Doylerwex
County: Wexford
Posts: 1319

1748208 royaldunne

A bad hurling mathc is still better than a great "fist"ball match

Eh no it isn't. A bad hurling match is dire. We have had far too many of them in recent times. Three of the six games in the All-Ireland series last year were over as a contest long before the final whistle. Both All-Ireland quarter finals were complete washouts. Three of the four provincial semi finals this year were washouts. The Leinster Final was reasonably competitive but ultimately entirely predictable. Hurling has a crisis of competitiveness on it's hands at the moment. Fifteen of the last sixteen All-Irelands have gone to the "Big Three" with ten of those going to Kilkenny. Sixteen of the last nineteen Leinster titles have gone to Kilkenny. You can have all the skill you like in a sport but when you don't have a competitive contest you have nothing. Right now in terms of the contest you have very little in hurling. Boring and entirely predictable doesn't go far enough to describe the hurling championship at the moment. The football championship is miles ahead of it.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 07/07/2015 19:19:23    1749489

Hill,Kilkenny have always dominated Leinster.Think theyve won 70 titles.It is better now with Galway on board and we've finally got a team to be proud of.Wexford are strong underage and only last year they dethroned the All Ire champions.Lets not forget,this Kilkenny team is the greatest team of all time.They would dominate in any era.In any format.Enjoy them for what they are.Master craftsmen,who are a credit to the sport.Cant speak for you,or any other poster,but i cannot wait for the remaining 8 games.Can some county beat the cats.After Sundays Munster final,there will be no more second chances.Every game is going to be exciting.Each team will feel they have a chance of ultimate honours.The stripeymen are looking ominous again.Not unbeatable,but not far off.If you cannot get excited about the hurling from this point on,well you must have very high expectations and standards.Sit back and enjoy hill,you wont be dissapointed.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 07/07/2015 19:22:37    1749490

I'd love to share your optimism cuedrocket. What happened last year doesn't support what you have to say.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 07/07/2015 19:42:52    1749500

Greengrass,i do love the game.There were some great games in the league this year also.Clare v Tipp,Cork v Tipp,Dublin v Kilkenny,Dublin v Cork,Limerick v Waterford,Clare v Kilkenny(twice) and the final itself,Waterford v Cork.So before a ball was pucked in the championship i already enjoyed some quality hurling.
Yes last years 2 quarter finals in Thurles were one sided,and the Tipp v Cork semi final,but i enjoyed Tipps dismantling of the rebels.They were excellent on the day,and i was surprised how poor the rebels were.Yes,the big 3 have dominated the last 15 years,especially Kilkenny,but a lot of sports worldwide are dominated by even less.Celtic/Rangers in Scotland,Barca/Real in Spain,Benfica/Porto in Portugal,Man Utd/City/Chelsea in England,Bayern in Germany,Ajax/PSV in Netherlands,PSG in France etc.Hurling is a special game,and its just warming up nicely for the Summer ahead.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 07/07/2015 20:00:36    1749506

Dowlerx and keeper would yis give over, hurling is dire. Look at what Kerry and cork and Meath and Westmeath served up 2 classics.
Hurling aka whackaball anywhere is mind numbing. Jesus youd swear it was the second coming the way some people go on, as for the foreigners loving it? I use to love the Japanese game show where the pretend to pour petroleum on contestants, doesn't mean it wasn't moronic.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 07/07/2015 20:12:23    1749513

Greengrass

Ah here. You aren't being realistic.

In Hurling we have 2 contenders at the minute. Kilkenny and Tipp. Then Galway,Waterford with an outside chance in my opinion. Dublin,Clare,Limerick,Cork are capable of beating any of those on any given day. Maintaining it and actually winning it out is another story but look at 2013. Wexford then can compete with any of that chasing pack for one sunday like last year we beat two of them.

In football you have Dublin,Kerry. Then Donegal with an outside chance. After that the rest of the chasing pack can all beat each other but none of them will touch the top two in september.

ALso leinster hurling is far more competitive than leinster football. Munster hurling is far more competitive than football and the other two provances don't count because they can't grasp the skills of hurling with the exception of Galway.

Finally Cork schooling wexford in the first half and Wexford almost pulling it back was far more entertaining than a point for point munster football final with a last minute equalizer.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2718 - 07/07/2015 20:14:25    1749514

Tipp stole the 2001 final with the refs help. At least their 2007-2015 team deserved an all-ireland, and probably the 2009 one too. Their 2001 team were undeserving winners, and were no better than nonbig3 side Galway on the day, but munster ref swung it their way. Not a lot big3 about Tipp since 1971, but at least they've a nice team since 2007, even though KK have rode them for most of the silverware in the period. Nothing big3 about Cork for the bones of a decade now.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 3477 - 07/07/2015 20:32:40    1749521

KK 35 All Ire,Cork 30 All Ire,Tipp 26 All Ire.Tipp most leagues.Kilkenny,Tipp,Cork most minor All Ire.Hence the big 3.History didnt just begin in 1970.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 07/07/2015 21:25:46    1749548

Kilkenny and Tipp only teams with a chance to win and Waterford the only one outside that with a chance to break in.i think that's rubbish. Kilkenny and Tipp are the two best at the moment, but a lot of people were tipping limerick to beat them, that was only one match ago for Tipp. If the hurling was so clear cut how come 8 teams were priced below 10/1 to win it before championship started. All the talk now of Waterford being the only team capable of challenging, on Sunday morning people were saying the same thing about galway. There's too much analysis being done on the last game a team plays, you're either brilliant or useless. If clare for example meet Waterford in championship they'll give them a fair rattle, so how can you say only Waterford can challenge the big 2. The 2 winners this weekend will be spoken of as realistic contenders, they wont be so useless then. Don't be shocked if its not a Tipp Kilkenny final.

pj_mcmanus (Limerick) - Posts: 431 - 07/07/2015 21:26:55    1749549

Pope,i was at the 2001 final,and i dont remember Galway people blaming the referee for losing.Tipp won fair and square.I cant remember any big call the referee got wrong.Ye conceded a soft goal from the Tipp wing forward after ht,who walked the sliotar to the net.Ye battled gamely,but Tipp held on.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 07/07/2015 21:31:14    1749552

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 2418

1749506 Greengrass,i do love the game.There were some great games in the league this year also.Clare v Tipp,Cork v Tipp,Dublin v Kilkenny,Dublin v Cork,Limerick v Waterford,Clare v Kilkenny(twice) and the final itself,Waterford v Cork.So before a ball was pucked in the championship i already enjoyed some quality hurling.
Yes last years 2 quarter finals in Thurles were one sided,and the Tipp v Cork semi final,but i enjoyed Tipps dismantling of the rebels.They were excellent on the day,and i was surprised how poor the rebels were.Yes,the big 3 have dominated the last 15 years,especially Kilkenny,but a lot of sports worldwide are dominated by even less.Celtic/Rangers in Scotland,Barca/Real in Spain,Benfica/Porto in Portugal,Man Utd/City/Chelsea in England,Bayern in Germany,Ajax/PSV in Netherlands,PSG in France etc.Hurling is a special game,and its just warming up nicely for the Summer ahead.

I love the game too cuedrocket. You're right. it is a special game. However it is suffering from a massive lack of competition and that lack of competition is getting worse. The Leinster Final which is a showpiece game in the calendar was at best lukewarm. Wexford in their last three championship matches have been handed unmerciful beatings. Offaly were slaughtered by Clare. Offaly and Wexford are supposed to be top tier teams and they are simply way out of their depth. The Premiership is dominated by the top four or five but on any given day most sides can give the top teams a game. West Brom beat Man Utd in Old Trafford this year. Can you see Wexford doing the same to Kilkenny ? The number of competitive teams is shrinking . Wexford have won one All Ireland since 1968. Waterford haven't won one since 1959. Galway haven't won one since 1988. Limerick haven't won one since 1973. Dublin haven't won one since 1938. Offaly are so far off the pace they don't look like winning a championship match any time soon. I would go so far as to say that 5 of the top 12 teams are now no more than cannon fodder . Certainly shocks may happen and hopefully we will get a few this season but those shocks are fewer and further between. The simple truth is that most of the championship is now a preamble to the late stages when hopefully we will see some truly competitive games. As I sais earlier you can have all the skill in the world but the contest is the essence of any team game and in the hurling championship that contest is conspicuous by it's absence most of the time. That said the weekends games look promising. Hopefully we will finally get some meaningful contests.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 07/07/2015 21:43:16    1749565

I understand your concerns greengrass.It is not perfect by any means.But there are a lot of positives also,and id rather be a glass half full type on this matter than be totally negative.I will never find hurling boring as long as im alive.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 07/07/2015 21:53:08    1749575

Doylerwex
County: Wexford
Posts: 1322

1749514 Greengrass

Ah here. You aren't being realistic.

In Hurling we have 2 contenders at the minute. Kilkenny and Tipp. Then Galway,Waterford with an outside chance in my opinion. Dublin,Clare,Limerick,Cork are capable of beating any of those on any given day. Maintaining it and actually winning it out is another story but look at 2013. Wexford then can compete with any of that chasing pack for one sunday like last year we beat two of them.

In football you have Dublin,Kerry. Then Donegal with an outside chance. After that the rest of the chasing pack can all beat each other but none of them will touch the top two in september.

ALso leinster hurling is far more competitive than leinster football. Munster hurling is far more competitive than football and the other two provances don't count because they can't grasp the skills of hurling with the exception of Galway.

Finally Cork schooling wexford in the first half and Wexford almost pulling it back was far more entertaining than a point for point munster football final with a last minute equalizer

Doyler you are having a laugh. Wexford have been slaughtered in each of their last three championship matches. That game last Saturday was over at half time as a Cork team which is vastly inferior to the great Cork teams of the past blew Wexford away. Wexford were at home and that makes it all the sadder to see a county that used to be competitive being hammered again and again. Leinster hurling is slightly more competitive than the Leinster football championship. Kilkenny by the way have won 16 of the last 19 Leinster championships. Some competitive championship that is. The Munster football championship is more competitive than the Leinster hurling championship.Your summation of the current state of hurling is way off the mark. None of those teams you mention Cork, Limerick, Dublin or Clare will beat Kilkenny. Clare might beat Tipp. That is it. Galway will not win the All-Ireland which leaves us praying that Waterford can do something to dispel the inevitability. The football championship is a far more vibrant and healthy championship than the hurling. As for your assertion about the Cork Wexford mismatch as opposed to the Munster football final, I asked a number of people on Sunday what they thought of the Cork Wexford game and to a man their answer was a single word that rhymed with bite.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 07/07/2015 21:56:42    1749580

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 2423

1749575 I understand your concerns greengrass.It is not perfect by any means.But there are a lot of positives also,and id rather be a glass half full type on this matter than be totally negative.I will never find hurling boring as long as im alive.

Fair play to you cuedrocket. I left Croker last Sunday in bad form at the lack of competitiveness .

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 07/07/2015 22:00:02    1749587

I shouldn't even be getting into this nonsense but your lack of hurling knowledge shows. We actually haven't been beaten in our last 3 championship games.Can you lay off Wexford? We've had a poor year alright but 13,14 have shown me enough to have huge hopes for our future.In the last 20 years we've won one all-ireland,3 leinsters and contested 8 all-Ireland semi finals and beaten every county ranked ahead of us bar Cork. I don't think that's too bad. Also if not for such a poor start on Saturday it's a game we could well have won. Anyway, we're still better than louth in both codes and we don't even take football seriously.

I'd rather watch junior d hurling than the senior all-ireland football final but that's just where I see the sports.

I can't understand why this keeps coming up. Can we not just enjoy our national games ? Don't like negative football media coverage ? Don't watch it. Think they're over hyping the hurling ? Don't listen. Enjoy them for what they are as GAA people.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2718 - 08/07/2015 08:04:12    1749589

I shoudln't even be geeting into this nonesense but your lack of hurling knowledge shows. We actually haven't been beaten in our last 3 championship games.Can you lay off Wexford?v We've had a poor year alright but 13,14 have shown me enough to have huge hopes for our future.In the last 20 years we've won one all-ireland,3 leinsters and contested 8 all-ireland semi finals and beaten every county ranked ahead of us bar Cork. I don't think that's too bad. Also if not for such a poor start on Saturday it's a game we could well have won. Anyway, we're still better than louth in both codes and we don't even take football seriously.

I'd rather watch junior d hurling than the senior all-ireland football final but that's just where I see the sports.

I can't understand why this keeps coming up. Can we not just enjoy our national games ? Don't like negative footballl media converage ? Don't watch it. Think they're over hyping the hurling ? Don't listen. Enjoy them for what they are as GAA people.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2718 - 08/07/2015 08:35:28    1749599

I would love to see Clare progress to meet Kilkenny in the semi final....could be a real battle.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11241 - 08/07/2015 08:53:49    1749611

Royaldunne

"Look at what Kerry and cork and Meath and Westmeath served up 2 classics"

Whatever about Cork and Kerry the fact that two poor teams Meath and Westmeath can serve up a competitive match doesn't mean Football is in a better state than Hurling, you will get good hurling games between equally matched sides as well.

Last years All Ireland Football Final was unbelievably awful to watch easily one of the worst matches I've ever seen made all the worse was the knowledge that if both teams let their players play football then we might have had a better spectacle, unfortunately tactics and ultimately winning are now more important then anything else.

cavandub (Cavan) - Posts: 67 - 08/07/2015 09:30:24    1749628

. Hurling aka whackaball anywhere is mind numbing
Spoken like a true Meath man.

While I don't agree with it being mind numbing the fact of the matter is that Kilkenny , Tipp and Cork will most likely win 8 out of 10 AIs at least every decade and that's being conservative. Ok, you'll get the odd occasion where Clare or someone else upsets the natural order but rarely.

SLLY (Dublin) - Posts: 463 - 08/07/2015 09:32:58    1749630

Greengrass,i have backed Kilkenny every year since 2003.This is the first time in 12 years ive gone against them.I fancied Clare at start of year.Obviously Clare have a tough game v Cork on Saturday,but if they can get a crack at Kilkenny,i think they have a decent chance of beating them.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 08/07/2015 10:36:04    1749698