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That time of the year again.

KK still favourites. Ter and Adam both still injured, Charlie in the States for a while. Anyone know what is wrong with Kiely?

Ballinamere without Duignan, although I believe he will be home from America fairly soon. Dan Ravenhill got a knee operation having injured himself at half time in the dressing room in the game against Antrim.

Shinrone have Adrian Cleary and Ciaran Cleary home from Australia.

Our lads in Coolderry hammered Na Piarsaigh from Limerick at the weekend (without their Limerick lads), having also beat Roscrea well recently.

I haven’t heard much on how any other team is going at the moment.
Anyone got any departures or lads home or recent challenge games?

Prediction

1. Kilcormac/Killoughey
2. Shinrone
3. St Rynaghs
4. Belmont
5. Kinnitty

1. Ballinamere
2. Coolderry
3. Birr
4. Seir Kieran
5. Tullamore

St Rynaghs to beat Coolderry in Q Final
Shinrone to beat Birr in Q Final

K/K to beat St Rynaghs/Shinrone in Semi Final
Ballinamere to beat St Rynaghs/Shinrone in Semi Final

K/K to beat Ballinamere in county final

Tullamore to beat Kinnitty in relegation final.

Prediction

1. Kilcormac Killoughey
2. Shinrone
3. St Rynaghs
4. Belmont
5. Kinnitty


1. Coolderry
2. Ballinamere
3. Birr
4. Tullamore
5. Seir Kieran

Shinrone to beat Birr in quarter final
Ballinamere to beat St Rynaghs in quarter final

Shinrone to beat Coolderry in semi final
Kilcormac Killoughey to beat Ballinamere in semi final

Kilcormac Killoughey to beat Shinrone in final

Seir Kieran to beat Kinnitty in relegation play off.

After watching the league final on Sunday
Kk should walk the championship
I'm afraid
Shinrone would not have scored a goal of they were still playing today
A big problem for them
Also concerding silly ones
Will be shocks and suprises but KK strength in depth is to great..

Any predictions for the weekend ?


Il go with

Birr
Coolderry
Kk
Shinrone

Some of the games this weekend are borderline impossibe to call due to the unavailability or rumoured unavailability of so many players.

In normal circumstances K/K, Birr, Shinrone and Ballinamere would be my choices but it’s a fool’s errand picking winners this weekend.

frankthetank wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 11:12 pm Some of the games this weekend are borderline impossibe to call due to the unavailability or rumoured unavailability of so many players.

In normal circumstances K/K, Birr, Shinrone and Ballinamere would be my choices but it’s a fool’s errand picking winners this weekend.

K/K should win comfortably.
Seir Kieran have a massive opportunity with Birr up first in Clareen. They will have been targeting this. Hard to know what sort of team they will have, talks of Joe Bergin and a few more stalwarts hurling intermediate. Should be a cracker.
Shinrone operating off almost a full squad should beat a depleted Rynaghs.
Duignan back for Ballinamere, should be a cracker of a game. Coolderry don’t have the same star names but have been performing very solidly.

I think each team getting a home game brings a completely different and welcome dynamic.

Start of club hurling championship at the height of summer, it doesn’t get much better.

5 first round games in the Laois senior hurling championship this weekend.

Every single game on in O’Moore Park Portlaoise, crazy.

That has to be a massively disappointing result for Clareen tonight.

This finished last season’s championship on a mini high with wins over St Rynagh’s and Tullamore (their first group victories since 2018) and I’m sure they were hoping to carry that momentum into the 2025 season.

They are not beating Cooldery or Ballinamere so already their game with Tullamore looks like a relegation semi-final.

Eoghan Cahill with 0-10 from play. Take a bow.

Draw between Belmont & KK. The home team will probably feel they should have won that but they will still be happy to come out with a result against the county champions.

Good performance by Peter Geraghty for KK. Not too many clubs would manage without the likes of Mitchell, Kiely, Ter Guinan, Screeney, Kavanagh etc. just goes to show the strength in depth that they have.

Side note, not sure where that referee is from but even as a neutral I thought he was very poor. God forbid a hurling game would break out, he was pulling for frees every chance he got. Bringing frees forward 20 yards for literally no reason. Bizarre really.

Good work rate from Belmont who were also without a few key players.
Peter Geraghty was Kilcormac’s best hurler having hurled Senior B for the last 2 years.

Ref was Matthew Farrell from Roscommon, I think he’s living in Clara or Tullamore.
He has got a few intercounty games at Christy Ring/Joe Mc level I think.
Always found him to be fairly consistent, but he got Kilcormac out of jail big time today.
He brought up 4-5 frees in the second half for dissent where very little seemed to have been said.

Conor Slevin was about zero from seven on the frees until that last one went over, including a free on Belmont’s 45 just before it.

That referee shouldn’t be let near a hurling game again I know that’s very cliché but he absolutely did Belmont out of a win
There was at least 2 throws before he blew full time it was obvious to everyone in moyestown he was trying to get the draw for kk

Free after free after free and kk could take them from a good distance from where it was given

That kinda performance is inexcusable simple

As for Belmont if they were a bit more clinical they would have won too many dropped balls in the forwards

Kk did look like they were missing some firepower missed a good few chances of thier own

G91 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 12, 2025 5:18 pm That referee shouldn’t be let near a hurling game again I know that’s very cliché but he absolutely did Belmont out of a win
There was at least 2 throws before he blew full time it was obvious to everyone in moyestown he was trying to get the draw for kk

Free after free after free and kk could take them from a good distance from where it was given

That kinda performance is inexcusable simple

As for Belmont if they were a bit more clinical they would have won too many dropped balls in the forwards

Kk did look like they were missing some firepower missed a good few chances of thier own

Of the team that Kilcormac/Killoughey started in the county final I make it 7 of them didn’t start today.

Oisin Mahon
Cillian Kiely
Enda Grogan
Leigh Kavanagh
Ter Guinan
Charlie Mitchell
Adam Screeney

And Belmont still couldn’t beat them? If you have serious championship aspirations you are beating that team that Kilcormac/Killoughey started today.

frankthetank wrote: ↑Sat Jul 12, 2025 7:03 pm

G91 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 12, 2025 5:18 pm That referee shouldn’t be let near a hurling game again I know that’s very cliché but he absolutely did Belmont out of a win
There was at least 2 throws before he blew full time it was obvious to everyone in moyestown he was trying to get the draw for kk

Free after free after free and kk could take them from a good distance from where it was given

That kinda performance is inexcusable simple

As for Belmont if they were a bit more clinical they would have won too many dropped balls in the forwards

Kk did look like they were missing some firepower missed a good few chances of thier own

Of the team that Kilcormac/Killoughey started in the county final I make it 7 of them didn’t start today.

Oisin Mahon
Cillian Kiely
Enda Grogan
Leigh Kavanagh
Ter Guinan
Charlie Mitchell
Adam Screeney

And Belmont still couldn’t beat them? If you have serious championship aspirations you are beating that team that Kilcormac/Killoughey started today.

Cillian Kiely did not start the county final

frankthetank wrote: ↑Sat Jul 12, 2025 7:03 pm

G91 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 12, 2025 5:18 pm That referee shouldn’t be let near a hurling game again I know that’s very cliché but he absolutely did Belmont out of a win
There was at least 2 throws before he blew full time it was obvious to everyone in moyestown he was trying to get the draw for kk

Free after free after free and kk could take them from a good distance from where it was given

That kinda performance is inexcusable simple

As for Belmont if they were a bit more clinical they would have won too many dropped balls in the forwards

Kk did look like they were missing some firepower missed a good few chances of thier own

Of the team that Kilcormac/Killoughey started in the county final I make it 7 of them didn’t start today.

Oisin Mahon
Cillian Kiely
Enda Grogan
Leigh Kavanagh
Ter Guinan
Charlie Mitchell
Adam Screeney

And Belmont still couldn’t beat them? If you have serious championship aspirations you are beating that team that Kilcormac/Killoughey started today.

To fair to belmont from what I hear they were down similar similar amount of starters with oisin kelly, cathal flynn, leon fox etc and they wouldnt have the depth KK do.
Its a positive performance and should of came away with the win.