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Galway Hurling thread - 7 Like(s)

Replying To galwayforthecup:  "You are right to be sure.

I have looked back at the clip a number of times and from I can see, David Burke was standing his ground and the Dublin player Whitley actually ran into him and Whitley had his 2 legs off the ground while David Burke had his legs planted. David Burke was bracing himself for the impact and took just as much as a knock to the head as the Dublin player. That's what happens when two players collide. There is no rule to say that David Burke has to move out of the flight path of the Dublin player. If this was a camogie match, the free would have been for David Burke. I appreciate that the ref does not have the luxury of a replay but it took him a whole 16 seconds after the incident to flash the red card and a 3 second conversation with the linesman to finish David Burke sporting career and Galway's season. Sending off a player is a huge decision in any sport and David Burke deserved more than a 3 second chat with the linesman. It absolutely turned the game in Dublin's favour.
I would go so far as to say that this incident was contrived by Dublin.
The Sunday game is sickening to the stomach. Slowing down the clip to hang a decent man out..... but no one mentioned the fact that Buke was stationary and Whitley actually ran into him .....this all happens in seconds.... players act on instinct..... when you have a man thundering towards you and he off loads the ball milliseconds before he reaches you, a player is not going to instantly move out of your flight path.

There was no mention of the penalty that wasn't given. A penalty not given has way more impact than just the resulting goal..... its gives a team a huge lift and momentum...... in the same way the red card for Burke gave Dublin huge momentum. There was no mention of the rugby tackle on Johnny Glynn on the Sunday game either, moments after he entered the field the play. A tackle that was way more dangerous than the David Burke incident, leaving Johnny Glynn hospitalized and needing surgery on a damaged collar bone/AC joint. That incident was not accidental either. Too much of a co-incidence that 2 players contrived to finish Glynn's involvement minutes after he was introduced and the perpetrator got no card on any colour. No mention of the wide ball that Crummy was awarded a point for."
Ah here, this belongs in a conspiracy theory forum

The incident was not contrived by Dublin, that's tinfoil hattery at its finest. Whitely did throw the ball before contact and it's likely that his handpass been legal then the contact would have arrived on release instead of late. But the referee only gets one view. We ended up on the wrong side of a 50/50 call. It happens.

My issue is with the analysis, this nonsense of slowing down and looking at eyes etc, when it's apparent on first viewing the ball was thrown and that alters the timing of everything that came after. Not Whitely's fault for throwing it, nor the referee for missing it as he could only see it once and it happened quickly, but if this is what passes for 'analysis' these days it's best to turn the tv off at halftime to spare the ears.

The Glynn incident was bad luck, no more and no less. Very unfortunate for him and hopefully he recovers soon.

The penalty was a terrible call alright, it's ludicrous that it wasn't given, and Dublin did seem to benefit more than us from the 50/50 calls, though as the former Galway player near me said, it's a Munster referee, refereeing in Munster fashion, where the ball is thrown all the time' so I suppose it's no surprise. Maybe we didn't throw the ball enough ourselves.

The point call in the second half was ridiculous. If the linesman saw enough to intervene, he should have had the call over the umpire, there's no question he had a better view, if in doubt he'd surely have let it go without interjecting?

But overall while there were some questionable calls against us we weren't good enough on the day and we will have to take this on the chin, crying about it isn't going to help matters.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 27/05/2024 18:08:33

Galway Hurling thread - 5 Like(s)

Replying To clare_sparrow:  "Senior Quarter Finals
Turloughmore v Castlegar...........Turlough close
St.Thomas' v Cappataggle............Thomas's handy
Loughrea v Clarinbridge...............The Town handy
Sarsfields v Oranmore-Maree…..Oranmore close

Senior B Semi Finals
Mullagh v Liam Mellows............................................Mellows by about 45 points
Ahascragh-Fohenagh v Kilnadeema-Leitrim..........Kilnadeema

Intermediate Quarter Finals
I couldnt give a r@ts **** about them"
Bold to assume anyone gives a r@ts (what's wrong with 'rats'?) **** about your predictions either, son

Stool Pigeon (National) - 29/09/2023 20:57:45

Galway Vs Clare - 5 Like(s)

Replying To tommy k:  "I don't mind what way he lifts it as long as he does and I know he has a lot of skill as well as getting vital points in most games. The problem was he seemed to be very complacent / casual thinking the game was already in the bag and he fumbled it leading directly to a Clare score. There is no place for complacency at this stage of the championship - the team has to be ruthless (like the great KK teams from 2000 - 2015) and don't give the opposition chances to get back into it which unfortunately Galway did."
Kilkenny weren't always ruthless, there were plenty of games where they had to grind it out.

Funny you should mention complacency, it's not that many years ago KK were 10 points up n Galway with 10 to go and brought Shefflin on for a lap of honour. And proceeded to ship 3 goals in 5 minutes to draw the game.

Clare lost a handy lead in the MF, Wexford were 9 up on KK and lost, Galway did similar v KK and Clare, Waterford lost a big lead v Tipp, Cork were 6 clear with 10 to go yesterday and proceeded to lose. Apparently no lead is safe, complacency isn't an issue, unless every team suffers from it, games take on a life of their own. We have seen this on numerous occasions this year.

And David Burke has three All Stars in a row at midfield, he is one of the finest players Galway have ever produced and he is an outstanding captain. I don't think he needs any lectures from anyone here on how to carry out his business on the pitch. If he wants to jab lift then off with him. It's often the quickest way to secure possession and transfer a ball for a score but when it works nobody notices, they only whinge when it doesn't.

Stool Pigeon (Galway) - 30/07/2018 20:11:01

Galway Hurling thread - 5 Like(s)

Replying To Cockney_Cat:  "You're lucky to be playing us."
You make your own luck, son

Stool Pigeon (National) - 28/05/2023 21:16:59

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)

Replying To clare_sparrow:  "absolutely. I had to laugh driving through mullagh at the weekend all the flags and banners. Can you imagine the place if they ever actually got to a *real* county final.. haha."
What a lousy, mean - spirited take.

Mullagh got to a county final, the only one they could qualify for, like it or not, and surely having a bit of local hype and noise around the place is good for the area (I imagine, I haven't been there in a while) and what harm is it doing to you anyway?

Stool Pigeon (National) - 18/10/2023 10:33:45

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)

Replying To katser:  "Delighted Galway won, but could have easily lost it from being in a commanding position for majority of the game.
Missed penalty for Cork,playing with 14 for 2nd half,fitter team towards the finish, Galway playing with two sweepers and giving away lots of frees due to inviting on intense pressure because We hadn't our 6 forwards up front to win the ball.
When Cork went direct and scored the goal Galway had 11 players inside their own half. Then when Maher won the free Galway had 10 players inside the Cork half!
Winning, playing well and with extra player Galways tactics are let's keep two sweepers back and hold out!"
Jesus you're a dose and no mistake.

You must be the first and only person ever to be crying about a team that wins an All Ireland when they were claiming to support them.

'Delighted'

Indeed.

I'm sorry for your trouble.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 19/08/2025 13:06:12

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)
Well, that was certainly a collection of words that made no impact on me whatsoever, apart from his wish to not 'nail Pat Ryan or the players'. Which is fine if you're not going to be a hypocrite in the process.

I like how he refers to 'spoofery from planet punditry' though, that bit did make me smile, the total lack of self awareness of the man is something to behold.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 23/07/2025 13:17:57

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)

Replying To katser:  "Handy Semi Final for Loughrea this Weekend they shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with Slaughtneil!
Turlough, the Bridge, Thomas' even Cappy would beat Slaughtneil.
No pressure on the town as this is a fairly routine exercise!!!"
No doubt you'd have been trumpeting similar sentiments in 2022 when Toms came up against Dunloy.

And lost.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 17/12/2025 17:54:00

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)

Replying To BostonGuy:  "But Tampa didn't win and they have regressed since. You just made my point for me, skilled athletes playing to a system can sustain success, one will not succeed without the other. New England never had many players who got into the hall of fame, their stats not great but as a unit they won super bowls. Brady was a vital cog in a system that did this. Brady was a 5th round pick, was slow, did not throw the long pass, had very average receivers. He was perfect in NE that threw nickel low risk passes, protected the ball (possibly deflated), played ultra athletic tight ends as receivers, manage financials and had flexibility in 'next man up' and a 'do your job' mentality. Does this sound familiar to Limerick?

This again did not grow organically, it was taught and as players came and left over 20 years they were able to plug and play and sustain success.. KK under Cody is the closest I have seen to NE in continued and sustained success, not Limerick they are a fantastic team best ever but if they can rebuild this team and continue to sustain success then I will tip my hat to them as the greatest sustained success. We will see if this is the case as players get older, injuries, drop outs from squad and retirements kick in and others adapt to their style of play.

Funny we say GAA is an amateur game but all the comparisons are to professional standards and structures, does this give us a hint in which direction the GAA is heading?"
It does not.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 21/08/2023 12:27:33

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)

Replying To The_DOC:  "He's been on a few podcasts and things stating thats his role and the role of any underage manager is not ENTIRLEY to win championships, its to develop players through so they are as ready as possible to kick on at the next grade up. Im not defending him or anything and it prob lys somewhere in the middle of developing young talent, winning when the right group of players come together but essentially acting as a conveyor belt of talent progression for the senior squad."
If I had the track record he has as an IC underage manager I wouldn't be stressing the importance of 'winning championships' either. I'd be keeping very, very quiet about that part.

But when you look more closely at the facts of the matter they don't make for magnificent reading.

He had two years as minor manager, lost an AISF to Tipperary, won a Leinster MHC, lost an AIF we were piping hot favourites for and he got absolutely schooled by Brendan Bugler on the line that day. He had Aaron Niland both years.

Last year at U20, we were dreadful against Offaly the first day out and somehow escaped with a draw from the jaws of defeat. We beat Dublin comfortably (with Niland), then played them 5 weeks later (without Niland) and got an absolute battering where a 10+ margin in the end didn't flatter Dublin in the slightest. He was schooled on the line that day also.

Now one imagines that Healy has ambitions to be senior manager one day, as he should or he has no business being in the U20 job, but if we were to lose tonight, that would be two years in a row, and with a team formed from 'his' minor players, would have bowed out of the U20 championship without even making a Leinster Final. With all due respect, losing to Dublin for two years in a row at U20 would be unpalatable to me. Particularly as the Dublin team that walloped us lost the Leinster final to Offaly last year.

Now I don't know about you, but if this transpires this evening, it's hard to make a case that these players are collectively 'developing' in any positive direction under him. This is why tonight is huge for him personally.

They may win tonight and go on to do great things in this year's competition and if so, great. But this is the flip side. Because you simply can't parrot the 'player development' claim if you aren't involved in competitions at the sharp end consistently. Nobody is being developed by getting knocked out in Leinster by Dublin.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 14/05/2025 10:31:09

Galway Hurling thread - 4 Like(s)

Replying To Jackson88:  "Here's hoping there are a few changes for tipp on Saturday. For me, daithi back to 3, McInerney benched, mannion at 6 with linnane on the wing, Killeen in for Conor cooney. Here's hoping"
Good thing youre not picking the team so

Stool Pigeon (National) - 22/06/2023 07:35:40

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To clare_sparrow:  "Very hard to see where we go from here. biggest positive is probably Cianan Fahy. For the life of me I dont know why we are not trying to find more of these kind of players. Conor Cooney is clearly past it but Evan Niland is not the solution. He just doesnt have the size required. Ive lost hope in Galway hurling, for this year anyway."
We are (trying to find them) but they ain't there, if they were they would play

If it wasn't for Niland we would have been beaten on the scoreboard as badly as on the grass

It's not a matter of size as such. It's a style of player issue.

But you can't fill your middle third with loose ball sniper types and expect them to suddenly become physical scrappy types, Monaghan, Lee and Glennon didn't get into a county team due to their ability to secure hard won possession.

Up to management to find a solution that makes us competitive, that's what they are there for.

If we beat Antrim and Dublin we will be back in the LF if Kilkenny win their remaining games.

You may rediscover your hope then :)

If we don't beat Antrim that's the management done anyway.

And if we can't beat Dublin at home we don't deserve to qualify

Stool Pigeon (National) - 06/05/2024 17:37:58

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To Pope_Benedict:  "It wasn't in Gslway's own hands to reach the Leinster Final, until KK drew with Carlow. Now it is, which is a boost for Galway.

You'd wonder how an iron willed winner like Derek Lyng can't instill the same je ne sais quoi into these KK players who drew with Carlow.. Have KK any young players at all to replace their auld fellas. Worrying times on Noreside. They didn't win the Walsh Cup either of course, or even meet the standard required to contest the final."
I wonder if there's anyone out there who could provide us with answers to these pertinent questions?

Perhaps a recently retired journalist could provide us with some if we make it worth his while

Stool Pigeon (National) - 12/05/2024 21:48:45

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To gilly1910:  "I would have to disagree, defensively we were a shambles, at least three of those goals came from poor defending, and honestly if you were coaching an Under 12 team, you'd be livid with them for the comedy of errors leading up to the last goal. Gearoid Mc Inerney is not a full back, gets turned way too easily not to mention regularly gets dragged way out of position, maybe not this season, but probably time to move Fintan Burke into the full back position for he is way too slow for a half back, unfortunately perhaps a by-product of his cruciate injury. Shefflin also doesn't see to have a definitive plan for this team even after two years which is baffling, Joe spoke at half time yesterday about Conor Whelan never seeming to know what area of the pitch the ball is going to be played into, it's high balls, long balls, very few diagonal balls, but little or no plan for the forwards. You have to admire Kilkenny, probably their worst team in 25 years, but they are just never ever beaten. Even a vastly superior Limerick team fell over the line against them last year in the final, and if Galway had even half of their never say die attitude, we'd probably have a lot more than a miserable 5 All-Irelands. Definitely a few good signs there for Galway yesterday, cut out the mistakes, play for 70 minutes and they are a match for anyone, but as always with Galway you just never know? Tipp in two weeks is a litmus test, lose and it's yet again another very poor season for Galway."
It's a pretty bold assumption that McInerney followed TJ Reid out the field of his own volition with no input from the sideline. A full back will never leave that position voluntarily so we must assume the instructions from the sideline were to man mark.

You would have expected Reid to drop, he always does, so if McInerney is following him (following instructions, of course) naturally he will be 'dragged out of position' as he hasn't got the gift of being in two places at once.

The question to be asked is why was nobody tasked with covering the space left behind, or more pertinently, why wasn't someone else detailed to pick up Reid when he went out the field instead of blaming his man who was clearly told to man mark him?

BTW if Galway didn't have a 'never say die attitude' they would have folded the tent with 20 minutes left and 8 points down and nothing going to plan, if there even was a plan in the first place, which is debatable. That's three games this year (four if you include giving Wexford a head start) where we have overhauled pretty substantial disadvantages.

From there the players picked themselves off the floor to the extent that they overhauled Kilkenny going into stoppage time. That took guts and a great attitude, as well as the smarts to stop competing with KIlkenny in the air with the hand, though (while its easy to say now of course) had we done that from earlier on, it's likely we would have got the job done.

You can criticise quite a few things from day to day, performances are uneven and things could always be better but you can't question the attitude and belief of the players.

It's funny, but if Buckley's shot went outside the post instead of inside there would be a whole different narrative today. If Kilkenny had been a point down instead of two he would have popped the point. The margins are small.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 12/06/2023 13:30:44

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To 1shot:  "Whelan will start for sure.
Listening to interviews with Eoin Cody and Paddy Deegan Kilkenny are a wounded animal coming to Salthill.
Expect them to bring the battle. We are pre warned. Hopefully it's no surprise on the day to us"
Kilkenny are always a wounded animal, someone'd want to put them out of their misery at this stage

It would hardly be news that they'll turn up ready for battle, it'd be a bigger story if they didn't

Stool Pigeon (National) - 16/04/2026 15:07:18

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To Viking66:  "I take it you didn't come down to the Park Katser? And from the sound of it it looks like Tommyk isn't even going to Pearse Stadium?"
If Galway were playing in their front lawn I'd say the boys would pull the curtains

Stool Pigeon (National) - 23/05/2024 19:38:38

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To WanPintWin:  "You're giving out about our lack of success at Junior All-Ireland level, when the main reason for it has been the fact that we've had 24 senior teams. But you then want them to retain that number.
The previous hurling board cocked up by letting it become so bloated, and the current one is fixing the issue. We'll have a much better structure next year, and those teams who were Senior B this year should be relishing a crack at the Intermediate championship. They might even have a shot at going further in the All-Ireland series as well, now that they'll be our 17th best team instead of the 25th."
I think you'll find that Croke Park had a lot to do with this 'fixing of the bloated structure' though. It's likely we'd still have 24 in senior otherwise

I think the projected structure for next year is fine but I think individual CB's should be able to choose how many go up or down in a given season and not have that dictated to them by CP

We should have the option to have more than 1up/1down if we wanted it

But it's a minor thing at this stage.

Wonder if they'll seed intermediate next year or not, I imagine the 4 SF teams will be separated. I'd separate it so that it's 2 senior b and 2 intermediate in each group. Doubt this'll happen though

Stool Pigeon (National) - 15/09/2025 16:25:32

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To galway19:  "Big blow for Kevin but there is loads of cover in that area with McLoughlin, Collins, Flynn, C Cooney, Jamie Ryan and can even grab one or two from the U20s if needed"
There really isn't (loads of cover)

Kevin Cooney was a certain starter and had demonstrated a level most of the above players you mention haven't to date

Who are the 'one or two from the U20's' capable of replacing him?

Cooney is very good in the air and is capable of winning all kinds of awkward shite ball which is not something that could be levelled at McLoughlin or Collins, whatever other qualities they may bring to the party

Stool Pigeon (National) - 05/02/2024 10:47:20

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To The_DOC:  "He's been on a few podcasts and things stating thats his role and the role of any underage manager is not ENTIRLEY to win championships, its to develop players through so they are as ready as possible to kick on at the next grade up. Im not defending him or anything and it prob lys somewhere in the middle of developing young talent, winning when the right group of players come together but essentially acting as a conveyor belt of talent progression for the senior squad."
If I had the track record he has as an IC underage manager I wouldn't be stressing the importance of 'winning championships' either. I'd be keeping very, very quiet about that part.

But when you look more closely at the facts of the matter they don't make for magnificent reading.

He had two years as minor manager, lost an AISF to Tipperary, won a Leinster MHC, lost an AIF we were piping hot favourites for and he got absolutely schooled by Brendan Bugler on the line that day. He had Aaron Niland both years.

Last year at U20, we were dreadful against Offaly the first day out and somehow escaped with a draw from the jaws of defeat. We beat Dublin comfortably (with Niland), then played them 5 weeks later (without Niland) and got an absolute battering where a 10+ margin in the end didn't flatter Dublin in the slightest. He was schooled on the line that day also.

Now one imagines that Healy has ambitions to be senior manager one day, as he should or he has no business being in the U20 job, but if we were to lose tonight, that would be two years in a row, and with a team formed from 'his' minor players, would have bowed out of the U20 championship without even making a Leinster Final. With all due respect, losing to Dublin for two years in a row at U20 would be unpalatable to me. Particularly as the Dublin team that walloped us lost the Leinster final to Offaly last year.

Now I don't know about you, but if this transpires this evening, it's hard to make a case that these players are collectively 'developing' in any positive direction under him. This is why tonight is huge for him personally.

They may win tonight and go on to do great things in this year's competition and if so, great. But this is the flip side. Because you simply can't parrot the 'player development' claim if you aren't involved in competitions at the sharp end consistently. Nobody is being developed by getting knocked out in Leinster by Dublin.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 14/05/2025 10:30:43

Galway Hurling thread - 3 Like(s)

Replying To John Doe:  "Ah don't be so stupid to believe that something on the front of a jersey is a reason why a team is not winning. I've never heard such utter rubbish.
Limerick are simply too good for everyone at present and ARE the best team of all time. Their sheer power and physicality would blow away any of the great teams of the past such as Kilkenny's 4 in a row team in the 00's.
Galway like other posters have said are just too inconsistent and can never be relied upon to put a string of results together.
While is was fantastic I believe we were very fortunate to win the All Ireland in 2017 as I firmly believe the only reason we won it is because it was only Waterford in the final. Can anyone honestly say we would have beaten a Kilkenny or Tipp in a final - I don't think so. I know people will say we beat Tipp in the semi but a final is a different story altogether. Would have been a shame if Joe never got to win one so we'll take it but can't see another one coming anytime soon."
How were we fortunate, we were the best team in the country in 2017.

What you're doing there is speculating negatively for no purpose. We beat Waterford cos they qualified for the final. They were good enough to get there, beat Kilkenny pretty handily IIRC. In 2017 we would likely have beaten anyone we played in the final.

Stool Pigeon (National) - 25/07/2023 14:40:14