Tipperary V Waterford

[Rebelred]

So, how do we see this one going?
Anybody else feel Waterford have the potential to cause an upset here? They've underperformed all year yet here they are in a semi final. Major questions about their half back and forward lines, but Davy Fitz is no fool and I reckon he will have a trick or two up his sleeve.
Tipp on paper have the better balanced team and have played very well in their two games to date. Should be a great match

[northmallexile]

Tipp are a better team than Waterford, but will take a while to find their rhythm after the long lay-off, I'd say. If Waterford take an early lead, things could get very interesting - I can see them going for goals early, actually.

[bodly]

have to agree, have a sneaking suspicion waterford will do the business on sunday despite the full back line being all over the shop against wexford. ken mcgrath is a fantastic hurler but hes not a full back and the two corner backs are having a nightmare season. davy will have them kicking down the doors of the dressing room on the way out and they have a big game in them. paul kelly is back in the tipp panel which give them added experience if need be, should be a cracker

[POL]

If Waterford win, it will be a shit final, Waterford are amongst the most legendary bottlers in Irish sport, I'd fancy Tipperary to really give Kilkenny a good lash

[Rebel Yell]

If Waterford win, it will be a shit final, Waterford are amongst the most legendary bottlers in Irish sport, I'd fancy Tipperary to really give Kilkenny a good lash

Were the New York Times reviews of The GAA Championship games any good ??? Did it keep you and Lamps in touch with the many games ye missed ?

Or did ye find a good solid barstool for the games to get the setanta experience...almost like being there ....

[Rebelred]

If Waterford win, it will be a shit final, Waterford are amongst the most legendary bottlers in Irish sport, I'd fancy Tipperary to really give Kilkenny a good lash

it would be a repeat of last years final if Waterford were to win. Tipp have the better backs to stop Kilkenny. But if they aren't up to scratch on Sunday Waterford could take them. Plenty goals I'd say

[POL]

Were the New York Times reviews of The GAA Championship games any good ??? Did it keep you and Lamps in touch with the many games ye missed ?

Or did ye find a good solid barstool for the games to get the setanta experience...almost like being there ....What the hell are you on about?

[Rebel Yell]

What the hell are you on about?

How did you enjoy the experience of watching the Championship from abroad .... you were on hol were you not ?

[megatron]

the 2 eoin kelly's going head to head, E.Kelly (Waterford) 5-24, E.Kelly (Tipperary) 1-13, i think tipp will come out on top but waterford will come out like savage dogs for the first half! did tipp and waterford play in the league this year? i cant see either team beating kilkenny though to be fair, even though tipp have one up on kilkenny (semi final of the league). the cork minors are on before it anyone heading up to it, ill be there, got my ticket yesterday

[morello]

have to agree, have a sneaking suspicion waterford will do the business on sunday despite the full back line being all over the shop against wexford. ken mcgrath is a fantastic hurler but hes not a full back and the two corner backs are having a nightmare season. davy will have them kicking down the doors of the dressing room on the way out and they have a big game in them. paul kelly is back in the tipp panel which give them added experience if need be, should be a cracker

Their full-back line has been a bit all over the shop but it's more of an organisational underperformance than individual ability issue. Prendergast and Murphy are actually fine hurlers but neither play with the stickiness of a Brian Murphy for example. I thought both of them played some great stuff against Wexford but lost concentration a couple of times and got caught out. Murphy will pick up Kelly and Prendergast will be up against Willie Ryan maybe, leaving Corbett to McGrath. I'd be more worried about their half back line, they don't seem to have a clue what their best combination is there, which has more of a baring on the rest of the team.

They will need a very strong start to be in with a shout but if that half back clicks then they have the forwards to do damage. Should be a great game.

[POL]

How did you enjoy the experience of watching the Championship from abroad .... you were on hol were you not ?I am now permanently abroad..have to make do with Championship action in grotty Oirish bars with bad Guinness/Fake Bulmers

[BostonRebel]

I am now permanently abroad..have to make do with Championship action in grotty Oirish bars with bad Guinness/Fake Bulmers

Join the club...only getting used to it now after 19 years...

[Eoin]

I can see Waterford causing an upset, but then collapsing in a heap against the cats in the final.

But I can't see Tipp beating KK either so it would be nice to at least see waterford getting to a final.

[POL]

I can see Tipp beating the cats, no team is unbeatable

[Rebelred]

the 2 eoin kelly's going head to head, E.Kelly (Waterford) 5-24, E.Kelly (Tipperary) 1-13, i think tipp will come out on top but waterford will come out like savage dogs for the first half! did tipp and waterford play in the league this year? i cant see either team beating kilkenny though to be fair, even though tipp have one up on kilkenny (semi final of the league). the cork minors are on before it anyone heading up to it, ill be there, got my ticket yesterday

the difference between the two sides this year is that Waterford have been totally dependent on their Eoin Kelly for scores, whereas Tipp, for the first time in years, are not dependent on their Eoin Kelly for scores.

Eoin Kelly Tipp is the better of the two aswell.

[legend76]

Waterford have no hope , and you can take that to the back

[redrebel]

So, how do we see this one going?
Anybody else feel Waterford have the potential to cause an upset here? They've underperformed all year yet here they are in a semi final. Major questions about their half back and forward lines, but Davy Fitz is no fool and I reckon he will have a trick or two up his sleeve.
Tipp on paper have the better balanced team and have played very well in their two games to date. Should be a great match

Yeah not much of a championship really...Waterford lose badly to Clare, than beat Antrim & Offaly to get to a Semi-Final..... the structure really needs looked at...

as for Tipp, we gave them that game and Clare didnt show up in the MF.

Could go either way I suppose, I think Tipp's defence is probably fitter & younger, but you'd expect the Daoise's forward's to get a few scores with their Big game experience... but Tipp's overall game has a better chance against Killkenny ..so I'll be shouting for them...


Lamps-POL back again .... it's like having Smelly & SmugCat posting........

[Rebelred]

Two changes for the blahs, Kearney and Moran return, arguably strengthens their defence considerably, their half back line has been in trouble all year

C Hennessy; E Murphy, K McGrath, D Prendergast; A Kearney, T Browne, K Moran; M Walsh, J Nagle, D Shanahan, S Prendergast, S Molumphy; E McGrath, E Kelly, J Mullane

[Corcaigh32]

End of the line for some of the Waterford lads. I thought what they did to Justin Mc was wrong but Davy the leprechaun has given them even more passion, grit and determination then they had before. So if Ken McGrath and Dan the man want an All Ireland medal, this is the year. So I think they will sneak it against Tipp by maybe 2-3 points and I think if they blow KK out of it on the day i.e. not try to beat them with hurling, then they have chance to stop KK 31.

[Rebelred]

End of the line for some of the Waterford lads. I thought what they did to Justin Mc was wrong but Davy the leprechaun has given them even more passion, grit and determination then they had before. So if Ken McGrath and Dan the man want an All Ireland medal, this is the year. So I think they will sneak it against Tipp by maybe 2-3 points and I think if they blow KK out of it on the day i.e. not try to beat them with hurling, then they have chance to stop KK 31.

they won't be able to blow Kilkenny out of it, Kilkenny are a much bigger side physically than Waterford

[mullocker08]

Waterford have a great chance against Tipp tomorrow.

WD would have a chance aginst Kilkenny as well. One-off match with a hunger and desire far greater than anything KK can have for their 3-in-a-row. Throw in the special local tension down there and it could be a cracker.
Saying WD would turn in the same kind of performance as Limerick did last year has no basis whatsoever. WD have been consistently competitive for years now. Limerick last year were a flash in the pan.
It is also completely baseless to say that WD would need to resort to physicality to beat KK. Of the 2 teams KK are far more inclined to physicality than WD. WD are a hurling team and have forwards just as good as KK. Their weakness as has been well proven down the years is in the full back line and that is where KK would likely win the match. Same goes for Tipp tomorrow. If WD can't stop the soft goals going in they will lose no matter what they score themselves. Conceding 3 against Wexford even with Ken McGrath at full back shows the problem quite clearly.
The psychological impact of conceding early goals could be very damaging.
Last team to beat KK in competitive hurling were WD in last years league final - I know league but KK never go out to lose.

Even aside from the full back problem WD need to see vastly improved performances from Dan Shanahan, and Brick Walsh among others. I think we will see that tomorrow.
Defence remains the issue though. WD half backs have to win their battles.

roll-on tomorrow - should be agreat game with the rain the only potential downfall

[Clubman]

On the betting front:

ladbrokes are giving odds of 9/2 for Waterford. Paddy power = 9/4 and Cashmans = 2/1. I think ladbrokes are giving odds that are way out???!

[bigboyfoolish]

Bit stingy really when you consider they were giving 3/1 o us beating Kilkenny..

Oh yeah just remembered how that panned out..

[bigboyfoolish]

Wat have certainly got a chance though.
Much better one than we had against those dirty cheating filthy cats

[Rebelred]

Fair play to Waterford, they really dug it out in the second half.
Tipp took all the wrong options in the second half, hit some awful long balls in. Credit to Waterford though, they defended well and took their chances.

Jack Kennedy was man of the match for me.

[redrebel]

Great win for Waaaa er furd.... especially with Dan Shananhanhan doing his impression of a staue again...just like the Clare game...

yer man Kennedy at half forward won some great ball at HF, when it mattered and scored setup some vital scores..

[redrebel]

beat me to it RR... agreed Jack Kennedy MoTM

[Rebelred]

The chance that Webster had and lost was crucial, Tipp dropped their heads after that.

Kilkenny by 10 in the final though

[redrebel]

The chance that Webster had and lost was crucial, Tipp dropped their heads after that.

Kilkenny by 10 in the final though

yEah ...and missing the 45 after was a further blow... but the Waterford defence hunted in packs and never gave the tipp fiorwards a sec... very similar to tactics Cody used on us...


Fair play to the little Midget from Clare, tactically he made the big calls 2nd half...apart from Big Dan should have gone earlier..


Dunno about KK by 10...they'd need a bad day alright ..but nothing is impossible. there may be one more big game in McGrath who was immense today.

[Mr Jefferson]

Tipp threw away some guilt edged goal chances. Pair play to watereford. Didn't think they had another season in them but is the final a game too far? I bloody hope not.

[Rebelred]

Tipp threw away some guilt edged goal chances. Pair play to watereford. Didn't think they had another season in them but is the final a game too far? I bloody hope not.

unfotunately I think that Kilkenny are on another level to all the other teams, including Tipp or Waterford. Hopefully Waterford can do it, but it's going to be one hell of a challenge for them to overcome.

[Langer Dan]

If Waterford win, it will be a shit final, Waterford are amongst the most legendary bottlers in Irish sport, I'd fancy Tipperary to really give Kilkenny a good lash

aye, the Cats by 6 or 7 points.

Celebrating like loons after FINALLY making a final?
Smalltimery of the highest order.

[Youghal Exile]

Waterford have got a huge monkey off their backs.I think they can stop those dirty cats.Imagine if they did win will the pitch be a parade of todlers.

[northmallexile]

John Mullane and Davy Fitz rolling around on the Croke Park turf locked in a passionate embrace was one of the most homoerotic things I've ever seen on a hurling pitch. It was a bad scene, like.

Fair play to Waterford all the same.

[POL]

John Mullane and Davy Fitz rolling around on the Croke Park turf locked in a passionate embrace was one of the most homoerotic things I've ever seen on a hurling pitch. YOU GOT THE HORN DIDN'T YOU?

[POL]

aye, the Cats by 6 or 7 points.

Celebrating like loons after FINALLY making a final?
Smalltimery of the highest order.There'll be 10 in it if they are lucky

[mullocker08]

Wd will not lose to KK by 10 or 9 for that matter. they have a better chance than Cork did last week.

[Rebelred]

Wd will not lose to KK by 10 or 9 for that matter. they have a better chance than Cork did last week.

on what basis will they not lose by 9 or 10?

They've better forwards than we do, sure, but they have worse backs.

[morello]

aye, the Cats by 6 or 7 points.

Celebrating like loons after FINALLY making a final?
Smalltimery of the highest order.

Clearly, you didn't see our reaction to winning a qualifier against Galway this year then?

Great stuff by the déise. They seem to have got their personnel and positional calls on the button now. Have no doubt, KK would have much preferred Tipp. Waterford are unpredictable, physical and have plenty (half-mental) match winners throughout the team. The KK half-back line will finally be put under pressure, unlike the mis-match that Cronin and Niall Mac provided. If they get out of the blocks like they did yesterday they'll be there or thereabouts.

[Eoin]

aye, the Cats by 6 or 7 points.

Celebrating like loons after FINALLY making a final?
Smalltimery of the highest order.

Cork celebrated in similar fashion after winning a Qualifier against Galway a few weeks ago. 5 defeats in semi finals before, I think they're entitled to celebrate finally winning one.

[Eoin]

Clearly, you didn't see our reaction to winning a qualifier against Galway this year then?

.

Beat me to it!

[sticks and stones]

Clearly, you didn't see our reaction to winning a qualifier against Galway this year then?

Great stuff by the déise. They seem to have got their personnel and positional calls on the button now. Have no doubt, KK would have much preferred Tipp. Waterford are unpredictable, physical and have plenty (half-mental) match winners throughout the team. The KK half-back line will finally be put under pressure, unlike the mis-match that Cronin and Niall Mac provided. If they get out of the blocks like they did yesterday they'll be there or thereabouts.

Astute. And not wrong. :)

Though we'd prefer Tipp for traditional reasons as much as for ''on the day'' ones. But I think we'd take Tipp a lot easier than we'll find these lads to be. There's something Hollywood about it.

In regard to the personnel and positional side of things being sorted - I thought it was a bit odd that a) Dan the man stayed on, and that b) Mullane was taken off.

Come on the Cats ;)

[de mange]

electric atmosphere in croker yesterday and very enjoyable in that regard, but neither of those teams would bother kilkenny much id say unfortunately.

i thought technically, both sides were lacking, a lot of simple ball skills not up to scratch- a bit like watching ourselves last week. kilkenny are ruthlessly efficient and they will punish everyone of those handling errors, in fact i would fancy cork to have beaten either of those sides yesterday

only thing in waterfords favour is that shanahan went missing for the entire game yesterday and they still won. if he shows up in september it will offer them a good chunk of the step up required to take the cats

tipp left that game behind them yesterday

[delzer]

electric atmosphere in croker yesterday and very enjoyable in that regard, but neither of those teams would bother kilkenny much id say unfortunately.

i thought technically, both sides were lacking, a lot of simple ball skills not up to scratch- a bit like watching ourselves last week. kilkenny are ruthlessly efficient and they will punish everyone of those handling errors, in fact i would fancy cork to have beaten either of those sides yesterday

only thing in waterfords favour is that shanahan went missing for the entire game yesterday and they still won. if he shows up in september it will offer them a good chunk of the step up required to take the cats

tipp left that game behind them yesterday


hes been missing for most of the year imo having a quiet year by his standards.

on the other hand mullane seems to be hurling a lot better and creating more scores for others.

hope they tear into the cats but can see kilkenny having this one wrapped up with 10 mins to go

[legend76]

Waterford have no hope against Kilkenny , and you can take that to the back


fixed

[Eoin]

i thought technically, both sides were lacking, a lot of simple ball skills not up to scratch- a bit like watching ourselves last week. kilkenny are ruthlessly efficient and they will punish everyone of those handling errors, in fact i would fancy cork to have beaten either of those sides yesterday



Defintiely agree with you there, thought it was very scrappy at times and a lot of poor attempts at rising/hitting on the ground etc.

[Rebelred]

Defintiely agree with you there, thought it was very scrappy at times and a lot of poor attempts at rising/hitting on the ground etc.

you won't see Kilkenny hitting aimless 90 yarders ala Tipp yesterday.

Waterfords half forward line will give Kilkennys half back line plenty to think about, but their too strong and sharp in that line to be beaten.

Tommy, Hogan, JJ - that's an All star half back line right there.
Will be interesting to see who picks up Mullane, Tyrell may get the nod but I wouldn't be surprised if they drafted Dalton in for the final, he's a very tight man marker.

[thegillabbeygowl]

It was a cracking game to watch.
Waterford have not a chance though.
Seen some Tipp lads inside in the Big tree having what seemed to be a picnic.