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Wexford Hurling Thread

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Replying To Viking66:  "As regards crowd I imagine there will be nearly as many from Wexford there as from Kildare."
I would be hoping we have a good crowd too Viking. Have been dissapointed in our support in recent years hopefully the bandwagon will get going again this summer :D

Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 972 - 16/04/2026 14:55:34    2666792

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Replying To Formertownie:  "It would be good to have them. Barry would need lots of hurling behind him though was excellent in local championship. But the further they went outsise wexford his stickwork was nt quite up to intercounty standard as of yet his other attributes well up to it .
Going forward I d say for counties without much success or profile more and more will take time out . Hard to keep up the level of commitment required fir county and after thst back to club for little or no reward .k
If the Martuns had nt of won wexford would Rory have come back i wonder . As he would ve went away sooner unless he held on you after jacks wedding .
Once a player becomes established at inter county and finished their studies . They will either take a year out or go after they exit club championship and maybe return mid league .
Why would nt they live their life before life ties them down .
I do think we have good forwards on their day . Backs could be our achilles heel . Lack of physical presence a worry .
Further we go the harder it gets . Not so bad marking big mdn withiut much hurling . Different prospect narking big men who can hurl too . Like Limerick Cork etc"
Agree with you on Barry O Connor struggled a small bit hurling wise against Ballyhale and Ballygunner. Those are top club teams and he will have to work on his hurling more but if he improves as much as he did last year I think he could be an asset to us.
On our backs I agree on our lack of physciality and we really need Jippo and Cian Molloy back that will help in that aspect

Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 972 - 16/04/2026 15:10:45    2666798

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If Jippo is only partially fit I would start him instead of having him finish the game. We need his experience with the young players around him.
I hope Wexford supporters get behind this young team, they deserve and need to be supported. We can't expect players to commit to the training etc required only to play in front of a small crowd and think "why would I bother, this county doesn't care about hurling".
Support is ALWAYS the 16th man. Remember that u21 final when Offaly outnumbered Wexford about 10 to 1? We need that to stop happening if we are to ever get back up to the top table.

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1991 - 16/04/2026 15:37:31    2666801

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Replying To StoreysTash:  "If Jippo is only partially fit I would start him instead of having him finish the game. We need his experience with the young players around him.
I hope Wexford supporters get behind this young team, they deserve and need to be supported. We can't expect players to commit to the training etc required only to play in front of a small crowd and think "why would I bother, this county doesn't care about hurling".
Support is ALWAYS the 16th man. Remember that u21 final when Offaly outnumbered Wexford about 10 to 1? We need that to stop happening if we are to ever get back up to the top table."
Fully agree with everything you said there but wouldnt be starting Jippo unless he's near 100% fit. Partially fit runs the risk of injury then he misses the rest of Leinster championship. I do agree though to have him back full back with be an enormous lift to everyone around him .
Agree on the support its about time people got out and backed the team. I couldnt believe the crowd in Carlow that night for a Leinster u20 final only an hour or a little more up the road for a lot of people in Wexford and they couldnt be bothered going to support.

Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 972 - 16/04/2026 15:50:42    2666804

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Replying To Viking66:  "Sheridan isnt the sort of player Shane Reck plays best on. Conor Foley would be a better man for him maybe, and put Shane Reck on Dowling or Qualter.
Someone has to mind Leacy, hes their best player. And Cian Boran will need to be marked closely and tracked up and down the pitch."
Dowling is taller than Sheridan if anything so if you don't put Shane Reck on one, you don't put him on the other IMO

ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1056 - 16/04/2026 16:51:10    2666816

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Replying To ElGranSenor:  "Dowling is taller than Sheridan if anything so if you don't put Shane Reck on one, you don't put him on the other IMO"
Sheridan is bigger than Qualter or Dowling

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19243 - 16/04/2026 17:12:41    2666821

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Replying To ElGranSenor:  "Dowling is taller than Sheridan if anything so if you don't put Shane Reck on one, you don't put him on the other IMO"
We don't need to worry about who their players are. Ours are better. We just need to worry about our own intensity and the hurling will take care of itself.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4449 - 16/04/2026 20:58:23    2666840

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Replying To Afinestick96:  "Fully agree with everything you said there but wouldnt be starting Jippo unless he's near 100% fit. Partially fit runs the risk of injury then he misses the rest of Leinster championship. I do agree though to have him back full back with be an enormous lift to everyone around him .
Agree on the support its about time people got out and backed the team. I couldnt believe the crowd in Carlow that night for a Leinster u20 final only an hour or a little more up the road for a lot of people in Wexford and they couldnt be bothered going to support."
Was at that match in carlow we were nt that far away from winning it tbh .
I think its a bit unfair to say support was poor . That was offalys generational team and the whole of offaly got behind them . They did nt exactly support their senior team at that stage its a bit like every successful team the bandwagon was full . Like ourselves they were starved of success to be honest having watched them u21 v us a few times and they were dreaful before this team came along they dud nt even look fit for hurling a full gzme at thst stage . .
If we felt we could win an all ireland at underage I m sure out bandwagon would be overflowing too especially if we had few marquee players like screeny and Mitchell.

Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 575 - 16/04/2026 21:29:52    2666849

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Replying To Formertownie:  "Was at that match in carlow we were nt that far away from winning it tbh .
I think its a bit unfair to say support was poor . That was offalys generational team and the whole of offaly got behind them . They did nt exactly support their senior team at that stage its a bit like every successful team the bandwagon was full . Like ourselves they were starved of success to be honest having watched them u21 v us a few times and they were dreaful before this team came along they dud nt even look fit for hurling a full gzme at thst stage . .
If we felt we could win an all ireland at underage I m sure out bandwagon would be overflowing too especially if we had few marquee players like screeny and Mitchell."
I Dunne mate. I was at the two 21 finals in 14/15 or whatever it was and our support was poor. Those teams had Mac, jacko, guiney and jippo on them.

I thought we were better than Offaly that year too. We were just a bit too friendly to them on the pitch.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4449 - 16/04/2026 22:51:35    2666852

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Replying To Doylerwex:  "We don't need to worry about who their players are. Ours are better. We just need to worry about our own intensity and the hurling will take care of itself."
The team has to be properly prepared. Surprised at you with this post Doyler. No u14 club team goes into a game without preparing for its opponents these days. Never mind Senior intercounty teams.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19243 - 16/04/2026 23:16:26    2666856

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Replying To Formertownie:  "Was at that match in carlow we were nt that far away from winning it tbh .
I think its a bit unfair to say support was poor . That was offalys generational team and the whole of offaly got behind them . They did nt exactly support their senior team at that stage its a bit like every successful team the bandwagon was full . Like ourselves they were starved of success to be honest having watched them u21 v us a few times and they were dreaful before this team came along they dud nt even look fit for hurling a full gzme at thst stage . .
If we felt we could win an all ireland at underage I m sure out bandwagon would be overflowing too especially if we had few marquee players like screeny and Mitchell."
That's actually a point I've made myself about that match in Carlow and the way we were outnumbered for support.

There was a massive Offaly bandwagon at the time, that's more or less faded away since then. And that's not a criticism of Offaly. We'd be the very same in the same circumstances.

But if we'd been playing Kilkenny or Dublin or Galway in that final, then having the very same number of Wexford supporters there would have meant we'd have been the majority of the crowd. And we'd have come away clapping ourselves on the back about how "great" we are, and how we'd outnumbered the opposition maybe two to one. Despite the fact that there wouldn't have been a single extra Wexford supporter in the place!

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3492 - 17/04/2026 00:09:54    2666859

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Replying To Formertownie:  "Was at that match in carlow we were nt that far away from winning it tbh .
I think its a bit unfair to say support was poor . That was offalys generational team and the whole of offaly got behind them . They did nt exactly support their senior team at that stage its a bit like every successful team the bandwagon was full . Like ourselves they were starved of success to be honest having watched them u21 v us a few times and they were dreaful before this team came along they dud nt even look fit for hurling a full gzme at thst stage . .
If we felt we could win an all ireland at underage I m sure out bandwagon would be overflowing too especially if we had few marquee players like screeny and Mitchell."
In 2019 we won the Leinster minor Championship, beating Dublin, the then defending champions, in the semifinal. There werent too many came early to Croke Park to see all the minor final against Kilkenny. But the crowd coming in for the Senior final definitely helped our lads over the line in that game.

There wasnt a huge number of Wexford people at the subsequent AIMSF against Galway.

In 2024 we had beaten Kilkenny pretty well in the group stages and hammered Cork, knocking them out. There werent many Wexford people in Semple Stadium to see the lads lose to Clare. We had a marquee forward that year, Sean O'Brien was still u16 and was the top scorer in the AI Minor Hurling Championship that year, despite us only making it to that quarterfinal.

I dont agree that our bandwagon would be overflowing. Maybe if we reached an AI Minor final, but definitely not before.

Let's face facts, there are alot of people in Wexford who claim to be great hurling men and women, but most of them dont even bother going to support our county teams in their games, let alone get involved as coaches, referees or administrators at club or county level.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19243 - 17/04/2026 09:25:09    2666881

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Replying To Doylerwex:  "We don't need to worry about who their players are. Ours are better. We just need to worry about our own intensity and the hurling will take care of itself."
Just on this, most of the Kildare lads who beat us at u20 in 2021 reached a Leinster minor semifinal in 2019. Qualter and Melville scored heavily that year. And in 2021 our minors only beat theirs by 4 or 5 points. Taking them for granted would be a huge mistake.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19243 - 17/04/2026 09:35:12    2666883

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Replying To Viking66:  "In 2019 we won the Leinster minor Championship, beating Dublin, the then defending champions, in the semifinal. There werent too many came early to Croke Park to see all the minor final against Kilkenny. But the crowd coming in for the Senior final definitely helped our lads over the line in that game.

There wasnt a huge number of Wexford people at the subsequent AIMSF against Galway.

In 2024 we had beaten Kilkenny pretty well in the group stages and hammered Cork, knocking them out. There werent many Wexford people in Semple Stadium to see the lads lose to Clare. We had a marquee forward that year, Sean O'Brien was still u16 and was the top scorer in the AI Minor Hurling Championship that year, despite us only making it to that quarterfinal.

I dont agree that our bandwagon would be overflowing. Maybe if we reached an AI Minor final, but definitely not before.

Let's face facts, there are alot of people in Wexford who claim to be great hurling men and women, but most of them dont even bother going to support our county teams in their games, let alone get involved as coaches, referees or administrators at club or county level."
And I know this is a point I've made before, but thinking of 2019 Leinster Final day still annoys me. All those videos that were doing the rounds on Facebook and the like of the big numbers of "great" Wexford supporters queuing up to get in half an hour before the senior final. Not one of these "great" supporters had bothered going in early to see the Minors. Apparently more important to skull a few pints in the pub first.

Yes, you would have had to be in very early, as the Joe McDonagh Cup Final was being played in between the minor and senior finals. But they sell beer in Croke Park too. You could have gone in to see the minors, had a few scoops around the back of the stand during the Joe McDonagh if you really had no interest in it, and then gone back out to see the seniors.

Actually had a pint during the first half of the Joe McDonagh myself :)

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3492 - 17/04/2026 11:35:09    2666897

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Replying To Viking66:  "Just on this, most of the Kildare lads who beat us at u20 in 2021 reached a Leinster minor semifinal in 2019. Qualter and Melville scored heavily that year. And in 2021 our minors only beat theirs by 4 or 5 points. Taking them for granted would be a huge mistake."
Melville not starting, Travers in for Dowling on the team I guessed a few days ago

ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1056 - 17/04/2026 12:04:20    2666903

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "That's actually a point I've made myself about that match in Carlow and the way we were outnumbered for support.

There was a massive Offaly bandwagon at the time, that's more or less faded away since then. And that's not a criticism of Offaly. We'd be the very same in the same circumstances.

But if we'd been playing Kilkenny or Dublin or Galway in that final, then having the very same number of Wexford supporters there would have meant we'd have been the majority of the crowd. And we'd have come away clapping ourselves on the back about how "great" we are, and how we'd outnumbered the opposition maybe two to one. Despite the fact that there wouldn't have been a single extra Wexford supporter in the place!"
What an awful week that was following Wexford teams as the Westmeath game was the following Sunday , but didn't the Offaly CB buy up a load of tickets? We probably could've won that night if I remember correctly, had a chance to go level with a point with not a lot of time on the clock left and went for goal instead.

OpenStandWall (Wexford) - Posts: 347 - 17/04/2026 13:17:32    2666914

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No Cian Byrne or Simon Donohoe in the squad

Fanning
Carley
Conor Foley
Shane Reck
Damien Reck
Richie Lawlor
O'Leary
Hearne
Wickham
Banville
Chin
James Byrne
Kevin Foley
Redmond
Roche

Would be surprised if we started that XV

Bench looks decent enough too; Jacko, Jippo, Rowley, David Codd, and Higgins all there

ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1056 - 17/04/2026 13:28:48    2666917

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Team Named

Mark Fanning
Darragh Carley
Conor Foley
Shane Reck
Damien Reck
Richie Lawlor
Diarmuid O'Leary
Conor Hearne
Eamon Wicham
Ross Banville
Lee Chin
James Byrne
Kevin Foley
Jack Redmond
Simon Roche

Eamon Wicham and Ross Banville are a bit of a suprise, no? Any chance it's a bit of a dummy-ish team? Jippo starts and Foley goes to midfield? Also Jacko in for Banville?

Fulgrim (Wexford) - Posts: 280 - 17/04/2026 13:31:47    2666919

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Replying To Viking66:  "Just on this, most of the Kildare lads who beat us at u20 in 2021 reached a Leinster minor semifinal in 2019. Qualter and Melville scored heavily that year. And in 2021 our minors only beat theirs by 4 or 5 points. Taking them for granted would be a huge mistake."
I understand that Viking but it's the day before the championship and our backs are against the wall even within the county. Prepared is one thing but fear is another. I'm simply trying to be positive about our ambitions. I accept we can get caught. My point is if we bring our best performance we've nothing to fear.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4449 - 17/04/2026 13:36:34    2666922

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Team named. Somehow think we may see a few changes before throw in

Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 972 - 17/04/2026 13:52:31    2666925

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