All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final

[corner back]

I think it'll be closer than a lot of people think

KK to scrape home, something like 1-19 2-15

[Lone Shark]

Very tricky one. On the one hand Tipperary are as strong an opponent as Kilkenny have faced in years, on the other Kilkenny should have plenty in hand if they finally kick into gear.

My gut feeling is that Kilkenny are actually past their best and that this Sunday will confirm it. I could be very wrong, but Tipperary by 6 for me - going away at the end.

[Veteran]

Can't see it. Kilkenny may well be past their best but i don't think that they'll be caught this year. They still have too much in the tank - if Henry Shefflin plays half as well as he did in the semi-final then it's all over. Tipp are a young team with good forwards but this year might be too soon for them. Kilkenny by 5 and never in real danger.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Kilkenny aren’t going to stay winning matches forever and at some stage their great run will come to an end.
The county best positioned to beat them (whether this year or next, and like it or not) is Tipperary. Now hurler for hurler, Kilkenny are a better side than the opposition at the moment, but hunger is a great sauce, and the converse of that is that you never know when that hunger will leave you down.
I’m thinking 2004 when Kilkenny collapsed in the face of a hungrier Cork, and two years later when the opposite happened. I’m also thinking 1995.
All Irelands are strange. There will be an error strewn ‘lull’ midway through the second half for about ten minutes after which one team will kick for home and clinch it.

While Kilkenny will have prepared well, I’ve a feeling too that Tipperary may just nick it. Then again, I thought Waterford were best placed to beat them in advance of last year’s final and look what happened.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

Really looking forward to this, has all the ingredients of a classic. I was at the league final in May and it was one of the finest games I'd seen in years.

I think the young Noel McGrath is key to this, my he's quite the hurler. If he's on form Tipperary have a chance, a great one at that. As for Kilkenny, I'd personally drop Aidan Fogarty and Martin Comerford for TJ Reid and Richie Hogan.
Nonetheless I still think Kilkenny will do it by 5-10 points, create history and cement their reputation as the greatest hurling team of all time.

[azoffaly]

It's the fashionable pick almost, but I said for a while that I didn't think Kilkenny would win this year. To be honest, I thought they'd be caught before this, and I generally wouldn't tip against them in a final, because they are masters of the big days.

However, I'll stick to my guns and tip Tipp by 4 points. The McCarthy Cup to be in Newport next week

[D Corner Flag]

For all the Tipp Tipsters, I heard O Meara's bookies in Portumna have them at 5/1 for the final...
And he is a tipp man.. Mad stuff..

[Lone Shark]

Jaysus - he's been known to be a bit off the wall before, but that's fairly putting your neck out there. I may have to go home via Portumna instead of the usual route through Ballinasloe tomorrow....

[red exile]

5-1 and a 6 pts start wud be fair

[noodles]

There's at least another all ireland in Kilkenny-as much as i hate to say it. I think their time is coming near an end but unfortunately it probably won't be this year.

[DD]

Kilkenny by at least 6

[Kevin]

In fairness I had Kilkenny comfortably here, but Tipp has just pulled ahead in the second half.

[Lone Shark]

Was lucky enough to get offered a decent ticket for yesterday, so was delighted with the game - fantastic match. For me the only drawback is the tinge of "what if" regarding Benny Dunne. Michael Kavanagh hurled a few handy balls in the last fifteen minutes as the free man and it's a real pity that Tipp weren't in a position to push to the close. The penalty call was harsh enough but Henry could just as easily have goaled from a 21m free - it's not as if there weren't enough hurls in the way of the shot.

Oddly enough, if you asked me to name seven or eight of the best individual displays, most of them would have been Tipp men - which I suppose says even more about Kilkenny's team play.

[Veteran]

Great match - the best of the year by a long shot. Tipp were desperately unlucky to come away as losers and the penalty will be talked about - for me it was never a penalty, the first foul was nearer the 21 and if anything, the ball was then over carried (as an aside - how many times did lads go unpunished for over carrying the ball in the minor final????).

However, hats off to Kilkenny - they are a truly great team - sometimes I think that we don't appreciate just how good they are - we won't see better than them in this lifetime.

[Georgio1]

Great game. Some ferocious stuff, and to be fair some pretty reckless tackles. 2 Tipp lads took shoulders to the head that could have resulted in serious neck damage. However overall was the greatest game I have seen. There were so many fine displays from the unheralded PJ Ryan to Tommy Walsh for Kilkenny, but as Lone Shark said, Tipp probably had more individual displays. Maher at full back was unreal. Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett were brilliant. Felt sorry for Tipp, but they are in a right good position overall to win an All Ireland over the next 2 years, and this will stand to them down the line. Kilkenny survived on their wits, and once they got the sniff of blood that was it.
Who got man of the match on the Sunday GAme?