Hurlers 2023

Just think they deserve their own thread and recogition.

Guessing final at weekend will be in Thurles against Offaly. Remarkable progress, continued growth, and improvement on the basics to get where they are.

Step up if promoted might be huge but I think would be absolutely worth it on the continued journey. Well done to all involved and best of luck.

Wonder where people think they can go next, and how far that journey can go?

TommyKeegan wrote:

Just think they deserve their own thread and recogition.

Guessing final at weekend will be in Thurles against Offaly. Remarkable progress, continued growth, and improvement on the basics to get where they are.

Step up if promoted might be huge but I think would be absolutely worth it on the continued journey. Well done to all involved and best of luck.

Wonder where people think they can go next, and how far that journey can go?

I think the big issue could be the over reliance on Naas. They are doing great work in that club but the conveyor won't last forever. We badly need the likes of Celbridge to start producing players again which I think is happening.

Great to see a few new clubs within reach of entering senior adult teams in the county too. Cappagh, TMH and Rathangan for example.

I think they will beat Offaly with a little to spare. The weekend rest will have done them good while Offaly had a tough match again Kerry.

I reckon we were always a hurling county. We just didn't know it.

Really believe that teams coming up from Div2A to Div1B should be protected from relegation for a minimum of 2 years. Huge Step up to play Tipp, Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford. A Completely different level. Not sure we are ready to compete at that level without becoming a yo-yo county being 1B and 2A. A similar scenario to the Joe McDonagh and Christy Ring Cup over the last couple of years. Won the Christy Ring, then up to Joe McDonagh, back to Christy Ring and won it. This year back to the Joe McDonagh. A good run in the McDonagh Cup and even reach the final would be a good achievement. Need to consolidate and then push on in the next couple of years. Great win tonight by the County U17's over Carlow 3-23 to 1-9. We seemed to have now turned the tide against the likes of Carlow, Kerry and Meath who were our bogey teams for years and have now pushed on and left them in our dust. Next up is to compete with and regularly beat Offaly, Laois, Westmeath and Antrim. All this before trying to break into the Top 10 teams. Like Football team fortunes go in cycles. Its all the about having the ability to build a belief over time that we can compete at the upper end and consolidate our position with the proper structures. Good coaching at all levels is the key to raise the standards and keep the trajectory going in the right direction. Serious work going on all around the county and its great to see more and more teams coming on board to enter teams at every level.

Good luck to the senior hurlers tomorrow. I'm jumping on the bandwagon and have my ticket for Portlaoise tomorrow. I hope I don't jink them
Cill Dara Abú! ️

Very disappointing end to the league. Really fancied them to do it. Ruined my weekend

Very disappointing, and in control at the break. Hopefully irks them enough to kick on for the Joe McDonagh which is fast incoming and won't be easy.

A combination of poor wides and poor tactics turned the game. Playing a sweeper for 20 mins of the second half handed the initiative to Offaly. It didn't work as Offaly took the sweeper out of the game and played around it. Changing the system to late and waiting to long to bring fresh players in meant by the time we changed the flow of the game in the last 10 mins it was too late. Played very well in the first half but all the wides really cost us in the end. Really positive signs and hopefully a good run in the Joe McDonagh Cup. Great to see such a large Kildare following turn out to support the team. For many I guess it was their first taste of an inter county Kildare hurling game. Long may it continue.

The free taker should have been changed. That was naive.

My fear is this will set them back. Not sure how long they will be able to hold on to Herrity either. I think some of the bigger counties will come calling. He has more than proved his abilities.

Carlow  

I think the fear that the momentum we were after building up has been lost. I think we will find it hard to keep Herity too. He is on an upward trajectory. Offaly now next and we really need massive result. We know we can beat so lets give it a good go.

lily92 wrote:

lily92 wrote:

Carlow  

Offaly    

Kerry      

did any of you attend the league final and/or a championship game?
what the fook happened?

Hands upI was at the league final. David Herity didn't know what he was unleashing asking the football crowd to get behind the hurlers

Was it case of we took league seriously and the rest didn't?

TommyKeegan wrote:

Was it case of we took league seriously and the rest didn't?

Not sure Tom to be honest. I think they are two vastly different levels. Ok same teams for the best part but this is the first experience of the McDonagh for a lot of these lads. I certainly think that some of the Div 2A teams are happy to stay there for the moment and not have to go into 1B and ship a pile of hidings. They then target the McDonagh to do well in. So yeh you could have a point there. In reality would it have done us much good in the long run getting promoted to 1B this year?

Safety has to be the main priority now in the McDonagh. I think if that were achieved it would be a successful year all in all. Maybe we were a little naive going full pelt at the league and the season has burnt out a little.

Do you see Herrity staying next year? He might well be tempted by a better playing club job even.

I think if others wanted Herrity, he would already be gone. I haven't seen a queue forming as of yet. As I stated previously I thought the tactics in the league final cost us the game. It might not be fashionable to question his position but I think there are questions to be asked about team selection and tactics. I would however very much agree with you that maintaining Joe McDonagh cup status is very important. Stepping up to Div 1b was always going to be a step too far. We need to consolidate in Div 2A before trying to push on. We need to be beating the likes of Offaly, Kerry, Down, Carlow etc on a regular basis in both the championship and league before we could contemplate pushing on for Div 1B.

Win or draw a must against Down to stay in Joe McDonagh for next year. In fairness, Down at home on the final day is the one game you want to determine this. If we can't do that then dust ourselves down and go again next year.

Dropping back to the Christy Ring would be a disaster imo. We need to learn from 2023 and take it into 2024. Looks like we put all our eggs in the Div2a basket and put our championship status in jeopardy. Offaly, Kerry and Carlow seem to have used the league to blood players and came out a lot stronger in the Joe McDonagh. We drew or beat all 3 in the league. Tables were well and truely turned when it mattered in the championship. We need to consolidate in 2A and the Joe McDonagh for 2024. Playing, competing and beating these teams on a consistent basis will not happen overnight. Time to consolidate before the next push can happen.

As this is the small ball thread...it's great to see the camogie women kicking up a fuss as it seems to be warranted.

Flamingo wrote:

As this is the small ball thread...it's great to see the camogie women kicking up a fuss as it seems to be warranted.

Absolutely agree 100%. No team or group of players should be treated with such disrespect no matter what the code. The sooner the better they are under the GAA umbrella. The majority of this crap seems to happen in camogie and the LGFA. I had heard there had been issues with Kildare Camogie over the last numbers of years and at one point they were not able to appoint a county committee due to the BS that was going on. Centralized fixtures, facilities and funding needs to happen as a priority. I know we often give out about the CB but to pull out of an intercounty competition and inform the player by Whatsapp, you could not make it up.

Under 16s free into Carlow v Offaly in the JmcD but a fiver for Kildare v Down in Hawkfield. They will struggle to get a good crowd due to the clash with the Under 20s so any little incentive would have helped. Pity.