Mayo GAA Discussion

I believe the first comment was a response to someone saying you don't want Hennelly when the game is in the melting pot. Hennelly has been pivotal in us winning a number of big games down the years.

Reape has the jersey but Hennelly has been injured so surely deserves a shot when he's back fit? Would you give Tommy C and O'Hora a start or two when they're available?

I believe that it will be no different for Hennelly than it is for O'Hora and Conroy. I fully believe that Tommy Conroy earned the bench position and the game time from performances in training and O'Hora will have to do the same. I think it will be the exact same for Hennelly now, I don't see him getting the jersey back when he returns to fitness unless he earns it on the training pitch.

I can see both sides of the argument, but I think it's really exciting to now have another goalie that really does have the potential to challenge Hennelly for his position!

I'm just happy we have healthy competition for most positions now including goalkeeper. Just means each player has to fight for their place and hopefully limits complacency as season goes on .

We have been hit hard with injuries in recent times and hopefully this year it isn't a repeat . If not we def have a panel I'd be confident that wil bring us deep into the championship again.

Won't dare yet to get carried away but definitely optimistic on what lies ahead this year .

Hennelly's kickouts are better. One of the best, if not the best, in the game. The poster above who said it's the hardest skill in the game now is right, and when the pressure is on at the end of a match to find a man against a full court press or even when there's a guy free but it's a 40m kick into nothing more than a 4foot radius, is some skill!

Reape is doing well, good kickouts, great frees. Hennelly is better under the high ball - yes it's true - and also in shot-stopping. Mayo are blessed with keepers.

I expect him to be a finisher.

Cillian will remain on the bench imo.

no, your taking my comments out of context. in the plainest way i can put it, he has a national medal in his back pocket that says he can cope under pressure. Iv often criticised him, and rightly so, but mentioning his buckling under pressure time and time again, i dont think is really warranted.

If you recall the disaster final, he was brought in for the replay. that should be on rochford to bear the brunt of that poor decision, not hennelly. IF you or I or anyone else was brought in, knowing youve really got to perform, and knowing youve created a rift within the team, the pressure is much much more than just losing a final.

If you think Clarke could could have sorted his kickouts in the two weeks between those finals then you're deluded.

Clarke was a wonderful keeper but he really struggled when kickouts became a more important part of the game towards the second half of his career.

Hennelly is and was far better in that regard so I can completely see where the decision to start him in the replay came from. It was a big ask though asking a keeper to come in from the cold on such a big occasion.

The decision didn't work but if I remember correctly 3-4 points came directly from poor kickouts from Clarke in the first game. Those sort of mistakes don't live as long in the memory as a mistake for a goal but they have a similar impact.

All the talk in 2017 was about the perceived weakness of Clarke's kickouts. He had an unusual kicking style that was too easy to attack and it wasn't going to be fixable at that stage of his career. Everyone knew it. The management at the time made a calculation based on the stats available. Robbie has a better kickout and did in 2017 too. Obviously stats don't always align with temperament and it was ultimately too much to ask of Robbie to go into a final basically cold. They made a judgement call and it didn't work out. Another day, it might have.

The bullsh*t being circulated by malcontents in the pub or on whatsapp was that "the management was unduly influenced by a couple of players in the team from the same club". I dont recall any "information" that backed that up though. Feel free to share however if you have some.

Why was Clarke picked to play in the 2017 final if his kickouts weren't going to work vs Dublin?

Of course there are things that could have been worked on in the 2 week. Players bunching in the middle and breaking to the wings, overloading one side of the pitch etc. God forbid the 2 O'Sheas and Parsons would take a bit of responsibility for winning the kickout too!

Hennelly was always better at that side of the game, but bringing him in in that situation was complete madness. That's not just hindsight either.

2016 replay was the goalkeeper switch.

For the 2017 final, against the same opposition, Clarke was picked and our kickouts didn't fall apart by any means.

That's why I don't understand people still saying it was correct to make such a risky call for an AI final replay.

Cheers...all those games kinda blend into one massive trauma for me tbh 😂