Comebacks, setbacks and a first appearance

Players

I know I’m a bit late coming to this one but it’s a quiet time – with a week and a half still to go before the Monaghan match – so maybe it’s worth giving it a brief mention all the same. The Mayo News (paper and digital edition) has a bit this week about that challenge match against Clare at the weekend – the one that got plenty of coverage in the comments here on the site a few days earlier – and the piece also provides a handy summary of player availability at the minute, which is the bit I want to mention.

Four lads who haven’t seen action so far in the League for us got a run-out against Clare. Jason Gibbons – who featured in all three of our FBD matches – returned to the fray at the weekend following recovery from an ankle problem. Jason hasn’t had a great time of it with injuries over the last while, suffering ligament trouble last year which undoubtedly affected his prep for the championship after a stellar League campaign for us. Tom Cunniffe also featured on Saturday, making his first appearance for the county since last year’s All-Ireland semi-final replay. It’d be great to see both Tom and Jason back in the thick of the action against Monaghan on Sunday week.

Conor O’Shea and Danny Kirby also made their first appearances of the year in the Clare match. Conor broke his ankle last autumn and at the weekend he was featuring in a Mayo jersey for the first time since making his championship debut for the county in last year’s Connacht semi-final against Roscommon. Danny, meanwhile, was back in the colours for the first ever time since bagging four goals against NUIG in the FBD League just over three years ago.

That near-incredible stat was only topped by the first ever senior county appearance the last day from Gavin Duffy, who finally made his county debut lining out alongside fellow Ballina man Alex Corduff at midfield. Alex featured for us in this year’s FBD League, as did Neil Douglas who also played the last day.

Two players that the Mayo News confirms are currently sidelined are Chris Barrett and Richie Feeney. The unfortunate Belmullet man, who had a real tough time of it with his knee last year, has had to have another operation, this time on his ankle. According to Pat Holmes, this latest problem will keep him out for “five to six weeks” which means he’ll miss most of what’s left of the League campaign. Richie, meanwhile, is nursing damaged ribs at the minute.

There’s some good news, though, concerning Tom Parsons and Andy Moran, neither of whom have yet lined out for the county this year, as both are likely to be available for selection for the Monaghan match. This then means that, Chris Barrett aside, we’re pretty much at full strength going into this one and so it’ll certainly be interesting – as well as fairly instructive – to see what Noel and Pat’s pick will be for this crunch encounter.

Finally, I know there are names swirling round in the context of the panel being cut over the last few days. As others have said (and thanks for doing so) there’s simply no point posting details here until there’s official confirmation on this. The lads involved deserve this courtesy and respect.

74 thoughts on “Comebacks, setbacks and a first appearance

  1. Thanks for the Info WJ, your a great man for keeping us all up-to-date! That’s good to hear that we should have most players available for the next game. It’ll be interesting to see if any of the U-21 lads will feature, as the U-21 Connacht Championship is just around the corner.

  2. Good point, HopeSpringsEternal, which I should have mentioned. March is always such a mental month, with the League and the U21 championship going full-tilt, so it’s got to be likely that the lads eligible to play U21 will be focusing on that over the next few weeks.

  3. Thanks WJ – very little in the online edition of the MN.

    Challenge obviously designed to help make the call on panel reduction.

    Despite all the moaning and groaning, I think we have a pretty solid bunch of players around.

    The skill will be in identifying those who will add the greatest value, not necessarily the best players.

    U21 campaign – from a senior point of view – can also be useful in identifying further fresh blood, which can join the panel at a later stage. Conor O’Shea was an example last year.

    Of course there is also Evan Regan to return – soon we hope.

  4. Is Brendan Harrison from Aghamore coming back this year? He was a fine prospect in the backs last year

  5. How did Kirby and Duffy look against Clare? I imagine if Monaghan try the packed defense strategy that h and c will have some tactic for it, or should they play it defensively too? Maybe Mayo aren’t the type to play that way but they really need to devise some way of stopping Kerry and Dublin and even Galway and Roscommon if our own scores aren’t coming fast enough. I wonder if the days of 4.20 are over and that we should start to think about low scoring defensive victories against the whole lot of them.

  6. FourGoal McGee, I think I remember reading somewhere a few months ago that he was injured, I think it was an ankle injury. I didn’t hear anything since. As you were saying, he looked like a promising player last year so hopefully he’ll still be involved this year.

    Yeah WJ, I was thinking that when Michael Hall was picked for the Tyrone game, it seemed like Noel and Pat were giving as much game time as possible to some of the young lads before their U21 Championship campaign starts. Touch wood the U21s will have a better season this year. With four Connacht teams making the semi-finals of the Hastings Cup, there will be nothing easy ahead for them though.

  7. Just viewed the Tyrone game on TG4 player, having had a poor view at the game itself.

    Retrospective judgement of course, but I though they played reasonably well, put in a hell of a lot of tackles, though missing a few vital ones.

    Yes I know the wides were bad, but they did create enough chances and had enough possession to win the game. If the free taking alone had been accurate they would have been in touch.

    On the goal, O’Connor in the square but the ball came back out to him off the post. Think it was legit because of that. Kinsella consulted at some length with the umpires who had a perfect view. Would welcome comments on this.

  8. If a player has legally entered the square and the ball does not come to him direct from attacker i.e hits post or defender first and he does not have time to leave the small sq it is not a sq ball if he gets it

  9. Catcol, from watching the game against Tyrone again, did you think the misses Mayo had, were due to the pressure being applied by the Tyrone lads or was it more so, just one of those days, when nothing went right for us?

    If you contrast Jason Docs display against Kerry compared to the way he played against Tyrone, it probably sums it up. In Killarney, Doc kicked three beauties of points, from all angles but against Tyrone, it just didn’t happen for him. Same with Vaughan, he kicked a great point against Kerry but had some very bad misses against Tyrone.

  10. Yes HopeSprings Tyrone pressure played a part for sure, but when I was at the match my impression was that Mayo were completely bottled up.

    On viewing it again, they broke the gain line repeatedly, but just took wrong options. Jason Doc probably summed up the day.

    Last 15 minutes a bit mad anyway because Mayo had 13 attackers including Kevin Keane and Tyrone 14 defenders.

    Donie Vaughan really impressed me on TV with his workrate; he ran himself into the ground. His versatility will be an asset to us.

  11. Lots of people here and elsewhere and even in the media commenting about Cillian’s goal againsy Tyrone being a “square ball”. Time to familiarise yourselves with the rules !! The “square ball” rule no longer exists, except for balls kicked from frees / 45s. So there is absolutely nothing illegal about planting a lad 6’6″ right in front of the opponents goalie

  12. Its very interesting alright Catcol, what can be picked up from watching the game again rather than just trying to remember exactly how the game went.

    As they say when you fall off a horse, the best thing to do is to get back up on it again straight away.

    With Monaghan coming to town next, we should be able to test this theory!

  13. That’s not correct, ML – while it’s true that the old square ball rule only applies for frees and ’45s, an amended square ball rule continues to apply for open play. The new rule for open play (which has been in effect since May 2012) allows a player to enter the small square once “the final deliberate play of the ball has been made”, i.e. i.e as soon as an attacking player kicks, hand-passes, fist passes or deliberately flicks the ball into the square then the attacking player may enter. The rule book is here, rule 4.9 refers.

  14. O’Connor was in the square before Doherty – who was outside the square, kicked the ball. That means it is a square ball. Coming back off the post is incidental as it was already a square ball before this happened.

  15. I think Mayo did enough to win the game the last day, despite making it very difficult for themselves by utilising tactics that played straight into Tyrone hands. 15 wides and 2 missed goal chances says, to me, that we had enough ball to chalk up a better tally than we did. True, some shots at goal were rushed because of Tyrone pressure but more than half of our wides were down to plain bad shooting.
    Great to see so many players getting a run out and I think it is fair to say, that whatever comes this Summer, any player worth a look at has been looked at.
    This squad only needs a tactical tweak here and there, and one or two players to come through, to give us that final 2% or 3% we need to finally win this cursed Cup. I just hope it is worth all the heartache when it happens.
    Hon Mayo.

  16. Pebble smeller
    It will definitely be worth it, our biggest tricks will be keeping this panel motivated and for the management to react to or better still dictate the tactics of the opposition. I.e blanket defense or all out attack. Hopefully Cathal Carolan and other robust players are back in the panel by June and ready for action.

  17. The u21 players should not be involved in the senior panel from this point onwards. Judging by the performance of the u21 team v Roscommon in last years championship, you might be forgiven for saying they should not have been involved with the seniors after the month of march either.

  18. Yes Cait – still on TG4 and well worth a look.

    Am still not convinced that it was a ‘square ball’. Don’t think coming back off the post is incidental. O’Connor entered square after final deliberate play – from Freeman’s kick – and only picked up the ball when it came off the post. And as I said, notwithstanding some witty comments, Kinsella consulted long and hard with umpires, and had to withstand the instant barracking of Tyrone players who are trained from an early age, birth probably, to dispute all refereeing decisions.

  19. Would agree it was a square ball. COC was ok for the first ball in because he entered the square after it was kicked initially. However that ball was broken back out.

    From there it was picked up by KMcl who had a shot that came back off the post. But that shot was from outside the small square and COC was still in the small square before that shot was taken. So I think technically he was in the small square before the ball was kicked so it should have been a free out.

    Open to disagreement on this though if someone can offer a definitive rule or a different technical perspective.

  20. It was technically a square ball, but I would speculate either:

    A. Kinsella was so far from play that he thought the ball did not come back out of the small square, in which case in his view the goal was legitimate.

    B. They didn’t really have a clue.

  21. The rights or wrongs of the decision to allow Cillian’s goal sure allows for some interesting debate here, but pales into insignificance when compared with the debacle in the 2010 Leinster Final, when Martin Sludden and his men in white coats, saw fit to allow that last minute Joe Sheridan goal, that gave Meath a one point victory over Louth. That surely has to go down as one of the greatest injustices in GAA history.

  22. go to any underage game in mayo,and you will see grave injustices of the worst kind,umpires not giving goals linesmen favouring their ownand as for referees i give up

  23. Word is out (via The Irish Times via Clare manager!) that Gavin Duffy is among those dropped from the extended panel.
    I wasn’t in Clare so obviously haven’t seem him play, but I would have thought he deserved more that one run out. Maybe H&C felt he couldn’t give the necessary commitment seeing as he missed a game earlier due to it clashing with his rugby work.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/gavin-duffy-dropped-from-mayo-panel-having-not-played-in-one-competitive-game-1.2111128

  24. Full Time from Sigerson Cup semi final: DCU 2-8 UCD 0-11
    Diarmuid O Connor was taken off at HT for DCU. I don’t know if it was that he was injured or paying badly….anyone here at the game?

  25. O Connor was taken off at ht against uuj also I don’t think he has scored in any of their 3 sigerson cup games. Will do well to hold down a starting point for tomorrows final.

    That should bring any debate of Gavin Duffy will he won’t he play a competitive game for Mayo seniors to a end.

  26. It was a bit of a stretch to expect Gavin Duffy to have an impact with Mayo after so long playing rugby. I’m not sure what JH had in mind for him but I suspect it was some kind of sweeper role similar to a full back in rugby.
    Fair play to the two lads for making the call now and not stringing him along. Fair play also to Duffy for having a go and not shying away from the challenge. It also send out a positive message to the younger players. Let’s hope they’re up to answering the call.

  27. Bit of an anti-climax with Duffy alright!

    Had some great fantasies last Summer about him becoming a huge asset around the middle of the pitch and becoming part of the starting team for 2015 but alas not to be. Anyway, no harm done really

    To be fair to Noel and Pat, on the whole it appears they gave him every chance. The paperwork issue was no doubt a real mess for the IT Sligo game, and it didn’t help he had work commitments for the Ros match.

    When you look at it, it’s hard to imagine he could ever have been fully committed this year given the role he has at Connacht. It’s not a case of moving shifts or simply getting the weekend off for a match. Undoubtedly he would have been unavailable for a few league matches as a result, which isn’t ideal from Mayo’s perspective.

    Anyhow no regrets, as I said at the time (and despite the hilarious outrage from some!!) there really was nothing to lose by calling him up. Now he’s gone, I can’t say the saga has impacted Mayo negatively one bit, bar having to call up a replacement at late notice for FBD!

    I must say (without intending to be harsh or anything) I am a little surprised he didn’t make more of an impact though. Granted he’s pushing on, and while behind it all I felt it was a bit of a stretch to expect him to push straight for the starting 15 on the County team, I thought he might stand out at club level at least! Saw him against Caltra last Summer and you wouldn’t have noticed him. He ended up on the bench for their Milltown (I think it was Milltown anyway!) quarter final. Thought his pace/fielding/explosiveness and power alone would have set him apart in a club game. Just look at David Bentley during the week- granted it’s not the same comparison and DB is a bit younger but still he’s meant to have had a very good game for Crossmaglen where apparently his burst was pretty noticeable

    I did always feel though he should have been given a specific role (e.g roving number 15, sweeper or 3rd man mid) rather than being an actual orthodox midfielder. There are a lot of dimensions to the midfield position and it’s pretty complex at times. A freer role may have been better

    Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see does he carry on with Salthill now and can he have more an impact this year

    On Diarmuid O’C, just a question, I always thought first years couldn’t play Sigerson/Fitzgibbon?

  28. Just to add I fully agree with Diehard and my “freer” role comment is in relation to Salthill. Salthill might be irrelevant on a Mayo forum, but in fairness club form of our players is obviously a concern, and in my own view anyway I do think out-and-out mid wasn’t ideal for Gavin to progress as well as he could for them

    I agree with diehard in that I do think James had a more specific role in mind himself in fairness. Some might say this may not have even been a playing role, I guess only James knows that, but in fairness I do think if he impressed enough he would have given him an opportunity, even on Donaghy for a while for example

  29. Wonder who else has gone.

    Duffy could still figure, but I think Salthill are the key component here. If they think he’s good, he’ll be figuring for them big time. That’s really the way players plays themselves into a county team: via club performances, or U21, junior even (maybe he could play junior first).

    So, apart from a long absence from the game, we are expecting him to just perform like that, without the prep of playing county championship for the club first.

  30. If Gavin Duffy played senior championship for Salthill he cannot play Junior as Mayo juniors are confined to Intermediate and Junior players.
    I said last year from the start that it would be almost impossible for him to get to the pace of Senior County football. However I would have thought that at this stage with the extra time he would be in a better position to make a breakthrough.

  31. Hard to expect Diarmuid o Connor to be a serious force at intercounty level this summer if he’s struggling to establish himself on the DCU team. His time will come I’m sure, but I think its a couple of years away yet.

  32. Sorry to hear that one of the few players we have in the panel with actual real muscle and power is gone. I hope I’m wrong but I think Duffy would have filled a specific role against physical bucks like tommy Walsh or donaghy very well. Who else is gone or is it a secret ?

  33. Would be good to have a player tracker online or app for all current/fringe/young/strong club players. I knew of a full back who once conceded 1 point from play in six div one gamed. Track conceded/scored.
    Plenty active online community.
    Concerning that Diarmuid OConnor failed to score in three Sigerson games. Still lacks power n pace n a quick kick action. Has a long windup, doesn’t suit crowded defences.

  34. Irrespective of Sigerson form, I have seen enough of Diarmuid O’Connor to think he has a definite role in this year’s league and championship. He can score, though I do take the point about a long wind up, ditto Cillian.

    The shoot quickly or on sight player is needed, but packed defences will make such kicking prone error also, so having the strength to get yourself into position can be a real asset.

    Sean Rice was quoting Tommy Ainsworth talking about kicking points with your eyes closed. Fair enough, but in those days you had nearly as much time as a golfer to take your shot.

  35. I was also in Kinvara
    Gavin Duffy was played at sweeper but came off with what looked like a hamstring problem as did Alan Dillon
    Thought Danny Kirby looked a good option at 14
    Definitely a more defensive mindset this year
    Pat Holmes constantly at defenders to get back so it will be interesting to see how much our half backs are curbed going forward
    Thought Forde and Corduff looked good
    To try and put any mystery to bed I believe that Keith Rogers was playing at 5

  36. I believe Duffy is fairly upset at being cut. He put in a massive effort and I thought he deserved to wear the green and red again at senior level if only for an FBD game. In the end it wasn’t his lack of effort, skill or commitment that kept that honour from him but a “administration error” in McHale park.

  37. Congrats to Diarmuid O’Connor on being part of the DCU Sigerson Cup winning team after extra-time today. He worked very hard while he was on the pitch. Picking up some more silverware can only be good for his development!

  38. LIAM. ‘in the end it wasn’t his lack of effort, skill or commitment that kept that honour from him but a ‘administration error’ in mc hale park’

    This comment and all the other crap written above re Gavin Duffy. FFS give it up!!!!!!!!!!
    This saga which was, an embarrassment to the county, a mistake by Horan (for a man who was supposed to be very thorough) regarding his eligibility, and most of all an absolute insult to the players on the panel (bringing in a player in who hadn’t player for over a decade). Thank god the new management team brought this disaster to an end now. Hope this no nonsense approach continues.

  39. Ah now, Duffy was an asset to the panel and to think otherwise is ridiculous. Kerry started a returned Aussie rules player at midfield against cork in a big game a few years ago, no whining about a fella from a different sport from Kerry. I think the league will tell us all we need to know about summer expectations.

  40. How was he an asset to the panel? The assets we need are gaelic footballers and there is not one addition in this sense unfortunately , our only hope was Regan like I have repeated about 100 times but I am not too bothered about boring folk with my repetitive line. I’m afraid to say we need a culture change in the way we think about football or we will be in dire fookin straits in the future , we will probably scrape by this year but the trend in not having decent forwards coming up is going to catch us .

  41. Mayos odds to retain the nestor cup have been going out the last few days from 8/11 into 5/6 today.

  42. Sean you’re spot on. This has also been my concern over the years. Our lack of top quality forwards has deprived us of 3 All Ireland titles in the past 3 years alone. The up an coming forwards in our panel need to be nurtured and coached intensively if we are to further progress. A key indicator of how our new management are addressing the whole forward issue will be in the imminent panel cull…..if they persist with the small little corner forwards that we have seen feature through the FBD and early league games then we can start planning for our holidays abroad next Autumn…We need more physicality in addition to scoring ability in our inside line and I really hope to see more of the younger players who possess these attributes tried in our remaining league games.

  43. Dave.
    T. Kinelley was not out of the game even when under contract in Oz. He often flew back and played for listowel emmets. Also in kerry he will never be forgiven for his assault at the beginning of that game v cork.
    Asset to the panel me hole, he was a mascot without a costume, which by the way was NOT his fault.

  44. Sorry to see Gavin Duffy gone from the panel. Fair play to him for trying a comeback. N &C I expect a no nonsense approach from these men come championship. This is Feb and it is early days. The lads need time to work on the improvements to this great team. It should never be about one man at the end of the day. Prices for the Nestor cup are meaningless at this time of year. Why are we not hearing about Galway’s chances of promotion or Roscommon for that matter. They are setting pace in Div 2 at the moment. We all know the real league starts on the first of March.

  45. Must say would be seriously worried about the rossies already they have serious firepower in the murtagh brothers.enda smith scored 2-3 for dcu in sigerson semi yesterday and Colin Compton scored 0-8 for the garda college in there trench cup win today.there underage success seems to be paying off.its high time the powers in mayo has got there act together and re examine the strategic plan for mayo Gaa.even though we had a few good minor teams last few years we not getting enough through to senior and we haven’t produced a top class forward since cillian o Connor.

  46. It seems that the defeat to Tyrone a couple of weeks ago has stirred things up a lot and H&C have now been stung into action.
    This is good and as long as the correct squad cull is made and those retained are there on merit and the good of our County’s football future is the ambition, then the lessons learned are worth it.
    As alluded to above, the rise of Galway and Roscommon will make the retaining of the Nestor Cup much more difficult but if we get through those challenges it can only benefit us if we are to get to the knockout stages come championship time……………………………March will tell us where we are at and I think we will come through it.

  47. but monoghan next week is tough the good forwards like McKenna and McManus so màyo better be on guard

  48. JJ I am far from convinced that galway and Roscommon have risen, it’s more a question of whether we have slipped IMO.

    I feel sorry for Gavin Duffy , he was shafted here, he came into this in good faith and his county board couldn’t even fill in the feckin forms correctly. Who knows if he would have been cut from the panel if he had gotten a few games last year.

    Credit to him for not going to the press about this fuck up either and perhaps upsetting the camp. Best of luck to him with Connacht as his coaching career progresses

  49. I don’t know roger but if we take Roscommons performance against us in 13 and last year there is definitely improvement from a twelve point drubbing to the narrowest of margins in the hyde last summer. Some might point out if you take the 2011 Connacht final one point loss for Roscommon my point would look invalid but I’d beg to differ, they showed great tactical awareness last year in the hyde and their players are starting to progress from under 21 stars who are well used of beating us to decent senior players who are now plying their trade in div two against middle tier teams .

    Galway progress is less magnificent but they are on the way up , they have some quality forwards in Lundy , Walsh ,Cummins , Farragher , Burke and a few more besides. And they too have been producing under 21 teams better than ourselves the last few years.

    I’d still think we can pull connacht off this year tbh mainly down to experience ,stage of team development , cuteness and our higher quality level opposition in the league but if we do pull off five in a row my advice to supporters is to celebrate it and enjoy it ,these days are not going to last forever and that I am very confident of.

  50. Whoa there, are we to believe that if Gavin Duffy raises the roof for Salthill this will be ignored? A panel of 45 has to be cut and management are best placed to make that call.

    Remember JH’s championship cull that eliminated Barry Moran, Tom Parsons, Mark Ronaldson (and a couple of others who escape me at the moment)? All those guys played their way back into contention, and the manager didn’t seem to have a problem bringing them back – I accept that Ronaldson has returned under the new regime, but I don’t think JH would have excluded him if he thought he had a role.

  51. Ros i thunk are good but when push comes to shove the just can’t beat màyo they where all over màyo last year in the Hyde and could not finish màyo off I think galway are head of ros at the moment

  52. Duffy was an asset in that he was strong enough not to be pushed to one side by an opponent, much like Vaughan and aos are not too easily pushed around. I don’t see how that’s not an asset, if James horan seen something in him it’s good enough for me , he knows what he saw.

  53. Maybe we might be better off this year to let all of the talk be about Galway and Roscommon or Dublin and Kerry. Maybe we might be better served in trying to stay under the radar. It might pay a higher dividend than the Mayo For Sam campaign. Kerry actually love to do this, they thrive on it and it has served them pretty well down through the years. All we have to do is look back to last year. Early in the year all the talk was about Cork (Kerry people were hyping them up the most), as they were doing very well in the League and Kerry were almost forgotten about, especially after the Gooch got injured. We all know how the year finished up, Kerry as champions again. What is the difference with them, no matter what happens early in the year, the Kerry players and people have total self-belief that they are good enough to win the All-Ireland title every year as they do in Kilkenny as well. In the past we have had failings at the back, up front, in mid-field and on the side-line on the big day. The most thing that we have lacked is total self-belief that on the biggest day we can be the best team. We can do it on quarter-final and semi-final’s day but not on finals day. Surely after what happened in the semi-final against Kerry last year, we have to believe that our players are as good as any other of the best team’s players. They are and us supporters have to believe that as well as the players themselves but we don’t have to be shouting it from the rooftops. Let all of the talk be about the other teams but we should then do our talking on the field of play.

  54. Parkeman – I’ve deleted those names you’ve mentioned, as there’s been no public announcement as yet. I’d say we’ll all know soon enough – with the details more than likely in tomorrow’s Western – who was cut from the panel and I’d prefer to see the names confirmed somewhere else before being mentioned here.

  55. Ceideboy,I think that your description of lads who bust their gut training up to 3/4 times a week,as ‘deadwood’ is very uncouth.

  56. Suggesting Gavin Duffy is/was deadwood is a bit pathetic. the guy represented his county with distinction at under age level and went on to represent his province and country following that. He then had the courage to try out for Mayo again, making huge sacrifices no doubt in the hope that there was a possibility he might make the senior panel. He didn’t but at least he made the effort and whether you agree with JH bringing him back or not I think he deserves a bit better than to be labelled deadwood.

  57. It’s wrong to call any lad that tries to be a county player as deadwood, they work very hard to be even considered for county duty. Duffy is gone along with a good few others, good luck and thanks to them all for trying out.
    Onwards to Sundays game, this is one that they’ll have to win with Dublin and cork waiting after it for us. I wonder will we see Danny Kirby at ff at some stage and any new tactics for the team?

  58. Can’t comment on gavin duffys ability as I haven’t seen him play since he was minor in 1999. However he was invited into the Mayo setup last summer and was on the panel since giving up his time travelling from galway to attend training. This was a very big commitment with such a young family. It’s embarrassing that the county board failed to get his paper work right denying him the opportunity to play even one game. I have sympathy for all the lads dropped. They have all put in a huge commitment for months even years. I for one really appreciate the efforts made by all these players and have great respect for them all.

  59. Agh sure go on now urself Will ya.
    Obvious to me it was de Co. Board who made an asses lug of de GD “saga” (as well as de managerial fiasco)
    And never mind questioning JH s levels of thoroughness.
    As for Duffy, fair play to him for giving it a go. What’s de big deal in him trying to represent his county.
    Again!
    Sure if he had survived de cull and put in a few mighty performances, wudnt u be shouting from de rooftops!

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