Originally posted by The Scientist:
Well I know the intermediate grade very well in Waterford and I have to say it’s a very weak intermediate final. Mollerans in my opinion are about the 3 or 4th best team in the eastern championship behind Clonea, Roanmore and Portlaw. I think if the Eastern championship got a major overhaul and the games were played in proper condition of late spring and summer then we wouldn’t see Mollerans in the final.

On the other hand, I saw Ring only play once this year and that was a friendly against Erin’s Own and they blew An Ring out the gate. It was prob the only game Erin’s Own hurled all year as they are well known for blowing hot and cold.   (Another team with plenty of ability in the east if they had the right structures and management in place  )  

Whoever does win this one will be absolutely hammered in the senior grade and will come straight back down.

Originally posted by shocks49:
Over the years the trend has been that whoever won the West more often than not ended up being beaten in the Co Final by the Eastern Champions with Ballyduff Upper a few years ago being the exception. The standard of Intermediate hurling always seems to higher in the east.

Originally posted by Inglis Drever:


They are late gettting to the final this year but that is due to the West.

This message has been edited - 04-nov-2008 @ 00:19

Originally posted by waterford 2-23:


True, but the reason the Western championship was delayed was that 3 of the 4 semi-finalists are still in the senior football championship and 2 of them    (the 2, An Rinn and the Brickeys, who ended up in the western final   )    were involved in a protracted series of play-offs in that championship.

Having said that, the biggest mistake the Western Board made was not providing for extra-time to be played in the western final. Either that, or they should have played it on the Saturday with any possible replay pencilled in for the bank holiday Monday. The county final needed to be played this weekend just gone to give the county champions a week before heading into a munster campaign.

As things stand, An Rinn or St. Mollerans will have to travel to Cork to take on Blarney within 24 hours of their club`s biggest triumph for many a long year. That`s not fair. Nobody would blame them for not fulfilling the fixture in such circumstances. The Munster council should put the match back a week, as the Munster final is not due to be played until the 23rd in any event.

It`s easy to have a go at the county board for not having certain championships played in time, but they`re in hard luck in the sense that the finals which were played a good few weeks ago    (IF and JH   )    were in championships where the Waterford representatives are not due to be in action until late November. Tramore, for example, will have a five-week wait between the intermediate football county final and their Munster championship match.

One last myth I want to nail while I am on a roll - this idea that we are shaming ourselves by contrast with counties with far more clubs. The main problem we run into in Waterford when trying to run championships off is that every year, a good number of clubs are involved in the business end of championships in both football and hurling. This phenomenon is more likely to arise in a county with 50 clubs than in a county with 100. I make it that at the start of November, there were 5 clubs - Abbeyside/Ballinacourty, An Rinn, Brickey Rangers, Modeligo and Ballyduff Upper - with their main adult teams still involved in both the football and hurling championship. Another 2, Ardmore and Mt Sion, are still in the senior and junior football championships respectively and were involved in the hurling relegation process until this day last week. That makes it very hard to find dates for matches especially when Waterford, rightly or wrongly, try to minimise the requirement on teams to play in midweek and again at the weekend.

Originally posted by The referee:


would ken and eoin mcgrath be kicking ball with the mt sion junior footballers???

Originally posted by shocks49:
The fixtures are a complete joke. I think it was a player from Lismore last year played in the first round of the Senior Hurling championship then went to Australia for four months and when he returned he hadn`t missed a game. Its a complete farce when small clubs like Old Parish and Ballinwillin are having their JFC put on hold just because the likes of the Shamrocks and Tallow, Ballyduff etc have one or two players on the snior hurling panel.

But back to the topic, anyone have any thoughts or predictions on next saturdays county final? Its fixed for two o` clock in the fraher field.

Originally posted by shocks49:
Modeligo are waiting to play Ballyduff Upper in the JFC Western Final since beating Old Parish in the semi final back in September. Mount Sion won the Eastern Final I think.

This message has been edited - 06-nov-2008 @ 18:37

Originally posted by shocks49:
Would have to agree with you there Scientist. Over the years the trend has been that whoever won the West more often than not ended up being beaten in the Co Final by the Eastern Champions with Ballyduff Upper a few years ago being the exception. The standard of Intermediate hurling always seems to higher in the east. Still though both teams could only beat what was put in front of them and are in the final on merit. It`ll will be a struggle for either team to cut it in the senior ranks but it will be a great honour for either club to be playing in the Senior championship next year. If Ring are to win it would add to a great year for the club who won the Comortas Peile Na Gaeltachta earlier in the summer, the Junior A Hurling title and the U21 B football Co Final. They are also in the Senior Football quarter final against Abbeyside. Great credit must be given to them for all the work that is been done out there.
They wont be beaten easily and have put in a massive effort in training with rumours of Kilkenny style training sessions surfacing last week! At least one man was brought to hospital requiring stitches after training after the drawn western final!

Originally posted by The Scientist:
Anyone know a bookies that will take a bet on this game?

Its a Mollerans win all the way to the bank

Originally posted by flangy:
Match abandoned after 15 minutes due to the weather. John A Murphy of Waterford Local Radio said it was the worst conditions he`s ever witnessed.
Replay next Saturday with the winners possibly playing Blarney in Munster championship the following day.