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Meath GAA discussion thread

Hammer Archer

Well Galway has a thread, Mayo has one, even Cavan has one so why not us?

Two one point defeats in a row means we're back into relegation trouble especially if we lose to Derry next week. Having said that, beat Derry next week and promotion is still a (remote) possibility. Joe Sheridan leaving for the States certainly isn't going to help.
Thought the performance yesterday was easily the worst of the league. Our away form is killing us still.

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Hammer Archer

U20 footballers will play Carlow or Wexford in the Leinster quarter final.
Win that and it's a semi final against one of Dublin/Wicklow/Longford.

NufcNavan

Better off getting Kerry and Dublin away as they'd be wasted home games.

Realistically you have to target Monaghan Galway and one of Mayo/Donegal as wins.

Is it common for a team to stay up on three wins?

Hammer Archer

Brief look shows that only Cork in 2016 have gotten relegated with 6 points since the leagues reverted to divisions 1 - 4. In that year, 4th - 7th all finished on 6 points and Cork went down on score difference. Most 7th place teams (9 times in 12 years) have finished with 4 or 5 points. So chances are we'd need a minimum of 6 points to stay up. Score difference could be a big deal so keeping every game competitive even if we lose is a must.

Hammer Archer

Ratoath beat Dunboyne 1-15 to 0-8 in the U21 football final. Future looking bright.

Hammer Archer

Team for Sunday's OBC game in Navan against Louth named:

Dominic Yorke (Meath Hill)
Robin Clarke (Duleek/Bellewstown)
Brian Conlon (Simonstown)
David Toner (Curraha)
Gavin McCoy (Dunboyne)
Eoin Lynch (Longwood)
Seán Reilly (Moylagh)
Bryan Menton (Donaghmore/Ashbourne)
Donal Keogan (Rathkenny)
Jack O'Connor (Curraha)
Darragh Campion (Skryne)
Jason Scully (Oldcastle)
Jordan Morris (Nobber)
Thomas O'Reilly (Wolfe Tones)
Matthew Costello (Dunshaughlin)

Subs:
Harry Hogan (Longwood)
James Conlon (St. Colmcille's)
Oisín O'Brien (Navan O'Mahony's)
Thomas Murtagh (Nobber)
Ben Brennan (St. Colmcille's)
Shane Walsh (Na Fianna)
Caolach Halligan (Simonstown Gaels)
Conor McGill (Ratoath)

rpurfield

Some interesting names there. Suprised Menton and Keogan are starting

Cavan_King

Any truth in rumours that Conor Bradley is not just transferring clubs to Dunboyne but is transferring to Meath?

It's a strange move even at club level. Virginia is only a half hour down the road from Dunboyne.

rrs

Was there any falling out with Ramor? He's a big loss to them. Hadn't a great county final but was playing well before it, especially against Gowna

It's not a long commute from Virginia to Dublin, so seems unnecessary. Though Eugene Keating done the same before too. But switched to a Dublin Club

Sonny678

Cavan_King wrote: »

Any truth in rumours that Conor Bradley is not just transferring clubs to Dunboyne but is transferring to Meath?

It's a strange move even at club level. Virginia is only a half hour down the road from Dunboyne.

There is strong rumours a Cavan player has joined the Meath panel. I dont know the name , but on the grapevine in Meath theyre saying some Cavan footballer has joined Meath. Cavans Bradley a week go transfered to Dunboyne. It looks like it could he him then. Its to be confirmed. Bradleys father played for Meath.

Cavan King , what kind of player is Bradley?. looking on you tube and any info I can get on him he seems to be a corner forward. What style of player is he. Is he pacey finisher type corner forward or is he a more target man, can he win his own ball. And how good is he, would you rate him highly? What age is he and has he played much for Cavan senior?. Sorry for all the questions Cavanking. If hes joined , it would be great to know what sort of player he is.

Interesting McEntee has brought allot of new forwards to the panel. Some or ex panelist like E Wallace and D Lenihan. And young talent like Jordan Morris and the brillant Matthew Costello who was voted Meath young Footballer of year in the last few days. And an ex galway footballer has joined also. Oisin O ' Brien playing for O Mahoneys, a corner forward who played for Galway in FBD last year. Also it looks theres a chance that Joey Wallace wouldnt be part of the panel , rumour is he is travelling for the year. A terrible pity if true, he was the form inside forward in the county club senior championship this year. But his brother Eamon who is still only 25 and he had a great championship, has returned to the panel.

PS P Harnan will miss the first few months of next year. He has an operation this week. He wouldnt be a back for a few months. Also Seamus Lavin injured as well as Shane McEntee. So Andy could be playing keoghan at midfield to see how he partners with Menton if Shane is missing for Tyrone opening. More likely Keoghan will go full back and Conlon will go midfield with Menton.

rrs

He was Captain of Cavan Minor in 2014, so he was would be 23. A very pacey player bit of swagger like Alan Brogan. Plays his best football around centre forward, he is creative but also good inside.
Maybe needs to bulk up a bit for County.

Sonny678

rrs wrote: »

He was Captain of Cavan Minor in 2014, so he was would be 23. A very pacey player bit of swagger like Alan Brogan. Plays his best football around centre forward, he is creative but also good inside.
Maybe needs to bulk up a bit for County.

Thanks for the info rrs.
Its seems injuries are worsening. Ethan Devine is out for the whole league with injury. P Harnan gone for a few months with injury and lavin who is on crutchs will miss first few games. J Wallace looks like he gone travelling for the year, while R O Coileain has turned down the offer to rejoin the panel.

rrs

Conor Bradley didn't feature for Cavan in the Championship this year. He hasn't played much at Senior, as he was based in France for the past few years for College. He probaly played as a regular in 2017, scored a good goal against Roscommon in Division 2 League final.

He is a very good player, and should be an addition to the Meath panel if he impresses in the trials.

Sonny678

rrs wrote: »

Conor Bradley didn't feature for Cavan in the Championship this year. He hasn't played much at Senior, as he was based in France for the past few years for College. He probaly played as a regular in 2017, scored a good goal against Roscommon in Division 2 League final.

He is a very good player, and should be an addition to the Meath panel if he impresses in the trials.

Thanks for the info rrs. His father played for Meath , so there is a Meath connection.

Forwards were an issue last year which we saw in leinster final. So Bradley could be an addition with J Wallace and Coilean not joining panel. We do have return of D Lenihan and emergence of S Walsh , who will be a new player as he missed whole league and leinster championship and only jioned at end of July and started one game v kerry in August. My full forward line wud be Donal lenihan Shane Walsh Micheal Newman with James Conlon as impact sub. O O Brien the Galway player cud be a real.darkhorse , played for Galway in FBD last year and was excellent for O Mahoneys last year , a real good finisher with an eye for goal.

Cavan_King

Bradley is more a creator than a scorer. He lost a lot of conditioning in France last year when he was on an Erasmus though - apparently he was doing a lot of hiking and running.
I know Mickey Graham was apparently thinking of bringing him back for League games last year but that was then dropped.

Hammer Archer

Clann na nGael agonizingly beaten in the Leinster Club JFC final 13 points to 12 by Rathgarogue Cushinstown of Wexford.

Sonny678

Cavan_King wrote: »

Bradley is more a creator than a scorer. He lost a lot of conditioning in France last year when he was on an Erasmus though - apparently he was doing a lot of hiking and running.
I know Mickey Graham was apparently thinking of bringing him back for League games last year but that was then dropped.

Thanks for the info, Cavan King.

Hammer Archer

Anyone at Sunday's game? Any of the new players stand out. Interested to see how Jordan Morris fares.

Sonny678

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Anyone at Sunday's game? Any of the new players stand out. Interested to see how Jordan Morris fares.

It was a very experimental Meath team. And a very young Meath team , Meath had 4 nineteen year olds playing in the forwards. I also heard the Meath team had a very tough training session the day beforehand on saturday. And the team are training very hard at the moment. Remeber like all teams that get promted to div 1 , Meath will need to peak in Jan Feb and March and again in the summer. All the other div 1 teams have set their training to peak in July and August. So I would say our training now is quite intensive.

Overall I wouldnt read much into the game. Bad conditions. And louth are always up for beating Meath. Our record v louth in Navan is appalling. We havent beaten louth in Navan since 2002 legendary championahip game. Losses in league and Bynre cup v louth in Navan since.

The aim of the Byrnr cup is to unearth a few more players. The defence was shakey. Clarke did well in the corner back position. He did well with Meath juniors last year and could take M Burkes place on the bench. Brian Conlon played at full back and he struggled here. His atleticism.would suit further up the field eg half back , midfield, half forward. Lynch was one of Meaths best performaners. He is proper center back. He was excellent v Offaly last year also and he was possibly Meaths best player on Sunday. He a player that could really make impact from the bench in the league and with Harnan out he could be an option for starting centre back. Yorke made a couple good saves , and looks a good goalie. But louth won the midfield battle , we tended to go long with kickouts. Hogan came on at the end. Hopefully he starts the next day. I have heard good things about him.

Keoghan and Menton didnt work at midfield. Keoghan best position is in the half back line. We need him in the defence. If S McEntee doesnt partner Menton we need to look at P kennelly , B Conlon , T Murtagh and maybe Clann na Gael two C Swaine and D Griffin at centre field. Still issues in this area. We lack high fielders in this area.

Morris was quite, the game passed him by. Also Costelllo was the same, but he did have a few good moments. I would be letting them back to under 20 give them another year at senior club and will be stronger next year. They could be called up later in championship. We should give them more time in the Byrne cup. We also need to get E Wallace and D lenihan some game time. D lenihan got a few mins at the end. But he hasnt started a game for Meath for a year in a half.The Galwayman O O Brien took. a good mark and point , not on long enough. He sud start the next day.

T Reilly played well and overall.are forward play waas better then our defence. I think T O Reilly has a potential , he is improving every year and is a clever fodotballer. Just needs a bit more consistency. Campion was also very good. Hes a real creative player. Hopefully we see more of him this year. He could be the player to unlock div 1 defences on the 40.

But for me best Meath player along with lynch was Jack O Connor. He really has come from nowhere. He was a sub on Meath under 17 minor team a few years ago. But he really lit up senior club championship with Curraha as he ended up as the top scorer in Meath senior club championship and still only 19. Hes an excellent freetaker. We do need a 9 out of 10 or 10 out 10. Dean Rock , Sean O Sec, Cillian O Connor type freetaker. It was difficult judge the frees at weekend. But I would play him in the next 2 games and let him take the frees to see how he goes. He also has a kind of unique free taking style. But hes not just freetaker , hes a good proper footballer and like Shane Walsh he has the physique to play senior. Both Walsh and O Connor dont look 19 on the field.

I dont know what we are going to do with under 20s. The comp is in Feb and March.Will they be let go back to under 20s. I think we have to keep Walsh for the seniors. Hes the only proper target man we have. And if O Connor continues his form I would keep him seniors also. If O Connor continues to perform well and he is kept with seniors , I wouldnt be surprised he starts v Tyrone.

PS The injury situation seems to be worsening. We could be down 5 first team starters v Tyrone . Devine is gone for most of the league. Harnan had an operation last week , and hes still feeling very sore this week after the operation. He wouldnt be back til March or April at the earliest. Lavins was on crutchs a week or two ago. He will probaly miss the Tyrone game. And S McEntee is also injured.

And Michael Newman is also injured. He has injury to his elbow. And thats a worry. He had his best year in Meath jersey last year and was best forward. He had no injuries. He had terrible problems with injuries between 2014 to 2017. He took 2018 off and in his own words was a great benefit to him. Hopefully he hasnt problems with injury this year. Himself and lenihan have never started a game together. Probaly our two best forwards. But circa 28 , very experienced and both are at their peak. If we could then both playing on the inside line with young Shane Walsh as target man , I think our full forward line would be better this year. And lenihan and Newman wud have the experience and know how to deal.with div 1 defenders and Walsh could act as target man. Something we havent had in years. Then you could have James Conlon , T O Reilly , B Dardis , or maybe J O Connor or maybe O O Brien as options from the bench. But if Newman is injured added to the loss of Devine , Harnan and lavin. Its a worry. We had very few injuries this year. Hopefully next year is not one of those bad years for injury. I wonder that for allot of this Meath players this was longest season at senor for years , we were playing til August. Mayos and Dublin wud be used to long seasons playing to Aug and Sept. They know how to pace themselves are used to this. I wonder could the long season could the injuries be result of that. I could be wrong . I am not an expert on football injuries.

The only thing the panel has more depth to it. And we could have Devine , Harnan and lavin back for end of league and champiomship. So that will add more competition for panel places. But the first 3 games v Tyrone away and Donegal and Mayo at home are massive. I really think a good start is essential to staying in div 1. 6 points , 3 wins that should keep us in the div 1. If we could get one victory over top div 1 team.say v Tyrone or Donegal in second game it could be a gamechanger for this team. They have come so close to beating top div 1 teams in last year and half. If they just could get one victory early in the league , the boost it would give the players wud be unreal. For me Tyrone , Donegal and Mayo are our All Ireland finals. All the games in div 1 are huge for us. If we could stay in div 1 , the benefit would be absolutely transformational.

LeoB

The most important thing for year ahead is for Meath to Blood more players, about 5 OR 6. Speaking to a few Meath lads (SUPPORTERS) they were not very optimistic which I was surprised by. I thought Meath were better last than I have seen in a long time, more than 5 years. They got the blend just right between the traditional game and more modern game (which I hate). They were great to watch. They need to stick with young lads and I think they will go closer again this year but patience is required.

The nucleus of a very good side is already there so it is fitting lads in now and that is why O'Byrne cup is so important not so much the league. They will get huge experience in the league to go with last year and while I understand the wanting to stay in Division 1 the bigger picture needs to be 2021/2022.

dobman88

Just saw a photo of the new Meath jersey and it's terrible. I'd go so far as to say it's worse than the new Kerry one which is some achievement.

dobman88

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Hammer Archer

Reminds me of the jersey from the mid 2000s (the last Kepak jersey I think).
I don't think it's too bad. I like the return to the darker green. Was never gone on the bright green jerseys.

CrabRevolution

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Reminds me of the jersey from the mid 2000s (the last Kepak jersey I think).
I don't think it's too bad. I like the return to the darker green. Was never gone on the bright green jerseys.

Dark green all the way.

Not quite sold on the new jersey. I don't like how the lighter green strips just suddenly stop at the top with no blending or transition. Makes it look like 2 random bits of fabric stitched together. Same with the 3 yellow stripes just stopping dead at the sleeve seam.

Throwing the yellow squares in just makes me think they have an approach of "Hey, remember the 80's? Well you'll love this!". The 2013-15 jersey (one of my favorites of recent years) had it right with the green on green checkered pattern. An homage to the jerseys of old, but still a new design.

RugbyLover123

dobman88 wrote: »

Could they not have just done the cheques all the way up instead of just stopping them randomly. I was excited when I heard we were going back to the cheques but that just doesn’t look right. I suppose at least it’s not another generic boring design from O’Neills

Hammer Archer

Ger Robinson is the U20 football manager. Kevin Reilly, Joe Sheridan, Martin Blake and Shane Barrett are on the management team also.

rpurfield

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Ger Robinson is the U20 football manager. Kevin Reilly, Joe Sheridan, Martin Blake and Shane Barrett are on the management team also.

Serious management team that. Great to see.

Anyone go to Mullingar yesterday?

Hammer Archer

Bizarrely, it seems that Davy Byrne won't be kept on as Ratoath manager next year. It's as if the committee thought: "we had probably the most successful year in our clubs history so how do we ensure that it never happens again?"

rpurfield

Heard he might be moving on Hammer but didn't hear if it was by choice or not. If it's not his own doing it's a truly bizarre move.

Hammer Archer

From what I heard, Dessie Farrell approached him with a view of joining up with his Dublin setup but Davy turned it down assuming he would remain on at Ratoath. He then made some (not unreasonable) requests for next season (to do with upgrading the gym in the clubhouse and the like) which didn't go down well. Heard that only one of the 8 committee members voted for him to remain.
Can't see the players being too pleased as he's pretty much universally liked and gave every player a crack at the whip and had them playing an excellent brand of football.

Gael85

Hammer Archer wrote: »

From what I heard, Dessie Farrell approached him with a view of joining up with his Dublin setup but Davy turned it down assuming he would remain on at Ratoath. He then made some (not unreasonable) requests for next season (to do with upgrading the gym in the clubhouse and the like) which didn't go down well. Heard that only one of the 8 committee members voted for him to remain.
Can't see the players being too pleased as he's pretty much universally liked and gave every player a crack at the whip and had them playing an excellent brand of football.

Is that Brian McMahon that plays with Ratoath any connection to Brian McMahon who played with Skyrne in late 90s? He played for Clare then moved to Meath.