Galway GAA discussion thread

brookville

Well done to ye today,there's definitely a different cut about galway this year more consistent,hopefully ye have conor cooney back the next day his a player I really like

CloughCasey1

You'd think Nash would have changed the puck outs after ten minutes. He didn't lead by example. As well as we played Cork were shocking. Our forwards will be marked tighter and big Paudie Maher won't let Glynn dominate like he did today. We will need big Joe firing on all cylinders from now on. If on song today we'd have put up another 7or 8 pts.

Figsy32

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

You'd think Nash would have changed the puck outs after ten minutes. He didn't lead by example. As well as we played Cork were shocking. Our forwards will be marked tighter and big Paudie Maher won't let Glynn dominate like he did today. We will need big Joe firing on all cylinders from now on. If on song today we'd have put up another 7or 8 pts.

This is all very true. Congrats on today. Completely dominated us. Serious set of forwards when they're on song. Hope ye go on and win it.

CloughCasey1

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

You'd think Nash would have changed the puck outs after ten minutes. He didn't lead by example. As well as we played Cork were shocking. Our forwards will be marked tighter and big Paudie Maher won't let Glynn dominate like he did today. We will need big Joe firing on all cylinders from now on. If on song today we'd have put up another 7or 8 pts.

Put up another 7/8?.
34 is about the maximum you'd hope to score, that's just under a score every 2 mins.

What we need to do is concede less, we've conceded too much in the last two games in particular.

If we scored 30 scores even without goals in the next two games it would probably take 3/4 goal performances to lose those games.

from_atozinc

IMHO - joe canning should have been taken off today in the 2nd half. He was just missing too many points. If Cody was manager, he would probably be off in the first half.

If he was taken off, might make him realise he is not the main man and be a bit more earthed.

And don't get me fookin started with his attempts at sidelines from 70 yards out. Must be less than 10% hit rate.

Don't get me wrong, great talent etc but would do him no harm to have him taken off every now and then.

from_atozinc

from_atozinc wrote: »

IMHO - joe canning should have been taken off today in the 2nd half. He was just missing too many points. If Cody was manager, he would probably be off in the first half.

If he was taken off, might make him realise he is not the main man and be a bit more earthed.

And don't get me fookin started with his attempts at sidelines from 70 yards out. Must be less than 10% hit rate.

Don't get me wrong, great talent etc but would do him no harm to have him taken off every now and then.

I agree.

If a lad has hit 8 wides and about 6 from play then he deserves to take a seat the same as the rest of the players.

Cant be leaving players on based on the last game, he wasn't even having close to a bad game it was awful. Some teams have had less than 8 wides, probably a while since someone had 6 odd from play.

I don't agree on the sideline and in fairness you're not the only one to argue that point.
Id counter argue that its not exactly easy to lift the ball and even harder to place it so its best to just go for it and if its short then so be it.

However id argue teams should be trying to short pass(not cutting but pulling) it rather than go for goal.

However given the difficulty most players seem to have just getting it off the ground, id rather see it going towards goal than say 20yards down the wing which is no advantage to the taker anyway given the lack of accuracy and pace control.

threeball

gilberto_eire wrote: »

I agree.

If a lad has hit 8 wides and about 6 from play then he deserves to take a seat the same as the rest of the players.

Cant be leaving players on based on the last game, he wasn't even having close to a bad game it was awful. Some teams have had less than 8 wides, probably a while since someone had 6 odd from play.

I don't agree on the sideline and in fairness you're not the only one to argue that point.
Id counter argue that its not exactly easy to lift the ball and even harder to place it so its best to just go for it and if its short then so be it.

However id argue teams should be trying to short pass(not cutting but pulling) it rather than go for goal.

However given the difficulty most players seem to have just getting it off the ground, id rather see it going towards goal than say 20yards down the wing which is no advantage to the taker anyway given the lack of accuracy and pace control.

I agree on the sidelines. Lobbing up a 50:50 ball in an arranged defence rarely results in anything. Hes as well off have a pop. It really lifts a team when a player puts one over. Gleeson from Waterford is excellent at them too.
Either that or just pull on it to a free player 10yrds behind you if the chance presents.

After so many bad days in Thurles that was one to enjoy. I'm under no illusions as to how poor Cork were on the day but after the Kilkenny defeat I feared the worst going to Thurles. Getting the goal at the off gave us the kick start we needed and we were in control for most of the game. Really we should have been 8 or 9 up at half time. There was a few moments of worry after the sending off when Cork got it down to 4 or 5 and had the crowd behind them, we seemed to start panicking needlessly but Mark Ellis' poor ball into Cathal Mannion's hand settled us down again.

2-28 is a big score but it should have been a lot more. Cork in the first half in particular were very economical. In terms of conversion rate on chances created we were little over 50% so obviously that will need to improve hugely for when we only get a fraction of those chances against Tipp.

The backline played well in general and utilised the ball better than the last day. Tannian really concerns me though. Again we were caught for a few very silly points in the first half today which should have been cleared to keep Cork in touch.

On the plus side, Cork created no real goal scoring chance only a long range shot straight at Callanan. Cathal Mannion and Flynn are both making big contributions this year. Conor Whelan I'm not sure about for the next day but he proved today he can survive at this level at such a young age. Johnny Glynn has had plenty of critics but he had a stormer today and was our go to man today. Padraig Mannion and Daithi Burke both performed superbly today. David Burke was working his way into the game when he got knocked out. Johnny Coen and Hanbury held up well again.

Davy Glennon wasn't even in the 26 today which surprised me. While he didn't set the world alight against Kilkenny I'd still have him in the 26 ahead of Brian Molloy to be fair.

I didn't give us huge hope for the rest of the year after Kilkenny but we showed enough today that if we can put all the parts together on one day we can put it right up to Tipp. Really it will take another significant leap and that game will be on a different level of intensity to what Cork did today. In terms of wides or wasted chances it'll have to be in single figures to give us a real chance.

Minors also did well. Limerick were a highly regarded team by all accounts but Galway performed well. Galway were very poor at minor last year so it was heartening to see a few new names today showing what they could do. We were in control most of the way but Limerick brought it down to the wire. Kilkenny next up unfortunately on the same day as Kilkenny's seniors v Waterford.

threeball

Borders no.2 wrote: »

After so many bad days in Thurles that was one to enjoy. I'm under no illusions as to how poor Cork were on the day but after the Kilkenny defeat I feared the worst going to Thurles. Getting the goal at the off gave us the kick start we needed and we were in control for most of the game. Really we should have been 8 or 9 up at half time. There was a few moments of worry after the sending off when Cork got it down to 4 or 5 and had the crowd behind them, we seemed to start panicking needlessly but Mark Ellis' poor ball into Cathal Mannion's hand settled us down again.

2-28 is a big score but it should have been a lot more. Cork in the first half in particular were very economical. In terms of conversion rate on chances created we were little over 50% so obviously that will need to improve hugely for when we only get a fraction of those chances against Tipp.

The backline played well in general and utilised the ball better than the last day. Tannian really concerns me though. Again we were caught for a few very silly points in the first half today which should have been cleared to keep Cork in touch.

On the plus side, Cork created no real goal scoring chance only a long range shot straight at Callanan. Cathal Mannion and Flynn are both making big contributions this year. Conor Whelan I'm not sure about for the next day but he proved today he can survive at this level at such a young age. Johnny Glynn has had plenty of critics but he had a stormer today and was our go to man today. Padraig Mannion and Daithi Burke both performed superbly today. David Burke was working his way into the game when he got knocked out. Johnny Coen and Hanbury held up well again.

Davy Glennon wasn't even in the 26 today which surprised me. While he didn't set the world alight against Kilkenny I'd still have him in the 26 ahead of Brian Molloy to be fair.

I didn't give us huge hope for the rest of the year after Kilkenny but we showed enough today that if we can put all the parts together on one day we can put it right up to Tipp. Really it will take another significant leap and that game will be on a different level of intensity to what Cork did today. In terms of wides or wasted chances it'll have to be in single figures to give us a real chance.

Minors also did well. Limerick were a highly regarded team by all accounts but Galway performed well. Galway were very poor at minor last year so it was heartening to see a few new names today showing what they could do. We were in control most of the way but Limerick brought it down to the wire. Kilkenny next up unfortunately on the same day as Kilkenny's seniors v Waterford.

I really don't get why people have been so downbeat after the kk defeat. We weren't hammered. We weren't even beaten badly. In fact I said at the time that had we been calmer in our distribution from the half back line and cleaned up our first touch we possibly could have beaten kk. I would have seen losing to Cork today as a real schock had it happened. Cork have shown nothing all year to suggest they had improved even slightly.
If we iron out our kinks today as well as we did from the kk game I think we beat tipp and get kk in the only game that matters.

threeball

threeball wrote: »

I really don't get why people have been so downbeat after the kk defeat. We weren't hammered. We weren't even beaten badly. In fact I said at the time that had we been calmer in our distribution from the half back line and cleaned up our first touch we possibly could have beaten kk. I would have seen losing to Cork today as a real schock had it happened. Cork have shown nothing all year to suggest they had improved even slightly.
If we iron out our kinks today as well as we did from the kk game I think we beat tipp and get kk in the only game that matters.

In fairness there were only a couple of quick swings that went against us in that game.
Burkes goal chance which would have saw us lead and from the puck out they scored.
Their goal after Flynns wayward pass.

The two of them alone are 8 and that's not including a few gifts from defence we didn't see returned.
We lost by 7 which in some ways wasn't huge given the few swings and they scored 1-25 which is pushing the limits to what a team will score, especially points wise.

I wouldn't be in the bracket of "you wont beat them twice" which is just rubbish or we were saving ourselves.
I however wasn't going to get upset over it as hockeying them in 2012 yielded nothing in the end.
It only counts for something if its in Sept and the LHF score won't count for anything once the ball is thrown in should we make it.

On the minors, KKs main advantage will be the crowd.
Bookies have them favourites to win it outright but Dublin could have beat them. Had a great goal chance which was stupidly put over and they didn't score again and lost by 1/2.
Certainly wasn't much between Dub/KK and the bookies have them odds on and 4/1.
Nothing to fear anyway.
We're actually the team to fear in minor if there is one.

orl

from_atozinc wrote: »

IMHO - joe canning should have been taken off today in the 2nd half. He was just missing too many points. If Cody was manager, he would probably be off in the first half.

If he was taken off, might make him realise he is not the main man and be a bit more earthed.

And don't get me fookin started with his attempts at sidelines from 70 yards out. Must be less than 10% hit rate.

Don't get me wrong, great talent etc but would do him no harm to have him taken off every now and then.

I don't agree with this and if you were at the match i doubt you would either. There was a much bigger Cork contingent there. If he was taken off, they would have cheered which would have given the Cork team a bit of hope. Joe has pulled it out of the fire for us on many occasions and he deserved a bit of loyalty. Plus Joe distributed well. It was just his shooting that was off.

Re. Brian Cody he has kept Walter Walsh playing - look at the embarassing wides he got in the Leinster final. He only had one good game in the Black and Amber and that was unfortunately against us. Yet he is a regular feature in Brian Cody's teams.

munsterlegend

Well done yesterday from a Cork supporter. While we were poor ye certainly didn't make us look any better. I hope either yourselves or waterford go all the way though I do think ye are the only team who can break the tipp kk monopoly at this time. the shooting accuracy will have to improve against tipp but see no reason why ye can't take them though they will be much tougher opponents than we were with a big goalscoring threat. should be a great game and just as well we didn't fluke a victory as we'd have been hammered in croker.

donnem33

Borders no.2 wrote: »

After so many bad days in Thurles that was one to enjoy. I'm under no illusions as to how poor Cork were on the day but after the Kilkenny defeat I feared the worst going to Thurles. Getting the goal at the off gave us the kick start we needed and we were in control for most of the game. Really we should have been 8 or 9 up at half time. There was a few moments of worry after the sending off when Cork got it down to 4 or 5 and had the crowd behind them, we seemed to start panicking needlessly but Mark Ellis' poor ball into Cathal Mannion's hand settled us down again.

2-28 is a big score but it should have been a lot more. Cork in the first half in particular were very economical. In terms of conversion rate on chances created we were little over 50% so obviously that will need to improve hugely for when we only get a fraction of those chances against Tipp.

The backline played well in general and utilised the ball better than the last day. Tannian really concerns me though. Again we were caught for a few very silly points in the first half today which should have been cleared to keep Cork in touch.

On the plus side, Cork created no real goal scoring chance only a long range shot straight at Callanan. Cathal Mannion and Flynn are both making big contributions this year. Conor Whelan I'm not sure about for the next day but he proved today he can survive at this level at such a young age. Johnny Glynn has had plenty of critics but he had a stormer today and was our go to man today. Padraig Mannion and Daithi Burke both performed superbly today. David Burke was working his way into the game when he got knocked out. Johnny Coen and Hanbury held up well again.

Davy Glennon wasn't even in the 26 today which surprised me. While he didn't set the world alight against Kilkenny I'd still have him in the 26 ahead of Brian Molloy to be fair.

I didn't give us huge hope for the rest of the year after Kilkenny but we showed enough today that if we can put all the parts together on one day we can put it right up to Tipp. Really it will take another significant leap and that game will be on a different level of intensity to what Cork did today. In terms of wides or wasted chances it'll have to be in single figures to give us a real chance.

Minors also did well. Limerick were a highly regarded team by all accounts but Galway performed well. Galway were very poor at minor last year so it was heartening to see a few new names today showing what they could do. We were in control most of the way but Limerick brought it down to the wire. Kilkenny next up unfortunately on the same day as Kilkenny's seniors v Waterford.

I Would agree with you about Tan at centre back. Imo Cunningham has shown himself to be ruthless this year and perfectly demostrated yest starting Whelan and not starting Collins - who impressed when he came on it must be said! I hope for the semi final against Tipp that he starts Lally at centre back.

Regarding Glennon, I dont want to comment too much but I believe it would be personal health reasons he wasnt on the panel yesterday. He also missed Mullagh's game against Portumna recently aswell.

It was great to have such a big win yesterday but it was good to see that they have a lot to work on aswell. There will be no pressure on them in the semi as everyone will expect Tipp to win. Galway are always dangerous in that type of situation.

It should also be noted that yes Tipp have great forwards, but theyre defense is very suspect too. After all they are playing a centre back full back and we all remember what Johnny Glynn did to Maher last year too. Donnellan is having a massive season and is showing how badly he was missed last year!

A final point - our semi is the 16th and the intermediate is the 9th - it would be great if conor cooney (who would be legible) got to play that match and sharpen up in order to be on the bench for the Tipp game

galwaylad14

Borders no.2 wrote: »

After so many bad days in Thurles that was one to enjoy. I'm under no illusions as to how poor Cork were on the day but after the Kilkenny defeat I feared the worst going to Thurles. Getting the goal at the off gave us the kick start we needed and we were in control for most of the game. Really we should have been 8 or 9 up at half time. There was a few moments of worry after the sending off when Cork got it down to 4 or 5 and had the crowd behind them, we seemed to start panicking needlessly but Mark Ellis' poor ball into Cathal Mannion's hand settled us down again.

2-28 is a big score but it should have been a lot more. Cork in the first half in particular were very economical. In terms of conversion rate on chances created we were little over 50% so obviously that will need to improve hugely for when we only get a fraction of those chances against Tipp.

The backline played well in general and utilised the ball better than the last day. Tannian really concerns me though. Again we were caught for a few very silly points in the first half today which should have been cleared to keep Cork in touch.

On the plus side, Cork created no real goal scoring chance only a long range shot straight at Callanan. Cathal Mannion and Flynn are both making big contributions this year. Conor Whelan I'm not sure about for the next day but he proved today he can survive at this level at such a young age. Johnny Glynn has had plenty of critics but he had a stormer today and was our go to man today. Padraig Mannion and Daithi Burke both performed superbly today. David Burke was working his way into the game when he got knocked out. Johnny Coen and Hanbury held up well again.

Davy Glennon wasn't even in the 26 today which surprised me. While he didn't set the world alight against Kilkenny I'd still have him in the 26 ahead of Brian Molloy to be fair.

I didn't give us huge hope for the rest of the year after Kilkenny but we showed enough today that if we can put all the parts together on one day we can put it right up to Tipp. Really it will take another significant leap and that game will be on a different level of intensity to what Cork did today. In terms of wides or wasted chances it'll have to be in single figures to give us a real chance.

Minors also did well. Limerick were a highly regarded team by all accounts but Galway performed well. Galway were very poor at minor last year so it was heartening to see a few new names today showing what they could do. We were in control most of the way but Limerick brought it down to the wire. Kilkenny next up unfortunately on the same day as Kilkenny's seniors v Waterford.

Rare enough I can say it on here but I'd agree completely with everything you say. As you said we should have been way more in front at half time but still I never really thought we'd lose which is a great feeling to have.

Ya Mannian, Burke, Glynn and cathal mannian were the best though in fairness they virtually all played very well right through the team. As you said we'll have to be better in terms of taking chances but creating so many can only be viewed as a huge positive. And just having Canning on song should be worth an extra 5 points alone the next day.

As another poster said and I also don't want to say too much on the topic but it's a personal problem with Davey Glennon and I don't think we'll see him feature again this year. Hope it all works out for him though.

galwaylad14

donnem33 wrote: »

I Would agree with you about Tan at centre back. Imo Cunningham has shown himself to be ruthless this year and perfectly demostrated yest starting Whelan and not starting Collins - who impressed when he came on it must be said! I hope for the semi final against Tipp that he starts Lally at centre back.

Regarding Glennon, I dont want to comment too much but I believe it would be personal health reasons he wasnt on the panel yesterday. He also missed Mullagh's game against Portumna recently aswell.

It was great to have such a big win yesterday but it was good to see that they have a lot to work on aswell. There will be no pressure on them in the semi as everyone will expect Tipp to win. Galway are always dangerous in that type of situation.

It should also be noted that yes Tipp have great forwards, but theyre defense is very suspect too. After all they are playing a centre back full back and we all remember what Johnny Glynn did to Maher last year too. Donnellan is having a massive season and is showing how badly he was missed last year!

A final point - our semi is the 16th and the intermediate is the 9th - it would be great if conor cooney (who would be legible) got to play that match and sharpen up in order to be on the bench for the Tipp game

I agree with you in regards the performance and you're right Tipp's backs are suspect but they do have the forwards to make up for it unlike cork so they'll be a massive step up. Think I'd start with mannian at centre forward as maher is not a tight marker so he should be able to find the pockets of space to clip over a few points like yesterday. Think I'd drop Tannian at this stage too. He just seems a bit immobile and off the pace. Could go with lally there or else put Collins in and out Daithi Burke centre back.

Would be great to have Cooney back as an option to come off the bench but you're actually wrong to say he's eligible for the intermediates. If you played senior the previous year, which he did, then you can't play.

MfMan

donnem33 wrote: »

I Would agree with you about Tan at centre back. Imo Cunningham has shown himself to be ruthless this year and perfectly demostrated yest starting Whelan and not starting Collins - who impressed when he came on it must be said! I hope for the semi final against Tipp that he starts Lally at centre back.

Regarding Glennon, I dont want to comment too much but I believe it would be personal health reasons he wasnt on the panel yesterday. He also missed Mullagh's game against Portumna recently aswell.

It was great to have such a big win yesterday but it was good to see that they have a lot to work on aswell. There will be no pressure on them in the semi as everyone will expect Tipp to win. Galway are always dangerous in that type of situation.

It should also be noted that yes Tipp have great forwards, but theyre defense is very suspect too. After all they are playing a centre back full back and we all remember what Johnny Glynn did to Maher last year too. Donnellan is having a massive season and is showing how badly he was missed last year!

A final point - our semi is the 16th and the intermediate is the 9th - it would be great if conor cooney (who would be legible) got to play that match and sharpen up in order to be on the bench for the Tipp game

You sure he's ..er... 'legible' (:)) - playing c'ship last year doesn't rule him out? Conor Whelan is definitely gone now anyway.

Many's the bad day I walked down over the bridge coming from Semple, eating iron because we were beaten having probably played well enough to win. Felt so good yesterday for the shoe to be on the other foot...

Great display from word go, but Cork were almost mystifyingly poor, did any Rebel player win their individual battle? Overheard from one Cork fan, 'It's not often you see Aidan Walsh being outfielded'. But still a good deal of improvement to be found by Galway. No way will future opponents allow that amount of space to our forwards, and the forwards themselves, particularly Glynn, Cyril, JC simply have to start using possession more cuter rather than going for wild Hail Mary shots. Midfield not too bad, (how is Davy Burke's injury?), with enough options to come in when needed. Defence excellent yesterday, especially in the second half, and gave Cork almost no sniff of goal. P Mannion was outstanding, (some debut season), and Daithi Burke not far behind. Tan was only middling though, made mistakes in possession and closing down, and was very slow on the turn and chasing back. Must come under pressure from Lally (fairly effective when he came on), or Collins. Hanbury probably had his best outing so far.

Facing the Tipp match with renewed confidence now, (how is Paudie Maher BTW?), but to repeat, Cork made us look very good, maybe better than we really are.
"You're never as good as you look when you win or as bad when you lose." - Fergal Moore.

Entering football mode now for a week or so.

donnem33

galwaylad14 wrote: »

I agree with you in regards the performance and you're right Tipp's backs are suspect but they do have the forwards to make up for it unlike cork so they'll be a massive step up. Think I'd start with mannian at centre forward as maher is not a tight marker so he should be able to find the pockets of space to clip over a few points like yesterday. Think I'd drop Tannian at this stage too. He just seems a bit immobile and off the pace. Could go with lally there or else put Collins in and out Daithi Burke centre back.

Would be great to have Cooney back as an option to come off the bench but you're actually wrong to say he's eligible for the intermediates. If you played senior the previous year, which he did, then you can't play.

Apologies, my bad! I thought it was if you didnt play senior this year!

dcrosskid

donnem33 wrote: »

I Would agree with you about Tan at centre back. Imo Cunningham has shown himself to be ruthless this year and perfectly demostrated yest starting Whelan and not starting Collins - who impressed when he came on it must be said! I hope for the semi final against Tipp that he starts Lally at centre back.

Regarding Glennon, I dont want to comment too much but I believe it would be personal health reasons he wasnt on the panel yesterday. He also missed Mullagh's game against Portumna recently aswell.

It was great to have such a big win yesterday but it was good to see that they have a lot to work on aswell. There will be no pressure on them in the semi as everyone will expect Tipp to win. Galway are always dangerous in that type of situation.

It should also be noted that yes Tipp have great forwards, but theyre defense is very suspect too. After all they are playing a centre back full back and we all remember what Johnny Glynn did to Maher last year too. Donnellan is having a massive season and is showing how badly he was missed last year!

A final point - our semi is the 16th and the intermediate is the 9th - it would be great if conor cooney (who would be legible) got to play that match and sharpen up in order to be on the bench for the Tipp game

I don't know is it fair to say the Tipp backs are suspect, we have only conceded 1.32 in two games, average of 17.5 points per game.

Barry has been excellent since he has gone full back, Barrett is one of the best corner backs in the country, Paudie Maher is the best center back in Ireland albeit a bit loose. Kieran Bergin is an excellent wing back and Ronan Maher hasn't put a foot wrong since stepping up to senior level. If Micky Cahill can get back anywhere near his best I think we have arguably the best back line in the country with maybe only Kilkenny bettering us.

We have good cover for most positions in Paddy Stapleton, Conor O Brien & Brendan Maher is well able to slot in to the half back line if needed.

Should be a good match, if we can stop Glynn winning primary possession and Joe & Cathal Mannion can be quietened somehow ye will struggle to outscore us.

Who will pick up Bubbles or Callanan do you think? P Mannion will surely pick one of them up anyways.

donnem33

dcrosskid wrote: »

I don't know is it fair to say the Tipp backs are suspect, we have only conceded 1.32 in two games, average of 17.5 points per game.

Barry has been excellent since he has gone full back, Barrett is one of the best corner backs in the country, Paudie Maher is the best center back in Ireland albeit a bit loose. Kieran Bergin is an excellent wing back and Ronan Maher hasn't put a foot wrong since stepping up to senior level. If Micky Cahill can get back anywhere near his best I think we have arguably the best back line in the country with maybe only Kilkenny bettering us.

We have good cover for most positions in Paddy Stapleton, Conor O Brien & Brendan Maher is well able to slot in to the half back line if needed.

Should be a good match, if we can stop Glynn winning primary possession and Joe & Cathal Mannion can be quietened somehow ye will struggle to outscore us.

Who will pick up Bubbles or Callanan do you think? P Mannion will surely pick one of them up anyways.

Thats true, but we have seen that Limerick were a poor team this year, and Waterford were very defensive in the Munster final.

I would expect P Mannion and D Burke to mark both of those players. I hope Greg Lally starts centre back and that would tighten up the half back line.

Heres hoping for a good tight match - its badly needed this year!!

dcrosskid

donnem33 wrote: »

Thats true, but we have seen that Limerick were a poor team this year, and Waterford were very defensive in the Munster final.

I would expect P Mannion and D Burke to mark both of those players. I hope Greg Lally starts centre back and that would tighten up the half back line.

Heres hoping for a good tight match - its badly needed this year!!

I hope ye stick with Tannion center, I think he could be exploited whereas Lally looked a good center back for the club earlier in the year and made a decent impression yesterday. Think he made a bad error in a league match if I remember correctly and hasn't really got back in since.

It's actually been a very poor championship all round, no decent game at all yet but two good semi finals will change that hopefully.

galwaylad14

dcrosskid wrote: »

I don't know is it fair to say the Tipp backs are suspect, we have only conceded 1.32 in two games, average of 17.5 points per game.

Barry has been excellent since he has gone full back, Barrett is one of the best corner backs in the country, Paudie Maher is the best center back in Ireland albeit a bit loose. Kieran Bergin is an excellent wing back and Ronan Maher hasn't put a foot wrong since stepping up to senior level. If Micky Cahill can get back anywhere near his best I think we have arguably the best back line in the country with maybe only Kilkenny bettering us.

We have good cover for most positions in Paddy Stapleton, Conor O Brien & Brendan Maher is well able to slot in to the half back line if needed.

Should be a good match, if we can stop Glynn winning primary possession and Joe & Cathal Mannion can be quietened somehow ye will struggle to outscore us.

Who will pick up Bubbles or Callanan do you think? P Mannion will surely pick one of them up anyways.

I think conceding 17.5 points a game on average to a very bad Limerick team and a defensive Waterford one (on the day at least) isn't a great return from the backs. I think we should be able to hit somehwere around 1-20 or so and hopefully it'll be enough.

Ya Paidi is a fine hurler but if we put Mannian or Canning at centre forward I'd be hoping they'd get a few points off him because as you said he's very loose.

I think both teams are stronger up front than in the backs. I'd expect Mannian to pick up Callanan.

dcrosskid

galwaylad14 wrote: »

I think conceding 17.5 points a game on average to a very bad Limerick team and a defensive Waterford one (on the day at least) isn't a great return from the backs. I think we should be able to hit somehwere around 1-20 or so and hopefully it'll be enough.

Ya Paidi is a fine hurler but if we put Mannian or Canning at centre forward I'd be hoping they'd get a few points off him because as you said he's very loose.

I think both teams are stronger up front than in the backs. I'd expect Mannian to pick up Callanan.

This time last year Limerick were seen as the 3rd best team in the country & Waterford have scored 2.21 & 3.19 in their other 2 games so might not be as bad as you think in terms of our defence.

The one thing about Paudie center back is the midfield usually sit deep along with Brendan Maher, I don't think who ever ye put center forward will be afforded as much room as Mannion or Canning got yesterday so it will be harder than you think to exploit. It will be interesting to see the match up's all the same.

galwaylad14

dcrosskid wrote: »

This time last year Limerick were seen as the 3rd best team in the country & Waterford have scored 2.21 & 3.19 in their other 2 games so might not be as bad as you think in terms of our defence.

The one thing about Paudie center back is the midfield usually sit deep along with Brendan Maher, I don't think who ever ye put center forward will be afforded as much room as Mannion or Canning got yesterday so it will be harder than you think to exploit. It will be interesting to see the match up's all the same.

Must say I'd certainly never have put Limerick as number 3 in the country but that's beside the point anyways, they were a poor team this year.

Ya I know obviously he'll get lots of cover from the midfield but against Limiercik Hannon was able to find lots of space at centre forward and popped over 3 or 4 points so would be hoping Mannian or Canning or whoever is at 11 could manage at least that.

Ya will be a very interesting game alright, both teams have serious firepower at their disposal so as you say will be very interesting to see how it plays out. God knows the championship badly needs a couple of decent games to light it up, though if we manage to win 2 more games we'll all remember it as the greatest championship of all time down around here!

Karl Lacey is out for Saturday.

Big blow for Donegal as they haven't the depth of some of the other counties.

Even though they lost to Monaghan, I'd really fancy us to beat them if we beat Donegal. Whereas if we were playing them in the other order you'd be more concerned for the quarter.
Think Monaghan are far too reliant on McManus, kind of like the hurlers for years with JC.

There really is a good shot to make the AI final there this year.

Donegal
Monaghan
Kerry

Thats the route if I'm not mistaken (assuming no shocks)

We would have had a good cut at Kerry without AM last year as his defensive tactics were non existent so we allowed Kerry to create easy space for scores and I think we hit 10 wides before scoring.
Comer has emerged since then along with the return of Sice and Duanes who both fell out with AM sees us being much stronger than 2014.

Id love if we even just got a semi against Kerry as ill be there that weekend.

Diabhal Beag

Looking forward to Saturday immensely. I'd give them a good shot of pulling off a shock but at the same time think Donegal are nowhere near as gone as your typical hacks would lead you to believe. Lacey is a loss but it's the forwards that I'd worry about. Murphy similar to Canning had an absolute shocker that he surely won't have again. Same with McFadden.

As much as Murphy's influence needs to be contained, for me finding someone to keep tabs on Paddy McBrearty will also be very important. On his day he can be a difference maker.

Donegal look vulnerable but like Mayo have built up huge experience in the last few years and know how to win big games in Croke Park. Being honest if the Ulster final lasted another 5 minutes Donegal probably would have at least drawn if not won despite being 7-8 points the worse team on the day. While the wins over Armagh and Derry were positive steps forward, it has come to the stage where we probably need to take a significant scalp to continue our progress. The sort of intensity Donegal bring to the table can't be under-emphasised and is miles ahead of anything we faced against Derry and I'd imagine Armagh.

Tactically we will find out a lot more about Kevin Walsh's worth in this game. I thought we were naive against Mayo but showed some signs of progression with the tactics and discipline we showed at stages against Derry. We must defend and attack as a unit. Having Shane Walsh back is essential in trying to speed up the pace of our counter-attacks.

While in general we have played reasonably well on our last couple of visits to Croke Park, its almost 14 full years without a win there which is an embarrassment. It would be great to rectify that statistic on Saturday.

Unfortunately the minors are in Tullamore on Bank Holiday Monday. Would have been nice to get them to Croke Park with the seniors.

TCDStudent1

Borders no.2 wrote: »

As much as Murphy's influence needs to be contained, for me finding someone to keep tabs on Paddy McBrearty will also be very important. On his day he can be a difference maker.

Donegal look vulnerable but like Mayo have built up huge experience in the last few years and know how to win big games in Croke Park. Being honest if the Ulster final lasted another 5 minutes Donegal probably would have at least drawn if not won despite being 7-8 points the worse team on the day. While the wins over Armagh and Derry were positive steps forward, it has come to the stage where we probably need to take a significant scalp to continue our progress. The sort of intensity Donegal bring to the table can't be under-emphasised and is miles ahead of anything we faced against Derry and I'd imagine Armagh.

Tactically we will find out a lot more about Kevin Walsh's worth in this game. I thought we were naive against Mayo but showed some signs of progression with the tactics and discipline we showed at stages against Derry. We must defend and attack as a unit. Having Shane Walsh back is essential in trying to speed up the pace of our counter-attacks.

While in general we have played reasonably well on our last couple of visits to Croke Park, its almost 14 full years without a win there which is an embarrassment. It would be great to rectify that statistic on Saturday.

Unfortunately the minors are in Tullamore on Bank Holiday Monday. Would have been nice to get them to Croke Park with the seniors.

I dont know if he is fit enough to start. But interestingly enough, it is hard to see where he fits in. Sice & Lundy have been doing great work in the half forward line. Conroy has been average enough, but I dont think he will be dropped. O'Griofa could be in trouble if Walsh is fit to start, but is Walsh is not really a like for like replacement with O'Griofa and you'd wonder about upsetting things too much. Good problem to have though!

orl

dcrosskid wrote: »

This time last year Limerick were seen as the 3rd best team in the country & Waterford have scored 2.21 & 3.19 in their other 2 games so might not be as bad as you think in terms of our defence.

The one thing about Paudie center back is the midfield usually sit deep along with Brendan Maher, I don't think who ever ye put center forward will be afforded as much room as Mannion or Canning got yesterday so it will be harder than you think to exploit. It will be interesting to see the match up's all the same.

Canning did not get much space!!! He had two men on him at all times! That was Cork's big mistake. It alllowed the other forwards to flourish. I was always confident of a Galway win but it was confirmed to me when I heard a Cork selector saying Tann was one of our best players on Red Fm a few days before the match. He has been a wonderful servant to Galway and was much better yesterday than the Leinster Final. I thought Seanie McGrath was being cute but the matchups proved otherwise.

Walsh may not be fit enough to start and his impact may be more in the final 20 or so off the bench but for me if he is fit enough to start we have to start him.

Conroy is captain but for me he has to offer a lot more than he has this season to date. He has shown on a couple of occasions in the last couple of years he has the ability (I remember he was a significant reason why we didn't suffer the embarrassment of losing at home to Waterford and he had a good finish to 2013) but he hasn't shown it often enough and his decision making and work-rate are questionable especially in a game like this where all outfield players will need to work like dogs and use possession wisely when won. He does give us physicality which is important against Donegal but he has it all to prove on Saturday.

Sice and Lundy obviously have to start and again have a big role to play. Sice is having a good year and I'd expect him to have another good game Saturday. Lundy was superb for Corofin but hasn't shown his quality in the championship for Galway this season yet.

Either way the slow build up play of the Derry game won't be good enough here. Donegal will hunt in packs and turn us over if we don't move the ball quickly and with purpose before they can get defensively aligned. We need the players selected to be suitable to play the high tempo and hard working game-plan required.

TCDStudent1

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Walsh may not be fit enough to start and his impact may be more in the final 20 or so off the bench but for me if he is fit enough to start we have to start him.

Conroy is captain but for me he has to offer a lot more than he has this season to date. He has shown on a couple of occasions in the last couple of years he has the ability (I remember he was a significant reason why we didn't suffer the embarrassment of losing at home to Waterford and he had a good finish to 2013) but he hasn't shown it often enough and his decision making and work-rate are questionable especially in a game like this where all outfield players will need to work like dogs and use possession wisely when won. He does give us physicality which is important against Donegal but he has it all to prove on Saturday.

Sice and Lundy obviously have to start and again have a big role to play. Sice is having a good year and I'd expect him to have another good game Saturday. Lundy was superb for Corofin but hasn't shown his quality in the championship for Galway this season yet.

Either way the slow build up play of the Derry game won't be good enough here. Donegal will hunt in packs and turn us over if we don't move the ball quickly and with purpose before they can get defensively aligned. We need the players selected to be suitable to play the high tempo and hard working game-plan required.

So if Walsh is fit to start, who would you drop?