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Westmeath Hurling thread

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Its not a great sign when we see so many retiring & a lot more opting not to play this year. It may be a re-building job but you can't say there should be no pressure on Kevin O Brien & his management team. That like giving them a free pass & we don't really care if we are beaten. Is it the same for Mark McHugh with the footballers?
Every year on this forum there's talk about top minors & u20s so if that's the case we should be seeing if these lads can step up this year. I don't want to be too down on the group but I really think we are going to struggle this year, hopefully I'm proven wrong.

Left Full (Westmeath) - Posts: 272 - 28/11/2025 08:31:20    2646285

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Replying To Left Full:  "Its not a great sign when we see so many retiring & a lot more opting not to play this year. It may be a re-building job but you can't say there should be no pressure on Kevin O Brien & his management team. That like giving them a free pass & we don't really care if we are beaten. Is it the same for Mark McHugh with the footballers?
Every year on this forum there's talk about top minors & u20s so if that's the case we should be seeing if these lads can step up this year. I don't want to be too down on the group but I really think we are going to struggle this year, hopefully I'm proven wrong."
I agree with that.Bit lets not be all negative.Jogger and Robbie Greville gave great service to the county and hats off to them.We will have experienced players in Dara Egerton,Conor Shaw Kevin Regan and hopefully Johhny Birmingham.and David O Reilly should be back for some of Mcdonagh at least David and Shane Williams along with Darragh Mccormack are fine hurlers..So it will be O Briens job to bring in and develop the younger players around them.. We have a squad fit to compete at 2a and Mcdonagh.OK unlike other years we aren't expecting to win but we are expecting signs it will happen in near future.

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1828 - 28/11/2025 11:28:40    2646313

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Replying To jobber:  "I agree with that.Bit lets not be all negative.Jogger and Robbie Greville gave great service to the county and hats off to them.We will have experienced players in Dara Egerton,Conor Shaw Kevin Regan and hopefully Johhny Birmingham.and David O Reilly should be back for some of Mcdonagh at least David and Shane Williams along with Darragh Mccormack are fine hurlers..So it will be O Briens job to bring in and develop the younger players around them.. We have a squad fit to compete at 2a and Mcdonagh.OK unlike other years we aren't expecting to win but we are expecting signs it will happen in near future."
We will be competing to win the Joe Mcdonagh in the next couple of years if the current minor and u20 team are looked after. I've mentioned Mullingar CBS already but what they are doing for Westmeath hurling has to be commended, they are competing in A level competition all the way through. The Westmeath schools team playing in the Leinster championship is without Mullingar CBS lads as they are in the competition on their own and technically they could meet.

Dheen (Westmeath) - Posts: 1065 - 28/11/2025 12:32:51    2646322

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Replying To Dheen:  "We will be competing to win the Joe Mcdonagh in the next couple of years if the current minor and u20 team are looked after. I've mentioned Mullingar CBS already but what they are doing for Westmeath hurling has to be commended, they are competing in A level competition all the way through. The Westmeath schools team playing in the Leinster championship is without Mullingar CBS lads as they are in the competition on their own and technically they could meet."
You should be aiming to win mcdonagh this year,as far as I see carlow antrim and laois don't look to be improving infact could be on a downward spiral again, mcdonagh cup in general the standard seems to be dropping and this year was proof of that...try and go back up when you can

preddan (Kildare) - Posts: 817 - 28/11/2025 15:38:34    2646348

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Replying To preddan:  "You should be aiming to win mcdonagh this year,as far as I see carlow antrim and laois don't look to be improving infact could be on a downward spiral again, mcdonagh cup in general the standard seems to be dropping and this year was proof of that...try and go back up when you can"
It's nice to think like that but let's be realistic and not put too much pressure on young players playing their first season at this level.I agree the standards are way down but none of the others have been hit as hard as us in one fell swoop.

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1828 - 28/11/2025 16:00:00    2646350

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Replying To Left Full:  "Its not a great sign when we see so many retiring & a lot more opting not to play this year. It may be a re-building job but you can't say there should be no pressure on Kevin O Brien & his management team. That like giving them a free pass & we don't really care if we are beaten. Is it the same for Mark McHugh with the footballers?
Every year on this forum there's talk about top minors & u20s so if that's the case we should be seeing if these lads can step up this year. I don't want to be too down on the group but I really think we are going to struggle this year, hopefully I'm proven wrong."
It is a free pass for new hurling management in 2026. To lose Jogger, Robbie Greville, Niall O' Brien, Ciaran O' Brien, David O' Reilly, Darragh Clinton and prob others with Darragh Egerton yet to be back fully training after 14 months out and Niall Mitchell also injured means zero expectations, we will be looking at being in contention for promotion from Div. 3 and trying to stay in McDonagh Cup. Talk about decent minors in 2025 is fine but they are not seniors realistically until 2028 at earliest.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2479 - 28/11/2025 16:46:05    2646358

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