Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

davegrohl48

Oldtree wrote: »

here we go

"I remember one time we were in deepest Knockmore vaccinating cattle. N I thought give me just a few of these men and the quest for Sam would be over in three years"

Oldtree

Big crowds here already

Defiler Of The Coffin

Brilliant second half, Freezers tore the place up. We're back in business lads!

padd b1975

That's more like it!!

Great final quarter from a team supposedly playing catch up as regards fitness.

Very encouraging signs.

Cosmo Kramer

Badly needed two points. Win away next weekend in Mullingar and one of the home games, either against Cork or Derry, and that should be enough to avoid the drop. I wouldn't worry too much about whether we achieve much beyond that in the league to be honest.

MaroonAndGreen

Good stuff another important game away to Westmeath up next

Oldtree

Got caught a few times midfield area outnumbered 7 to 5, caught dreaming or over analysing a few times and need to sort out the long kicks at goal (possibly put the ball back into play rather than lose 5 points again) but fantastic match none the less with a magic start. Kerry looked very fluid and had great points from play.

davegrohl48

Was listening to game so relied on hearing names Seemed Aidan OShea/Boyle were quieter than usual Our full back line yet again opened up
Hopefully Doherty can keep this form How did Adam Gallagher line out? Think playin out in half forwards would suit him better than winning one on ones in corner where was picked today

yop

Not sure what I can make of today.
Great win, goals win games and all that. Defence shipped another big score, though thats the theme for all teams in this league.

Lost an awful lot of loose ball in the middle, seemed to return to over passing and some woeful free kick taking. 4 missed frees from Hennelly and then Freeman took over, time they left that gig to him or COC if they are on the pitch. As well to get the ball on target and drop short than keep hoofing it wide.

Midfield didn't dominate as I had hoped, AOS over carrying and blind alleys, needs to be told to get rid of it quicker.

Lost count of the times our backline were turned and the Kerry forwards were very tricky.

Thought Varley played well as did Sheamie when he came on. Donie had a good finish.
Andy was quite, seems to have lost a bit of pace.

Freeman stood head and shoulders above the rest, Adam Gallagher had a good start, McLoughs seems to be leaden legged, guy needs time off to recharge.

2 point is great, VITAL to get 2 more against a pointless Westmeath, then it will be difficult to get anything from a Cork and Derry team who are on a high.

Savage crowd, great to see.

seligehgit

Suppose it was all about the win but it was none too convincing.Still very reliant on our fast paced backs creating holes in opposition defences.Too much misplaced footpasses and turnovers from running into traffic and taking the wrong option.
We struggled for long periods at midfield.Thought there should have been a change at half time.Great to see Keith Higgins and Colm Boyle back in their normal positions.Shane McHale was all at sea at centre back,the thankful return of Donal Vaughan and eventual introduction of Enda Varley and Seamus O Shea made a big difference.
It was a shame Adam Gallagher did'nt start in the half forward line,not convinced he's suited to the corner.
Alan Freeman was magnificent,delighted for him.He's a great target man and has to be a shoe in for the full forward position.It was great he took the responsibility for that last free,what has changed since last August when he deputised superbly for Cillian O Connor taking the frees against Tyrone?He's a real confidence player and today's display will be do him no end of good.Time to call an end to Robert Hennelly's sorties up the pitch.
Honourable mention to Jason Doherty,hope he'll be replicating this form late into the summer.
Plenty for the Kingdom to take out of this very physical encounter,their forwards have great natural ability,they largely cleaned us out at midfield.Donnucha Walsh caused us endless problems.
Roll on Westmeath.:)

davegrohl48

The black card certainly seems to have upped scorelines 20% or more Would be interesting to compare first three rounds of 2013/14 league Flip side is denial of posession is crucial So your defenders have to be first to the ball Raw speed is vital Might not see Higgins in forwards again Commentary team on midwest made goid point that he struggled to have impact with his runs when his back is to goal I think winning battle around the middle is even more crucial with new rules Great to see Freezer goin well He just needs plenty of games n plays built around him

wirelessdude01

Four points from todays game.

1. Decision needs to be made now whether management see Higgins as a back or a forward. This switching him all over the place is no good for either him as a player or the team.

2. Andy Moran has loss his leg speed since the last injury. I had hoped that a full preseason would solve this but don't see it happening. Should he now be looked at as a impact player for 20-25mins when the team needs a calming influence to see a game home. Defences would have tired a little by then and his now obvious lack of pace wouldn't be so obvious.

3. Disappointed not to see Drake and Sweeney getting runs. Wasn't at the game so wondering were they listed?

4. Did the ref forget the black card rule until the second half? Moran and McHale should both have got them.

km79

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Four points from todays game.

1. Decision needs to be made now whether management see Higgins as a back or a forward. This switching him all over the place is no good for either him as a player or the team.

2. Andy Moran has loss his leg speed since the last injury. I had hoped that a full preseason would solve this but don't see it happening. Should he now be looked at as a impact player for 20-25mins when the team needs a calming influence to see a game home. Defences would have tired a little by then and his now obvious lack of pace wouldn't be so obvious.

3. Disappointed not to see Drake and Sweeney getting runs. Wasn't at the game so wondering were they listed?

4. Did the ref forget the black card rule until the second half? Moran and McHale should both have got them.

Sweeney was added before throw in and I'm almost certain Drake was named too

Oldtree

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

4. Did the ref forget the black card rule until the second half?

I have it on a good authority that the ref's granny was from Kerry for the first half anyway

yop

Oldtree wrote: »

I have it on a good authority that the ref's granny was from Kerry for the first half anyway

Was some strange decisions from him indeed. His first outing in the league.

Kalyke

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Four points from todays game.

1. Decision needs to be made now whether management see Higgins as a back or a forward. This switching him all over the place is no good for either him as a player or the team.

2. Andy Moran has loss his leg speed since the last injury. I had hoped that a full preseason would solve this but don't see it happening. Should he now be looked at as a impact player for 20-25mins when the team needs a calming influence to see a game home. Defences would have tired a little by then and his now obvious lack of pace wouldn't be so obvious.

3. Disappointed not to see Drake and Sweeney getting runs. Wasn't at the game so wondering were they listed?

4. Did the ref forget the black card rule until the second half? Moran and McHale should both have got them.

Moran would have had to bring the guy to ground to have received a black card. Pulling a jersey alone is not a black card offence!

GBXI

yop wrote: »

Not sure what I can make of today.
Great win, goals win games and all that. Defence shipped another big score, though thats the theme for all teams in this league.

Lost an awful lot of loose ball in the middle, seemed to return to over passing and some woeful free kick taking. 4 missed frees from Hennelly and then Freeman took over, time they left that gig to him or COC if they are on the pitch. As well to get the ball on target and drop short than keep hoofing it wide.

Midfield didn't dominate as I had hoped, AOS over carrying and blind alleys, needs to be told to get rid of it quicker.

Lost count of the times our backline were turned and the Kerry forwards were very tricky.

Thought Varley played well as did Sheamie when he came on. Donie had a good finish.
Andy was quite, seems to have lost a bit of pace.

Freeman stood head and shoulders above the rest, Adam Gallagher had a good start, McLoughs seems to be leaden legged, guy needs time off to recharge.

2 point is great, VITAL to get 2 more against a pointless Westmeath, then it will be difficult to get anything from a Cork and Derry team who are on a high.

Savage crowd, great to see.

This is rubbish. If you're going for a score, you're going for a score. It either goes over the bar or wide. Hennelly didn't have a good day on the long-range frees but he is well able and has proven this on a number of occasions.

Also, not sure which Kevin McLoughlin you were watching but he had a very good game - vital to this Mayo team.

yop

GBXI wrote: »

This is rubbish. If you're going for a score, you're going for a score. It either goes over the bar or wide OR drops short. Hennelly didn't have a good day on the long-range frees but he is well able and has proven this on a number of occasions.

Also, not sure which Kevin McLoughlin you were watching but he had a very good game - vital to this Mayo team.

Not rubbish, people all around me were getting frustrated with it, did you not hear the jeering before when he started running down the pitch but for Freeman to take the ball? He made a great save, thats his job.
Freeman took over when COC got injured last season and is well able to take long range points, Hennellys conversion rate is poor.

McLoughs has been off the boil for a while now, just think he needs a break.

GBXI

seligehgit wrote: »

Alan Freeman was magnificent,delighted for him.He's a great target man and has to be a shoe in for the full forward position.It was great he took the responsibility for that last free,what has changed since last August when he deputised superbly for Cillian O Connor taking the frees against Tyrone?He's a real confidence player and today's display will be do him no end of good.Time to call an end to Robert Hennelly's sorties up the pitch.

You might remember Hennelly slotting an excellent free at an important stage of last years AI semi-final vs Tyrone from all of 55 metres. He takes them because normally he's very good at them, and he can kick further off the ground than most, if not all of his team-mates.

GBXI

yop wrote: »

Not rubbish, people all around me were getting frustrated with it, did you not hear the jeering before when he started running down the pitch but for Freeman to take the ball? He made a great save, thats his job.
Freeman took over when COC got injured last season and is well able to take long range points, Hennellys conversion rate is poor.

McLoughs has been off the boil for a while now, just think he needs a break.

I was arguing the logic of a kicker hoping that it drops short if he misses, which is rubbish. No kicker goes up to the ball thinking he's going to miss, they expect to put it over the bar. If it doesn't go over, it usually goes wide because these guys know their distances. If it's out of their range they don't shoot - common sense.

Which brings me to Hennelly. He tends to take 45s (when CO'C isn't playing) and any frees further out than this because, clearly, he can kick the ball further off the ground than any other player. His frees weren't good yesterday but he's been decent so far. Most of these are shots to nothing anyway, in that if Hennelly didn't have a crack at them Mayo would just be playing it short and looking to work a score. In my opinion, it's well worth bringing him up for the very long ones, because when he gets them it's a killer to the opposition team, who will then be wary of fouling anywhere in their half.

Oh and on the people around you jeering, to put it politely as possible - they haven't a ****ing clue! Though Hennelly did have a good chuckle to himself when he was sent back to his goals!

yop

GBXI wrote: »

You might remember Hennelly slotting an excellent free at an important stage of last years AI semi-final vs Tyrone from all of 55 metres. He takes them because normally he's very good at them, and he can kick further off the ground than most, if not all of his team-mates.

Yaw and I remember the 2 against Tyrone and 4 yesterday he missed.

GBXI wrote: »

I was arguing the logic of a kicker hoping that it drops short if he misses, which is rubbish. No kicker goes up to the ball thinking he's going to miss, they expect to put it over the bar. If it doesn't go over, it usually goes wide because these guys know their distances. If it's out of their range they don't shoot - common sense.

Which brings me to Hennelly. He tends to take 45s (when CO'C isn't playing) and any frees further out than this because, clearly, he can kick the ball further off the ground than any other player. His frees weren't good yesterday but he's been decent so far. Most of these are shots to nothing anyway, in that if Hennelly didn't have a crack at them Mayo would just be playing it short and looking to work a score. In my opinion, it's well worth bringing him up for the very long ones, because when he gets them it's a killer to the opposition team, who will then be wary of fouling anywhere in their half.

Oh and on the people around you jeering, to put it politely as possible - they haven't a ****ing clue! Though Hennelly did have a good chuckle to himself when he was sent back to his goals!

I do know the logic of a kicker dont worry your head about that. The fact he has a longer kick doesn't come into, you do realize that? He could have landed that in Roscommon yesterday if he wanted, but if its gone wide its wide.

It was a massive lift each time he trundled up the pitch, because there now a 50/50 chance he will miss based on the last 3 league games. Presumed you watched the Cork free taker on Saturday night, note the difference there?
Did you watch the Dublin free-taker, again, note the difference?

You last statement, is childish to say the least, I think someone is in denial here and that it wasn't a few around me, if you took any heed.
Chuckle to himself? If thats his attitude that he laughed as he was told to not take another free-kick then it sums it up really doesn't it?

If your his brother or sister or something then thats fair enough, but free-kick takers are specialist, not hoofers who have a 50% chance of scoring. If he wants it so much, let him do it in his training.

GBXI

yop wrote: »

Yaw and I remember the 2 against Tyrone and 4 yesterday he missed.



I do know the logic of a kicker dont worry your head about that. The fact he has a longer kick doesn't come into, you do realize that? He could have landed that in Roscommon yesterday if he wanted, but if its gone wide its wide.

It was a massive lift each time he trundled up the pitch, because there now a 50/50 chance he will miss based on the last 3 league games. Presumed you watched the Cork free taker on Saturday night, note the difference there?
Did you watch the Dublin free-taker, again, note the difference?

You last statement, is childish to say the least, I think someone is in denial here and that it wasn't a few around me, if you took any heed.
Chuckle to himself? If thats his attitude that he laughed as he was told to not take another free-kick then it sums it up really doesn't it?

If your his brother or sister or something then thats fair enough, but free-kick takers are specialist, not hoofers who have a 50% chance of scoring. If he wants it so much, let him do it in his training.

The fact that he has a longer kick is exactly why he takes the longer frees, otherwise they'd leave it to the specialists - O'Connor/Freeman, etc.

Hennelly isn't Mayo's main free-taker, that's O'Connor/Freeman/McLoughlin. Same as Cluxton isn't Dublin's main free-taker - that's Brogan. It would be great if he had their consistent accuracy but it would also be great if they could kick the ball off the ground as far as he could. They bring Hennelly up for the extra long ones because it would be great if he could get it, not the end of the world if he doesn't - as explained above.

I don't know how much/if he practices, but I'd bet he does. I cited Tyrone in the AI semi last year because, in my humble opinion, the lad has a lovely technique and is well able to score them - not just hoof it in the general direction.

Bad day at the office (frees-wise) yesterday but I hope he continues to have a go from distance as the year goes on because it can be a big asset to Mayo.

seligehgit

GBXI wrote: »

You might remember Hennelly slotting an excellent free at an important stage of last years AI semi-final vs Tyrone from all of 55 metres. He takes them because normally he's very good at them, and he can kick further off the ground than most, if not all of his team-mates.

TBH GBXI I agree Robert Hennelly can be an excellent free taker on his day but he lacks at the present time a sufficiently good conversion rate.

GBXI

seligehgit wrote: »

TBH GBXI I agree Robert Hennelly can be an excellent free taker on his day but he lacks at the present time a sufficiently good conversion rate.

Yeah it would seem (I don't have any stats) that his conversion-rate is average or worse, however, as I stated above, he's not the main free-taker and the ones he takes are practically shots to nothing. Though obviously he is going to have to improve on 0/4 or there's no point kicking them in the first place, and I think he will.

ColeTrain

Badly needed two points yesterday. Thought Harrison done well in the corner. Great to see our half back line reunited.
Kev Mc looks to be getting back to his old self. Great performance from Freezer, he's a real quality player when he's on form.

Don't forget there are players to come back into this side. Another two points next Sunday and we should be fine.

As for the Hennelly debate, I'd leave him off the 45s myself. It's not just a 45 being a hit and hope, kicking wides is not good for confidence and I don't think he has the accuracy for it.

Fowler87

Must say the jeering Hennelly was given from sections of the crowd after he was taken off the 45 that Freeman converted wasn't fair on him. He missed few fks fair enough, thats what he was assigned to do but to ridicule him like that was pathetic especially as he was directly involved in the turning point of the game, saving the team from going 4 points down.

All in all important win yesterday, good to see the fitness is improving too.

yop

Fowler87 wrote: »

Must say the jeering Hennelly was given from sections of the crowd after he was taken off the 45 that Freeman converted wasn't fair on him. He missed few fks fair enough, thats what he was assigned to do but to ridicule him like that was pathetic especially as he was directly involved in the turning point of the game, saving the team from going 4 points down.

All in all important win yesterday, good to see the fitness is improving too.

Certainly agree with that, I meant to mention it earlier, you don't do that, at the end of the day he is one of our own and a young lad, its easy for us to sit in the stand and give out, but I think the jeering was well out of order.

I wouldn't like it to effect the guy on the long run, though I think it won't.

MaroonAndGreen

Thought it was disgracful the way the crowd jeered Hennelly. Being like that to your own player. He had a bad day at the frees but that can happen doesnt mean you start giving him stick!

Fcukin clowns.

Oldtree

It was a tense match with a lot riding on it, so I was not keen to see him try to take any more punts on the day after 4 misses. The jeering was unfortunate and unnecessary but there was a palpable sense of relief in the crowd when he was not given the opportunity to take the kick. It is imo unfair for management not to have been able to adapt and try someone else on the team at that stage. Yet again we see the team/team members having to make management decisions out on the pitch.

I hope it does not jaundice him in any way as he made an exceptional save and he is a really fantastic goalie. He is also really good at the long kicks but his eye was out on the day and he should not have been put in that position.

tacofries

Need to focus on breaking ball, accuracy, fitness and helping each other out I.e. running on one you pass the ball! Keegan very good, boyle made a few smashing runs. Aidan unfit and/or lazy. Hennelly is a great goalkeeper but not a man for 45's.. more energy and want needed overall imo!