All-Ireland Champions open league campaign against Tipperary in Co. Kilkenny

It’s unusual to see National League games played at neutral venues, but this is going to be the case on Sunday afternoon as Waterford and Tipperary clash in the opening series of games in this year’s Lidl National Ladies Football Division Three League as the south east rivals clash at Piltown in Co. Kilkenny.

Waterford will go into this game with the favourites tag around their necks but Pat Sullivan’s All-Ireland Intermediate winning charges from 2015 will know that Tipperary are likely to be one of their main challengers to get out of this league.

Tipperary this year are under the guidance of former Dublin All-Ireland winning manager Gerry McGill who has welcomed back into the panel for the year ahead a host of players that may not have been in contention for a place in the team in recent years.

The Premier County have also experienced some good years on the colleges front and in addition to the experienced players in the panel they will be looking to bring forward some emerging talent that have lines out for the likes of Scoil Mhuire from Carrick-on-Suir, the Loreto School in Clonmel and Colaiste Dun Iascaigh from Cahir in their set up this year.

Waterford have reached the final of this competition in the last two years but lost out to Armagh in the 2014 decider and to Sligo last year both at Parnell Park in Dublin.

With Waterford having achieved their aim for 2015 and winning the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship beating Kildare at Croke Park, the main aim for Waterford this coming year will have to be to establish themselves in the senior grade once more and more importantly to get out of the third division of the league.

12 months ago Waterford used the league to try and establish some new exciting young prospects in the set up something that worked as some more established players were held in reserved and introduced with terrific effect often in the last quarter of the game when experience was most needed to see the side past the finish line.

This year Waterford are without some of the side that helped them to win the All-Ireland final but this will lead to chances for others in the league to establish themselves in the team for the championship and will take heart from what they saw happen 12 months ago.

The sides clashed twice last year.

In the league game between the two sides at Ardfinnan, Tipperary really put it up to Waterford in the first half and turned around at the break leading 2-4 to 0-6, the goals coming from Laura Dillon and Aoife Ryan and they continued to be the better side in the early exchanges of the second half as Aoife Ryan hit a third goal for the home side, but as the game wore on and Waterford introduced some of their more experienced side, experience won out as Lauren McGregor and Michelle Ryan crashed goals for Waterford to win 2-12 to 3-5.

When the sides clashed later in the year at Fraher Field in the Championship, things were far more clear cut as Waterford ran out 6-18 to 1-4 winners.

While both sides are likely to contain youth and experience in their set up at Piltown, Tipperary will be looking to the likes of Lauren Fitzpatrick, Teresa McGrath, Louise Cadell, Bernie Ryan, Laura Dillon, Gillian O’Brien, Aisling McCarthy, Shauna Ryan, Sheelagh Carew and Niamh Lonergan to provide big performances.

While Waterford will be short the services of some of last years All-Ireland winning side for this years league opener, Pat Sullivan will still be able to call on some fine young players as well as very experienced players for this and other games in this years competition.

The Murray, Wall, McGrath and Ryan sisters, Katie Hannon, Megan Dunford, Caoimhe McGrath, Mary Kate Morrissey, Nicola Fennell, Kate McGrath, Maria Delahunty, Hannah Landers and Grainne Kenneally are all likely to play big parts this year and also help settle in any new players into the set up for the year ahead.

Tipperary will feel that they have a very good chance of winning this years Munster Intermediate Championship after Waterford who won the last seven finals will not be standing in their way this year, while Waterford will as already stated be looking to establish themselves in the senior grade which they play in for the first time since 2008.

For both the league is going to be vital. The best way to go into the championship is off a good run in the league. Both sides will feel that they can win it this year. Waterford will however be the early favourites to win this division at the third attempt. It’s important that both sides get off to a great start therefore and built up momentum.

There can only be one winner, but you have to feel that with the experience Waterford picked up last year in winning the Intermediate Championship they should have enough in them to begin this year’s league with a win here.

Waterford footballers travel to Aughrim for National League opener

Tom McGlinchey’s Waterford senior Football team will for the second year in a row begin their national league campaign with a game against Wicklow.

Twelve months ago the sides clashed at Fraher Field and the home side emerged 0-14 to 0-10 winners but playing away this year in Aughrim Waterford will know that they face a much harder task to collect the points on offer to both sides.

However that win as Waterford’s only win in the league, their next best result being a draw away to London, while Wicklow did not fair much better as their best result in last years league was a one point win over Leitrim in round two of the competition. Wicklow would draw with Carlow to finish on three points with Waterford and London who beat Wicklow on their own sod in the final round of games.

Johnny McGee’s charges have not had the best start to 2016 loosing all three games played in the O’Byrne Cup against Westmeath, NUI Maynooth and Longford.

The Garden County side have lost upwards of two dozen players that have played for the in the last two years.

Leighton Glynn who is one of Wicklow’s best ever footballers have decided to throw his lot in with the Counties hurlers of late, while in the last few weeks players like Patrick McWalter, Paddy Dalton, James Stafford and Alan Byrne who have all served the county well in recent years have retired from the inter county scene while Paul Cronin and Tommy Kelly have not made themselves available for selection.

Johnny McGee however without the players who have decided not to be  make themselves available will be able to call on some very good players, including Robert Lambert in goal, Dean Healy and Paul McLoughlin in defence, Rory Finn and Anthony McLoughlin in the middle of the field and Darren Hayden and Patrick Byrne in attack.

Waterford football made headlines in recent weeks when it was confirmed that no member of county senior football champions Stradbally are included in the panel that is currently together.

Tom McGlinchey pointed out recently that he contacted over 50 players in the last few months about their availability and that just over 30 of them had taken up the offer to go into training for this years league.

The loss of the Stradbally players to Waterford will be a big one, but the management team have named a very strong team to play against Wicklow on Sunday including some players making their debuts.

In the modern era positions mean very little when it comes to naming a team as sides are often very different to what appears on the programme by the time the game starts even if it is the same fifteen players named that start.

The Waterford management team have named the experienced Stephen Enright between the posts with Thomas O’Gorman at full back flanked by Tadhg Ó hUallachain and James McGrath.

Stephen Prendergast is named at centre back with Declan Allen and Ray Ó Ceallaigh either side of him while team captain Tommy Prendergast will be joined in the middle of the field by Conor Prunty.

Waterford have an exciting look to its forward line. Donie Breathnach who played with the senior hurlers in 2015 is named at centre forward with Maurice O’Gorman and Michael O’Halloran either side of him, while the full forward line sees JJ Hutchinson named at full forward with Gavin Crotty and Paul Whyte in the corners.

Getting out of the fourth division of the National League is Waterford’s main aim this year when it comes to football. For both sides its important that they get off to a winning start as a loss means that you are playing catch up on your main contenders from an early stage.

Last year Waterford won in Fraher Field. Can they win this year in Aughrim? If President Obama was asked, I’m sure he would reply yes they can.

De La Salle College to make return to Dr. Harty Cup Final

De La Salle College are just sixty minutes away from returning to a first Dr Harty Cup Final since 2012.

They play Our Lady’s from Templemore in the their first semi final since 2012 on Saturday afternoon with Bansha now set to host the game after it was moved earlier in the week from Cashel.

Not for the first time the Waterford City side will go into the game as the underdogs, but this is something that will not phase De La Salle manager Dermot Dooley who was involved with the college side when they won the competition two years running when current Waterford senior hurling manager Derek McGrath was over the team.

The Templemore College side will travel to Bansha on Saturday with a good string of results at their backs which may well make them favourites to advance to the final of this year’s competition, something that will give them plenty of confidence for the task ahead.

Pitted in Group B for the group stages of the competition, they played five games winning all five games.

They began the competition with a narrow 0-20 to 1-15 win over Charleville CBS and followed it up with a 2-14 to 2-8 win over St Francis College from Rochestown and a massive 4-31 to 1-9 win over Pobail Scoil na Trionóide from Youghal before rounding off their league campaign with another win over Cork opposition beating Gael Colaiste Mhuire AG on a 3-24 to 1-9 score line.

Last time out in the quarter finals against Castletroy Community College Lyndon Fairbrother was their leading player as the JK Bracken player hit 1-6.

But his side by no means are reliant on him for scores as in that same game the full forward line accounted for 1-9 of their sides tally of 1-17 and outside them Jamie Bergin who is outstanding all year when presented with chances from placed balls put over a further 0-4.

Others that could well cause difficulties for De La Salle on the day include full back Diarmuid Ryan, Brian McGrath at centre back, Paddy Cadell in the middle of the field as well as Gerry Kelly and Stephen Nolan in attack, some of whom have played minor for Tipperary in the last few years.

De La Salle also have qualified with an impressive run of results.

They opened with a 1-20 to 1-13 win over Blackwater Community School in Fraher Field and followed it up with another impressive 1-17 to 0-8 win over Hamilton High School from Bandon in Clashmore.

Their only loss in the competition was a big 4-11 to 1-6 defeat against Ardscoil Ris but ensured their qualification for the knockout stages of the competition with a draw against Midleton CBS in their last game at Carriganore and last time out had a 0-13 to 0-10 win over Nenagh CBS at Kilmallock.

When De La Salle last won this competition, some of the players involved have gone on to become household names and it would be no major surprise to see the same happen with this current group of players regardless of the outcome of the game.

Thomas Douglas, Harry Ruddle, Eoin Daly, Paul Hennebry, Michael Costigan, Michael Mahony, Cormac McCann, Billy O’Sullivan, Conor Gilles Doran, Lee Wall and Donie Power have all impressed for De La Salle all year and if they are to advance here they will need big performances again from these players and the others that will get a run out on Saturday afternoon in Bansha.

The De La Salle team will not be too worried that they will go into the game as underdogs. It might even be a plus for the side.

Expect this game to go right to the wire, but expect the Waterford city side to be the happier of the two sides by half three.

Why not give the Tommy Murphy Cup another go?

In the last few weeks a lot has been said and reported on when it comes to the All-Ireland Football Championship each year.

There is some that are looking for change. There is some that want to leave things as they are. There is some that want the inter county scene shortened somewhat to allow greater time to the club championships in each county.

There appears to be two different proposals that seen to generate most interest.

One is where the All-Ireland Championship is played off as a Champions League Style competition. And in allowing this to happen, Provincial Councils could continue to organise their Senior Football Championship, maybe at the demise of the secondary competitions such as the McGrath Cup, or claims have been made by some that the Provincial competitions could be played off quickly between the National League’s and the All-Ireland Championship.

Another idea that has some support is to restore the Tommy Murphy Cup, a competition first played for when Sean Kelly was President of the GAA, and a competition that no doubt has played a part in helping Tipperary move in the direction they are at present when it comes to football as it got young people interested in the game when the County won it in 2005.

To get people playing and interested in football, especially in the so called weaker counties, which of the two main proposals is the best?

There is some that will argue that to improve you have to play the best on a regular basis. If these people are correct, then the Champions League Style Competition is the way to go.

For this to happen, you will have to grade or seed teams. The likelihood is that GAA Chiefs would go with eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the first knockout round of the competition.

Teams would possibly be graded or seeded in accordance to what division they would play in the league.

So in 2016 if we had a Champions League style All-Ireland Football Championship, the eight top seeded teams would be Down, Donegal, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Roscommon and Monaghan.

The Second seeded teams would be Derry, Fermanagh, Meath, Armagh, Tyrone, Cavan, Laois and Galway.

Third seeded teams would be Clare, Sligo, Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath and Kildare, while the fourth seeded teams would be Louth, London, Carlow, Antrim, Wexford, Leitrim, Wicklow and Waterford. And then don’t forget that both Kilkenny and New York will also have to be given the opportunity to compete, which means you could have six groups of four and two of five if all thirty four county boards decided to take part.

Looking at the different seeded teams if they were done as above you could well have a group where you Dublin, Tyrone, Kildare and Waterford in one group. OR you could have Kerry, Armagh, Tipperary, Kilkenny and New York in another group.

Would playing in such a group help football in Waterford? How many from Waterford would travel to Parnell Park or Croke Park to see Waterford play Dublin from outside of the capital.

While a visit from Dublin to Fraher Field or Walsh Park may ensure that the ‘Full House’ signs might be hanging outside the gates for a few days before the game when it comes to the sale of tickets, what would a possible twenty or thirty point defeat do for football in Waterford in the long term and how many at the full house from a game with Dublin would turn up to see a follow up home game with Tyrone if Waterford were to suffer a heavy loss to the current All-Ireland Champions.

If young boys of between say ten and fourteen were to see Waterford suffer heavy defeats to the stronger counties then surly it would put questions in their minds as to why they might want to play football for Waterford in the years ahead and give all their energy to developing their hurling skills, where Waterford are able to hold their own with the likes of Kilkenny, Tipperary and Cork.

In hurling we have different championships. Louth, Lancashire, Sligo, Warwickshire and Leitrim compete in the Lory Meagher Cup.

How many people would call for Louth, Sligo or Leitrim for example to play in a Champions League style hurling championship?

Imagine what kind of cricket score Waterford or Kilkenny would put up if they were to visit Dundalk or Carrick-on-Shannon for a game of hurling, even if the two south east county sides were to put out second string teams for the game, which in effect would make a mockery of the competition as sides should always play the strongest sides available to them in games.

If there is nobody calling for Waterford or Kilkenny to play Louth or Leitrim in hurling games, then why are there calls for Waterford to play the likes of Dublin, Kerry, Donegal or Mayo in football? Surly, the risk is there that the same damage would be done to the game in the long term as it would if Waterford or Kilkenny were to visit venues in Louth or Leitrim for a hurling game.

So maybe, if we are serious about developing football in the so called weaker counties, the restoration of a competition like the Tommy Murphy Cup is the way to go.

There is some that say that the competition should be restricted to the eight teams that take part in the fourth division of the National League.

But if you were to do that, you would have to give New York and Kilkenny both of whom do not play in the National Leagues the chance to play which would bring the numbers competing to ten.

And in recent years little separates the teams in division’s three and four. Sides that moved up from Division four in the league have shown that they are more than capable of holding their own against ‘stronger opposition’ the following spring.

If this is the case, why not then include all teams in division three of the National League with the exception of the two sides that win promotion to Division two for the following year in a new look Tommy Murphy Cup, making it a possible sixteen teams that could take part.

When the Tommy Murphy Cup was last played, whether people want to admit it loudly or not, the competition was helping to develop football in the weaker counties.

Like in all walks of life, there was some out there who worked hard to knock the competition and ensure that it did not receive the recognition it deserved.

Competitions like this need time for it to be built upon. It’s no good for anyone in Croke Park or on a County Board to say we will play it on a two or three year trial basis. It needs a lot more time. The competition needs to be played for a minimum of five years and the GAA need to pump big money into promoting the competition with the final played before the All-Ireland Final or one of the semi finals in August.

Come Congress time at the end of February, County Boards up and down the length of the country and overseas as well as those that have votes from different positions that they hold within the GAA could surly do a lot worse than to give competitions like the Tommy Murphy Cup another chance if they are fully interested in developing football in the so called weaker counties.

After all, don’t people say ‘What’s good for the Goose it good for the Gander’, and if its good for Hurling to be played at four different levels, surly it can only be good for football to go down the same route and be played at two levels.

Waterford to play Limerick in Munster Senior Hurling League at Carriganore

The Waterford Senior hurlers have their first competitive outing of 2016 on Sunday afternoon when they take on Limerick in the second round of games in this years inaugural Munster Senior Hurling League at Carriganore.

Traditionally these pre-season competitions have been used by managers to give new players in their extended panels or fringe players from the previous year the chance to try and stake a claim for a place in the team for the year ahead and from time to time many take this chance with some impressive performances.

The Waterford panel have been back in training now with a couple of weeks and while there was no ‘December Series’ in 2015 which served the panel so well twelve months earlier even if results were not always what Waterford supporters would have liked to see, the side have played a number of challenge games against college sides as well as the likes of Offaly and Wexford and these will have helped the side prepare for this competition which in the bigger picture is not the most important on the G.A.A. calendar but also for the National League which starts in a few weeks time and which Waterford will be hoping to defend the title they won for only the third time last May in Thurles.

Both sides were in action last weekend.

Limerick in the first round of games had a 2-24 to 0-18 win over Kerry in the first round of this year’s Munster Senior League.

The hurlers from the Kingdom are back playing hurling at the highest level again this year after their Christy Ring Cup win last year, but will not play in the Munster Championship, instead playing in the Leinster Championship which is kind of mind boggling. The cynics amongst us could be forgiven for maybe the move to get them playing in the Leinster Championship is a move to dispense with the Provincial Championships in the near future. If there as it should be that G.A.A. Chiefs want to develop hurling in the Kingdom further would it not be better to have them playing in Munster and have Waterford, Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Clare visiting Killarney or Tralee on a regular basis than to send the Kingdom’s hurlers to Kilkenny, Carlow or Portlaoise for Championship games.

In their game last weekend Limerick were without their Na Piarsaigh contingent of players who are preparing for an All-Ireland Club semi final against Wexford side Oulart-the-Ballagh next month and will be without them again this weekend.

Limerick fielded lest than half of what you would call regulars in the win over Kerry last week, but it should be noted that in the last few years, Limerick have produced some excellent minor teams and last year won the Under 21 Championship and in recent years they have also had some very good colleges sides most notably Ardscoil Ris in the city and Doon CBS and Castletroy College from the county and many of the players involved in these sides will in this competition be given the chance to shine and stake a place in the team for the rest of the year.

Waterford last weekend drew 0-15 to 1-12 with UCC at the Gold Coast Complex outside Dungarvan fielding what was in effect an experimental side, even if many of those have played for the county in the past.

Players like Ian O’Regan, Shane McNulty, Kieran Bennett, Harley Barnes, Paudie Prendergast, Jordan Henley, Shane Bennett, Tommy Warning, Andy Molumby, Seamus Keating, Thomas Ryan and Colm Roche all started in this game and most if not all could well be given another run out this weekend, while more experienced players like Colin Dunford, Maurice Shanahan, Jake Dillon, Shane Fives and Stephen O’Keeffe were given game time and again could be given a run from the start this weekend, while others that may get a run out at some stage include Barry Coughlan, Darragh Fives, Philip Mahony, Kevin Moran, Shane O’Sullivan, Michael Walsh, Noel Connors and Brian O’Halloran.

Little will be or should be read into how this game will end. Who wins the competition after all will not be remembered by most by the time we enter the knockout stages of the league in a few months time let alone by the end of the year.

This and the subsequent games against Kerry, Cork and Clare should be seen as a chance to get some game time in ahead of the league and championship in the weeks and months ahead and also to work on their touch for the bigger games to come.

While the full time result of this game may not be entirely important, a win all the same would be nice, as winning breaths confidence and the more confidence the side has going into the bigger games the better it will be for Waterford, who may have a good chance this year to collect some silverware as many of their main rivals this year are under new management set ups for 2016 and will need time to work on new ideas that these set ups will bring.

Playing at home and possibly in front of a good support, let’s go for a home win in this game, but if its not to be we wont be too disappointed.

WATERFORD FOOTBALLERS LOOK FOR SECOND WIN IN 12 MONTHS OVER CORK

Waterford’s quest to win back to back McGrath Cup competitions begins on Sunday afternoon next when they take on Cork at the An Rinn Club grounds in Ring.

Twelve months ago in winning the competition, Waterford pulled off a major shock when they beat Cork in the semi finals at Clashmore and that win against the odds will give the side plenty of confidence heading into this weekends game and the side sent out by Waterford Manager Tom McGlinchey will be hoping that history can repeat itself.

The Waterford management team have said that getting out of the bottom tier of the National Football League is their primary target for the year. For that to happen they will have to put together a good string of results together and it would be made easier if that string of results could start this weekend as winning breaths confidence in any side.

Tom McGlinchey has made changes to his set up this year with former Clare Senior Football coach Ephie Fitzgerald coming in to do a similar job with his fellow county man in Waterford after he was overlooked for the Cork Senior Football job last year as officials in the Rebel County opted for Peader Healy to lead them for the year ahead.

He has also brought in Laurence Hurney as a selector and the Ballinacourty man will also add to the management team with his many years experience playing at the highest level within the county and helping his side to win silverware in the last number of years.

Cork will come into this game with the advantage of a competitive game at their backs. Last weekend in a new look McGrath Cup which sees the six counties play a league style competition in two groups of three with the top side in each group advancing to the final towards the end of the month.

Last weekend Peader Healy put out a very experimental looking side in which just two players involved in the All-Ireland qualifier defeat to Kildare last year featured in the 1-10 to 0-12 win over Limerick at Mallow.

The Rebels needed two late points from the experienced Daniel Goulding in that game to ensure they collected the brace of points on offer and will as a result know coming to Ring on Sunday afternoon that a win again this weekend will secure the place in the final from Group B.

What side Waterford sends out this weekend remains to be seen but it is envisaged that it will be along the lines of recent years, with the goalkeeping spot fought out between Ballinacourty’s Stephen Enright and Ardmore’s Sean Barron.

Further out the field Waterford are expected to have an experienced look to it with the likes of the O’Gorman brothers from The Nire, Donie Breathnach and Tadhg Ó hUallachain from the host Club, Tommy Prendergast, Joey Veale and Paul Whyte from Kilrossanty, as well as Ballinacourty’s Brian Looby, Mark Ferncombe and Conor Prunty all set to feature at some stage.

Two experienced players that look set to miss out this weekend are Kilrossanty’s Stephen Prendergast and Ballinacourty’s Patrick Hurney both of whom got married over the Christmas to New Year Period.

A win for Waterford at the Ring venue would set the side up nicely for a big game against Limerick a week later where a second win would give the side confidence heading into the league which the management side has set their eyes on getting out of the bottom division this year as the sides biggest challenge.

Cork however, will travel to Ring as favourites. The new players brought in for last weeks game with Limerick will be hoping to get another run out and to impress this weekend and will then hope that they have done enough to stake a place in the team for the remainder of the year.

Waterford will have to be confident going into this game. If Waterford are to get out of Division four in the league it’s important that from the start of the year that a good string of results is put together to build up confidence and playing competitive games right up to the league is far better than all the challenge games that could be fitted in.