Replying To Firceall: "[quote=Cockney_Cat: "Saturday 17 May Leinster MHC semi-final Kilkenny v Dublin, Nowlan Park, 2pm
Sunday 18 May Leinster SHC Round 4 Kilkenny v Dublin, UPMC Nowlan Park 3.00pm
Why can't the Minor's game be played before the Seniors?"
I think a central council decision was made a few years ago that minor matches should not be held with seniors because it was felt there could be too much pressure on the teenagers. That decision should probably be revisiited in my opinion. I imagine all of the Dublin and KK minors would prefer to play before the seniors. They are probably old enough to learn from one-sided matches matches or from individual mistakes etc.."
That's part of it. That decision was made around the time or not long after minor changed from U18 to U17, because now anybody playing inter-county minor at this time of year is either still just 16 years old or has only recently turned 17. I agree however that it should be revisited.
However, it's not that they can't be allowed. Wexford played Galway last year in a minor & senior double-header at Wexford Park.
With regard to this Kilkenny v Dublin one though, another part of it is that it was set out months ago that the Leinster Minor Hurling semi-finals would be played on Saturday May 17th - i.e. long before it was known that Kilkenny & Dublin would come through the group and preliminary play-offs in such a way as to be facing each other in this one.
Presumably the case that it could have been switched to act as a curtain-raiser for the senior match on the Sunday if both sides agreed. But my guess is that even if that was attempted, Dublin wouldn't agree to it. And I don't mean that in any bad way about Dublin. If I was the Dublin manager, I'd be highly unlikely to agree to it either."]Why would they not agree with it? Or yourself?
@countyman2022 - as regards why somebody (including myself) might not agree to that - think about it:
If you were bringing a crowd of 16-year-olds and barely-turned-17-year-olds to Nowlan Park to play Kilkenny in a championship semi-final, would you rather play them: a) in front of a relatively small crowd of probably no more than 1,000 to 1,500 (at a push) throughout the game, or b) in front of a crowd that could swell to 8,000 or more as the game goes on, and where the crowd could make a difference to the Kilkenny players and even the referee if the match was tight in the closing stages?
Replying To Pikeman96: "@countyman2022 - as regards why somebody (including myself) might not agree to that - think about it:
If you were bringing a crowd of 16-year-olds and barely-turned-17-year-olds to Nowlan Park to play Kilkenny in a championship semi-final, would you rather play them: a) in front of a relatively small crowd of probably no more than 1,000 to 1,500 (at a push) throughout the game, or b) in front of a crowd that could swell to 8,000 or more as the game goes on, and where the crowd could make a difference to the Kilkenny players and even the referee if the match was tight in the closing stages?
The crowd does make a difference sometimes."
Be a great experience and learning curve for them. And realistically, max attendance tomorrow seems be 7.5k, alot might not be in for the minor. Just a thought, loved playing in front of bigger crowds at that age group. Develops guys.
Dublin team beat another fancied Galway team last night and yet one newspaper blamed the wind and the wides, despite Dublin having played with same wind - which blew diagonally from one corner to other so no great help to either - and had just one less wide!
Dublin like Na Fianna were the better team. That is why they won. They also won because they wanted it more and were the physically more aggressive and tougher team.
Which i recall the lack of was once a great source of mirth to yourselves and others when hammering the "soft Dubs." If we lose now, it is to BETTER tougher teams. That be the Cats, and whoever we've met from Munster in knockout."
I was at it. Loughrea missed too much in the first half. If they put them away game was over at HT