Offaly Senior Hurlers 2024

[G91]

Leon fox is out , David nally may feature

The team what started v Kerry should play

Maybe jack clancy could get the nod

I don't think we will see dan ravenhill
If they name a bigger panel he might be on it for merit.

Screeny to come on at some stage same with oisin kelly

Purcell is there biggest threat

I hope there's a decent offaly crowd

[JohnnyBoy24]

Think Oisin Kelly will have a massive role to play yet for us. Being kinda under the radar so far after coming back from his injuries, but has a decent body of work put in all the same this year and could be peaking for us at the weekend.

[Kevin]

Think Oisin Kelly will have a massive role to play yet for us. Being kinda under the radar so far after coming back from his injuries, but has a decent body of work put in all the same this year and could be peaking for us at the weekend.

Let’s hope Kelly let’s loose. He is a serious threat. As for under the radar, they know him and will do everything to stop him.

[greenairfield]

Any idea when the team Will be named.?

[Faithful Future]

Any idea when the team Will be named.?

Likely tomorrow I would say.

I think we will line out something like the following

1. Mark Troy
2. Cathal King
3. Ciaran Burke
4. Ben Conneely
5. Jason Sampson
6. Cillian Kiely
7. Sam Bourke
8. David King
9. Ross Ravenhill
10. Killian Sampson
11. Brian Duignan
12. Dan Bourke
13. Eimhin Kelly
14. Charlie Mitchell
15. Eoghan Cahill

Subs to be sprung from the following options:
Oisin Kelly
Adam Screeney
Donal Shirley
Jack Clancy
Colin Spain
David Nally (if fit)
Dara Maher
Luke Watkins

Adding Oisin & Adam into the mix with 20 minutes to go is a frightening prospect for any full back line.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Saturday game, I'd expect late Friday evening. I wouldn't tell Laois what time it was on, if I had my way. Which I don't.

Any idea when the team Will be named.?

[Bord na Mona man]

Around 25,000 expected on Saturday, 18,000 sold so far. I wonder how many tickets have been sold in Offaly?

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic ... 12870.html

[Bord na Mona man]

It's nearly 7 weeks since the sides met in Maryborough.
It's all well to say that Offaly were cruising and were the better team for the first 50 minutes, but Offaly lost control of the game too for the last 20 minutes and were overrun around the middle in the closing stages.

That win will have helped get the O'Moore men up and running. Their subs gave them a boost, especially Picky and Willie Dunphy having an impact.
Offaly didn't get the same effect from the bench in the second half, mainly because of the early enforced substitutions of Cahill and Ravenhill.
Offaly's response to the loss has been near flawless though. There have been no wobbles since to sap confidence.

What effect will the U20 win have? A slight one perhaps. The Offaly crowd will arrive in bigger numbers than normal and a bit of swagger about them.
The Offaly U20s also gave them a trimming too - game over after about 8 minutes.
The very act of Offaly capturing the All Ireland is a reminder that Offaly have a higher ceiling as a hurling county.

Will any of this matter on Saturday? Small things can help. I think Offaly should win, but I wouldn't put the house on it. Games turn on moments and incidents. No more than last year, a red card and a penalty flipped the advantage to Carlow.

This group have been building nicely under the radar for the last couple of years, without much adulation.
Getting back to MacCarthy would be a significant milestone. Not enough for Jason Sampson to grab the mic and roar that "we're no longer the whipping boys of Leinster", but it would be progress all the same.

One step forward every time. I'm really looking forward to it!

[frankthetank]

Around 25,000 expected on Saturday, 18,000 sold so far. I wonder how many tickets have been sold in Offaly?

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic ... 12870.html

That really is a woeful crowd for a Leinster Final. If it was a stand alone fixture you would be looking at under 20,000.

Seems like a no brainer that going forward Leinster Council should wait for the final pairing to be decided before selecting a venue. And basically if Wexford aren’t in it, it can be brought to a provincial venue.

Would provide for a far better spectacle in a full GOCP or Nowlan Park than what is currently occuring.

[Bord na Mona man]

Around 25,000 expected on Saturday, 18,000 sold so far. I wonder how many tickets have been sold in Offaly?

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic ... 12870.html

That really is a woeful crowd for a Leinster Final. If it was a stand alone fixture you would be looking at under 20,000.

Seems like a no brainer that going forward Leinster Council should wait for the final pairing to be decided before selecting a venue. And basically if Wexford aren’t in it, it can be brought to a provincial venue.

Would provide for a far better spectacle in a full GOCP or Nowlan Park than what is currently occuring.

I'd leave them be in Croke Park. Move it to a provincial venue and you drop the attendance even more.
Also, occasions like the Leinster final and Joe McDonagh are still prestige events and deserve to be played in HQ.

[frankthetank]

I’d argue that if you asked the Offaly senior hurlers would they rather hurl the Joe Mac final in an atmosphere like Saturday night in a provincial venue or a soulless Croke Park they’ would select the former.

Probably the same answer from the Dublin and Kilkenny hurlers too.

[greenairfield]

Will more sections open up in the Cusack and Hogan its a pain in the arse currently trying to get some.

[JohnnyBoy24]

Will more sections open up in the Cusack and Hogan its a pain in the arse currently trying to get some.

Nothing to lose really by waiting another day. Very little of the more central sections have opened up so far this week.

[Glendassaun]

[quote=greenairfield post_id=71642 time=<a href="tel:1717664727">1717664727</a> user_id=11705]
Will more sections open up in the Cusack and Hogan its a pain in the arse currently trying to get some.

Nothing to lose really by waiting another day. Very little of the more central sections have opened up so far this week.
[/quote]

Given how small of a crowd is expected I’d take my chances booking a ticket anywhere and just move to the many vacant seats closer to the location of your choice before the game commences.

[Glendassaun]

It's nearly 7 weeks since the sides met in Maryborough.
It's all well to say that Offaly were cruising and were the better team for the first 50 minutes, but Offaly lost control of the game too for the last 20 minutes and were overrun around the middle in the closing stages.

That win will have helped get the O'Moore men up and running. Their subs gave them a boost, especially Picky and Willie Dunphy having an impact.
Offaly didn't get the same effect from the bench in the second half, mainly because of the early enforced substitutions of Cahill and Ravenhill.
Offaly's response to the loss has been near flawless though. There have been no wobbles since to sap confidence.

What effect will the U20 win have? A slight one perhaps. The Offaly crowd will arrive in bigger numbers than normal and a bit of swagger about them.
The Offaly U20s also gave them a trimming too - game over after about 8 minutes.
The very act of Offaly capturing the All Ireland is a reminder that Offaly have a higher ceiling as a hurling county.

Will any of this matter on Saturday? Small things can help. I think Offaly should win, but I wouldn't put the house on it. Games turn on moments and incidents. No more than last year, a red card and a penalty flipped the advantage to Carlow.

This group have been building nicely under the radar for the last couple of years, without much adulation.
Getting back to MacCarthy would be a significant milestone. Not enough for Jason Sampson to grab the mic and roar that "we're no longer the whipping boys of Leinster", but it would be progress all the same.

One step forward every time. I'm really looking forward to it!

The opening round game hinged on a couple of key moments.

The injuries to Ravenhill and Cahill resulted in our bench having a minimal impact coming down the strait.

We missed a couple of goal chances in the second half to possibly kill off the game, with one such chance ending up in the Offaly net which sparked the Laois revival.

In the lead up to the U20 final the players spoke about their unfinished business with Nowlan Park. After last years final I’m sure our seniors have some unfinished business of their own.

I’d like to think that confidence within the group would be sky high, especially coming off the back of last weekend. I think psychologically this could give us that extra little percent needed.

I feel there’s a big performance in Offaly. There’s a drive and impetus to get ourselves back to hurlings top table. The experience of last years final and the confidence of the U20 victory could be the tonic.

If we play to our potential and we’re smart with our team selection, then I feel we have what it takes to get back to the promised land and sold out games in the Leinster Championship next season.