Senior Club Hurling Power Ranking, The 5th and Final One for 2024, Plus our Prediction as to Who will win the Dan Breen Cup.
16. Templederry Kenyons
It will mean nothing to hear that their best performance came in the relegation Final especially when they came out on the wrong end of the result. Will have to take heart from the player’s that stood up considering their scoring talisman Seanie Ryan was out injured. Possibly a case of what might have been, had he been fit. The 2021 winners will be dangerous in Seamus O’Riain in 2025.
No Change.
15. Lorrha Dorrha
Ken Hogan and his men mightn’t like to hear it in Lorrha but staying up in year 1 after coming up from Premier Intermediate can be considered a success. They certainly showed in their last 3 games of the year, against Holycross, Borris-ileigh and Templederry that they belong at this level. Will need to find that form earlier in 2025 but now have a fair idea of what’s needed. 18 Year Old Conor Kennedy, a potential star in the making for the Lower Ormonde Outfit.
No Change.
14. Roscrea
13. Borris-ileigh
12. Holycross Ballycahill
11. Drom & Inch
10. Mullinahone
9. Clonoulty Rossmore
8. Nenagh Eire Og
7. JK Brackens
6. Kilruane MacDonaghs
5. Kiladangan
4. Thurles Sarsfields
For most Clubs in the County, A Senior Semi-final is a pipe dream, for Padraic Maher’s charges the manner of defeat will sting and they will be hoping for a very short winter. Two Championship defeats in 2024 and both at the hands of Loughmore.
Down 3.
3. Moycarkey Borris
A wonderful and Progressive 2024 for Eddie Brennan’s charges. A Quarter Final appearance followed by their first Semi Final since their marque Year of 1984. Will still be disappointed with the Semi Final defeat but a Mid Final appearance alongside it, is a successful year from where they have came from.
Up 1.
2. Toomevara
The Greyhounds are back in a Final, their first since 2008 and progress from their 2023 Semi Final made. A Star unearthed in Darragh McCarthy. They made hard work of getting over Moycarkey in their semi-final but that won’t mean anything come throw in on Sunday. Paddy Creedon’s two goals will have Ken Dunne licking his lips at a chink in the Loughmore armour.
Up 1.
1. Loughmore Castleiney
Finally made it to the top of the rankings and will be hoping it isn’t one Week too soon such is the regard these Power Rankings seem to be held in certain parts of the County 😊. Loughmore are unbeaten, clinical in their game v Thurles apart from the early wobble and they won’t want this to happen on Sunday. They have the better stats, More scored, less conceded but stats don’t win games. John & Noel will need to produce again and whose to say they won’t.
Up 1.
Senior County Final Prediction
Sunday sees a unique pairing in a Senor Hurling County Final. For two famed Clubs this is a bit of an anomaly but here we are. Toomevara v Loughmore/Castleiney pits two real heavy weights against each other. In the recent past the Mid-Men would be seen as perennial pretenders contesting and winning Finals 4 times since Toome’s last appearance in the decider back in 2008.
Toome are looking for title no.22. Second in the roll of honour, the Greyhounds are in a bit of a famine, Not their longest by any means, having gone 29 years between 1931-1960 and 32 years between 1960-1992 without getting their hands on the title. Toome’s first win came in 1890 with their last in 2008.
Loughmore/Castleiney are new kids on the block in relative terms winning their first title in 1988 and their most recent in 2021. On Sunday they go for title no. 5 and a claim on 8th position in the roll of honour all to themselves.
Both teams were beaten semi-finalists in 2023, so for their teams 2024 can be seen as progress. It is a continuation of success in some regards for Loughmore, while a new venture for this present crop of Greyhounds. The McGraths are still to the fore with Loughmore. 6 will start, 7 will surely get game time of some sort. John McGrath is in serious form and leads his team in scoring with 0-47 in the county championship with 0-11 of that total from play. Midfielder Ciaran Connolly (0-11) and cousin Liam McGrath(2-05) also have the same total to their name from play.
For Toomevara the scoring spread reads fairly similar with young gun Darragh McCarthy carrying the majority of the threat with 3-52 to his name and 2-12 from play, fellow inside man Adam Hall has 2-05 & brother Kevin has 0-11 to back him up.
There is just under 1 point separating the teams in average scoring with Loughmore’s 25pt/G just edging Toome’s 24.2Pt/G while in the concession stakes the midmen have the meanest defence in the competition so far conceding a paltry 19. 2/Pt/G vs Toome’s respectable 21Pt/G.
The individual Top Scorer awards sees Darragh McCarthy with somewhat of an unassailable lead, while it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that John McGrath land 15 points keeping McCarthy scoreless might be the hard part, while Darragh needs an eleven point haul from play to bypass Kiladangan’s Paul Flynn in that particular metric.
In potential match-ups Brian McGrath v Kevin McCarthy will be very interesting while Lorcan Egan and Willie Eviston will have their hands full with Darragh McCarthy and Adam Hall.
Liam Cahill will be keeping a keen eye on the midfield battle where Loughmore’s pairing of Noel McGrath and Ciaran Connolly are very formidable while Robbie Quirke and Conor O’Farrell at the other side have had serious moments throughout the campaign. All four would be in Cahills thinking you’d have to believe for 2025.
Loughmore come into the game unbeaten in championship hurling while Toome have two defeats to their name against Kiladangan and Borrisoleigh.
The game can be caught live on TG4, but the Stadium is the place to be on Sunday afternoon as Toomevara and Loughmore/Castleiney do battle for the rights to the Dan Breen cup for the next 12 months.