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Limerick Hurling Thread 2025

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Replying To Fitzy01:  "I think Fitzgibbon at center forward plays into our hands. Not as much open grass for him and its easier to curb his influence. He has hurt us far more out the field in the past and i would also expect to see him out there against us. Playing Ethan Twomey and Tim o'Mahony as a midfield pairing doesn't work for me

Cork will also surely try and mark Cian Lynch out of it this time around so hopefully someone like Hego can take advantage if he is tagged. Expect work rate, energy and intensity to be far higher from Cork this time around the first 10 mins could be absolute carnage :)

I also think Limerick will start with the same team that last faced Cork and i would also be hoping for a 4 to 5 point win. I would park all this talk of trilogies with Cork and i'm sure it's never mentioned in the Limerick dressing room as they might not meet again at all."
Trilogy talk is ridiculous and meaningless. Limerick are approximately 2/1 on for this game and odds are about right. Considering injuries I doubt if Downey, Dalton, O Leary and Millerick will start.., I think Cork team will be Collins, Cahalane, E Downey, O Donoghue, O' Brien, Joyce, Coleman, O' Mahony, Fitzgibbon, Healy, Barrett, Harnedy, Horgan, Connolly, Hayes. I think O' Mahony will mark Lynch, Cormac O' Brien on Hegarty, O Donoghue on Gillane. Looking forward to a competitive game!

Ryanteam (Cork) - Posts: 570 - 05/06/2025 16:49:55    2615155

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Team named,Aidan o Connor instead of the bull..huge oppurtunity and something different for cork to think about..cmon limerick..

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2541 - 05/06/2025 21:23:49    2615214

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Limerick team out
Limerick: Nickie Quaid (Effin); Sean Finn (Bruff), Dan Morrissey (Ahane), Mike Casey (Na Piarsaigh) ; Diarmaid Byrnes (Patrickswell), Kyle Hayes (Kildimo-Pallaskenry), Barry Nash (South Liberties); William O'Donoghue (Na Piarsaigh), Adam English (Doon); Gearoid Hegarty (St Patrick's), Cian Lynch (Captain, Patrickswell), Tom Morrissey (Ahane) ; Aaron Gillane (Patrickswell), Aidan O'Connor (Ballybrown), David Reidy (Dromin-Athlacca)

Subs: Shane Dowling (Na Piarsaigh), Peter Casey (Na Piarsaigh), Colin Coughlan (Ballybrown), Seamus Flanagan (Feohanagh-Castlemahon), Declan Hannon (Adare), Barry Murphy (Doon), Shane O'Brien (Kilmallock), Donnacha Ó Dálaigh (Monaleen), Darragh O'Donovan (Doon), Paddy O'Donovan (Effin), Cathal O'Neill (Crecora-Manister).

I did not see Aidan O Connor coming in for Shane O Brien - wonder if he is carrying a knock? And even if he is I would have expected either Flanagan or Casey to come in. Big opportunity for O Connor - was a standout for the league but I think this is his first ever Championship start. He didnt even start v Clare

Yadse (Limerick) - Posts: 139 - 05/06/2025 22:09:49    2615220

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I was spot on with the Cork team selection. Now, if I could only predict the score. I figured Cork wouldn't risk the injured players, and the team named looks adequate to make this a good game. Fingers crossed!!

Ryanteam (Cork) - Posts: 570 - 05/06/2025 23:54:03    2615232

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Replying To Yadse:  "Limerick team out
Limerick: Nickie Quaid (Effin); Sean Finn (Bruff), Dan Morrissey (Ahane), Mike Casey (Na Piarsaigh) ; Diarmaid Byrnes (Patrickswell), Kyle Hayes (Kildimo-Pallaskenry), Barry Nash (South Liberties); William O'Donoghue (Na Piarsaigh), Adam English (Doon); Gearoid Hegarty (St Patrick's), Cian Lynch (Captain, Patrickswell), Tom Morrissey (Ahane) ; Aaron Gillane (Patrickswell), Aidan O'Connor (Ballybrown), David Reidy (Dromin-Athlacca)

Subs: Shane Dowling (Na Piarsaigh), Peter Casey (Na Piarsaigh), Colin Coughlan (Ballybrown), Seamus Flanagan (Feohanagh-Castlemahon), Declan Hannon (Adare), Barry Murphy (Doon), Shane O'Brien (Kilmallock), Donnacha Ó Dálaigh (Monaleen), Darragh O'Donovan (Doon), Paddy O'Donovan (Effin), Cathal O'Neill (Crecora-Manister).

I did not see Aidan O Connor coming in for Shane O Brien - wonder if he is carrying a knock? And even if he is I would have expected either Flanagan or Casey to come in. Big opportunity for O Connor - was a standout for the league but I think this is his first ever Championship start. He didnt even start v Clare"
I would have expected the Bull to start, but he's a good guy to bring on. It's a non knockout final, so that takes a lot of suspense from Munster final. Both teams have one eye on the All Ireland series, and I'm not sure if it's a benefit to go directly to semifinal. It's quite a few weeks twiddling thumbs getting ready to face a battle hardened opponent.

Ryanteam (Cork) - Posts: 570 - 06/06/2025 00:11:34    2615234

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Replying To CTGAA10:  "Team named,Aidan o Connor instead of the bull..huge oppurtunity and something different for cork to think about..cmon limerick.."
And Cahalane in that cork full back line just waiting to get roasted.

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2388 - 06/06/2025 08:28:48    2615242

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Certainly a big surprise with Aidan O'Connor starting given that he was only a sub against Clare when others started. Will be interesting to see where he actually plays. He never really played in the inside role during league. It will keep Cork guessing. Maybe Hego may play inside with Gillane. JK is obviously going on form in training and keeping everyone on their toes.

journeyman (Limerick) - Posts: 142 - 06/06/2025 09:45:02    2615254

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Replying To Ryanteam:  "I was spot on with the Cork team selection. Now, if I could only predict the score. I figured Cork wouldn't risk the injured players, and the team named looks adequate to make this a good game. Fingers crossed!!"
You're not Pat Ryan by any chance!!

bloodandbandage (Cork) - Posts: 408 - 06/06/2025 10:52:32    2615280

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Replying To journeyman:  "Certainly a big surprise with Aidan O'Connor starting given that he was only a sub against Clare when others started. Will be interesting to see where he actually plays. He never really played in the inside role during league. It will keep Cork guessing. Maybe Hego may play inside with Gillane. JK is obviously going on form in training and keeping everyone on their toes."
Aidan O'Connor was one of our best players throughout the league, he is well able to take a score and I suspect his shooting efficiency is very good.

I don't recall seeing him playing in a two man full forward line with Gillane before, so like you I was thinking when I saw the team that Hegarty was the most likely person to be positioned inside with Gillane, however Hegarty, Morrissey and Reidy have been unbelievable at hunting and putting pressure on the opposition out the field this year, so we could be loosing a bit of this if he is parked at full forward/corner forward.

I now suspect a lot of constant positional interchanging between, O'Connor, Hegarty, Morrissey and Reidy with all players taking turns in the full forward area up front with Gillane. This will hopefully keep the Cork backs guessing.

LimerickandProud (Limerick) - Posts: 172 - 06/06/2025 12:04:39    2615304

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Replying To Ryanteam:  "I would have expected the Bull to start, but he's a good guy to bring on. It's a non knockout final, so that takes a lot of suspense from Munster final. Both teams have one eye on the All Ireland series, and I'm not sure if it's a benefit to go directly to semifinal. It's quite a few weeks twiddling thumbs getting ready to face a battle hardened opponent."
Kiely has been very consistent that he believes winning getting a QF bye is important
I think he puts more stock in a week of training than a QF v Dublin (or Laois/Kildare)
Clare came through the back door last year but so did Cork so both had same prep time and Limerick won AI in 2017 through back door but that year Galway had a semi final replay to contend with
Both teams will go all out- Limerick only know one way and Cork know if they go into this only wanting to not get blown away they will lose and a second defeat to Limerick in 3 weeks could be fatal to their psyche

Yadse (Limerick) - Posts: 139 - 06/06/2025 12:58:59    2615316

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Replying To Yadse:  "Kiely has been very consistent that he believes winning getting a QF bye is important
I think he puts more stock in a week of training than a QF v Dublin (or Laois/Kildare)
Clare came through the back door last year but so did Cork so both had same prep time and Limerick won AI in 2017 through back door but that year Galway had a semi final replay to contend with
Both teams will go all out- Limerick only know one way and Cork know if they go into this only wanting to not get blown away they will lose and a second defeat to Limerick in 3 weeks could be fatal to their psyche"
Let's hope we get a cracking game…, in the best traditions of Munster final. Leinster final should be competitive too!

Ryanteam (Cork) - Posts: 570 - 06/06/2025 17:53:31    2615401

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Rewatched last years semi
Cork for sure the better team on the day but we could easily have stolen it - no score for last six minutes having gotten within 2 with poor wides from O Brien and O Connor and a couple of shots dropped short looking for goals
Limerick played well but Cork brought more energy, while we looked like a team trying not to lose.
Dalton was a huge addition to Cork that day with 4 points from distance, 2 of them frees and he will be missed
Limerick have only 3 changes - Nash for Hannon, O Connor and English for Flanagan and O Neill
All 3 are on the bench and I'd expect O Neill and O Brien to get game time

Cork have Cahalane for Niall O Leary, Cormac O'Brien in for Rob Downey, and Diarmuid Healy in for Deccie Dalton
Cork injuries have probably weakened them, whereas Limerick look stronger especially with Nash back and English flying it
Limerick moved Hegarty into full forward last year and while it didnt really work out he also got on a lot of ball and was a little unlucky to not score a goal or two - I wonder will they do the same from the start this year as O Connor is not really an inside forward?

Yadse (Limerick) - Posts: 139 - 06/06/2025 18:30:28    2615409

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Replying To Yadse:  "Kiely has been very consistent that he believes winning getting a QF bye is important
I think he puts more stock in a week of training than a QF v Dublin (or Laois/Kildare)
Clare came through the back door last year but so did Cork so both had same prep time and Limerick won AI in 2017 through back door but that year Galway had a semi final replay to contend with
Both teams will go all out- Limerick only know one way and Cork know if they go into this only wanting to not get blown away they will lose and a second defeat to Limerick in 3 weeks could be fatal to their psyche"
Hope 2017 is just a typo for 2018, and that you're not trying to rise the Galway heads. That was their year. Trying to take it off them will only make em 10 times worse than they already are.

foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2301 - 06/06/2025 22:01:43    2615426

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Replying To Yadse:  "Rewatched last years semi
Cork for sure the better team on the day but we could easily have stolen it - no score for last six minutes having gotten within 2 with poor wides from O Brien and O Connor and a couple of shots dropped short looking for goals
Limerick played well but Cork brought more energy, while we looked like a team trying not to lose.
Dalton was a huge addition to Cork that day with 4 points from distance, 2 of them frees and he will be missed
Limerick have only 3 changes - Nash for Hannon, O Connor and English for Flanagan and O Neill
All 3 are on the bench and I'd expect O Neill and O Brien to get game time

Cork have Cahalane for Niall O Leary, Cormac O'Brien in for Rob Downey, and Diarmuid Healy in for Deccie Dalton
Cork injuries have probably weakened them, whereas Limerick look stronger especially with Nash back and English flying it
Limerick moved Hegarty into full forward last year and while it didnt really work out he also got on a lot of ball and was a little unlucky to not score a goal or two - I wonder will they do the same from the start this year as O Connor is not really an inside forward?"
Nash, O'Donavan, Casey were huge losses last year and Hegarty got a hand injury, which restricted him, nearly on. Casey coming on in the second could be vital.

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4506 - 06/06/2025 22:40:13    2615431

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Post mortems completed? Where did it go wrong?

MrPBoylan (Monaghan) - Posts: 251 - 10/06/2025 13:09:54    2616377

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Replying To MrPBoylan:  "Post mortems completed? Where did it go wrong?"
Haven't been able to watch it back yet on tv but we played very well in the main. Neither side gave the other anytime on the ball with high level intensity and the wind made shooting very tricky.
Maybe a few tweaks needed if they met again but nothing major. Kiely knows best, but with the way Cork line up and just go man on man we should consider stacking the full forward line with scorers against them i.e. Gillane, SOB\AOConnor and Peter Casey playing the Reidy role but there is a risk in doing that too so not sure. Reidy is Mr Consistent, but if we did meet Cork again should we have more of a scoring threat? On another day we could easily have scored 2 more goals. I have not seen the disallowed Cian Lynch goal back, English had a great chance and Hegos attempt was tame enough after a great run. Cork looked open at the back for the first 20-25 mins i thought and Lynch was lording it but we didn't create enough from this period. They got more to grips with us then and it was tit for tat.

Very fine margins in the end, looked like we had just done enough in injury time. The travel call on Casey was harsh i thought watching it in front of me as he was hit and started to stumble on a second hit and still released the ball. DOD also had a great chance to win it at the death but it wasn't to be. Overall not a whole lot went wrong, efficiency levels were down and a few key moments didn't go our way. That's championship hurling.

Time to forget about Cork now, rest and recover and turn full focus on next opponents and not look beyond that.

Fitzy01 (Limerick) - Posts: 447 - 10/06/2025 15:07:55    2616439

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Fine margins.
Limerick didnt lose, but it felt like a loss and not just because Cork got the title and trophy
We had everybody fit, and were playing at home, while Cork were missing 2-3 likely starters, and coming off of a 16 point trouncing
If we had won the penalties or even if Fitzgibbon had driven the free or 65 wide, Cork would have taken a lot more out of it than we would have
Cork will be better the next day, I am sure of that.
So the onus is on us to improve. A lot of it was down to the atmosphere, maybe the referring (which impact both sides), the tension and the tacking but there were a lot of mistakes by both sides. Poor touch, poor wide's, poor passes. I know Cork had slightly more wides than we did but our wide total in ET was through the roof. The likes of Casey, DOD and O Neill played well but hit wides they would have expected to score that felt like big misses.
Kiely will want to get his best team out v Dublin, but will also want to give those guys more playing time. Were they a little rusty?
And I know Aidan O Connor did well, but I would still start O Brien the next day. I think you want your best players on from the start.
I grew up in an era when I was sick of the sight of Cork hurlers winning, this Limerick team has been a joy for us, but I am already sick of the sight of Cork winning, and thats just after a single Munster.
A long way to go yet for this years AI.

Yadse (Limerick) - Posts: 139 - 10/06/2025 15:18:39    2616443

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Not really much chat on this any more but one final observation from me, key decisions in the games didn't go our way i thought most were fine as the ref was letting things go on both sides however Cian Lynches goal was disallowed as clear separation was not shown in the handpass from AOC however for Corks goal there was also no visible separation either and the goal stood when you put it beside the Casey travelling call at the very end they were 3 harsh calls that did not go our way. These were key decisions. Many Cork supporters seemed to think that the ref was favouring Limerick, i certainly didn't see it that way, it was 50 50 at absolute worst. Cian Lynch took a lot punishment during the game as i had a great view of him just in front of me for the first half.

Fitzy01 (Limerick) - Posts: 447 - 10/06/2025 17:49:05    2616492

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What would contributers here think of "the hooter" being interduced for hurling. It seems to me that in matches where Limerick are marginally ahead at full time the ref will make a draw of it. This has happened three times this year alone. I think its time.

aloneitstands (Limerick) - Posts: 77 - 10/06/2025 21:43:06    2616547

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Replying To Fitzy01:  "Not really much chat on this any more but one final observation from me, key decisions in the games didn't go our way i thought most were fine as the ref was letting things go on both sides however Cian Lynches goal was disallowed as clear separation was not shown in the handpass from AOC however for Corks goal there was also no visible separation either and the goal stood when you put it beside the Casey travelling call at the very end they were 3 harsh calls that did not go our way. These were key decisions. Many Cork supporters seemed to think that the ref was favouring Limerick, i certainly didn't see it that way, it was 50 50 at absolute worst. Cian Lynch took a lot punishment during the game as i had a great view of him just in front of me for the first half."
Yeah, the handpass punishment is a bit of a joke, we seem to be the only team being punished. In fairness it's hard to know what to do against cork. That's 3 tight championship matches where they have managed to get on the right side of the result. We were able to say we had a lot of injuries last year. Nash was the last straw ahead of the semi. This time was different, finally a full pack to pick from and cork down 2 definite starters. A bit of a worry. Now look we haven't actually lost to them in play time yet this year.

The Sunday game highlighted how our half backline was exposed. Hannon wasn't the problem, we don't seem to be set up well to deal with the movement of the cork half forwards. Do we go extra defensive and have DO'D as a 3rd midfielder in place of Reidy. Or as was said do we make sure goal chances are taken against a leaky full backline..Hego's maybe wasn't a goal opportunity but there were 2 others we should have buried.

Mads (Limerick) - Posts: 371 - 10/06/2025 23:18:55    2616567

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