any news on new players on either panel for new year yet ? hop to see some new blood on panels , as we all no players on a winter {gym} break at moment , but managers must be busy un~earthing players ......on a seperate note watch youtube videos about tullamore hurling season its well worth a look .great memories .. any body no if a dvd of county finals available ?

townblue (Offaly) - Posts: 35 - 15/12/2009 21:28:03    514999

Unfortunately i have had to divide my views over more than one message.
I have given my 2 cents on each of the individuals selected. The official squad is as follows

S Dooley(Tullamore): in my view one of our best forwards. i'll be honest i thought he was in there because if his father when Joe took over, but has made me take it all back. He has been very consistent and is a definite starter in my team.

J Keane(Tullamore): Is one called in because of Tullamores success, but in my view deserves his place. Was a regular on the underage hurling scene and showed determination. He has plenty of athletic ability as he has proved with the footballers and even though he wouldn't be in my starting 15, he wont be to far away and will probably get a few games in the Walsh Cup to see how he goes.

S Kelly(Tullamore): I'll admit i dont know a lot about this chap but again brought in due to Tullamores success which i cant argue with. Have heard good things about him so another who deserves a shot after a very solid club campaign.

S Egan (Tullamore): very talented player who should have been brought in earlier, has always played well against my own club in a tullamore team that struggled in previous years.

D Currams(Kilcormac/K): Was a great underage prospect at minor and made the step up to senior and going into his third campaign at still a young age of 21. He has done reasonably ok but more will be expected of him this year i think. Needs to get more consistent with his scoring.

C Mahon(Kilcormac/K): Totally disagree with his selection. In my view he is very over-rated. at best he's a reasonable club hurler. has been in the squad for the past 2 seasons also nad as far as i can see has been given every opportunity and done nothing. his hurling ability has to be questioned i think.

G Healion (Kilcormac/K): Deserves his spot in the squad i think, like Mahon dosent set the world alight with his skill but when given a job to do he usually does an ok job.

B Carroll(Coolderry): Is probably our most gifted hurler, his accuracy in taking scores is second to none. Not convinced by his free taking and would be happy to see Dooley given a chance at that maybe. Unfortunately he has a tendency to sulk a bit if things are going against him which is his main downfall. But all in all if Offaly are to do anything this year they need Brian Carroll to be firing on all cylinders.

K Brady (Coolderry): Definitly our most consistent backsman of the last few seasons, clears and endless amount of ball in almost every game. Wing back is his best position and is an essential part of our strongest line i feel.

J Brady (Coolderry): Got left out in the cold a few seasons back and has upped his game since. A similar player to Healion but has a lot more hurling in him and would be my pick at cantre forward as a good target man.

C Parlon (Coolderry): Another grat underage player, but injury has stopped his progress in the last few years. deserves his spot in the squad. when on form he can be dangerous for any backsman.

O Kealey (Kinnitty): Lightning speed, and very good for Kinnitty in the last 2 seasons. Not sure if he's up to senior though, but i would still agree with his selection.

J Rigney (Kinnitty): Just about warrents a place in the squad i think. Like Mahon he has been given every opportunity to play, but has never really delivered. Probably has more talent a nd determination than Mahon but will have to show a bit more this season to cement his place in the squad.

J Dempsey (Kinnitty): A great prospect in my eyes, should be first choice. A great shotstopper and has come into the picture at the University of Limerick now and cant be overlooked.

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 116 - 20/12/2009 09:34:36    518813

D Hayden (Birr): Has speed, skill and determination. Droppedaway for a few seasons, but has been rejuvinated since birrs Leinster final victory a few seasons ago. He is coming back to his best of late though and should get in our best starting 15.

P Cleary (Birr): A shining light at underage hurling, was the leader on almost all his underage teams. Sadly hasn't fulfilled this at senior county level. But had a reasonable year last year and is in with a shout for cornor back.

M Verney (Birr): Another one who will be considered for the corner back spot, but needs to up his game. has great dedication to the game but for some reasons seems to get caught at crucial moments in games. but is still a good hurler and like Cleary should get his chance

R Hanniffy (Birr): definite starter, One of our best players but needs to beome more of a leader for the rest of the team

S Wynne (St Rynagh's): a good hurler from a struggling club. is another who will be considered for corner back. worth his place in the panel.

D Horan (St Rynagh's): Will be a huge boost to have this man in the panel again. Injury and traveling ment he has been out of the panel for a while. Can play backs and forwards and is effective at both. definite starter

E Murphy(Seir Kieran): Has been playing great stuff for clareen and deserves to be in the squad. Could be a dark horse to play championship. would like to see him get a few games in the Walsh cup.

J Bergin (Seir Kieran): Will have to up his game this year. another who suffers from what seem to be confidence issues but has hurling to burn and can take any fullback to the cleaners if he's in the right frame of mind.

D Kenny (Belmont): Certain to be our full back. has played some great games here and filled a hole that had been lacking really since kevin kinahan retired all those years ago. had a bad game against Wexford last year but was just back from injusy so will excuse that one.

F Daly (Brosna Gaels): Dont know a lot about this man, but apparently has been playing good stuff for brosna gaels and deserves his shot.

D Franks (Carrickshock): One of our best hurlers and has had some inspirational performances. definite starter

D Molloy (Shamrocks): Hurling to burn and has played well at the top level, but like Bergin can play awful when in the wrong frame of mind and has a tendency to lose his temper.

G Oakley (Carrig & Riverstown): the years are probably starting to catch up with him, but is the best man for the centre back berth. Is a great leader on the field and finishes off our strongest line with brady and Horan.

D Morkan (Shinrone): talented hurler and deserves his place in the squad, should get a a couple of games in Walsh Cup and League.

B Murphy (Ballyskenach): definite starter, and always gives his all. should be considered for captain.

E Kelly (Lusmagh): Good shot stopper and never has a bad game, but Dempsey has his position wrapped up.

personally i think its not a bad panel, with a good blend and mix of players from a lot of clubs. However i do have my reservations about a couple of players who i feel just arent up to the mark. Conor Mahon just hasn't stepped up in my eyes, he is a good club hurler at best and no where near good enough to be considered for the panel let alone the starting 15. Rigney too is a limited player, but is probably worth his place in the squad. although i would have liked to see Joe Dooley bring back in Barry Teehan and Brendan O'Meara from Coolderry for back up. I know Teehan dropped himself but is a still a good hurler. I think Daniel Hoctor from Shinrone could be disappointed not to have been looked at again and also Alan Egan should certainly be in the squad. Not sure what the story is with Cathal Horan, but if fit would be in my squad also.

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 116 - 20/12/2009 09:36:45    518814

My starting 15 would be

1. J Dempsey
2. D Franks
3. D Kenny
4. AN OTHER
5. K Brady
6. G Oakley
7. D Horan
8. B Murphy
9. D Hayden
10. B. Carroll
11. J Brady
12. R Hanniffy
13. S Dooley
14. J Bergin
15. D Molloy

The corner back spot is hard to fill as there are a number of contenders and none really stand out. I've gone for Molloy but only just and if we were struggling up front bringing Horan could be an option. But i would prefer to give the likes of Kealy, Parlon, even Daly a go before that happens.

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 116 - 20/12/2009 09:37:44    518816

just want to say thanks to wing back for that. fair play to ya mate,couldnt have been easy to do it. i like a lot of lads would go to the offaly games but would know very little about the lads playing. thaks mate.

*ATT. Townblue, on a seperate note - Offaly , not ofally!!!!!!!!

Rhodejim (Offaly) - Posts: 2888 - 21/12/2009 11:57:50    519485

we will struggle either way lads

b.i.b (Carlow) - Posts: 70 - 21/12/2009 19:37:05    519924

I can understand that we cant be confident, but i think we should at least be optimistic. I know we did'nt excel in the championship this year, but in fairness we achieved our number 1 goal wich was too win division 2 and regain division 1 status. Looking at our opening games in the league we have 2 tough ones away to Cork and Kilkenny and although i cant see us upsetting these super powers of the game, if we can put in a few constructive performances in these games, it should put us in good stead for our home games and the rest of the season. I am optimistic and even hopeful that we can take Dublin and particularly Limerick at home and i dont think getting a result against Waterford is beyond us either. But if we can get a couple of results i think we will retain our divsion 1 status and if we could it would give the team a terrific boost going into the Leinster Championship in which we have got the most favourable draw we've had in a number of years. Many of my friends from other hurling counties have called me a dreamer when it comes to discussing Offalys chances every year. Collectively as a team they are still very young and are much the same team that competed in the last 2 campaigns in which they are sure to have gained experience. Going back to 2008 basically the same team put in a very convincing display against Limerick (many will argue it was a poor Limerick team, however it was pretty much the same Limerick side that competed in the All Ireland Final the year previous, with almost the same starting 15) and they came a lot closer than what the Deise(who went onto the all Ireland final that year) would like to admit of causing an upset had it not been for a very poor start and a lack of experience in the last 10 minutes when the game was there for the taking. Its these sort of performances, those glimmers of hope that I can see this crop of players restoring pride to Offaly hurling. Joe Dooley has yet to convince me that he is a great manager, but so far he has done a reasonable job and steadied the mess that the previous manager left the moral of the team in. If Dooley can improve his one on one confidence building with players (like Bergin and Molloy who when on form along with Carroll can cause serious problem for any backline) I beleive that a Leinster Final spot is not beyond us.

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 116 - 22/12/2009 09:59:28    520322

Who do you mean by "we" there bib/Bowsey? Carlow which you have a syour county or Laois your actual county or Offaly?

getonwithit (Carlow) - Posts: 527 - 22/12/2009 22:43:18    521050

whatever chance you have we in carlow have none we havnt one decent footballer

b.i.b (Carlow) - Posts: 70 - 28/12/2009 17:31:16    521657

fair play wing back ,, thanks for that excellent response , 2010 is the year hopefully we have a decent league that will carry on into the leinster, seperate note will those carlow fellas stay on yer own site , have yer tiff on yer own site !!!!

townblue (Offaly) - Posts: 35 - 28/12/2009 20:24:28    521722

Please note B.I.B is actually a sad little man from laois who keeps changing his username and county in order to have a go at Carlow, who has obviously deeply affected him badly, prob during his childhood, the scars seem that deep.

getonwithit (Carlow) - Posts: 527 - 28/12/2009 20:41:43    521731

whats your u21 team like next year were playing you in first round there is high hopes here in carlow for this team but we have been here before and me thinks it will be another false dawn

b.i.b (Carlow) - Posts: 70 - 29/12/2009 16:06:13    521992

Bowsey is Back, I'd say Carlow and Offaly will be a cracker with us to shade it on our way to the Leinster title.

CARPS (Carlow) - Posts: 832 - 30/12/2009 19:21:29    522558

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North London Shamrocks are a very progressive club and reached the London intermediate football final in 2008 where we were beaten in a replay. We have a thriving underage club and we entered a reserve team into competition for the first time this year. We're also a very friendly bunch of lads and always welcome new faces down to the club. If you're interested in playing Gaelic football and expanding your social network please get in touch. You can contact the club by email at [email protected] or by logging on to the website www.theshamrocks.co.uk for further contact details.

NL_Shamrocks (UK) - Posts: 95 - 05/01/2010 15:30:13    524933

Is anyone going to post a hurling team up here or what, even whet you think the best starting 15 will be. Give me something to read anyway!!

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 116 - 09/01/2010 08:51:17    528589

1..mullins
..2 franks 3.. kenney 4..s egan
....5 cleary 6. hanniffy 7..k brady
8..murphy 9..kelly
10..dooley 11.. bergin 12molloy
13..currams 14.. gorman 15.hayden

try for league ,i no loads of names left out but its a start ,any improvements people

townblue (Offaly) - Posts: 35 - 10/01/2010 12:53:43    529247

1. Dempsey - reckon Mullins will be back for championship
2. Verney
3. kenny
4. Franks
5. Hayden
6. Cleary
7. K.Brady
8. Hanniffy
9. Murphy
10. Carroll
11. Bergin
12. Molloy
13. Dooley
14. Parlon
15. Currams

Subs.
J.Brady, Healion, Morkan, G. Oakley, Rigney, Kealey, Kelly, Keane, Egan......

offalyhurling (Offaly) - Posts: 32 - 11/01/2010 08:49:11    529667

lads whats the story with not havin diarmuid horan in either line-up, although am happy not to see Rigney or Mahon in either team.

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 116 - 11/01/2010 10:08:50    529684

actually forgot about horan and mahon.... think horan is better off being used as forward, maybe in the corner.... Mahon may not be the most gifted hurler, but his work rate is second to none... some of the others could take a leaf out of his book instead of sulking when things not going there way....

offalyhurling (Offaly) - Posts: 32 - 13/01/2010 12:34:49    531768

some win today lads your on the way back

nowins (Carlow) - Posts: 102 - 17/01/2010 15:58:49    535194