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Westmeath Hurling thread

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The eye catching performance of the weekend has to be the Gaels rout of Delvin, a decent victory would have been expected but 6-30 a huge score to put up and a serious statement of intent. Still a kick in them after 3 final defeats in a row, and have to be considered genuine contenders again based on that performance. Wouldn't be considered to have the same depth as Castletown or Raharney so staying injury free and fresh will be essential to their chances.
All in all the 3 senior results went pretty much as expected, the margin of Gaels win the only surprise.

CleanShoulder (Westmeath) - Posts: 423 - 05/07/2026 20:39:54    2684388

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Replying To Dheen:  "Castletown still won with 13 points to spare without playing well, they will welcome some of those players back as the championship progresses. Dylan Corrigan very impressive on his debut for them. It's definitely looking like it will be far more of an open championship this year though.
I was disappointed with Plunketts showing against Castlepollard in the Senior B, they have a lot of young players coming through and some played yesterday, it will take them time. Darragh McCormack controlled the game playing in a sweeper role for Pollard"
Castletown, Gaels and Raharney all with easy wins in the A.

Pollard and the Wood comfortable in the B and Brownstown edged Ringtown in a high scoring game in the B .

Turin and Southern Gaels in yet another tight match in intermediate with Raharney and Clonkill also winning. so the B and intermediate giving good entertainment in comparison to the top division.

Raharney look favourites for the A after 1 round Pollard for the B and Turin look best in the Intermediate.

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1981 - 05/07/2026 20:49:57    2684390

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Replying To CleanShoulder:  "The eye catching performance of the weekend has to be the Gaels rout of Delvin, a decent victory would have been expected but 6-30 a huge score to put up and a serious statement of intent. Still a kick in them after 3 final defeats in a row, and have to be considered genuine contenders again based on that performance. Wouldn't be considered to have the same depth as Castletown or Raharney so staying injury free and fresh will be essential to their chances.
All in all the 3 senior results went pretty much as expected, the margin of Gaels win the only surprise."
Delvin have had a terrible league, training is poorly attended, have lost 3-4 players from last year, scoring 0-22 was a surprise, they could concede huge scores in three of their remaining games. Clonkill had only 14 men for long spells vs Raharney but 1-9 is a very poor return regardless, young Loughlin scored 6-7 from frees.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2696 - 05/07/2026 21:26:57    2684397

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I was at all 3 senior games this weekend and I was more surprised at delvin scoring 22 points than I was of the Gaels scoring. Gaels can't be happy with conceding that much to a one man show in Clinton. From what I seen, unless Castletown get men back Raharney will walk this years championship

Senior B on Saturday in the parks was very disappointing, overall all 4 games I attended this weekend were a poor standard and it's no surprises our county team are struggling

westmeathgaa11 (Westmeath) - Posts: 363 - 05/07/2026 22:43:23    2684408

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Clonkill seemed to have put last year's disappointing year behind them during the league, they had a full strength team tonight with Darragh Egerton and Niall Mitchell starting alongside a couple of their best minors from last year, they got to the league final in Division 1 and 2 which suggested strength in depth but their display tonight was similar to last year's flat performances. They did lose Peadar Scally to a red card before half time but they trailed by 6 at that stage playing with a decent breeze and even with 15 players it's unlikely they'd have won. They won't have him against Castletown in their next game and he will be a big loss. Beating Castletown or the Gaels will be a big challenge for them as they will need to to have a chance of finishing in top three.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2696 - 05/07/2026 23:46:52    2684415

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Westmeath hurling is in a very poor place at the minute. Probably similar to nationally with football getting the main focus.
After 1st round the top 3 are already nearly confirmed so the championship passes to teams building towards a couple of games at the end of august.
We really need Clonkill, Plunketts and Pollard to get back to the level of the top 3 and beyond. Daltons and Southern Gaels need to keep building. There is such a lack of competitiveness its making for a really poor championship

CasKD (Westmeath) - Posts: 47 - 06/07/2026 08:57:59    2684433

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Replying To jobber:  "The timing of Lough Lene Gaels v Delvin senior A championship match Sunday at the same time as the All Ireland hurling semi final is i would say very telling and shows the way our county priorities are right now."
this happens every year and isnt anything to with hurling being badly treated. club football games were fixed for same day as the all ireland final last year and the year before. Our CB seem reluctant to put more games on a Thur/Fri compared to the likes of Offaly as they seem determined to have double headers as much as they can.

martyW (Westmeath) - Posts: 352 - 06/07/2026 10:56:23    2684452

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Replying To CasKD:  "Westmeath hurling is in a very poor place at the minute. Probably similar to nationally with football getting the main focus.
After 1st round the top 3 are already nearly confirmed so the championship passes to teams building towards a couple of games at the end of august.
We really need Clonkill, Plunketts and Pollard to get back to the level of the top 3 and beyond. Daltons and Southern Gaels need to keep building. There is such a lack of competitiveness its making for a really poor championship"
Castletown looked iffy on Saturday. Daltons huffed and puffed with them until about 40 minutes in with the loses of Mc Cabe and Martin leaving them bare looking. Kearney decent for Daltons, otherwise lacking depth. Re CTG, their stickwork is crisp but lacking bite in the forwards without Aonghus's steadying influence. NOB solid though he topped one easy enough free. Gaels scoring was impressive but they still concede a lot and Clinton caused them problems but they were easy winners. Raharney comfortable over Clonkill.

Greengrass1 (Westmeath) - Posts: 77 - 06/07/2026 11:49:32    2684469

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Replying To westmeathgaa11:  "I was at all 3 senior games this weekend and I was more surprised at delvin scoring 22 points than I was of the Gaels scoring. Gaels can't be happy with conceding that much to a one man show in Clinton. From what I seen, unless Castletown get men back Raharney will walk this years championship

Senior B on Saturday in the parks was very disappointing, overall all 4 games I attended this weekend were a poor standard and it's no surprises our county team are struggling"
Seems to be a big gap between intermediate and senior B. Brigids were handed a substantial beating.

Chops (Westmeath) - Posts: 935 - 06/07/2026 11:53:43    2684470

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Replying To Chops:  "Seems to be a big gap between intermediate and senior B. Brigids were handed a substantial beating."
Definitely a gap alright, I had tipped the Wood to be relegated but they put a bad league campaign behind them, they possibly scored 6 goals with one at the end given as a point. And I think the Wood scored all from play, Brigids were reliant on placed balls and scored little from play. Also looks like there is a gap between Pollard and the rest of senior b teams. Brownstown got a good win over Ringtown and puts them in a good position, long way to go yet though.

stonemadbeany (USA) - Posts: 650 - 06/07/2026 13:37:52    2684492

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Listening to the podcast this morning, it all sounded a bit bleak from a hurling point of view. The attendance across Cusack Park over the weekend was very poor, and in fairness the standard of some of the games probably reflected that.
They don't seem to have much hope for Clonkill, but I'd expect them to bounce back in a big way. There were plenty of lads rusty with it being the first day out, a good few only back from injury, and that's before even mentioning the red card.
They were very impressed with the Gaels, and scoring 6-30 will obviously do that, but they'll have much tougher tests to come. One thing I found interesting was that, apart from the likes of Cunningham, McCormack and Williams, the majority of players mentioned for standout performances over the weekend weren't involved with the county this year for one reason or another - O'Brien, Clinton, Guerin, Lynam, Rabbitte, Tierney and McGovern. It probably says a lot about where we're at and the current interest in the inter-county setup. Good to see them having O'Malley in and more guests to come next week outside of the County board preference who'll give honest feedback.

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 193 - 07/07/2026 09:17:28    2684640

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Replying To Fighting-Cocks69:  "Listening to the podcast this morning, it all sounded a bit bleak from a hurling point of view. The attendance across Cusack Park over the weekend was very poor, and in fairness the standard of some of the games probably reflected that.
They don't seem to have much hope for Clonkill, but I'd expect them to bounce back in a big way. There were plenty of lads rusty with it being the first day out, a good few only back from injury, and that's before even mentioning the red card.
They were very impressed with the Gaels, and scoring 6-30 will obviously do that, but they'll have much tougher tests to come. One thing I found interesting was that, apart from the likes of Cunningham, McCormack and Williams, the majority of players mentioned for standout performances over the weekend weren't involved with the county this year for one reason or another - O'Brien, Clinton, Guerin, Lynam, Rabbitte, Tierney and McGovern. It probably says a lot about where we're at and the current interest in the inter-county setup. Good to see them having O'Malley in and more guests to come next week outside of the County board preference who'll give honest feedback."
I'm not being funny but some of the players you mentioned below are operating at senior B level and there's clearly a gulf in class between senior A and B. For instance one of the players you mentioned one of the podcast members said this was his first time seeing him even though he has started with a senior A club since 2024. Make of that what you will

westmeathgaa11 (Westmeath) - Posts: 363 - 07/07/2026 15:39:16    2684718

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Replying To CleanShoulder:  "The eye catching performance of the weekend has to be the Gaels rout of Delvin, a decent victory would have been expected but 6-30 a huge score to put up and a serious statement of intent. Still a kick in them after 3 final defeats in a row, and have to be considered genuine contenders again based on that performance. Wouldn't be considered to have the same depth as Castletown or Raharney so staying injury free and fresh will be essential to their chances.
All in all the 3 senior results went pretty much as expected, the margin of Gaels win the only surprise."
I think the Gaels strength in depth is unfairly judged. They made 5 subs against delvin and I counted an additional 4 players togged who started recent county finals who didn't even get a run

westmeathgaa11 (Westmeath) - Posts: 363 - 07/07/2026 15:47:19    2684720

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Replying To westmeathgaa11:  "I'm not being funny but some of the players you mentioned below are operating at senior B level and there's clearly a gulf in class between senior A and B. For instance one of the players you mentioned one of the podcast members said this was his first time seeing him even though he has started with a senior A club since 2024. Make of that what you will"
I really feel for him. Hopefully he's staying strong through it all. Maybe he'll get a mention after Round 2

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 193 - 07/07/2026 17:00:11    2684726

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