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Replying To ElGranSenor: "I see Andy Comerford is calling on Kilkenny to get rid of development squads
I don't approve of us cutting them or reducing their size in Wexford for the record
Journalists must love Andy at this stage" After Comerford's "Dublin are no great shakes" remarks last week, I don't think too many people will put much pass on what he says this week!
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3704 - 26/05/2026 09:59:20
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Replying To Viking66: "Parents that dont love the game wont be out there, especially when kids are very young and are ground hurling, or when they start throwing it up and missing it. Space is another issue, especially with the urban shift in our population. Lastly and most importantly with alot of families having to have 2 working parents to pay for the house they have on a mortgage, time is a huge huge issue for many people." I am not from Rathnure but have a niece and nephew that play up there - I don't know how they have done it, but the club has created an environment where the kids just want to go there every evening of the week - Their friends are all the same. Throw in, as posters have mentioned, a lot of hard work going in at underage and you have a blueprint for success going forward. Rathnure isn't a big place - There are slightly less than 200 in the primary school.
Padraig Harrington has always stressed that he loves golf .. tries to install the same love of the game into his son .. It's not all about playing but the memories of playing and after playing - always going for a drink in the bar or an ice-cream. His theory been that there are plenty of times when your golf is going bad and life is tough, but if you have a genuine love for the game you will stick at it through the good times and bad times.
Too many parents won't or don't play GAA with their kids - it's grand training 2 times a week .. but unless they are playing at home they are never going to perfect the skills or love for the game.
MyOhMi (Wexford) - Posts: 315 - 26/05/2026 10:07:50
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Replying To Viking66: "Parents that dont love the game wont be out there, especially when kids are very young and are ground hurling, or when they start throwing it up and missing it. Space is another issue, especially with the urban shift in our population. Lastly and most importantly with alot of families having to have 2 working parents to pay for the house they have on a mortgage, time is a huge huge issue for many people." Talking about space, it bothers me clubs blocking all access to their pitches. My own club at home have completely stopped people being able to reach the pitch, thankfully the Harriers pitch is open. Otherwise I wouldn't really have any where to go with a ball wall/goals.
I get it, there was probably some anti-social stuff going on and maybe also for insurance/injury claim reasons but it certainly doesn't help.
Fulgrim (Wexford) - Posts: 290 - 26/05/2026 10:33:14
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Replying To Magpie2: "As far as I know we have a psychologist, or did have one.
Heard his name mentioned some time back but can't remember now.
Maybe he left or was let go when Bernard Dunne was brought in, supposedly as a motivator.
Neither appointment doesn't seem to have had the desired effect, does it?
Maybe there was a glimpse of hope in the first 20 minutes on Sunday. I wasn't at the game so I won't attempt to analyse it, so was that burst of quality play due to Dunnes influence?
I doubt it somehow.
If it was then it didn't last long as people who were there and many posters on here said that once Galway woke up and clicked into gear it was game over.
So the question is, should we continue using psychologists/ motivators or put the money into top class coaches instead?" We looked like we tired and I got told that was because we didnt get the fitness work in.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19816 - 26/05/2026 10:53:32
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Replying To Pikeman96: "After Comerford's "Dublin are no great shakes" remarks last week, I don't think too many people will put much pass on what he says this week!" They are no great shakes either. It's just that KK are at a particular nadir in relation to their capacity right now.
Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4741 - 26/05/2026 10:56:18
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Replying To foreveryoung: "Viking, I believe that Davy would be a step backwards for Wexford. Tom Mulally has good credentials, and I'm not against him for the job, but I feel that a Wexford man (or indeed a Wexford woman) would be the best person to manage the county. Rossi, as ye call him, is Wexford to the core but is more a coach/trainer than a manager. I heard somewhere that a manager's day can be taken up with 75-80% of stuff that is not on the field stuff. Look at Limerick, Kiely manages, Kinnerick coaches. Liam Cahill has Mickey Bevans beside him in a similar role.
I'm not saying that Wexford need to copy Limerick or Tipperary, but you guys need to remember that the last time you tasted success, you had a hurling man, who was also a very successful business man, at the helm.
Don't laugh, but if that Verona Murphy wasn't tied up keeping the Dail in check, she or a person like her would make an ideal manager, where they would work with a hurling trainer like Declan Ruth or Liam Dunne.
I hate to see Wexford hurling down in the doldrums." Ruth, Dunne and Rossiter arent top level coaches. They'd all be more experienced coaches than I am, but none of them would be intercounty standard lead coaches.
Verona is a friendly woman, as you would expect from a politician who wants votes. But she's like marmite. Wouldn't say she'd be manager material. It would all be about her.
We all hate being uncompetitive, nothing insightful there!
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19816 - 26/05/2026 11:00:31
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Replying To Magpie2: "As far as I know we have a psychologist, or did have one.
Heard his name mentioned some time back but can't remember now.
Maybe he left or was let go when Bernard Dunne was brought in, supposedly as a motivator.
Neither appointment doesn't seem to have had the desired effect, does it?
Maybe there was a glimpse of hope in the first 20 minutes on Sunday. I wasn't at the game so I won't attempt to analyse it, so was that burst of quality play due to Dunnes influence?
I doubt it somehow.
If it was then it didn't last long as people who were there and many posters on here said that once Galway woke up and clicked into gear it was game over.
So the question is, should we continue using psychologists/ motivators or put the money into top class coaches instead?" We had a part time psychologist and it's part of Dunnes role as well. My understanding is they did one to ones but no group work and it was fairly sporadic which isn't the point of it.
We absolutely need a psychologist but for implementation to work everyone has to buy into it. That may be the issue.
Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4536 - 26/05/2026 11:02:31
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Replying To Afinestick96: "I too have heard the Davy Fitz rumours and I dont think its what we need right now." He'd be grand if he got his mojo back. But will he? He seems to have been treading water or going through the motions a little, tactically especially. Watching his teams the last few years hasnt been as interesting as it was when he went back to Waterford at first. They played us in a challenge game up in Ferns and he was trying out so many different things you'd forget what the actual score was!
At the same time the Antrim players have come out and supported him, so obviously he still is a good motivator and players man.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19816 - 26/05/2026 11:25:41
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Replying To Fulgrim: "Talking about space, it bothers me clubs blocking all access to their pitches. My own club at home have completely stopped people being able to reach the pitch, thankfully the Harriers pitch is open. Otherwise I wouldn't really have any where to go with a ball wall/goals.
I get it, there was probably some anti-social stuff going on and maybe also for insurance/injury claim reasons but it certainly doesn't help." We are in Taghmon.
We dont lock our gates.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19816 - 26/05/2026 11:27:22
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Replying To Doylerwex: "We had a part time psychologist and it's part of Dunnes role as well. My understanding is they did one to ones but no group work and it was fairly sporadic which isn't the point of it.
We absolutely need a psychologist but for implementation to work everyone has to buy into it. That may be the issue." We still have him. But if lads dont see the benefit of talking to him thats not his fault. You would think they'd give him a shot, its not as if any of them were magnificent this year.
Agree there should be more group work done. Even some group work would be a start.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19816 - 26/05/2026 11:29:15
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Saw Alan Aherne mention it in the paper in relation to the Minor game but there has been a common thread across Wexford teams for a while now
Actually, the more I look back at the game on Sunday, Galway really killed us in two spells: they out-scored us 0-10 to 0-03 from the 20-minute mark up until HT and then they out-scored us by about 2-07 to 0-01 from about the 55-minute mark to the 70-minute mark
First spell was understandable but it wasn't as if they overwhelmed us that badly in the first twenty minutes of the second half, they had the upper hand alright but it was more of a gradual thing and was a bit of a struggle for them as we were still hanging in there to an extent
Problem was that when we conceded the first goal, they then went to town on us and just like the Minors, this is a big problem across Wexford teams
Minors were out-scored by 2-03 to 0-00 before Downey got his late goal
Held out for ten minutes after the red card versus Offaly but were then out-scored by 1-08 to 1-01 the rest of the way, floodgates opened when we conceded the second goal
Floodgates opened again against Kilkenny when they got their second goal, think we had their lead down to three at one stage but about ten or fifteen minutes later, we were about 4-15 to 1-13 down
Last year against Dublin, we were three points up and obviously they were given a ghost goal but we then conceded another two goals very soon after
Against Galway last year, we had somehow managed to pull the gap back down to three points at one stage but they ended up winning by 10
Seven points up against Antrim in 2024 with twenty minutes to go and lose, conceded two goals one after the other
5 points up against Dublin with two minutes of injury time to go and then conceded two goals one after the other
Collapse against Westmeath in 2023 (And to an extent in 2022)
5 points up against Tipp and a man up in 2019 with twenty minutes to go and lost
Minors in 2024 were well in it against Galway at Wexford Park but ended up losing by 10, dropped their heads towards the end
We've had a few beatings at underage level like Galway in Minor this year, KK at Minor last year, and KK at U20 the year before where we just never really even raised a gallop at any stage
This is a constant issue and I think the problem is that we are a momentum team and have too many confidence players. Confidence players aren't much use to you IMO, what you really want are those players who dig in when things get tough (Roy Keane in Turin for anyone of a soccer persuasion). You want lads who just stay focused on the task and don't let bad things affect them, have to remember your opponent will get the better of you at some stages in the game so things like that do happen, thing is to make sure you get the better of them more than they get the better of you and to not focus on the times when they get the better of you, just focus on the next ball
Tbf, Downey dug in on Saturday and he brought the game to Cork late on (And given he's the best player on the team, that's encouraging), the U20s were decent for the most part when it came to digging in, might have gone unnoticed but when O'Brien got sent off, Colin Carley went straight over to him and tried to keep him upbeat, thought said a lot about Carley, always seems to be positive and always takes the fight to the opposition no matter what, we need more of that in this county, we need players who have what the Americans would call the "intangibles"
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1324 - 26/05/2026 12:00:54
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Replying To Viking66: "We looked like we tired and I got told that was because we didnt get the fitness work in." There is no excuse for us not getting fitness work done since majority on the panel were back training in November
Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 1096 - 26/05/2026 12:32:27
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Replying To Viking66: "He'd be grand if he got his mojo back. But will he? He seems to have been treading water or going through the motions a little, tactically especially. Watching his teams the last few years hasnt been as interesting as it was when he went back to Waterford at first. They played us in a challenge game up in Ferns and he was trying out so many different things you'd forget what the actual score was!
At the same time the Antrim players have come out and supported him, so obviously he still is a good motivator and players man." I think it's a long shot, but I think it's the only way you get lads on the fence about whether to commit/stay on or not to row in and in turn give us a full hand. I think if he came in at least 3 out of Fanning Jippo Foley Jack and Chin would be back, but agree on the tactics bit, it's a relatively simple game and would sometimes appear he is trying to outsmart even himself.
Another thing is, how much better was the panel that he inherited in 2016 to the one from this year? When he took over then the biggest draw has to have been the players from u21 in 13-15 coming through.
OpenStandWall (Wexford) - Posts: 363 - 26/05/2026 12:33:05
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Replying To ElGranSenor: "Saw Alan Aherne mention it in the paper in relation to the Minor game but there has been a common thread across Wexford teams for a while now
Actually, the more I look back at the game on Sunday, Galway really killed us in two spells: they out-scored us 0-10 to 0-03 from the 20-minute mark up until HT and then they out-scored us by about 2-07 to 0-01 from about the 55-minute mark to the 70-minute mark
First spell was understandable but it wasn't as if they overwhelmed us that badly in the first twenty minutes of the second half, they had the upper hand alright but it was more of a gradual thing and was a bit of a struggle for them as we were still hanging in there to an extent
Problem was that when we conceded the first goal, they then went to town on us and just like the Minors, this is a big problem across Wexford teams
Minors were out-scored by 2-03 to 0-00 before Downey got his late goal
Held out for ten minutes after the red card versus Offaly but were then out-scored by 1-08 to 1-01 the rest of the way, floodgates opened when we conceded the second goal
Floodgates opened again against Kilkenny when they got their second goal, think we had their lead down to three at one stage but about ten or fifteen minutes later, we were about 4-15 to 1-13 down
Last year against Dublin, we were three points up and obviously they were given a ghost goal but we then conceded another two goals very soon after
Against Galway last year, we had somehow managed to pull the gap back down to three points at one stage but they ended up winning by 10
Seven points up against Antrim in 2024 with twenty minutes to go and lose, conceded two goals one after the other
5 points up against Dublin with two minutes of injury time to go and then conceded two goals one after the other
Collapse against Westmeath in 2023 (And to an extent in 2022)
5 points up against Tipp and a man up in 2019 with twenty minutes to go and lost
Minors in 2024 were well in it against Galway at Wexford Park but ended up losing by 10, dropped their heads towards the end
We've had a few beatings at underage level like Galway in Minor this year, KK at Minor last year, and KK at U20 the year before where we just never really even raised a gallop at any stage
This is a constant issue and I think the problem is that we are a momentum team and have too many confidence players. Confidence players aren't much use to you IMO, what you really want are those players who dig in when things get tough (Roy Keane in Turin for anyone of a soccer persuasion). You want lads who just stay focused on the task and don't let bad things affect them, have to remember your opponent will get the better of you at some stages in the game so things like that do happen, thing is to make sure you get the better of them more than they get the better of you and to not focus on the times when they get the better of you, just focus on the next ball
Tbf, Downey dug in on Saturday and he brought the game to Cork late on (And given he's the best player on the team, that's encouraging), the U20s were decent for the most part when it came to digging in, might have gone unnoticed but when O'Brien got sent off, Colin Carley went straight over to him and tried to keep him upbeat, thought said a lot about Carley, always seems to be positive and always takes the fight to the opposition no matter what, we need more of that in this county, we need players who have what the Americans would call the "intangibles"" There is merit in what you are saying . It seems for a long time now our underage and senior teams cant cope with any sort of set backs in games
Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 1096 - 26/05/2026 12:37:46
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Of the list of candidates mentioned here i would go for Tom Mullally. Hes about developing players and teams and performances. It says a lot about him that he's not well known outside of core hurling circles and that's what Wexford need right now imo.
Above all though Wexford hurling needs investment. You need all of the best available talent committed to the project and a sponsor and CB that is fully invested too. These athletes are putting their life on hold to play this game at the highest available level. They need to be treated accordingly. I mean above and beyond. Think about the current situation ( which is probably decent) and go much much further. These lads need to be looked after like professionals and then some. Thats what happens elsewhere and it ensures commitment. Success is relative but you simply must look after the talent. They must be the best looked after athletes in Wexford and it shouldn't even be close and that applies to all teams.
Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 454 - 26/05/2026 12:50:02
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Replying To OpenStandWall: "I think it's a long shot, but I think it's the only way you get lads on the fence about whether to commit/stay on or not to row in and in turn give us a full hand. I think if he came in at least 3 out of Fanning Jippo Foley Jack and Chin would be back, but agree on the tactics bit, it's a relatively simple game and would sometimes appear he is trying to outsmart even himself.
Another thing is, how much better was the panel that he inherited in 2016 to the one from this year? When he took over then the biggest draw has to have been the players from u21 in 13-15 coming through." That would be one major positive of Davy being back is I believe he would get our older players in the existing panel to commit again and would entice some lads back into the panel
Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 1096 - 26/05/2026 13:14:11
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Replying To Afinestick96: "There is no excuse for us not getting fitness work done since majority on the panel were back training in November" Absolutely. The fitness work was described as sub club standard.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19816 - 26/05/2026 13:15:00
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Replying To Afinestick96: "There is no excuse for us not getting fitness work done since majority on the panel were back training in November" I'm with here. Fitness for a club hurler is a non-negotiable, for an inter county player it is a given.
What did Wexford do for 4-5 days in Portugal or Spain, sunbathe or get ready to hurl in conditions like Sunday by all accounts?
You could see in players all year though, we were leggy and lethargic in the games v Kilkenny and Dublin. Second to every ball, out battled and out hurled.
We can't sugar coat it, it was a complete failure of a year on every front.
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2074 - 26/05/2026 13:48:14
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Replying To OpenStandWall: "I think it's a long shot, but I think it's the only way you get lads on the fence about whether to commit/stay on or not to row in and in turn give us a full hand. I think if he came in at least 3 out of Fanning Jippo Foley Jack and Chin would be back, but agree on the tactics bit, it's a relatively simple game and would sometimes appear he is trying to outsmart even himself.
Another thing is, how much better was the panel that he inherited in 2016 to the one from this year? When he took over then the biggest draw has to have been the players from u21 in 13-15 coming through." Have been down a rabbit hole of looking back on U21 results from 2013 to 2015, and comparing them to the corresponding U20 results of more recent years, and in some ways, it could actually be argued they're not that much different at all. That's despite one era having three Leinster titles and the other having none at all.
Davy got the senior management job in 2017 and the U21 years in question are 2013, 2014, and 2015. For whoever gets the job for 2027, then allowing for the change from U21 to U20, the corresponding years for players of the same age would be 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In two of those years, we reached Leinster Finals, only to be beaten by just a puck of a ball (one point v Kilkenny in 2022, two points v Offaly in 2023). Kilkenny went on to win the All-Ireland, and while Offaly didn't, chances are our lads would have put up as good a show against Cork in the final as Offaly did.
Granted, 2024 was poor - beat Kilkenny the first day out all right, but then lost to Dublin by two, before being knocked out when losing to Laois by six.
So how does that compare to three Leinster title wins from 2013 to 2015?
People tend to forget that the first of them wasn't exactly vintage. Unconvincing wins over Westmeath (five points) and Carlow (six points) to make the final. One good performance against Kilkenny in the final, where for once we got the break at the end of the match with a goal to win it. But then lost to Antrim in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Also, Galway weren't yet in the Leinster underage championships in those years. If they had been, they might have stopped our gallop once or more.
The 2013 to 2015 era is undoubtedly still better overall. But when you drill into it, it's not as clearcut as a first glance of "three Leinster titles versus none at all" would suggest.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3704 - 26/05/2026 13:49:02
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Replying To Afinestick96: "There is no excuse for us not getting fitness work done since majority on the panel were back training in November" That shouldbe the case but how many of our starters were doing the hard slog in November .
Think about that.
if we only had this fella and that fella back from injury or make themselves available again .
Easy come back after the really hard slog is done . How many of the starters had full pre season fitness and s&c done
Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 599 - 26/05/2026 13:50:18
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