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Reality is probably somewhere in between. From our point of view the loss to Galway in Wexford Park was a game we left behind, we had some shocking misses from play and placed balls, and a huge amount of them too. But from your point of view 6 points while trying out and giving gametime to a number of newer lads is not to be sneezed at either. I do think when we meet in Salthill the winning of the game will be determined by which teams established players play best though. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 15066 - 10/03/2025 10:50:14 2595693 Link 1 |
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Very unlikely Kilkenny will go down. Will take several unlikely results.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 15066 - 10/03/2025 11:22:02 2595704 Link 1 |
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I really don't care as long as we get a team settled out. I mean isn't that what the League is for? By the time the Championship comes we should have the best personnel in the best position (I hope).
Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2388 - 10/03/2025 11:44:41 2595715 Link 0 |
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I have to agree. In the run of the game on Saturday night 11 frees were missed in total. Niland would have scored 9/10 of them and kept us in the game. That game would have been a lot tighter if he was on the field that is a fact. He has kept us in games many time over the years. I would wonder whats going on with him?
1shot (Galway) - Posts: 13 - 10/03/2025 12:29:15 2595741 Link 1 |
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I would say absolutely nothing wrong with him, he is what he his..... a top class dead ball specialist. The problem is his open play or lack thereof. Can we afford to carry a free taker who doesn't really contribute? Before you answer that question with yes, would Cork, Tipp, Clare or Limerick keep someone on the field just to take frees? KK will be interesting this year they have an OLD and lost a step or 10 in TJ Reid. Will he start or will Eoin Cody take the frees in the Championship. If Cody takes over is TJ worth a starting slot? My answer is no. TJ at 37 contributes as much in open play as Niland, Cant see him starting unless we decide to play with 14ish players, maybe a generation ago you could get away with it but certainly not in todays game.
BostonGuy (Galway) - Posts: 154 - 10/03/2025 13:18:19 2595748 Link 1 |
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Agree, but my fear is that the best team still includes Conor Cooney, Jason Flynn, a Full 70 Minute David Burke, Niland taking a place for frees only. Good progress for this year is to not get relegated, so we can continue to blood players next year at a competitive level. Kids don't automatically become seniors, start really looking what we are doing wrong at U 16, Minor and U 20 and fix it. I really believe a lot of our problems stem from the people (maybe $$$) running these programs and lets start by changing there. I find it hard to believe that the second biggest county in the land, with a competitive club championship and a conveyer belt of young people playing the game are not competing at those grades. Academies are where senior teams are built. Look to the rugby academies and how setups in other counties work, the time to do this is now if those 17, 18 year olds are going to hit senior and make an impact.
BostonGuy (Galway) - Posts: 154 - 10/03/2025 13:39:01 2595756 Link 1 |
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The best team at the moment certainly does not contain David Burke or Jayo. The best team may contain Niland and Conor Cooney but I would not be starting them at this stage. Harsh probably on all 4 of them who ahev given a lot to Galway for years but you're either commiting to a rebuilt or you aren't. It appears to me like Management is committing to one. Fans will always scream and shout after a loss about how X could do a better job but I do have plenty of faith in MD. ON Niland specifically, I think if you're clsoe to an All ireland it's a different conversation where you're thinking an extra 4 poitns from frees might get you over the line, and then there's a real argument for getting a free taker into the team. But wehre we are at the moment we need to priotitise developing options over eekign the absolute maxmium out of the starting 15 every game. There's also the possibility that no one seems to be talkign about, that Niland improves the areas of his game that MD thinks need improving and makes the team anyway. let's hope that happens Overdahill (Galway) - Posts: 19 - 10/03/2025 14:25:41 2595770 Link 1 |
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In the 2023 championship did Niland not end up the second top scorer in the championship to TJ Reid. He also was 8th top scorer from play. I checked that up and the figures don't lie. I think he is hard done by and thats my opinion. Our full forward line on Saturday night scored 1 pt in total between all who played that line. Would not be to hard compete with that.
1shot (Galway) - Posts: 13 - 10/03/2025 14:28:34 2595772 Link 3 |
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1) Limerick beat KK 2) Wexford beat Limerick by a margin that betters KK scoring difference- Wex 20pts inferior to KK currently 3 Clare beat Tipp by a margin not exceeding Wexford's victory margin over Limerick by 2pts or more 1,2,3 and Wexford stay up. Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4002 - 10/03/2025 14:39:36 2595774 Link 1 |
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After 5 games played he is no where near a settled team. I wouldn't be surprised if the forward unit come Championship is C Whelan C Mannion C Cooney J Flynn E Niland B Concannon. High standards my dear man.....its pivotal that We win Leinster this year and we have seen it happen before that We can take on a "new" lease of life once We grace the field of Croke Park on All Ireland Semi Final day even with "new" young rookie lads who might have struggled in the League but bring them on in Croke Park and they could explode with passion! katser (Galway) - Posts: 2521 - 10/03/2025 15:30:42 2595786 Link 1 |
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..."we have seen it happen before that We can take on a "new" lease of life once We grace the field of Croke Park on All Ireland Semi Final day"! WHEN? foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2144 - 10/03/2025 16:41:55 2595805 Link 1 |
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You're raving a bit there now sir. The follwoing places are nailed on imo- 1 fahy 2 Morgan 3 Daithi if fit, fintan if not 4 Morrissey 5 Mannion 6 Lee 8 Fahy 9 Monahan 11 Killeen 14 Whelan (probably rotating but nailed on to start there) 15 Burns 7 is the only place totally up for grabs imo and only becasue no one has laid any sort of claim on it. The remaining forward positions haev a few players in contention but will be 3 from the 2 Cooneys, Niland, Concannon, Fleming, and Mclaughlin. Management can't do much if none of them have really laid a strong claim consistently. Burns I'd imagine will be 15, Limerick seemed to be a bit of a step up that came as a shock to him but he's shown enough to persevere with. So the center of the team is nailed down quite clearly. It's 'Pivitoal' we win Lesineter every year. yet we often don't and here we are again. In all honestly this year more than any year since our first one in 2012 it won't a failure if we don't win leinster Overdahill (Galway) - Posts: 19 - 10/03/2025 17:13:29 2595812 Link 1 |
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Conor Cooney, Jason Flynn, David Burke, etc have all been great soldiers for Galway Hurling but maybe it's time to bench them until late in close matches or phase them out altogether in favor of younger blood. It may cost us but in the long run it's probably for the best. Galway Abu.
Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2388 - 10/03/2025 17:16:09 2595813 Link 1 |
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The forward line you mentioned has been seriously underwhelming and has consistently underperformed in recent championships. Galway4ever (Galway) - Posts: 219 - 10/03/2025 17:18:37 2595814 Link 1 |
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Tough lose to Carlow anyway since they were relegated last year so I think we're safe there. The first game against KK is crucial and I'd imagine MD will be targeting that. It'll be 50/50 as it always is in the group between them, Kilkenny have been very poor by their standards in the early rounds the last few years. Albeit they always get through. They were awful for long periods against us a few weeks ago. I'd give us a decent chance of taking something. Offaly in their first home game is an unfortunate draw so massive banana skin there. But coming 7 days after their trip to Dublin where they'll bring a huge effort I think we'll get over the line. Their squad is still paper thin in most positions ( they do have a good selection in the forwards) and I think they'll be exposed a bit as the champioship goes on. Wexford at home I'd back us to get the win. They're lost a lot of talent over the winter. Again tight game but we've shown more over the winter than they have. Antrim are awful, should beat them handy enough, especially sicne it's sandwiched between their game with Dublin in corrigan and their trip to Offaly which they'll be targeting. Dublin in parnell then which is a graveyard so hopefully we have 6 or 7 points on the board. So I think talk of relegation is dramatic. It would still be a major major shock. As much as Galway fans like to play the poor mouth the latest form we have is the league and there's 3 leinster counties in division 1, and we beat the other 2, both away from home. I also don't think you can say "Conor Whelan is well past his prime" without backing it up, All Star the year before last. Very middling last year but I wouldn't panic on him yet. In fact that statement makes me think you post might be a bit of a wind up Overdahill (Galway) - Posts: 19 - 10/03/2025 17:41:11 2595818 Link 1 |
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To put it in language you'll appreciate, WE DON'T HAVE THE CARDS. Cork have the cards. Galway don't have the cards. It's a disaster. Fantastic.
Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4002 - 10/03/2025 18:28:12 2595833 Link 0 |
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Hi Folks any word on the new format in Galway for 2026 in hurling Galway2001 (Galway) - Posts: 15 - 10/03/2025 19:31:20 2595841 Link 1 |
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Ur right but I think we played Carlow or Offaly that year right in a very weak Leinster! So numbers might be inflated a bit. Look I'm not against Niland he definitely makes us better from frees. Is he worth a place on the current team over some of the current batch? ...maybe but I'm looking a little down the road IF his overall game (and its not only points from play) its possessions won, distribution, assists, defending AND free taking in my opinion I don't see enough. Ger Farragher might be a good comparison, lights out at frees and sidelines but IMHO was a borderline choice especially late in his career. If we have the pace and ball winners to get possession, get fouled and thats our strategy then fine. But we don't, we cant even field a ball and struggle to win our own puckouts so our fouls obtained goes way down.
BostonGuy (Galway) - Posts: 154 - 10/03/2025 19:50:21 2595842 Link 1 |
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Agree, they owe Galway nothing, I like Burke for 15 minutes and maybe Flynn as he still has pace although he loses possession too easy. CC has been the best club hurler for 10+ years even if it was rare to see him light it up for Galway. The academy needs an Elon Musk gut, how can we be this bad for so long at underage.
BostonGuy (Galway) - Posts: 154 - 10/03/2025 19:55:15 2595844 Link 2 |
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I'm not sure what to make of Burns. He scored will against Clares fullback line, but then again so did Seamus Casey, who wouldn't be known as a good scorer from play. He did very little in Wexford Park, except score a gift of a goal that Evan Niland would've scored. Think he only got a point apart from that, and we were missing 2 of our fullback line starters in the fullback line. Ryan was injured, and Shane Reck came on for his brother and is still only being eased back. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 15066 - 10/03/2025 19:58:18 2595846 Link 1 |