The votes are in and counted on the Man of the Match poll for the Roscommon game. It’s a decisive result too, with dynamic centre-forward Jack Carney claiming the award with 27% of the vote.
Yesterday’s game was the third in a row in which the Kilmeena man was prominent for us. He has the look of a player who’s enjoying his football right now and he’s taken to the middle-third berth he’s been entrusted with like the proverbial duck to water.
Jack does way more than score but end product is something he’s always focused on. The point he got in the second half was a belter but he’ll rarely score an easier goal at inter-county level. Fair play to him for his alertness when the Rossies’ handpassing went awry, the rest was simply rolling the ball into the unattended net.
Jack was selected as MOTM by TG4 yesterday and he’s also the county’s sole representative on this week’s GAA Team of the Week. He has also – like Diarmuid O’Connor was last weekend and Jordan Flynn the weekend before – been shortlisted for the GAA Player of the Week, voting for which is still ongoing.
Speaking of Diarmuid, he was another player who was excellent for us at Hyde Park. Like Jack, he’s been in flying form so far this year – all the world like the Diarmuid of old – and, but for his late, late block on Ben O’Carroll’s last-gasp goal attempt, we could be dealing with a very different narrative today. Diarmuid came second in the MOTM poll with 17% of the vote.
He was followed by his older brother, Cillian claiming 13% of the vote and also claiming seven points in the game. The pick of these – his only one from play – was a sumptuous outside-of-the-boot effort from out on the right wing.
Others to feature prominently in the poll were Matthew Ruane, who bagged the insurance point in fine style yesterday and who enjoyed 7% support in the poll. That was the same level of support James Carr got, following a performance which saw him scoring three excellent points and who worked hard throughout, hassling and harrying out the field. Sam Callinan – the king of the turnover – put in a real dashing display in the heart of the defence. He got 6% of the vote.
Well done to all of them but especially to Jack Carney, our MOTM from yesterday’s game. Here’s the full leaderboard of the vote for this one.
Well done Jack. Great to see him coming good now. In truth 3 or 4 more could have walked away with the accolade which is good to see isn’t it great to have practically a full squad (not sure what the story with McLaughlin) coming into the big games. Does anyone know is Irwin worth a run or is he one for the future. Would anyone have a go at our best championship team picked by management bearing in mind there’re 2 maybe 3 league games to win a jersey. I’ll go with
Hennelly
Coyne mcbrien hession
Coen Loftus durcan
Ruane Diarmuid
flynn carney o Donoghue
Carr o shea cillian
Subs reape McLaughlin McLoughlin Conroy o hora Callinan Brickenden Doherty McHugh McDonagh mcstay
That’s the team I think they’d go with but i probably put o hora in half back line for Loftus. May be a bit early for guessing but sure we see how things change
What I’d probably go with off top head:
Reape
Coyne McBrien Hession
Coen O’Hora Durcan
Ruane O’Connor
Conroy Carney Flynn
O’Donoghue Carr Cillian
Leaves plenty ammo on bench.
@No doubt… probably not far off the mark but would like to see the next 2 league matches before making final call .
Tommy and Paddy definitely need game time to improve fitness…if they are not up to speed fitness wise then they could be used off the bench ..
No sign of Rob yet so doubt he’ll be parachuted in ..
I believe Hennelly played a club game in Dublin over the weekend. So I’m expecting him to get the last 2 league games with Mayo.
I think they’ll stick with Loftus at this stage. Didn’t think it would work TBH, but he’s played well the last few games. Can’t really pin the Roscommon goals on him, there were numerous players at fault.
Can’t see Conroy or O’Donoghue being played wing forward either. That’s a complete waste of their skills. McDonagh, Carney and Flynn are playing well so I’d say injury is the only way we’ll see changes on that line.
Im gunna give 2 selections, the first is the one i would pick, the second is the one I think managment will pick.
1. Hennelly
2. O’Hora. 3. McBrien. 4..Hession
5. Durcan. 6. Callinan 7. McLaughlin
8. Ruane. 9. Diarmuid
10. Flynn. 11. Carney 12. Conroy
13, Aidan. 14. Carr. 15. ROD
1. Reape
2. Coyne. 3. McBrien. 4. Hession
5. Coen. 6. Loftus. 7. Durcan
8. Ruane. 9. Diarmuid
10. McDonagh 11. Carney. 12. Flynn
13. Aidan. 14. Carr. 15. ROD
Goodman Jack and continued good luck in your footballing career.
Talking about motm polls, I began to wonder was my mind playing games with me. It usually does.
Some people (well entitled to by the way), would seem to want to make a change, trying other people instead of Conor Loftus.
I thought I had a sense of him playing fairly well throughout the league.
I decided to look through the motm polls to see how he had done and let the polls decide.
I looked through the polls for our 5 league games to date.
First game.
6th in the overall voting.
2nd in the voting as a defender.
Second game.
5th in the overall voting.
1st in the voting as a defender.
Third game.
4th in the overall voting.
2nd in the voting as a defender.
Fourth game.
5th in the overall voting.
2nd in the voting as a defender.
Fifth game.
7th in the overall voting.
2nd in the voting as a defender.
Going by the motm polls, it would appear that we need to change up to 10 of our starters in some people’s eyes, if they think that Conor Loftus is on the transfer list and needs to be changed. If he’s continually hovering around 5th in the polls and some people think we need a change in that position then how poorly are we performing in the other 10 positions that polled below him.
The above results were tabulated by Kennedy stokes and Crowley.
It’s difficult to forecast our championship team just yet, because of uncertainty regarding the injury situation of certain players, fitness, game time and match fitness. You would have to assume that the management have a fair idea, at this stage, of their championship starting 15,if everyone is fit and available, with probably 12 or 13 positions nailed on, with maybe 2 or 3 up for debate. It would appear that they intend to persist with Conor at 6,having been a fixture there, so far and he has done well enough, tho’ I must admit that I am not fully convinced. It probably won’t happen this year, because of his age, but I have been impressed with Callihan and I think that he is a CHB, possibly next year.
I think come championship Conor Loftus role will be slightly different dependant on the team we play for example when playing any of the top 4-5 teams he’ll be an out an out sweeper with another 6 defenders around him and for the lesser teams more of a traditional No.6 if that makes sense
Jack is turning into a fine footballer no more than Jordan Flynn. It looks like Jack will take the footballer of the week award also based on voting this morning.
I would really like to see Robbie, POH , Plunkett, E McLaughlin, Bob Tuohy and Paul Towey get a run out at some stage in the next game.
Conor McStay is another one it would be good to see him get a run out from the start to see where he is at, he was impressive for Ballina in the club championship. Im not sure what his role is, has come on in 3 games in the league but has always been after the 60th minute and has little chance to make any sort of contribution yet.
Easy decision on Jack Carney, he was excellent against Tyrone as well. Would like to see Jordan, back to early league levels, still doing alot of work, but need to add scores like doing in earlier rounds. Also Mattie getting score late in match good as well, we need half forwards, and midfielders chipping in with scores.
Maybe with so much about this match ending up as shadow boxing, it might be good to try and determine what learnings the Rossies might be taking from the game.
From a game plan point of view, I think they’ll be happy. Stay in the game, finish strong. They did that, and can argue that they were a sloppy handpass away from it succeeding. Sure Mayo made a few changes but there isn’t anything to suggest that it’s the wrong approach for them to take again next time we meet.
First half, Mayo dominated but it was almost like Roscommon were expecting this and happy to allow us to control the game as long as the tempo was low. Mayo were in this period possibly a little too patient, but were I thought executing with a high degree of accuracy.
Roscommon will feel that if they can disrupt that rhythm even a little they could give themselves a fantastic chance of winning the next day.
I’ve seen enough evidence now to agree with the consensus that this will be the most open championship since 2010.
It’s absolutely wide open and I reckon there are about 6 teams who could win the all Ireland with a bit of luck, Mayo are definitely amongst that 6 and I’d say have the best squad depth currently. I don’t think Mayo have the best first 15 but i do think Mayo have the best squad
Crucially I don’t think the loss of any one player would be terminal to our chances whereas some of the other contenders would be completely screwed if they lost a key man, ie Dublin (Fenton), Kerry (clifford), Derry (mcguigan)
There is no great team this year,its absolutely wide open.
Jon fogarty article in the examiner today of a similar mind
@margie good shouts… The interesting thing there is you had to go with the same MF pairing because we are short on options there even if we want to give DOC a rest…
The approach to the next two games is a hard call. I fully get the opinion of winning games is a good habit. But then I also get the point of the risk of injuries…
I myself was thinking if we get safe with a result against Ross, run the bench and try lads out but then I was thinking, how do mgmt know our best team if team keeps changing…
@Moose79, very true. For all the talk of good squad depth, we are really lacking in midfield. I’ve been saying for a while now we need to rest Mattie and Diarmuid, to give game time to whoever are the back up options. If anything were to happen to Mattie or Diarmuid, I think we’d be in seirious bother….we’re safe now so roll out the cotton wool.
In terms of midfield options, I don’t think Aidan is a viable option anymore, especially in croke park. Sure he can give a dig out for the odd kickout like the last day, but his most effective position now is on the edge of the square. Carney, Flynn and Loftus have experience at midfield, if worse comes to worse, but id like us to try Tuohy there in the last 2 games, he has the height and engine, and maybe he could be moulded into the number 1 replacement?.
Be intresing to put Duirmuid @ 14, to see how that would go. Also Cillian spent alot of time in last game out around 45, would like to see him @ 10/11. Might not have legs to track back, but alot of football smarts to set up play. Jack Carney and Jordan @ midfield. Could cover ground and good tacklers and attacting players. Only thing about this, is thing that we could swap in middle of a match, or having a Plan B / C.
Touhy should be tried at midfield next day instead of one of the two lads. It is the area with least depth. He’s shown he is well able, age is just a number. Diarmuid was a mainstay in the team while in his final year at U21.
GBXI – Id argue it is now our area with most depth Mattie, Diarmuid, Jack and Jordan can all slot into midfield. Then we have the likes of Conor Loftus, AOS and Stephen Coen who have played plenty of games in the middle of the park at inter county level. That is without the likes of Bob Tuohy, Frank Irwin, Sam Callinan, Eoghan Mc and Paddy Durcan who have played there recently at club level and impressed.
Jack Carney has now followed in the footsteps of Jordan Flynn and Diarmuid O’Connor by being voted the GAA’s Player of the Week. That’s the third time in succession a Mayo player has won this particular trinket.
Touhy definitely needs more bulking up; which will come in time. Took one point well the last day and snatched at another easy enough chance. For an intro season he has done well. A work in progress…
Diarmuid, was a Young Player of the Year and pivotal to our u21 All Ireland Title in 2016.Quite unique. Hoping to see him continue to fid his form and to truly display his real potential for Mayo. On his day he is class. I’ve maintained for years that for Mayo to become champions, Diarmuid needs to be playing very well. I don’t think Horan Part Deux used him correctly, often placing him on the wing where he was peripheral at times, and you could see his frustration growing.
@Revellino, interesting stats. I’ve not seen as much of the league as I had in many previous seasons but last Sunday we were vacant up the centre of the defence in the 2nd half and allowed ros score several scores form this. It may be unfair to lay the blame at the foot of our no.6 but it’s a crucial position and our defence simply did not perform in that 2nd half; we coughed up easy scores and allowed a mid level team waltz thru the heart of our defence far too many times, which almost cost us at the very end.
That GAA Player of the Week thing is a joke.
On the midfield issue, isn’t Mikey Murray on the panel? He was quite effective in the county final, and was just back from a long layoff at that. Surely time to give him a try.
Congrats Jack Carney on both counts. Jack is giving serious leadership to a powerful set of forwards. No doubt we will see further improvement with every passing game from this set. Inspirational player.
The two week break is coming at an appropriate time for team and management.
The half back line is the line of focus for me. Granted, the game is much about match ups these days but CHB position is still an ancorage point as no 11s for the most part are leaders.
Loftus has definitely shown promise and maybe a wing half back role. I would be happy to see paddy or O Hora given the central position. There has to be a place for McLaughlin on this line. Hopefully we will see him back before end of league campaign.
Mikey Murray was going well in training pre Xmas by all accounts. However he picked up a knee injury and isn’t back yet as far as I know.
Thanks for that Doc.
Mikey (Murray) been most unfortunate. I get the impression that our injury crisis is over and that most of the walking wounded are on the way back or already there. Yet, Brickenden is out, Mikey Murray now, Eoghan MacLaughlin seems not fully right, no sign of Brendan Harrison, and Brian Walsh hasn’t been seen since the Galway game. Others like Frank Irwin and Mark Moran, have made no appearance at all, including FBD games, as far as I can tell.
JKELL, I’m more referring to if one of the two starters gets injured for a game or two come knockout championship. Flynn is the obvious replacement but in my opinion he doesn’t have the athleticism to play 8/9 for a full game. AOS can’t, Coen can’t, and Loftus can’t compete in the air. Carney looks an option but he’s always played in the forwards at senior inter county so I don’t know.
Sam and Paddy might be fine at club level but they would be in trouble against all the top teams. Eoghan, maybe, but he needs to get fit first. Touhy is like a gazelle around the pitch, great fielder, good kick passer, and has the courage to shoot. Yes, he needs a little more muscle but that’s not a show stopper for me.
Mayo need to put out their Championship team against Donegal to see how they perform. Donegal will be fighting for their survival in Division 1 and need to win. They are also very hard to beat in Ballybofey in any game. This will be playede like a Championship game with full drive by Donegal , so a real test for Mayo even with full team which will give a clue as to how a full panel will perform when its put up to them, expect a Donegal win as its in Ballybofey.
Well done to Jack.
With a Carney going well and D’OC ”flying” it at the moment the omens are good.
Flynn is definitely athletic enough to play midfield. He’d probably have more trouble in that regard at wing forward if he came up against a very pacy half back. Would be well able for any midfielder around IMO.
Could see a scenario where Durcan is brought back into the FB line to accommodate O’Hora or Eoghan, ie one of the younger lads like Coyne might lose out. Coyne is doing well but management might go for blistering pace.
Anyone think Matthew Ruane is a bit off the pace? He coughs up a lot of frees and possession.
@Culmore … championship team far from finalised with 2 games left to play … Still opportunities for lads to put their hands up and others to improve fitness on the back of injuries.
We know what certain players can offer so theses 2 remaining ganes are now an opportunity to make sure we have the best , fittest and inform player’s on the 26 man panel for when we meet the Rossies again in McHale Park..
jack is playing really well at the moment and DOC done an amazing amount of work. We were really open at the 6 position and were it not for the DOCs coverage there it would be much worse. He was more prominent there than Loftus who did very little to break up any dangerous attacks.
@ Patrick Golden. Nail on the head. The one position that does need fixing. Jack Carney is such a good leader of the forward pack, i wouldnt dream of moving him. We’ve waited long enough to have a top notch 11.
The Donegal match is massive in that we’re both going into it looking for a win.
And for the dreamers out there, these young lads want and need to win national titles!! Its very easy to look at far away hills if the best we can do is don the bridesmaid’s outfit.
Think it’s what priorities the players and management have @Ontheditch ..the “dreamers” may voice an opinion but ultimately its doesn’t matter what they think
Listening to paddy andrews on otb podcast there and for the first time he was scathing on Dublin, the natives are getting restless
Yes true. @my ball..and imo from what weve seen so far we have a new generation of youngsters who want to drive on and become winners….
Ontheditch, I love your last paragraph there.
Bit of perspective though (which is really being lost with Dublin imo – I feel we’re being blinded by their recent dominance and very much overreacting to any sort of drop off we see currently), they were up against a D1 team in all but name and the current Ulster champs. If Kilkenny doesn’t make the daftest decision you’ll see all season and actually passes to Costello with a tap in, they win that match
A fit Con O’Callaghan last year and we would be talking about them as defending All Ireland champions, and “ticking along nicely” with promotion basically assured with 2 rounds still to go
They’ll be formidable come the Summer, in a heaving Croke Park. Incredibly 13 starting outfielders from the 2019 replay are available this season
@ontheditch.. very true, good mix of youth and experience in the panel now.
Would like to see Hennelly , POH , E McL and fingers crossed Brick all feature over the next 2 game.
Next weekend off might be a help to some of our bucks
I think at this stage we must go all out for the league while at the same time game time to our probable championship players as we did against Roscommon.Form is not like a tap to be turned on and off.
Any player would prefer a game to a training weekend.
Some of the Meath players of 1991 say that if the final was played a week after the semie they would have won it.
Going back to training for a month had a psychological effect on the team.
My Mayo team
Colm Reape
Jack Coyne David McBrien Enda Hession
Conor Loftus-Sweeper
Paddy Durcan Padraig O’Hora Stephen Coen
Matthew Ruane Diarmuid O’Connor
Jack Carney- @11
James Carr Jordan Flynn
Aidan O’Shea Ryan O’Donoghue
Subs:
Robbie Hennelly, Sam Callinan, Michael Plunkett, Eoghan Mcgloughlin, Bob Tuohy, Fionn McDonagh, Tommy Conroy, Cillian O’Connor, Kevin Mcgloughlin, Jason Doherty, Donnacha McHugh
Brendan Harrison, Paul Towey, Conor McStay, Rory Brickendon, Aidan Orme, Darren McHale, Ethan Gibbons, Frank Irwin, Rory Byrne, Mikey Murray, Bryan Walsh, James McCormack, Connell Dempsey
@ciaran. Agree with your assessment on Dublin i think they’ll be dangerous alright. @my ball. I thought the idea on this site is everyones opinion is of the same importance despite you saying it doesn’t matter what “they” think. Jeez I need to get off this blog soon as it’s making me cranky.
@mayo4698, when you spell them out, we have some depth of talent. @myball, i dont think we will be seeing Brickenden for a bit, shoulder injury bit more serious than first thought.
I am led to believe Murray is not part of the Panel. Injury is an issue, but he hasn’t played very much football the past few years.
Mayonaze is correct, like the MOTM polls on here they are not what you would call an unbiased assessment. Revellino highlights it, it looks like Loftus is our top defender if based on the poll. Ahead of Jack Coyne, David McBrien, Enda Hession, Brickenden etc.
We have conceded 5 goals so far this league v 3 at same period last year.
Everyone talking about Dublin – lads, it’s Galway people should be looking at. They’re getting the job done in division 1 and without their top two players and a couple of others are showing well now. Their defence is very strong and coming out the right side of a few battles. They’re just ticking along nicely and making sure things come together just in time for championship. They’re losing that bit of flakiness they might have had before. A bit of steel there now. They’re going to have a very good season this year, and in fact, I think they’re in a better position than Kerry or Dublin.
Could not agree more @dreamysleepynightysnoozysnooze
I honestly don’t see galway up there though won’t be surprised to be proved wrong. Maybe it’s just the border man in me and i don’t want to see them win any more than the toss for the throw in. they lost to roscommon, drew with mayo (ok unlucky not to win), drew with a not so good Donegal team, beat Tyrone going bad, beat Monaghan and probably have their 2 toughest games to come wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t get any more points. Have they really added to the squad since last year?ian Burke not really pulling up trees
No doubt – we also beat a Tyrone team going bad and we were happy. They beat Monaghan with 14 men and had to battle for that win, which they’ll be very happy with. I think they’ll be very happy with the draw with Donegal too, as that was another battle where they had to dig deep. Both of those games are games Galway might have lost a couple of years ago. Like I said, the flakiness is gone. I don’t think Kerry will have it easy in Salthill.
The point is that they’ve been in a few battles now this league and have pulled out a result, be it a draw or a win, and they’ve done it without Comer or Walsh. They’re getting those players back in time for championship and in the meantime have been going about their business without causing too much of a commotion or fuss. They’re timing things right.
@dreamy.i can’t argue with what you said. I still think they’re a bit overrated but maybe that’s fear I’m feeling.
@Culmore: Would agree with you, Donegal are hard beaten at home, as Kerry and Galway have found out this season. Would I be right in thinking that Mayo have never won up there in a competitive senior fixture? If so, maybe it’s a good benchmark for this young Mayo side.
Galway are rightly 3rd favourites as they seem more battle hardened this year and doing it with the X factor pair. Kelly and Daly highlighted on RTE Sunday. If McDaid not doing it Tierney is. Conroy still key for them. Finnerty looks a bit more like a leader this year so far without the other 2.
4th favourites about fair for us although Derry, Armagh and Tyrone might beg to differ. Tyrone underrated, don’t forget it’s still only the league and they have plenty of excellent players including now 2 Canavans. Donegal probably not as bad as some of their league form, I think we’ve drawn at Ballybofey a few times but not won nor had hardly any other team until a couple of years back. I think Monaghan probably slipped back a bit as McManus nears the end of his career but them, Ros and Donegal probably bring up the rest of the top 10. Cork and Meath might compete but Kildare seem to be on a rough patch atm. The most open AI in years.
I’m not convinced about Galway. Good side but not enough marque forwards to win the all Ireland. Heavily dependent on their running game.
I think they’re very similar to us 5 years ago. Not sure if they’ll produce or flop this season. Either way I don’t think they beat us the majority of days.
Definitely think that they’re overrated by the bookies
Management really took the sting out of these last two games. Can’t really blame them, given the nature of the season.
I am nearly more interested to see how our neighbors fare against Kerry.
Ridiculous situation that the championship starts the week after the league final.
Why not start a week early or have no break this weekend.
@ JR it’s a joke & completely undermines the league. In the very unlikely that ourselves & Roscommon end up in league final, both teams should tell the GAA to shove it and play the Connaught championship match for all the marbles. Now wouldn’t that be a wake up call for the GAA
@ Shuffly deck. Very realistic analysis. Galway will take encouragement from last years performance and will leave no stone unturned to go one better. Theve had good underage in recent years; they should be able to strengthen their panel. What impresses me most is they are strong up the middle.
Mayo have rebuild a decent panel in double quick time, thanks mainly to progressive youngsters and more to come. The future is bright
I agree with you on your assessment of Tyrone. We were flattered by the scoreline against them and if they get their heads right, they will be a team to avoid. As you say, quality footballers.
Of course Dublin will be in the shake up, though i would be concerned about age profile. No superstars coming through.
I would definitely throw Cork into the mix….
I believe the new format will suit Galway. They’re not playing as well as they should be at the moment, yet they’re fairly comfortable after 5 games, and with their two best players absent for the most part so far, that’s not bad going
They’ll have a deeper panel than last year (injury crisis aside), but probably have created more depth in positions they didn’t really need to (mainly the half back line). Tierney looks to be elevating himself to another level, which is some boost. They’re relying again on Finnerty, Comer and Walsh staying fit all year but the caveat is no team would cope in the absence of either of the latter two.
Galway football is in a good place. They probably have the best club championship in the country at the moment, with great underage talent being produced. The county is on a bit of a high after last year and Galway supporters can finally walk with their chests out and take pride in the team again
Back to my first point on the new format – there is inconsistency in Galway and I still think they have a few things to figure out. I wouldn’t discount a shocker performance in Connacht or the Round Robin but regardless I expect them to navigate their way to a quarter final. With Liam Silke the only definite absentee by that stage I think they’ll be very dangerous later in the summer.
I think they’d need a lot to go their way to beat Dublin or Kerry but I think it will take one of those to end their campaign this year
Worth noting that since 2016 Galway’s championship has been ended by only Dublin, Kerry and Mayo – easily the “big 3” of the last decade.
Tyrone are very similar, take out last year’s horror show and the weird 2020 year and they were regular semi finalists in the 2010s. I won’t believe they’re truly back into the pack until they get beaten heavily by a lesser team again. I think there’s a big hurrah in them yet, probably not enough to win an All Ireland but I could see them being a “spoiler” this year and taking out one of the big guns in a quarter or semi
I’m fairly sure they were written off heavily in 2005 and 2008 aswell
Not sure if been beaten by the big 3 is anything to boast about. For years mayo were only beaten by the best team in the history of the gaa and it got nothing but abuse from many of the maroon followers. In the 98/2001 era you could see they oozed class and were a joy to watch but they don’t give off the same vibe nowadays. Is it a bit worrying that Conroy is still the main man around the middle
Mayo Focus there is precedent for that in the hurling league final.
Ciaran – I dont think they have a deeper panel than last year, they have lost Silke and Molloy (2 of their best backs) and O`Laoi who was their first sub used by Joyce and co all year in 2022. Can they say they have added 3 players to replace them and added more depth to their bench ? Ian Burke and Peter Cooke are yet to prove it in 2023 before it can be claimed they have a stronger panel.
Tipperary knocked them Galway in 2016. In 2017 they was no challenge v Kerry, In 2018 against Dublin they were no challenge and 2019 in Limerick and 2021 in Croke Park it was fairly handy wins for Mayo in the end.
They have improved immensely since Cian O `Neill has came in and are in a good position to be in the mix for Sam towards the end of the season but as it stands so are about 6 other teams including ourselves.
We will know better where our neighbors are at over the next 2 games, they have a near full strength panel to choose from in the last 2 rounds and have a trip away to Armagh and Kerry at home.
Mike Finerty reporting in this week’s Mayo News:
“McStay has now used 28 players in the first five rounds of the competition with the likes of Rob Hennelly, Bryan Walsh, Frank Irwin and Mikey Murray among those yet to feature due to their respective injuries.
Darren McHale, Eoghan McLaughlin and Rory Brickenden were also unavailable for selection last weekend due to injuries.
The Mayo News understands that Brickenden looks set to miss the rest of the National League due to a shoulder problem while his Westport club-mate, Mark Moran, was released from the squad last month as he tries to recover from a long-standing groin injury”.
That certainly answers a few questions I was raising in earlier posts. I think Bryan Walsh did play against Galway.
That’s fairly positive news on Brickenden if it’s only the league he’ll miss. Thought it might be more serious than that.
Bryan Walsh played in the FBD games but not the league.
MAYO: Rob Hennelly, Brendan Harrison, Stephen Coen, Padraig O’Hora; Paddy Durcan, Donnacha McHugh, Eoghan McLaughlin; Conor O’Shea, Conor Loftus; Fionn McDonagh, Aiden Orme, Diarmuid O’Connor; Tommy Conroy, Jason Doherty Ryan O’Donoghue Subs: Aidan O’Shea for Orme, Bryan Walsh for McDonagh, Sam Callinan for McHugh, Jordan Flynn for Loftus, Paul Towey for Conor O’Shea.
That was the team that played donegal in 1st league match last year.. depth!
Mayo on our day can beat any team but Galway are very dangerous this year and as commented by Fogarty in the Examiner, they have the best squad in Ireland with those two absentee defenders back in the fold. Whether you agree or not, it’s from a well respected GAA journalist.
Also, Galway have marque forwards. Walsh. Finnerty (Ive seen enough of him live in action to tell you that on his day he is as good as any forward we have). Comer when he hits form is extremely tough to stop.
I’ve also been told by a very reliable source that they are doing heavy training looking to hit form the right time in summer (I know, aren’t all doing this? Maybe some more than others). Padraic Joyce couldn’t care less about the league – and yet, they could easily end up in a league final without having had arguably their two best forwards playing. For me, there are more question marks over Mayo right now, we haven’t a settled half back line. Our full back line despite, doing well have conceded plenty of goals and are completely untested at championship level and we do not know who our no.1 keeper is. Championship winning teams are built on a having a very strong defence. As things stand we are a long way from knowing what our defence will look like in the heat of knock out championship.
I think McStay & Co have had a very positive start, particularly given our two top defenders bailed, but league and championship are completely different animals.
Ah come on them 2 defenders are not in the panel and even if they were there’s no way galway have the best panel. I’m struggling to come with more than 3 subs who could make an impact and sure if absentee defenders count we may as well count oisin and Lee in the mayo squad. Agree Finnerty is a nice forward,comer causes havoc when he’s on the ball and Walsh is class if he’s let play but believe me when i say a huge number of galway people had no time for Walsh before last years final so the pressure is on him now to deliver. Don’t get me wrong I’m not dismissing galway and they won’t be easy beaten but I wouldn’t fear them either.. I probably come across like i have a bee in my bonnet about galway but it’s like growing up in the 80s and 90s listening about the fantastic galway hurlers and then I found out they only had 2 All-Irelands by the mid 80s and only 5 now
Galway have had one good year in the past 20, and yet there are Mayo supporters fawning over them.
I’d need to see a bit more than that before I start quaking in my boots.
I wonder whats the story with Mulkerrins and McLoughlin I would love to see Sean K away from 3. Silke and Molloy big losses for us. Mayo are the form team but are vunerable at the back as seen in last game yet have improved up front with Tommy Conroy back now too. I think Kerry are favourites, Dublin must be second for now but you would have your doubts. Galway 3rd stuttering along winning without hitting any heights arguably could have won all the matches playing poorly enough. After that you have Armagh, Derry, Mayo, Tyrone in no particular order with Roscommon probably next. Its there to win lads it actually could be there for ye in 23. Galway could also win it this year as there would appear to be huge scope to improve and lads look in good shape. If Clifford gets injured or sent off Kerry are in trouble he is booked in nearly all games now. The format requires you to peak later in the year the fear for Mayo is that McStay has overcooked it.
Sorry No Doubt but you do sound like Galway live for free in your head. Ive see us win 4 All Ireland hurling titles and 2 All Ireland football titles in my lifetime. Very few people in Mayo have seen a win in either code with realistically if you were brought as a 10 year old to Croke Park in 1951 you would be 82 now so being from Galway is pretty good given the horror show our neighbours have endured. A Roscommon fan that was at their emergency win in 44 would be probably 90 now or watching all the games from the graveyard at the Hyde. Galway might be underachievers but Mayo and Roscommon are a long way off that low bar.
@chesneychet.look your probably right and I wish I could start charging rent. I probably shouldn’t be getting into it but you just did it probably without even knowing like getting a “good lad” tap on the head sarcastic comment that nearly comes natural now and like always there was no mention of the 14 all irelands (football) lost by galway 3 of them in a row in the 40s and 3 out of 4 in the 70s and against 12 players in 83.look i don’t want to get into a slagging match because i loved the team of 98/01 and rate p Joyce in the top 3 forwards i saw play the game. And by the way that recent mayo team weren’t underachievers.
Chesneychet – the new championship format has All Ireland finals in July, much sooner than late September. There’s no free month before championship anymore for hard training.
The fear for Galway is that Mcstay is getting it spot on.
Too many losses / close shaves for us to be complacent about Galway. Assuming we make it past Roscommon (leaving out a possible meeting in league final) we’ll know soon enough how both panels compare. Might as well enjoy the rest of the league.
@Exile..I would NOT be assuming anything just yet..We are NOT yet in the League Final even if we are likely to be in it. We are assured of Division One Football next year, and on all the available evidence so far have been the best team in the division.. But sport being sport stranger things have happened, we actually could have lost last Sunday and almost did concede a last minute goal which would surely have been curtains for us. Very strong favorites Kerry actually did lose despite getting a first minute goal against a Tyrone team that looked abject for the most part versus Mayo in Castlebar. I wouldnt write off the Rossies chances against us in any upcoming fixture, despite the fact that we will be heavy favorites with both bookies and pundits alike. On the other hand Roscommon are not entirely safe either from the threat of demotion to Div Two. 6 points might not be enough to keep a team in Div One the way things are turning out. If the Rossies can match the fighting spirit they showed against us for the last 20 minutes versus Kerry from the very start and keep it going , I wouldnt put it past them beating the Kingdom on their own home soil. A few twists and turns in the Div One plot yet to come I think.
If the Rossies put in a similar performance to what they did against us, then they’ll have a great chance of upsetting Kerry.
The interesting question is how Kerry approach the game. If they anticipate a similar gameplan from Roscommon, do they try to counter that or do they trust in their forwards to win the game by themselves
Fully agreed Leantimes – I mean that unless both us and Galway are in the league final, then we don’t have to worry about them unless and until we get past Roscommon. Personally I think there’s not enough info to go off on exactly where they’re at for now, but the tactics used against us in past years have been effective more often than not. The battle around the middle of the field could be very intense.
Leantimes, good post.
About Galway, I too am wary of them. I think they have talented players and a backroom team that are astute. As a poster above said (perhaps Chesneychet), they have scope to develop further.
What can help us an awful lot and counter threats is a smart, clued-in management team who plan, prepare and have fit for purpose game plans. We have a very good management team in this regard.
I think Padraig Joyce’s obsession with us is a major weakness. Lose to us, and I don’t see how Joyce can get Galway motoring again.
Year 4, lot’s of injuries and an all Ireland defeat the before. Sounds familiar
PJ is obsessed with Kerry.
Went to college in Tralee, got cleaned out of it by Moynihan in the 2000 final and then lost his first final as manager to them last year.
For what it’s worth, I don’t see anything we’ve seen from any team so far in this years league having any bearing on June/July.
Galway got an easy path to the final last year ,beat a very weakened Mayo by a point and then 2 northern teams that had not been at the business end of the championship for years.
Kerry underestimated Walsh, but that won’t happen again.
@Big Mike..yes Padraig Joyce did get completely cleaned out by Séamus Moynihan in 2000. But a very similar situation to Tom O Sullivan marking Connor Mortimer in 2006.. The umpires, linesmen and referee must have been pretty blind to NOT see what was going on..A long way from the allowed rules of Gaelic Football I’m afraid. Padraig Joyce did a much better job, against a much better full back, most definitely the best full back of that era, Darren Fay ..In fairness to Darren Fay he played within the rules. I don’t think that the marking of Connor Mortimer had that much of an impact on the outcome of the match… But I certainly believe that if particularly the umpires had done their jobs in 2000 re Séamus Moynihan and Padraig Joyce, it could easily have been a different outcome!
I remember Joyce getting cleaned, a very rare occurrence but don’t recall Moynihan stretching the rules too badly. They guys was a brilliant player , probably Kerry’s greatest ever footballing defender and on that occasion came out on top and it was rare that he didn’t.
I agree with analysis of Galway last year not being that good and certainly they didn’t have the bench in AI final. I do think they’re more battle hardened this year and time will tell. Agree we shouldn’t be in awe of them or anything. The difference between us and them is fine margins I would think and either could win on the day. Ros have caught up loads though and will be a huge hurdle to overcome first. We could lose that and still go a long way while never playing Galway in 2023.
@Shuffy Deck, I stood in Hill 16 for the replay of the 2000 All Ireland final. Moynihan almost never stopped manhandling Padraig Joyce a long way from the allowed rules of Gaelic Football..He managed to do with complete impunity and indeed very little media comment. I know that type of thing goes on, and if a defender gets away with it, many will say it was great play . Séamus Moynihan was certainly one of the best all round player’s and defenders Kerry ever had , but as a specialist full back he , nor anyone else at the time were in the same league with Meaths full back, undoubtedly the best full back in Ireland in that era (and it was an Era of outstanding full backs, with our Kevin Cahill, Paddy Christy of Dublin, Fahey of Galway ) .. Padraig Joyce played a tour de force the following year in the All Ireland final v Meath and cleaned the best full back in the country, Darren Fay greatly assisted by a wonderful supply of good ball from the other Galway player’s. If only one quater of the fouling of Padraig Joyce on and off the Ball had resulted in a free in for Galway, I am convinced that Galway would have won the match in 2000. Of course Séamus Moynihan would have probably changed tactics if Kerry were getting punished. Kerry and Dublin both seem to get away with a bit other teams wouldn’t get in big match’s?
The only reason people say Galway’s path was “easy” is because they avoided both Kerry & Dublin until a final. As provincial winners there was zero chance of getting both, however they had a bit of good fortune perhaps in drawing the Ulster winners in the semi (although this was well known before the season even started) – a 33% chance
In the quarters they could have drawn Armagh, Cork or Clare (Mayo was a last resort in the draw as repeat pairings were to be avoided where possible) – they definitely got the toughest draw there. And they had the toughest possible route in Connacht (ie they played both Mayo and Roscommon). So not a gimme draw by any stretch when looked at properly (no worse than Mayo in 2020 and 2016, we don’t complain though!)
Galway (and Roscommon) will never win with some (Shane Walsh overrated, easy draws etc.), and I suspect if they beat Kerry or Dublin in a semi there would be excuses and I expect if we got through a draw with Derry or Armagh it would be looked upon completely differently – but hey that’s rivalries for you 🙂 Probably a sure sign in itself though (in a backhanded complimentary way) that they are becoming a big contender and more of a worry for Mayo fans. They were just basically ignored in the early 2010s!!
All the best to them, imagine what an occasion a Mayo/Galway all Ireland semi or final would be?
Even if they just had Fallon and Mannion fit it probably would have been enough to win in 2000, Kerry were quite shaky in big games back then, Armagh should have ran them in the semi also and they had some horror shows in 1999 (Cork), 2001 (Meath) and blew a winning position in the 2002 final
If people think Galway’s draw was nice last year, wait till ye see 2000!!