Kerry GAA discussion thread #2

Bass Reeves

I think we are going to struggle with Dublin. Watching yesterday I cannot see us beating them. They will be the first team we played that have more potential scorers than us and a better bench.

Would definitely like to see I Bealoigh back. Not sure if Stephen O'Brien had 50 minutes in him. Coming in as a sub is different starting. Derry legs would have being going when he came on yesterday. Having said that he had superb games in the SF and Final jast year.

We are minus 3-4 players this year that have not been replaced or are half injured. O'Bealoigh, the two Spillane's injured and Moran ( not but he was a weak link in ways) gone.

Dublin are plus 4-5, Cluxton, Cafferty, Mansion and Con are added to the mix, no need of Rock on the field as well as O'Dell and Basquel being added to the mix. I am not sure if Murchan was not fully fit last year.

DDC1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860646#Comment_120860646

I'm not Poor Old Gill but ai think you need to watch the whole game back regarding the Kickout press.

They whole first half we tried and failed to press the Derry Kickout. We had two banks of 4 pressured right up, but Lynch was impeccable and chipped out to the wings beating the press with ease. Dara Moynihan and Paudie Clifford really struggled to match their men in this regard. I was crying out for us to drop off like we did v Tyrone. We eventually did at the start of the second half and it got us back in the game but meant that Derry controlled the tempo. That lead to the stalemate in the middle of the 2nd half.

Eventually we had to press the Kickout again as we were 2 up. It gave Derry easy opportunities to score as they beat it easily again but this time they missed their opportunities.

Finally as the Derry backs tired and struggles to release from their runs around the 65th minute, the press started to work. Lynch had to go long and Jack Barry was immense at disrupting Derry's midfield.

We have to drop off the Dublin Kickout in the Final. Cluxton is a better kicker than Lynch and Dublin have far more weapons up front to damage us. With our defence set up, teams have found us hard to break down. It limits our attack for sure but the risk isn't worth it in my opinion. Mayo, Cork and Derry all ripped our press to pieces and sauntered up the pitch at will. We will lose the All Ireland if we are that naive against Dublin.

Poor_old_gill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861922#Comment_120861922

I could see the attempts at a press from my seat - it was obvious a lot of the time but it wasnt consistent.

it was almost like Moynihan was missing the calls as he seemed to be standing in no mans land whenever others were pressing.

The amount of simple chipped balls top his man who would make a basic 5 yard run was almost unforgiveable.

Poor_old_gill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860646#Comment_120860646

Watch the game back mon frere and also look up what a kick out press is.

Come back to me then

Poor_old_gill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861126#Comment_120861126

I'd still have Moynihan ahead of Burns as I think he is a decent bit better.

On Brosnan - the ball dropped into the keepers hands yesterday really showed a lack of composure and game intelligence, jeez it could have been very costly.

I think we need to keep Seanie closer to goal as he doesnt have the pace to burst forward from inside his own 45 so having someone to tag his marker when they go forward is something that we should look to do against Dublin.

The issue is that Jack will probably want to start Adrian Spillane to offer us a kickout option and he's not a great tagger

Poor_old_gill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861835#Comment_120861835

I wouldnt start Stephen as I agree that he doesnt have the legs for 50/60 mins - my prediction is he comes on as a sub and Dublin bring McCaffrey immediately to track him

dobman88

Have enjoyed seeing comments on social media since the game yesterday that Kerry are now a dirty, physical team. It's about time they added that bite and nastiness to their game. We were a soft touch for so long under Peter Keane and teams knew they could get at them. Now they give as good as they get.

If they do manage to win in 2 weeks, that bit of nastiness will be vital to get the job done.

Forge83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861922#Comment_120861922

Maybe but it didn’t feel like a genuine consistent press. It looked like Moynihan and Clifford were dropping off purposely. Can’t explain why. Possibly in the hope they would kick it long and the ball would be broke to them. There’s zero reason Moynihan and Clifford would not be able to track their men successfully. I believe the only time they committed to a full press was the last ten minutes. I though Tomas said same thing actually, must watch it back.

Newtown90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862858#Comment_120862858

100% agree with this - its laughable to see all the cynical Kerry comments, as you say it's not very long ago Kerry were known as "nice footballers" but couldn't mix it.

There's lads out there who can give as good as they get now and all of a sudden we're the issue.

It's a bit like Paidi's Westmeath speech "bring a bit of f##king devilment and tigerish play"... "a grain of rice will tip the scales".......

awaywithyou

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862858#Comment_120862858

more physicality yes... i wouldnt call it nastiness though.. i didnt see anything nasty yesterday.... the team being soft when Peter was training them i would say was patly due to them being younger... remember 4yrs ago since we played Dublin in all-ire (4yrs!!) so jason foley d clifford sean shea a spillane and diarmuid connor (especially) all now have 4yrs training behind em and are 4 yrs older as well.... so team has beefed up in a big way...

Piskin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861697#Comment_120861697

Maybe right about Burns, Jack needs to get into Brosnans head more, he did well against Tyrone when he stuck to the basics but yesterday again he was going for glory. Talented no doubt but way off mentally. I thought we had lost the game when he dropped the ball into the Derry keepers hands.

Piskin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861582#Comment_120861582

Saw that with Geaney as well. He wasn't performing yesterday so had to be hooked. He is half the player he was before 2019.

Piskin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861646#Comment_120861646

Dublin have targeted Paul Murphy effectively, especially the drawn game in 2019. Would prefer B o B ahead of him.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120865073#Comment_120865073

If Jack or other coaches have not got into Brosnan's head at this stage there is no hope. Mine you Clifford made the same error a minute later.

I cannot understand that. 2-4 poi ts up in a game minutes to go every point you score further kills the game

I was involved at Junior level a couple of years ago. We had a team doing similar. I talked them around. In a final 4 points up we got a penalty. Lad who took it said he could hear me in his ear put it over the bar 5 points is a a minimum two goal game to win but in reality it's a minimum three score game to draw( goal and two points).

Closing out games is all about mentality.

munster87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860286#Comment_120860286

Will be back. Really think that’s huge, a forward that can come on and take a score.

50HX

I'll kick things off as there was zero of a build up to the derry game

Does s o brien start for dara moynihan?

Foley on con

Tom o s on costello

I think kilkenny will start

orangerhyme

I'm not sure.

One opinion is that SOB is more of a scoring threat that DM so it limits Dublin half backs like James Mac bombing forward. Another opinion is that he's not match fit to start and is a better option from the bench. He was excellent the last day though. It's a good headache to have.

Another option is to replace Adrian Spillane with SOB which would be justifiable.

TOS has done a good job on COC before but I've lost a bit of faith in his man marking abilities. COC has been off form, which worries me a bit.

I wonder how good Costello really is, I'd like to see him nullified.

Mannion looks off the pace a bit.

Kilkenny has to start. He's one of their best players and will play the occasion.

One opinion is that we were on the ropes last year against them and only barely beat them thanks to a couple of soft frees and they've added FOUR all star players to their panel.

Another opinion is that if SOS had scored the penalty, we'd have led 7 points at HT.

Also we were up 5 points before the Dublin goal, so we were definitely the better team until that point.

dobman88

We could do with Killian Spillane back but he doesn't look likely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but i think he's the last man to score a goal on Cluxton in championship and it was a cool, tidy finish too.

If he's not back, we're most likely looking at the same starting 15 as we've had the last few games. With a slight possibility of O Brien in for one of Adrian Spillane or Moynihan. I'd be inclined to stick with the 15 from quarter and semi though and get what you can out of O Brien from the 50min mark.

We really have to hope our bench has more of an impact than its had especially from Tony Brosnan (not great so far) and Donal O Sullivan who I really like and would hope he'd be a bit of a Kevin McManamon type impact player.

On dublin, I'd be most worried about Con in open play despite Costello getting the goal against us last year. He will knock over handy frees all day tho so we need the fouling higher up the pitch. Fully expect Morely to be back to sweeper mode.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120892228#Comment_120892228

IMO we are not as strong a team as last year. SOB was firing on all cylinders in the SF last year. We had the luxury of the two Spillane's on the bench as well as Dara Moynihan. Paul Murphy was our backs cover.

This year we have Killian injured, Adrian a kinda walking wounded. This leaves us with virtually no replacement midfielder. CP might be a bit big for Barry Dan.

I agree I would prefer to gamble on Donal O Sullivan than Brosnan again.

I consider Dublin to be 3-4 points better than last year. With Con fit, Mannion and McCaffrey back they are in a good place. Even Johnny Cooper being gone is to there advantage and they have Rock off the starting team as well

We will need all our strong player to be playing out of there skin and the rest to not make any mistake. I think we are 2-4 points worse than last year. It's possible we could take a bit of a hiding if things went wrong. SOB has not started a game this year hard to see him start the final. Geaney would need to make up for last year's first half in the final. One hope is O'Bealoigh might be back.

I think Dublin will push someone up on Morley. We will really fast counter attacks off turnovers. On fouling upfield Gough will hand out yellow cards fast. There is too many complaining about us doing it even though it was done to us often enough.

The other problem I see if Dublin is within 2-3 or ahead of us at the 50-55 minute mark they have away stronger bench this year than we have.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120892228#Comment_120892228

Apparently Killian Spillane's been training for weeks but just wasn't match fit for Derry game.

I expect to see him on the bench.

I've a bad feeling about this game.

For some reason I feel it'll be one of our flat performances where we don't seem to click.

Jack O'Connor has never won an AI back to back.

I think this will be one last hurrah for this Dublin team with lots of retirements after. Then we'll dominate for the rest of the decade.

But who knows, I'd love to be wrong.

People talk about Dublin having Mannion, Con and Jack back, but they haven't been great this year, but great players are able to lift themselves for the big occasion.

This would be our 39th AI if we win and I'd love to see Clifford lift Sam Maguire for the 40th, which I think will happen sooner or later.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120892309#Comment_120892309

The next AI we win will be our 40th. We have one hurling. If it happened this year we would be the first county with 40 senior men's titles

First to Forty

Forge83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120892088#Comment_120892088

Adrian Spillane was poor against Derry but for me he has to start against Dublin. Howard will play wing back and Spillane matches up brilliantly to him. You can be sure Adrian will put some big hits in early and set the tone for everybody else.

Killian Spillane will be on the bench unless injured. However I think Donal Downs direct running is something that would cause Dublin issues. We haven’t seen much of him against blanket defences but Dublin play a bit more open so would suit him down to the ground if he got 10/15 mins at the end of the game. Dara Moynihan will also start ahead of O Brien. O Briens injection of pace when the other team is tiring is what gives him the edge.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120893003#Comment_120893003

Howard has to watched on Kickouts. He's a brilliant fielder.

I think we'll start the same team. Possibly Begley for Paul Murphy but probably not.

I worry about Dublin's bench so it's good to have SOB to worry them.

I haven't seen enough of Donal Down but I've been disappointed with Tony Brosnan.

kerryjack

Look its time other players stood up and be counted and I think they will, we need to be well up coming in to last 5 minutes and kick on for home, This is and i hope was a great Dublin team, hopefully one in a lifetime team and they will be a changing of the guard on Sunday, what gives me hope is the way we have won tight games in last 2 years, scoring last 4 points in a tight game will always get you a win. Now Tony Brosnan, D moynahan, A Spillane is your time to shine and I have full confidence that we will win.

kerryjack

And if Dublin do win well its hats off to them, the icing of the cake.

mikefromcork

Watch out for Paddy Small on Sunday. He turned the game last year marking Graham O'Sullivan. Dublin will surely try to engineer that match-up again.

awaywithyou

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120893182#Comment_120893182

i predicted that LK were going to be comfortable winners last Sunday... and i think KY will be comfortable winners this Sunday... What have Dublin beaten?? there toughest test was Monaghan who are still depending on a 35/36 yr old man for most of their scores... the personnel in our team is very similar to the 2019 version that played the Dubs in that yrs all-ireland final... graham sullivan is now in defence and gavin crowley has lost out.. diarmuid connor replaces dave moran in midfield and we now have paudie clifford in the forwards instead of steven o'brien who still has a role to play... the other players were all around 21/22 in 2019 they are now 4 yrs older.. are much stronger physically... have the dublin monkey off their backs from last yr.. have an all-ireland medal in their pockets.... Dublin are a bit like the KK hurlers were last Sunday depending on the old guard to do the business.... there comes a time though when the old guard cant do it anymore....

dobman88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120893640#Comment_120893640

Worth noting that Gavin Crowley isn't even on the panel any more. I've seen his name crop up a few times in different places.

dobman88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120892309#Comment_120892309

We've spent the last 12 months listening to "Dublin had no Con and Kerry scraped over the line by a last second free". So if we manage to win on Sunday with all their big guns back, they'll have no excuse.

I see Jack said during the week that dublin haven't brought these lads back for the craic and even though he'd never admit it, I'd imagine he's had 1 eye on this game all year.

If we win, it'll be against a Dublin full deck and I hope its by more than 1 point cos then it'll feel like a real changing of the guard.

Forge83

What are the most likely match ups?

Foley on Con.

Graham on Basquel

Tom on Mannion

Murphy on Costello which could be a big mistake…I hope if this proves right that Jack will make an early change.

Kilkenny will start but who goes on him? White or Morley…

Barry on Fenton

Diarmuid on McCarthy. Diarmuid will have to have a massive game defensively. He must stop McCarthy bursting through even if he doesn’t contribute much going forward. I think this is the most important match up for us.

Fitzsimons and Murchan will probably double on David leaving Moynihan the free man. So Moynihan will have to contribute to scoring in a bigger way. I have a strange feeling that Moynihan is going to be a key player for us Sunday if we are going to win this. Strange call I know.