U21 hurling v Laois, Wednesday 5th June, Portlaoise

[Bord na Mona man]

Delighted for Carlow. Hopefully they bring it through to senior.
Dublin hurling is going through a bad run.
Money isn't everything.

Hard to take that post about money seriously with auld Charlie staring back at you

Money and class are different things!

[Heshs Umpire]

i think two minor wins in 40 years is going to your head Disel, you as a laoisman should know well
winning minor means nothing when it comes to senior as laois underage football was the best in leinster and ireland in the late 90's and early 2000's but yet came to nothing at senior.

A bit off topic townman but I have to disagree with this part of your post.
To say our underage success of the 90's and 00's "came to nothing" is a bit of an exaggeration.
I suppose it's all relative and maybe one senior provincial title wouldn't satisfy the likes of Meath or Offaly but given we hadn't won one in 57 years our 2003 win was hardly "nothing"! And we appeared in two more Leinster finals and won a couple of under 21's.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Well done to Laois on a brilliant display last Sunday against Galway. Only got the second half on the radio and the highlights that night, but Laois really put it up to Galway. Great to hear the emotion in Niall Rigney at the end of the game, and best of luck to Laois in the qualifiers.
Hope Heshs Umpire and Suckin Diesel enjoyed a good day in Portlaoise?

[Plain of the Herbs]

I'd like to echo the thoughts of Ahlethimoutwithit below. Rigney's emotion was something, but so too was his calmness after Galway's first goal, saying something like - we're still in this, we can still do this. Sometimes Jack Nolan almost singing the commentary irks me; I saw the music in it on Sunday.

Well done to Laois on a brilliant display last Sunday against Galway. Only got the second half on the radio and the highlights that night, but Laois really put it up to Galway. Great to hear the emotion in Niall Rigney at the end of the game, and best of luck to Laois in the qualifiers.
Hope Heshs Umpire and Suckin Diesel enjoyed a good day in Portlaoise?

[Lone Shark]

I was in OMP on Sunday and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed what was an excellent game of hurling. Laois hurled like demons in the quest for possession, but it was also great to see Seamus Plunkett try something innovative in a bid to take out a big gun.

Basically Laois set up with one FF and no corners, dropping Brophy back into the gap between midfield and half forward and letting the two other midfielders stay deep, while playing Cahir Healy notionally as a corner forward but then letting him fall back to a sweeper role in front of the full back line. They didn't look to play the ball into the full forward line, instead, just picking off scores from the middle third, where they had extra men. Galway were too conservative and left their two corner backs in situ, doing little more than collecting short puckouts and marking empty space.

It meant that Laois had no goal threat, but it also meant that they stayed in touch in the game and then when they needed a goal late on, they sent on Neil Foyle to change the pace of the game as a big full forward. Foyle then went on to win a delivery and lay it off to Fitzgerald for the Laois goal.

It was a pity they couldn't hold on, and it's also a pity they don't have a more winnable task up next. If they replicated that controlled aggression and hunger, they'd be a real match for either Offaly, Wexford or Dublin, and they would give a few of the weaker Munster counties a run too.

[Aragorn]

Cheers for the well wishes lads. It's been a harrowing few years if you're a Laois hurler/supporter. Anyone that follows the hurling in Laois knew we weren't anywhere near as bad as the last few years would indicate. Effort alone won't see a poor team lead Galway with 10 minutes to go and it has been refreshing to see our team's first touch and skill levels getting as much admiration as their determination and commitment. We've still a way to go, but crucially this is a group that aren't in it for one good year, the aim is to build year on year.

It could end up being an exciting year for Leinster teams, I fancy yerselves to overcome Waterford and I think Dublin are in a great position to take on Kk in comparison to last year. Tis a pity alright that we won't have a softer draw in the qualifiers, but if we draw Cork I don't see motivation being a problem after the ruthless fuckers put 10-20 past us when we were on our knee's two years ago.