in the country
3. winners of last 3 under 21 titles - significantly breeds winning mentality in players
4. will not fear tipperary or kilkenny as nearly every player has beaten team before at underage level, we expect to win every game
5. having won a senior all ireland, arguably before our time, the team know exactly what is required
6. proved we have the bottle for the big occasions in croke park
7. have some of the most naturally talented players in the country in mcgrath, conlon, kelly, galvin
8. tactically we have one of the games best managers and best motivators
9. despite some rubbish that has been said there is a great bond and togetherness in the dressing room
10. we will be well over the 2013 hangover :)

hurlingexpert (Clare) - Posts: 1941 - 14/01/2015 20:18:27    1683328

I agree 100% hurlingexpert.They are the reasons i have tipped the banner for glory.However it is hard to call.There are 6 real contenders.Really looking forward to the League and Champiomship.Limerick v Clare is going to be tasty.Limerick have a good head-to-head record v Clare.Apart from 2 years ago when the Treatymen didnt perform.Or werent let perform.This game will set us all up for a great Summer.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 14/01/2015 20:34:53    1683335

Hurlingexpert, I think we all know beating Kilkenny underage means nothing when you meet their Senior team in Croke Park. With all KK's retirements I'd say it'll be the hardest All Ireland to call in years. I expect KK, Clare, Tipp and Cork to make the semi's. After that anyone could win it. I'm mostly looking forward to seeing what rabbit Cody pulls out of the hat this year.

Faithfull (Offaly) - Posts: 573 - 14/01/2015 21:52:22    1683381

+1 Faithfull

..But to alter your semi finalists, I do think Galway/Limerick will have some say in the Championship this year.

Lets face it, if Kilkenny dont win it then it could be any of 5 teams!

Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1415 - 15/01/2015 12:12:07    1683452

Leinster: KK
Munster: Limerick
All-Ireland: Tipp

League is anybodys

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2682 - 15/01/2015 13:46:11    1683496

I threw that up before reading back. My hope for Wexford is to reach a quarter final again and give a better showing. We really drew the short straw in leinster but we've every bit as much of a chase as Dublin had in 2013. Nothing is beyond the realms of possibility. It would be great just to see croke park again!!!

Like another of my countymen i'm more worried about Laois and Offaly in the league than Limerick or Waterford. We're not short of motivation and limerick is our first big mental battle of the year. we need to avenge thurles and put 2014 to bed. It would be typical of Wexford to beat them and then go and lose to Laois(no disrespect intended)

All in all I'm buzzing for this year.

Ranking is totally irrelevant but since it's a hot topic here mine is as follows.

1. Kilkenny (retirements or not you don't get bad kk teams.)
2.Tipp (firmly)
3. Limerick,Clare,Cork(toss of a coin)
4. Wexford,Galway,Dublin.(toss of a coin)
5. Waterford(for the moment)

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2682 - 15/01/2015 14:04:21    1683504

Faithful
When Limerick knocked them out in 2013n they handed Tipp a one way trip to Nowlan Park and this year they had to play Galway to get back in the reckoning. And you reckon it does not matter if you get knocked out in Munster

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4331 - 15/01/2015 15:40:21    1683549

Maroonforever,i dont think Tipp,or any of the other counties,have lost interest in the Munster Championship.It is a very valued medal to win and no matter what the stats say,winning your province and going the direct rout is still the best way to win the All Ireland.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 15/01/2015 17:29:00    1683598

Faithful can we expect anything from Offaly this year? Is there any talent coming through of note? It would be a pity to lose The Faithful County from the hurling clan.

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 15/01/2015 21:30:12    1683713

one positive i can see from offaly is they could potentially have the best full forward line in the country .... no really!!! brian carroll, joe bergin and shane dooley would make a serious full forward line. other than that though offaly are terrible.

hurlingexpert (Clare) - Posts: 1941 - 15/01/2015 21:38:25    1683718

Pinkie, I'm a diehard Offaly man but I would be foolish to suggest we have any chance of doing well this year. We do have some decent young players coming through but I think we went back so far over the last 10 years that it'll take another 10 to get us right again. We should be down in division 2A aswel which doesn't make things any better. I think we need a complete revamp of our underage training structures. I would include Wexford in that too. We both seem to produce lovely skillful hurlers but then when they come up against the likes of KK they look like boys. KK kept the likes of Hogan and Reid in reserve for a few years to build up their strength and size. I think to catch up we need lads in the gym once they finish minor so that they are ready for senior around the age of 20 - 21.

It's a difficult one though because I agree with what Joe Brolly says in regard to over training young lads but these days if you want to be competitive these are the sacrifices you have to make. If we can be competitive in the league this year I think it will be as much as we can hope for and everything else is a bonus. How we'd love all the retired players from this year in Offaly.

Faithfull (Offaly) - Posts: 573 - 15/01/2015 21:47:53    1683723

Oldtourman I'll have to read my comments again but I don't remember saying it doesn't matter if you get knocked out of Munster. I thought the argument was if you win Munster it's too hard to win the All Ireland. Are you suggesting now that if you get knocked out of Munster it's too hard to win the All Ireland? Are Limerick looking to transfer to Leinster. And also do Limerick think that if they were in Leinster over the last 10 years that they would of won an All Ireland bearing in mind you would have to beat two of KK, Dublin, Galway or Wexford? I don't think they would have. Look the Munster Championship looks good on paper but you can bet your bottom dollar it is just as hard win Leinster. Dublin, Galway, KK and Wexford are all capable of beating any Munster side as proved last year with Wexford beating Clare and Waterford so the whole Munster argument is rubbish in my opinion. The games just seem more intense because they are played on tighter pitches which adds to the atmosphere. Croke Park is rarely half full for the final which takes away from the games and makes them seem dour.

Look my attitude is, if you train correctly and you're good enough it doesn't matter who you play. There's no easy way to win an All Ireland. You have to produce in every single game you play. Limericks problem is that they are not consistent. Tipp got a tough draw in Nowlan Park in 2013 however do you think Kilkenny would of cared if that game was in Thurlas? I don't think so. It's a poor excuse to say you lost because of the ground it was played it. Fair enough there's extra support but players take little notice of the crowd once the game is going.

Faithfull (Offaly) - Posts: 573 - 15/01/2015 21:59:09    1683728

Boyles go 13/2 Clare and/or 18/1 a Clare Dublin double which is the value IMO

kikfada (Louth) - Posts: 2091 - 20/01/2015 09:27:33    1684681

Faithful
Simply since 2000 no other Leinster team has appeared in an All Ireland except Galway. No Under 21 or Minor All Ireland was won by any of the those counties either in that period. That hardly supports your argument

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4331 - 20/01/2015 15:36:53    1684835

Faithful you ask would limerick win an AI in last 10 years if they were in Leinster. For the first 8 of those 10 years definitely not. However we haev become a far better team in the last 2 years and are in my opinion better than any team in Leinster bar KK. If we were abot more used to playing KK it could have gone either wa. we could have beaten them in 13 or in 14 and gone on to win AI or we could just have cracked under the unmerciful hidings we would have recieved in first 8 years and disappear altogether.

Kikfada keep your money in your pocket. Clare do not have a half forward line to win primary possession and wont win an All Ireland primarily for that reason but there are others. Their backs were not great last year. They have super hurlers but I cant see them getting beyond QF myself maybe SF. To get to an Sf they will prob have to beat 2 from KK Tipp, Limerick or Cork. They may well do but far too tight at 13/2 for my money. Right now Id rank Clare at 4 with Cork so those odds seem tight to me

disillusiondfan (Limerick) - Posts: 4279 - 20/01/2015 16:59:26    1684877

i wold think that wexford are a dark horse for liam

kildalkey4 (Meath) - Posts: 12 - 20/01/2015 20:25:28    1684973

disillusiondfan - you still going on about them rankings!

Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1415 - 20/01/2015 20:57:43    1684997

Cuderocket i retract my last comment in my previous post it was wrong of me to say Tipperary have lost intrest in Munster I just feel nowadays is it more of a disadvantage to win your province because of the break that teams get which is a shame because winning your province is something special when Galway won Leinster in 2012 (depsite not being from Leinster) it was a great achievement and is good to win silverware but you could see when Galway played that year in the semis they weren't as sharp as Cork and it took the second half until Galway got going and win the game!!!!

Maroonforever (Galway) - Posts: 414 - 20/01/2015 21:04:34    1685001

Fancy Tipperary to take it. Very impressed with them in the drawn AI Final and reached a level that only KK would match. KK probably won't win next year but will take stopping and a serious display to beat them. I could only see one of Tipp, Clare or Cork beating them in that order. Jury still out on Limerick as apart from beating Tipp in Thurles this year they have done little else and don't yet have the firepower to turn over enough teams to win an AI but are capable of taking big scalps on a one off game. If Shane Dowling is nullified where will they get scores from ? Waterford will show signs of improvement and will give Cork plenty of trouble again.They have some young talent that will be a year older. Galway - as ever who knows, could be gone by July or in the final. Dublin - Not consistent enough to win enough games to challenge also.A lot depends on the draw along the way.
Munster - Clare.
Leinster - KK.
AI - Tipp or Cork.

Cornerback1977 (Cork) - Posts: 67 - 21/01/2015 19:04:48    1685274

Munster Limerick Leinster Kk Final Kk v Lk not much between teams at moment and anything can happen. champship is championship. Just to respond to previous post Lk have a lot more firepower than shane. To dismiss as lk have one good game in this rubbish talk. One example from 14 Lk performance v Kk. A match decided by a puck of a ball. The other example corks performance in semi well we all know what happened..

Limerickgaa2014 (Limerick) - Posts: 25 - 21/01/2015 20:36:40    1685318