Transfer Deadline Day has passed.

Transfer Deadline Day in England might be a week away, but here in Waterford when it comes to inter club transfers between clubs in the G.A.A. all transfers for the year ahead have gone through.

There were two standout transfers this year. Former Waterford football goalkeeper Tom Wall has transferred back to his native Bonmahon after spending a number of successful years with The Nire, while Kenny Moore has left Dungarvan and will throw his lot in with County and Munster Intermediate Hurling Champions Lismore for the year ahead. Lismore play an All-Ireland semi-final this coming weekend but their newest recruit will not be available to play as the competition is a 2016 competition.

When it comes to player gain’s Naomh Pól are the bigger winners, gaining ten new players, four of which have transferred from the Saint Saviours Club.

There are also substantial gains for Tramore who have five extra players for the year ahead.

The list of transfers in full are:

Name	From	To
Adam O'Riordan	Old Parish	An Rinn
Nicholas Condon	Old Parish	An Rinn
Richard Stillwill	Old Parish	Ardmore
Lee Mulhearne	Abbeyside/Ballinacourty	Kilmacthomas
Con Williams	Brickey Rangers	Abbeyside/Ballinacourty
Simon Waters	Colligan	Old Parish
Mark Shanahan	Dungarvan	Colligan
Kenny Moore	Dungarvan	Lismore
Thomas Coffey	Fourmilewater	Kilgobinet
Thomas Coffey	Kilrossanty	Kilgobinet
Gerard Hickey	Kilrossanty	Kilrossanty
Bobby Power	Kilrossanty	Kilmacthomas
Shane Ahearne	Lismore	Affane/Cappoquin
Jack Houlihan	Lismore	Melleray
Conor O’Callaghan	Melleray	Brickey Rangers
Eoin O’Donoghue	Melleray	Modeligo
Michael Horgan	Modeligo	Colligan
Joe Duggan	Modeligo	Dungarvan
Rory Kiely	Saint Oliver’s	Affane/Cappoquin
Rory Byrne	Saint Oliver’s	Affane/Cappoquin
Aidan Hallahan	Saint Oliver’s	Affane/Cappoquin
Eoin Fitzgerald	Stradbally	Abbeyside/Ballinacourty
Thomas McGrath	Stradbally	Tramore
Thomas Wall	The Nire	Bonmahon
John Butler	Saint Saviours	Naomh Pól
Jason O’Halloran	Saint Saviours	Naomh Pól
Stephen O’Donoghue	Saint Saviours	Naomh Pól
Patrick Buckley	Saint Saviours	Naomh Pól
Sean Kelly	Mount Sion	Naomh Pól
Sean Murphy	Mount Sion	Naomh Pól
Gearoid Mac Cheirigh	Roanmore	Naomh Pól
Dale Sheridan	Roanmore	Naomh Pól
Anthony O’Brien	Dunhill	Naomh Pól
Thomas Power	Rathgormack	John Mitchells
Willie Cullinane	Fenor	Tramore
Tom Breen	Fenor	Tramore
Noel Geary	Fenor	Dunhill
Anthony Whelan	Fenor	Ballyduff Lower
Mark O’Rourke	Fenor	Ballydurn
Simon Keane	Dunhill	Roanmore
Bryan Moran	Kill	Tramore
Rhys Moran	Kill	Tramore
Willie Cullinane	Kill	Tramore
Noel Geary	Kill	Dunhill
Donal Power	Gaultier	Mount Sion
James Murthagh	Gaultier	Tramore
Cian Flanagan	Tramore	Mount Sion
Sean Veale	Newtown	Kilrossanty
Joseph O’Brien	Portlaw	Naomh Pól
Colm Kennedy	Ballyduff Lower	Mount Sion

*Transfer list as per Waterford News and Star

New Football Championship in the Déise County

The last few years has seen the Senior Football Championship in Waterford pan out along familiar lines.

With too many years we have seen two clubs from Stradbally, Ballinacourty and The Nire reach the county final to see who takes home with them from Fraher Field the Conway Cup.

Along with the big three, most people with an interest in football in the county could predict at least four of the other sides that reached the knockout stages, and most would have a fair idea what four sides would most likely fight it out to see who would have to play in the Intermediate Championship the following year.

There can be no disputing that things had become stale.

Officers of a Board are often the first to be criticised when it comes to how the different championships are fought out. Often the clubs are not asked to take their share of the blame when a championship or competition becomes stale, as they bye in large opt to keep things the way they are. Often when it comes to change, it’s a case of Turkeys not voting for Christmas.

So, full marks must go to the Officer Board of the Waterford County Board for coming up with something new and to the clubs that supported such a move.

The new competition will see the four sides that reached the semi-finals of last year’s championship be seeded teams in an open draw for the first championship with six fixtures. The sides that reached last year’s semi-finals could not meet each other, meaning there would be six first round games.

The six winners of the first round games would advance to the winners section of round two, the six losers would play in round two losers group.

The three winners from the winners group of the winners group would advance to the semi-finals of the competition. The winners of the round two losers group would advance to round four, with the six round two losers in round two would advance to round thee.

The three winners of the round three games would advance to round four to meet the round two loser’s group winners, while the round three losers would play off to see who gets relegated.

The three round four winners would then play off in rounds five and six to get one team who would be the fourth team to play the semi-finals along with the three winners from the round two winners group.

What all this means is that all clubs taking part (The Nire, Ballinacourty, Stradbally, Kilrossanty, Rathgormack, Clashmore, An Rinn, Ardmore, Gaultier, Brickeys, Ballinameela and Portlaw are all guaranteed three games of championship football in 2017 at a minimum, two games less than the sides that competed in the 2016 championship played.

It also means that unless we see a shift in power when it comes to football in the county, The Nire, Ballinacourty and Stradbally are all likely to reach the semi-final stages of the competition again in 2017, even if they were to be paired together in round two. The only way we can guarantee that all three don’t reach the last four of the competition is if at least two of them what would experience what would be a shock defeat before the round three draws were to take place.

For the record, the draw for the first round of the championship as drawn by Ken Begley representing Championship sponsors JJ Kavanagh & Sons on Monday night was:

Ballinacourty V Rathgormack

The Nire (Holders) V Clashmore

Ballinameela V Portlaw

Stradbally V Ardmore

Kilrossanty V Gaultier

An Rinn V Brickey Rangers.

So will the new style championship work?

I for one can’t see anything changing in the long term. We will see the big three reach the last four once more in 2017, with four or five of the usual suspects battling it out for the last place.

There is also a plan in place to cut the numbers taking part from its current number of twelve to ten, which from the neutral point of view is a welcome move.

But further changes could take place, but what I would suggest might be considered too radical.

With some time I have said that we have too many senior clubs in Waterford. To me, the ideal number would be eight.

Cutting four from its current total won’t go down well with some. They all would not like to drop to the intermediate grade in one swish move. Therefore a new competition, a Senior ‘B’ or and Intermediate Premier Competition could be set in place. The four teams left out of the senior championship along with the four sides that contested the Divisional Finals of the Intermediate Championship the year before such a competition would come into place would form the teams in this new competition.

There is little appetite for a County League and a League style championship in the county. Should such a new competition come into place, the County Leagues/Phelan Cup as we know them would be scrapped.

The eight teams would play each other once in a league style championship and all eight would advance to the championship proper, with the top team playing the bottom team, the second playing the seventh and so on in a knockout championship.

The quarter final winners would advance to the semi-finals while the quarter final beaten sides would play off to decide which team would be relegated.

This style of competition would guarantee each team in both the senior and the Senior B/Intermediate Premier competition would have a minimum of nine games, up from the current five which they are getting.

The County Final winners would continue to be presented with the Conway Cup after the County Final while the winners of the County Senior B/Intermediate Premier Competition would be presented with the Phelan Cup, which would always be the curtain raiser to the County Senior Football Final.

In time similar would be done with the Senior Hurling Championship, cutting the numbers from twelve to eight and the introduction of a Senior B/Intermediate Premier competition.

The winners of the County Hurling Final would be presented with the Waterford News and Star Cup, while the Senior B/Intermediate Premier winners would be presented with the Sargent Cup. Relegation from the Phelan Cup and Sargent Cup Competitions would be in line with relegation from the Conway Cup and Waterford News and Star Cup Competition.

With an increase in the number of games in the club championship from its current five to nine, it would mean that inter county managers would have less time with their players to prepare for the League and Championships. Is that a good thing? I am one of those that think the Club Scene is the most important unit of the G.A.A., so will let you decide what I think.

For the record, the there was no change to the Senior Hurling Championship for 2017, so we have two groups of six.

The draws for the 2017 championship is:

Group One	Group Two
Ballygunner	Passage
Dungarvan	Mount Sion
Tallow	Lismore
Abbeyside	Fourmilewater
De La Salle	Roanmore
Ballyduff Upper	Portlaw

Dungarvan CBS March On

Dungarvan CBS are through to the semi-finals of this year’s Munster Senior ‘B’ Hurling Colleges Championship after they bear St. Declan’s from Kilmacthomas in an all Waterford quarter final pairing at Lemybrien.

It was the second time that the two sides met in this years competition, as they had already clashed in the group stages of the competition back in October when the mid county side ran out winners 1-17 to 1-16.

The second time that two sides meet in close proximity that sides meet in colleges or underage games, the result is often different as the side that loses the first day is often the side that learns most and so it proved once more in this game, as the Old Boro side ran out comfortable winners with 11 points to spare.

Sean Crotty opened the scoring for Dungarvan CBS with a point which was cancelled out with a similar effort from Craig Fraher.

Colm Dempsey gave the mid county side the lead soon afterwards when he finished to the net but goals from Glen Waters and James Flavin by the sixth minute had Dungarvan CBS back in front, 2-1 to 1-1.

Sean Whelan-Barrett gave Dungarvan CBS a double score lead before the mid county side enjoyed a purple patch as they hit scores from Billy Power, Conor Quinn, Craig Fraher and Ronan Dunphy to level matters 2-2 to 1-15 after eighteen minutes.

Brendan Cullinane and Niall Dunphy swapped scores before Conor Quinn and Sean Barrett Whelan did likewise, but the Old Boro side finished the half the stronger as Aidan Organ pointed and Glen Waters hit his second goal of the game late in the half to give his side a 3-4 to 1-7 lead at the break.

While it was the mid county side that opened the scoring in the second half through Craig Fraher, it was Dungarvan CBS that finished the half the stronger side in the second half.

James Flavin pointed for Dungarvan CBS which was followed with a hat-trick of scores from Sean Crotty.

Reece Stringer who had replaced Conor Duggan got his name on the scoresheet before Sean Crotty and Glen Waters both landed a brace of scores.

Sean Whelan-Barrett got his second score of the afternoon and his sides final score of the game before Conor Quinn hit his sides second score of the half and last of the afternoon shortly before the end, a score that was to prove to be a mere consolation score.

Dungarvan CBS: Jamie Walsh; Eoghan Curran, Gary Donnelly, Kaelan Daly; Tiernan O’Connell, Conor Whelan, Dylan O’Donovan; Dan Booth, Seamus Cronin; Glen Walters, Sean Crotty, Conor Duggan; Sean Whelan-Barrett, James Flavin, Brendan Cullinane. Subs used; Aidan Organ and Reece Stringer.

Scorers: Glen Waters 2-2, Sean Crotty 0-6, James Flavin 1-1, Sean Whelan-Barrett 0-2, Brendan Cullinane, Aidan Organ, Reece Stringer 0-1 each.

St. Declan’s Kilmacthomas: Darryl Walsh; Peter Gallagher, Ben Kennedy, Conor Burns; Gearoid Murphy, Conor Quinn, Mike Dunphy; Jack Behan, Ronan Dunphy; Billy Power, Geoff Hally, Niall Dunphy; Craig Fraher, Niall Power, Colm Dempsey. Subs Used: Darragh Power, Dylan Fitzgerald, Donnchadha Hassett.

Scorers: Craig Fraher, Conor Quinn 0-3 each, Colm Dempsey 1-0, Billy Power, Ronan Dunphy, Niall Dunphy 0-1 each.

Referee: Thomas Walsh (Modeligo).

No Joy for Saint Augustine’s in Munster Final

There was no joy for Saint Augustine’s College in the Munster Senior ‘A’ Colleges Ladies Football Final at Castletownroche on Sunday afternoon last as they went under to Limerick side, John The Baptist Community School from Hospital.

While at the end of the game eleven points separated the sides on the scoreboard, it was the Limerick sides ability to raise green flags that proved to be the difference between what were two evenly matched sides.

At the break just two points separated the sides in the Limerick side’s favour as they turned around leading 2-4 to 0-8, with both goals coming from Player of the Match Anna Rose Kennedy on four and twenty five minutes.

The concession of a third goal just ten seconds into the second half proved to be a step too far for the Abbeyside College side.

Both sides started by exchanging early scores. Anna Rose Kennedy opened the scoring for the eventual winners with a pointed free only for it to be cancelled out with a similar effort from Kaeisha Tobin.

Saint Augustine’s were dealt a blow on four minutes when Anna Rose Kennedy struck for her first major score of the afternoon to put her side three points in front and they added further scores through Sarah Morrissey and Andrea O’Sullivan to give them a five point lead early in the game.

Saint Augustine’s however with Rachel McGuickian, Aisling Mullaney and Abbie Dalton beginning to get on top in the half back line and Chloe Fennell and Áine O’Neill beginning to get on top in the middle of the field, Saint Augustine’s began to fight back.

At the other end of the field Kaeisha Tobin also began to show her ability by kicking three unanswered points to leave just two points between the sides as the game entered its final ten minutes of normal time in the first half.

However in a four minute spell the Limerick side came right back at Saint Augustine’s as they hit a point first from Andrea O’Sullivan on twenty one minutes and four minutes later Anna Rose Kennedy hit her second major score of the afternoon.

But Saint Augustine’s refused to throw in the towel and points from Bronagh Condon, a brace from Kaeisha Tobin and one from Darina Shanley followed to leave their side trailing 2-4 to 0-8 at the break.

The concession of a third goal, this time from Kate Heelan proved to be a blow to Saint Augustine’s as they would have wanted to start the second half as they had finished the first, on top but it was not to be.

Kaiesha Tobin landed another point from a free for Saint Augustine’s but the Limerick side hit back with three Anna Rose Kennedy points and one from Grainne Condon to give them a 3-8 to 0-9 lead.

Amy Fennell and Bronagh Condon pulled points back for Saint Augustine’s by the fifty third minute to leave six between the sides. If they were to hit the next score and if it was to result in a green flag you can’t but have felt that they would go on and get something from the game.

But it was the Limerick side that scored next, a point from Ava Hartigan on fifty five minutes after which Kaeisha Tobin added to her impressive tally on the score sheet.

The Limerick side however would finish the game the stronger of the two sides.

Anna Rose Kennedy picked out Eimear Kirby to strike a four goal late on for the winners and they followed up with points from Andrea O’Sullivan and Grainne Condon, to give their side what was a deserved victory.

While Saint Augustine’s College will be disappointed with the final result of this game, many in the panel can take something from the game in that in recent years many of the players that have impressed on Colleges and Underage Inter county sides have been given their chance to show what they can do with the Waterford senior team in the last year or two, including some that were involved in this game.

In the year ahead the likes of Rachel McGuickian, Aisling Mullaney, Abbie Dalton, Chloe Fennell, Áine O’Neill, Bronagh Condon, Sheena McGuickian and Kaeisha Tobin will all likely be involved in other big games and it would be no surprise to see a number of this group get a call up to play and train with the Waterford senior team in the weeks and months ahead.

Saint Augustine’s: Shauna McGrath; Megan Phelan, Sarah Morrissey, Lauren Dunford; Rachel McGuickian, Aisling Mullaney, Abbie Dalton; Chloe Fennell, Áine O’Neill; Caoimhe Dwyer, Bronagh Condon, Darina Shanley; Sheena McGuickian, Kaeisha Tobin, Dearbhala Beresford.

Scorers: Kaiesha Tobin 0-8 (7f), Bronagh Condon 0-2, Chloe Fennell, Darina Shanley 0-1 each.

Hospital: Emer McCarthy; Maeve Barry, Ciara Ryan, Ciara Hynes; Grainne Condon, Ava Hartigan, Lucy Ryan; Caitlin Kennedy, Grainne Ryan; Eimer Kirby, Andrea O’Sullivan, Katie O’Meara; Kate Heelan, Anna Rose Kennedy, Sara Morrisssey. Subs Used: Jane Casey, Eva Butler.

Scorers: Anna Rose Kennedy 2-4 (0-2f), Andrea O’Sullivan (1f) Grainne Condon (1f) 0-3 each, Eimer Kirby, Kate Heelan 1-0 each, Sara Morrissey 0-1.

Referee: AJ Cronin (Cork).

Five Sides Remain In Contention for Dr. Harty Cup Crown

Three of the four sides that will contest the semi-finals of this year’s Munster Senior A Colleges Hurling Championship (Dr. Harty Cup) are known following today’s semi-finals at venues in Cork and Tipperary.

St. Colman’s from Fermoy are through to the last four after a six point win over Christian Brothers College from Cork City at Church Road in Blackrock.

The North Cork outfit scored three first half goals in this game through Barry Murphy, Brian Roche and Conleth Ryan to lead 3-7 to 0-1 at the break.

The Cork City side won the toss and choose to play against the considerable breeze and will be questioning the wisdom to do so, as some could well argue that they would have been better off adding all the scores they could in the opening thirty minutes and then hope that when the Fermoy outfit had the wind at their backs in the second half that they would not hit the required amount of scores needed to get something from the game.

Although the city side won the second half, they had left themselves with too much to do, and the concession of three first half goals proved the difference between the sides.

The City side did hit a second half goal through Eoin Moloney it proved to be but a mere consolation score as the Fermoy side ran out 3-12 to 1-12 winners.

St. Colman’s however will have to wait a little longer to see who they will play in the last four of the competition as Ardscoil Rís and Midleton CBS finished all square after extra time at Bansha.

The Limerick side at the break lead 0-7 to 1-1.

The second half proved to be a very close affair.

With four minutes to go the sides were locked 1-7 to 0-10 on the scoreboard. Liam Gosnell edged the East Cork side in front but as the game entered stoppage time Will Henn split the post for the Limerick side.

Gosnell again pointed for Midleton which seemed good enough to book his sides place in the last four but Diarmuid Ryan struck a fantastic point for the Limerick side to force the game into extra time.

Extra time saw both sides go tit for tat at each other.

James Daly and Liam Gosnell added goals for their respective sides.

The game would end in a 2-12 to 1-15 draw after 80 minutes but the Cork side will feel that they could have won it at the end when they won a free but Liam Gosnell saw his effort tail wide of the uprights. 

Extra time was also needed at Cashel between Nenagh CBS and De La Salle College.

These two sides met at the same stage of the competition last year, a game that the Waterford City side won despite going into the game as underdogs.

The North Tipperary side had first use of the strong wind at Leahy Park and turned around with an 0-11 to 1-3 lead on the scoreboard at the break, the De La Salle goal coming from rising star Thomas Douglas.

Douglas would add a second goal for his side in the second half as the Waterford City side came more into the game as it progressed and took the lead for the first time as it neared the end.

But a late point from Kevin McCarthy forced the game to an extra twenty minutes to see who would advance to the last four.

Both sides in the extra twenty minutes proved to be equally matched with little between the sides throughout but in the end, the North Tipperary side proved to be that just little stronger.

This was De La Salle’s fourth game in the competition, three of which ended in draws after sixty minutes, one of which they won in added time, the other they lost.

In the Semi Finals Nenagh CBS will play Our Lady’s Templemore meaning that Tipperary is assured of having one team in this year’s final.

Last year’s runners up having played against the breeze proved to be marginally the better of the two sides in the opening half as they turned around leading 2-4 to 0-8 at The Ragg, Ray McCormack and David O’Shea raising the green flags. Holycross/Ballycahill Club man Darragh Woods in the opening half proved to be his side only scorer, and added two further points in the second half when playing against the wind.

With the game in its final ten minutes the Templemore side lead by eight points.

Odhrán Quirke pulled a goal back for the Thurles side to give them hope but last year’s runners up finished strong hitting 1-2, the goal coming from Ray McCormack despite the best efforts of Ewan Bourke to keep it out.