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International Rules - 2 Like(s)
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Most GAA players now start at 5/6 in their clubs. Its something similar in OZ.
So Kobe is starting at least 10 years behind his team mates on the skills of the oval ball.
Thats a lot of hours to put in to catch up - and most Irish lads never do.
So they end up being half backs (winning breaks and "tagging" the oppositions best players. Becoming "water carriers" in an inferior game (IMO).
It is a shame for GAA that we lose some of our very best footballers when they chose to be average water carriers on a professional team - unlikely to gain any money outside the sport - as sponsors don't really pay up to be associated with average players." Would you start and do a count of how many elite gaelic players go to the AFL. Most players who go are back inside 2 years. Lads spend longer away on college erasmus. Fair play to any lad or lassie that can get a free couple of years enjoying the Aussie life.
ORIELMAN85 (National) - 10/08/2026 23:26:27
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Westmeath Football thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Claretandblue: "It's far from a perfect structure and that's been well commented on here but what has been very noticeable in the opening two rounds has been the intensity and championship type tempo of the games. Teams know that losing one match could have a huge effect on qualifying so there's far greater urgency in the games. Caulry vs Garrycastle on Friday night was virtually a knockout game with both sides having lost their opening match and with tough games to come. The game was played at a great level of intensity with Caulry very unlucky. In Section A a side that could reach a county final will be eliminated, three draws out of six matches played suggests teams realise the importance of not losing early on, structure likely to be tweaked again next year but doubtful if scenario of four teams qualifying out of six will be reintroduced. Teams qualifying with one win out of five games hardly what supporters wish to see." I'd agree with your last sentence, but I doubt very much if that was the main reason forchanging the system. I think most people would believe that the clubs that supported the change, some of whom were well represented on the county executive, were motivated mainly by self-interest.
midlands (National) - 11/08/2026 09:07:00
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Westmeath Football thread - 2 Like(s)
Condolences to Mark McHugh on the sad news his brother was killed in a Car Crash in Cavan yesterday, a great footballer himself was Jim.
RIP
Corofin123 (National) - 11/08/2026 09:48:15
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"It's Worrying For Hurling!" - 2 Like(s)
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Hurling also has 30+ counties entering its competitions.
Football is just less exclusive.
Football has been changing its championship since 2001. Changing its rules to try to make it a better watch as well as attractive to more people - which it is.
The only significant change to hurling was the round robin provincial system, which was introduced in a panic as a response to the football super 8's (which only lasted 2 years).
Hurling only copies parts of what goes on in football. I'd say its safe to say that the last great innovation in hurling (rules or structures) that was conceived, trailed and implemented by the hurling counties themselves (and later copied by football) was the All Ireland B championship in 1974. An innovation that removed 3 counties from the Leinster championship (Wicklow, Kildare, Westmeath). When football introduce an All Ireland B competition in 1990, no county left their provincial championship.
The reality is in 24 of the 32 counties , football is king. Even when football counties like Dublin, Galway and Offaly win a provincial or All Ireland - it doesn't seriously impact the development of hurling in those counties. Others that do well for a while - Kerry, Roscommon, Kildare, Meath, Westmeath, Carlow, Down, Derry etc - havent been able to challenge that.
In the large urban areas - Galway, Dublin city, Sligo, Athlone, Belfast, Drogheda, Dundalk, Derry, Enniskillen etc - hurling has made minimal inroads in 140 years.
With the current demographic swing to the eastern seaboard and Dublin area, unless hurling bucks up its ideas, it will go the way of other GAA sports that have all but disappeared. (Rounders and handball)." Again, an alternate view -
Hurling remains strong and popular in all the areas where it's always been strong and popular, and where people remain willing to develop and promote it.
It remains weak or even non-existent in all the places where people have little or no interest in doing anything to foster it in the first place. Won't even agree to basic Go Games for Under 10s!
As I keep pointing out - all the resources and supports in the world won't bring on hurling in those places if the local clubs don't want to work at it anyway. Horse, water, and drink.
Pikeman96 (National) - 11/08/2026 14:08:03
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Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To gaelsboy: "Think mossie is retired now alright but if they can get out of their group I'm sure he could be got back, they need everyone they can get out" I doubt he's retired so millions. Thanks. Sure he's a young man with a young family please. He'd surely have to work for a number of years yet please and thank you.
bláthach (National) - 11/08/2026 13:05:00
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Galway Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
If ever there is a statement "how the mighty have fallen " it could sum up Portumna!
I know it's early days in the Club Championship BUT, it already looks like Portumna will be in a Relegation battle to avoid dropping from Intermediate to 3rd tier Junior with most likely Mullagh, Killimor and Rahoon-Newcastle.
4 group bottom teams I expected to be these 4 Clubs.
Surely Rahoon-Newcastle or Killimor have to be certs for the drop? Mullagh would be best out of those 4 and will survive.
Could the once mighty Portumna drop?
They got hammered 12pts by the mighty men from Meelick-Eyrecourt, Ahasragh-Fohenagh will also hammer them and Kinvara should beat them too by a few points.
katser (National) - 11/08/2026 19:39:23
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Monaghan GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Monaghanmad123: "Scotstown had 4 players on their junior side the other night who have started at least 6 senior championship finals each. 2 of them being man of the match in different finals. No club in junior is able to compete with that quality never mind the young lads who are aiming to break into their Ulster winning panel" It is a total farce. Been going on in Scotstown for year. I have heard that Truagh may have a little problem with their selection from the weekend. If clubs want to have 2nd teams in Junior, panels should have to be named at the start of the season with no movement allowed through the year. The carry on that is happening is the same as if Seans or Blackhill were able to bring in players from Harps and Blaney respectively during the season. The whole thing is a joke.
ORIELMAN85 (National) - 10/08/2026 23:19:14
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"It's Worrying For Hurling!" - 1 Like(s)
Replying To CastleBravo: "I agree with this, the "hurling needs to be promoted" line always seems to boil down to 2 arguments;
1. That 10s of thousands of people in non-hurling counties would actually dearly love to play and support hurling but as soon as anyone in these counties gets onto their club or county board they forget what hurling is and repress it instead. Why this grá for hurling is invisible is a strange one to make sense of.
2. The Liam Griffin theory that hurling isn't popular in these counties because their populations are just too thick to realise it's the greatest game on earth. The idea that large numbers of people know exactly what hurling is but have little interest in playing it is simply unthinkable- it's obviously just incompetence by the GAA to sell it to them." Regarding point number 2.
I grew up in a part of Galway city where hurling is almost non existent. I grew up believing it was a sport that,like much of irish culture,was for rural dwellers and premier league soccer was the only show in town. Once I started following hurling i discovered it is in fact, the greatest sport on earth :),in my opinion anyways.
It doesn't mean theyre thick obviously, but there are huge numbers of people all over ireland who would discover a love of hurling if it was fostered properly but as there is no culture of it they remain totally aloof.
Seniorleague (National) - 11/08/2026 18:58:28
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International Rules - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Seanfan: "Some people are addicted to disaster stories...
Like yer man Hanrahan in the song...
"We'll all be ruined says Hanrahan before the year is out"" It's also funny how the "The best thing a player can do for his reputation is get injured" applies to getting signed by the AFL. Every player signed by the AFL is apparently destined to become the greatest GAA player in history who would have lead their county to generational dominance if only they'd stayed.
But when a lot of these same players come home 2-3 years later they have a regular spread of careers varying from unremarkable to good.
CastleBravo (National) - 11/08/2026 16:00:11
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"It's Worrying For Hurling!" - 1 Like(s)
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Hurling also has 30+ counties entering its competitions.
Football is just less exclusive.
Football has been changing its championship since 2001. Changing its rules to try to make it a better watch as well as attractive to more people - which it is.
The only significant change to hurling was the round robin provincial system, which was introduced in a panic as a response to the football super 8's (which only lasted 2 years).
Hurling only copies parts of what goes on in football. I'd say its safe to say that the last great innovation in hurling (rules or structures) that was conceived, trailed and implemented by the hurling counties themselves (and later copied by football) was the All Ireland B championship in 1974. An innovation that removed 3 counties from the Leinster championship (Wicklow, Kildare, Westmeath). When football introduce an All Ireland B competition in 1990, no county left their provincial championship.
The reality is in 24 of the 32 counties , football is king. Even when football counties like Dublin, Galway and Offaly win a provincial or All Ireland - it doesn't seriously impact the development of hurling in those counties. Others that do well for a while - Kerry, Roscommon, Kildare, Meath, Westmeath, Carlow, Down, Derry etc - havent been able to challenge that.
In the large urban areas - Galway, Dublin city, Sligo, Athlone, Belfast, Drogheda, Dundalk, Derry, Enniskillen etc - hurling has made minimal inroads in 140 years.
With the current demographic swing to the eastern seaboard and Dublin area, unless hurling bucks up its ideas, it will go the way of other GAA sports that have all but disappeared. (Rounders and handball)." And in any case its the GAAs responsibility to protect and promote hurling. Not the responsibility of "hurling" itself.
The biggest problem is that there are too many half gael county boards in Ireland who arent doing their jobs properly!
Viking66 (National) - 11/08/2026 13:38:42
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Donegal GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
May I express my condolences to The McHugh family and all the Donegal Gaa family on this very traumatic and extreme sad time.May James rest in peace.
CiarraiMick (National) - 11/08/2026 12:48:27
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International Rules - 1 Like(s)
Replying To ORIELMAN85: "Would you start and do a count of how many elite gaelic players go to the AFL. Most players who go are back inside 2 years. Lads spend longer away on college erasmus. Fair play to any lad or lassie that can get a free couple of years enjoying the Aussie life." Some people are addicted to disaster stories...
Like yer man Hanrahan in the song...
"We'll all be ruined says Hanrahan before the year is out"
Seanfan (National) - 11/08/2026 12:03:45
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Anti GAA Agenda - 1 Like(s)
Replying To GreenandRed: "Tell us about the great marketing the GAA used to do for intercounty hurling and football in August and September?" The people that watched big inter County GAA games on TV in August and September are still watching the big games in June and July.
Meanwhile in August and September 32 Counties will run Club Championships in an organised manner unlike the hit and miss disorganised depends on the County team fiasco that were the norm.
Seanfan (National) - 11/08/2026 12:01:05
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Neutral here but I can't get my head around the structure change.
Surely if you wanted 3 coming out of each group you keep the 2 groups of 6 but have 3 from the current Section A and 3 from the Current Section B in each group?
So for example;
Group A:
The Downs
Shamrocks
Garrycastle
Athlone
Tyrrellspass
Killucan
Group B:
Lomans
Kinnegad
Caulry
Tubberclair
Moate
Tang
Winner of each group straight through to semi finals. 2 v 3 from each group in quarter finals. Bottom of each play each other in relegation playoff
Ros13 (National) - 11/08/2026 11:21:43
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Anti GAA Agenda - 1 Like(s)
Replying To BarneyGrant: "There's a huge market for televised sport. GAA in surrendering two prime months by curtailing championships has cut a switch for our own back.
The accountants only see the short term gain in freeing up event time.
And yes. The turkeys voted for Christmas.." Tell us about the great marketing the GAA used to do for intercounty hurling and football in August and September?
GreenandRed (National) - 11/08/2026 10:50:39
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International Rules - 1 Like(s)
Is it strange that some people, who are less than supportive of the LGFA, of the standard of ladies football and integration seem concerned about the state of intercounty LGFA because some of it's better players go and play in the AFLW?
GreenandRed (National) - 11/08/2026 10:46:47
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Corofin123: "Condolences to Mark McHugh on the sad news his brother was killed in a Car Crash in Cavan yesterday, a great footballer himself was Jim.
RIP" apologies, his uncle.
Corofin123 (National) - 11/08/2026 10:04:13
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Claretandblue: "It's far from a perfect structure and that's been well commented on here but what has been very noticeable in the opening two rounds has been the intensity and championship type tempo of the games. Teams know that losing one match could have a huge effect on qualifying so there's far greater urgency in the games. Caulry vs Garrycastle on Friday night was virtually a knockout game with both sides having lost their opening match and with tough games to come. The game was played at a great level of intensity with Caulry very unlucky. In Section A a side that could reach a county final will be eliminated, three draws out of six matches played suggests teams realise the importance of not losing early on, structure likely to be tweaked again next year but doubtful if scenario of four teams qualifying out of six will be reintroduced. Teams qualifying with one win out of five games hardly what supporters wish to see." How often did teams qualify with 1group win over the 10 years that the system was in? Not often I'd imagine. Now we have a system where the 9th best team qualify and the 4th, 5th and 6th are all out? I think supporters would much rather the old system, as clearly voiced on this forum all summer long.
tparker120 (National) - 11/08/2026 09:58:35
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