Power Rankings after Round 3.
Last Weekend was Crunch time in the County for the 16 teams in the race for Dan Breen, Who was safe but unsatisfied finishing third in the group ?, Who could dream of potential glory headed for a Quarter Final berth ? and Who was in the muck and facing a struggle for their Senior existence in the bear pit of a relegation semi-final ?.
This was our Power Rankings after Round 2 and this is the very latest Intermediate Edition and Premier Intermediate Edition
There have been changes….
16.-Kilruane – Down 3.
Last year’s County Champions now face the warzone of this year’s relegation. A Round 3,2 Point defeat to Moycarkey Borris in group 2 see Kilruane drop into the relegation semi final quick sand. With the 5th worst scoring attack over the 3 group games of just 4-55,they have 7 scorers on average per game but the real concern is their dependence on Willie Cleary (46% of their total scores) in both Round 1 and Round 3 to try to drag them of a hole. On current form the 2022 Champions may have it all to do to not be relegated.
15.-Upperchurch/Drombane -Down 4.
On Sunday the calculators were in overdrive as the Church slipped into the relegation spot of group 3 by having less points scored. Not hitting the scoreboard in earlier rounds has come back to haunt them in such a tight group, the Church joint second lowest scored of all 16 teams in Dan Breen with 2-53,their shyness in raising green flags is also a concern, just under 7 scorers per game, they will rue the round 1 game v Holycross where they were bet by 6 but only 4 of them managed 1-06 from play . A huge battle after making the County semifinal last year is looming but their scoring rate and form is improving,We give them a chance.
14.-Jk Brackens -Down 1.
Jk Brackens’s fate was sealed but they showed great character in an 11 point win over Drom & Inch in Round 3. And that will only help their cause going into a relegation semi final. Reasons for optimism around Templemore, Paddy Cadell is back and they looked a different outfit with him as their talisman in Round 3, 5 scorers in Round 1 scoring 0-15,5 scorers in Round 2 scoring 1-15 and 9 scorers scoring 3-24 in Round 3 means the JKB form could be turning around at the right time.
13.- Clonoulty/Rossmore -Down 4.
Clonoulty down 4 into our bottom 4 and in potential relegation unless they lift Dan. They have another swing at redemption in the form of a preliminary Quarter Final v Mullinahone by virtue of them winning the West Championship, only for that We would have them lower, We have a major worry when it comes to Clonoulty, they aren’t scoring. Alarm bells started ringing for us as early as the round 1 v Borris-ileigh where they had 3 scorers scoring 0-16 but only 2 scorers from play with 0-04.
12.-Templederry Kenyons – Up 4.
We have had to re-check this a few times but the 12th placed team in our power rankings is the 3rd highest scoring team after 3 rounds of the Dan Breen, Top of the list for 2024 should be someone to come in and put a defensive structure in place, because they have the worst defence in the Senior Championship with 6-72 conceded, if there was little bit of solidity to them they could surprise more than a few people, A joy to watch going forward and they will spend their 4th year in a row in the Senior Championship in 2024.
11.-Moycarkey/Borris – Up 3.
Too little, too late v Kilruane as Moycarkey dropped out of Dan Breen on score difference, a late few scores for either Moycarkey or Toome would have seen the Moycarkey men through but it wasn’t to be and they were pipped into third place by Roscrea who had a +3 score difference while Moycarkey had a +1 difference. The margins are that wafer thin. Eddie Brennan and his backroom team can look to next year with a degree of confidence as it is a relatively young outfit, Kieran Morris was their top scorer with 0-30 from play and notable mentions can go to Pat Molloy who notched 0-06 from play v Kilruane and the 2 Shellys, Kyle with a total of 1-07 from play and Rhys in the goals who brought a number of excellent saves but also contributed 0-04 from frees. They move up 3 places with their win over Kilruane.
10.- Borris-ileigh – Down 5.
Borris-Ileigh season finished in a damp squid and they had no match for a powerful Thurles team down the home straight. For a second year in a row the Borris men couldn’t get motoring and get everything to click, with some of their key men another year older, is there a few years of hanging in there coming their way?. On they go now to raffle off a fine looking Heifer!.
9.- Nenagh -Down 5.
Nenagh slipped down again from their high of number 1 spot in our pre-season power rankings after a blow out of a defeat to Mullinahone in round 3 finishing the game with 12 men. Lucky they have the North title victory to fall back on but now face a Thurles Sarsfields team in a preliminary ¼ final who are on an upward curve going in the opposite direction. You just never know with Nenagh, rampant in round 2 v Brackens ramming in 5-15 and they then getting conned by the old dogs of Mullinahone in Round 3.There’s a few if’s coming here, if they get Jake back and if the Heffernan’s can get near full fitness and if the 3 reds v Mullinahone don’t lead to suspensions, don’t be surprised if Nenagh get back to their round 2 incarnation.
8.- Roscrea -Up 2.
Roscrea move up 2 places by qualifying for the 1/4 final stages on score difference. Bonus territory awaits for the North Tipp club who are on the rise now into the unknown. If Ros can get consistency into Shane Fletcher who scored 2-03 from play v Kilruane in Round 2 but has only managed 0-01 in Round 3 and 0-00 in Round 1 they could have a forward line figure head, to rival them when they were in their 60’s and 70’s pomp. Alan Tynan has flawlessly continued when he left off with Tipp in terms of his form with 2-06 from play and Luke Cashin is rock solid on frees with 0-20 from placed balls out of a personal tally of 1-22.
7.-Mullinahone -Up 5.
Mullinahone are the biggest movers after round 3, up 5 places following their victory over Nenagh Eire Og. They have the joint 2nd tightest defence in this grade, along with a Keeper who contributed 1-01 to their total in Round 3,But their attack has a fair few bright spots,10 different scorers in total and 9 of them from play, Enda Keane with 8 points from play so far, Jack Shelley scoring 0-04 every day he has gone out and the rampant Mikey O’Shea who is the current 2nd top Senior scoring forward from play in the county with 3-08 (Rd1 2-01 Rd2 1-03 and Rd3 0-04) will take some stopping. Them drawing Clonoulty in a preliminary ¼ final has worked out well for them also and We expect on current form, they have every chance to progress.
6.- Holycross -Up 2.
The Cross up 2 places after the calculators and maths worked this time around to get them 2nd spot in group 3 despite them winning only the 1 game against the ‘Church. They have the fourth best attack with 5-59 scored but also crucially the 4 worst defence, Will a hard call have to be made to get Cathal Barrett who has scored 1-10 from play and is in the top 10 scoring from play Senior club Forwards in the County, back in to shore up a defence ?.13 Separate scorers so far with Ewan Bourke the keeper scoring 0-01 in 2 games, Joe Cesar second to Barrett in their from play scoring charts with 2-03 ,Darragh Woods their top man with an impressive 2-27 or 45% of the clubs total racked up so far. Into the ¼ finals and avoiding a preliminary ¼ final will help, they may need the kindest of draws in the quarter finals to progress further.
5.- Thurles Sarsfields -Up 2.
Sars put the sword into Borris-Ileigh Dan Breen title hopes live on TG4, 2-20 to 1-11 it finished with the Thurles crew scoring 2-12 from play, particularly impressive in front of a national Tv Audience was the form of both Darragh Stakelum with 0-06 from play and Seanie Butler also with 1-01 from play, Keep in mind also that they overpowered a Borris team who toppled Kiladangan only 2 weeks earlier. Joint 2nd meanest defence in Dan Breen so far and as per usual with the Town team they have a raft of scorers,13 s with the only 1 who hasn’t scored from play so far is Ronan Maher with 0-04 from frees, Darragh Stakelum in flight is a joy to behold with 1-12 so far from play, Paddy Creedon a handful with 1-04 and fingers crossed for the continued good health of Billy McCarthy with 0-04 from play so far in this Championship.
4.- Drom/Inch -Down 2.
Drom drop down 2 places after defeat to Jk Brackens in round 3 but still have enough done to top Group 1 despite finishing with a -5 scoring difference. They have us scratching our heads at the minute as to where their true ranking actually is, they have the third worst defence after 3 rounds and yet they have a spread of 13 scorers with Goalkeeper Eoin Collins with 0-02 from frees making it 12 Drom men from play, Seamie Callanan the Drom Top scorer with 3-20,2-05 from play, Tommy Nolan is tearing defences apart also and is the third highest scoring from play forward after the Group stages with 3-07 to his name, Johnny Ryan with 0-08 from play can also hold his head high. You get the feeling that Drom & Inch will be happy looking at some of their potential 1/4 final pairings.
3.- Toomevara -No Change.
3 wins from 3 for Toome ,Top of the Group 2 Table and with a healthy score difference of +13 seems to have them in fine form, A solid Round 3 display v a Roscrea team who had to go for it. Are Toome back to the Toome of old where if you were an opposing forward you earned every score. After 3 rounds the omens are promising, the tightest defence in Dan Breen for starters. Toome forwards will give many back lines plenty to worry about given the form of Jack Delaney with 3-11 including 0-1 from a sideline already bagged which has him top highest scoring from play forward, Kevin McCarthy with 0-06 from play, Shane Nolan with an even split of 0-06 from play and another 0-06 from frees and Darragh McCarthy another with 2-11 in the Toome Colours with 0-06 from frees. The most improved outfit in the County.
2.- Kiladangan -Up 4.
Kiladangan took care of business v Clonoulty last Weekend to secure top spot in group 4 after their 1 point loss and blip v Borris-ileigh the previous day out to move up into 2nd place in our estimations, Number 1 with the bookies but not with us just yet!. What do we like about them ?,scoring freely,2nd highest scoring outfit in the Dan Breen,5th best defensive record against a potentially higher caliber of teams that were in some of the other groups.12 Scorers and all scoring from play, its not only the number of scorers but also the form some of them in Blue and Gold are in, Billy Seymour 1-28 in total, from play 1-08,Conor Byrne 0-04,Dan O’Meara 0-04,Paul Flynn 1-08,Sean Hayes 1-09,Tadhg Gallagher 0-09 all from play. A Scary proposition for anyone facing them in a Quarter Final and Beyond.
1.- Loughmore Castleiney -No Change.
The Loughmore train has moved up a few gears but still more to come, up to number 1 after their 3rd win in Group 3 which saw them come out of the group with a 100% win record. Top Scoring Team in the Dan Breen. Joint third best defensive record, Like Kiladangan it’s the number of in form Forwards scoring from play that they have at the minute, that sets them apart, John McGrath with 2-25 in total and 1-09 from play, ably assisted with all these from play scorers, Ciaran McCormack 0-05,Ed Connolly in terrific form with 3-06,Liam McGrath 1-11,Noel McGrath 0-11,Ciaran McGrath with 1-02,the list goes on… No-one will want to meet the McGrath machine in a 1/4 final.
Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary Quarter Final draw:
Nenagh Eire Og v Thurles Sarsfields on Saturday, September 9th @ 5.00pm in Borrisoleigh
Clonoulty/Rossmore v CJ Kickhams Mullinahone on Sunday, September 10th @ 4.00pm in Cashel
Tipperary Senior Hurling Knockout Top seeds:
Top Seeds Drom-Inch, Loughmore, Toomevara, Kiladangan
2nd Seeds (Winners of Mullinahone v Clonoulty), Holycross, Roscrea, (Winner of Thurles Sarsfields v Nenagh)
Relegation: JK Brackens, Upperchurch, Kilruane, Clonoulty (exempt if they go on and win the county)
Be sure and listen to this Weeks Podcast
Where we preview EVERY one of the Senior, Prem and Intermediate Round 3 Games
We give Nenagh a turn on the spit
and Ask
is West Hurling in Trouble ?
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