NFL Division 1

bocerty wrote:smart money would be on Kildare at this stage i think.

Kildare are 6/4. Harte is clearly experimenting, wouldn't be my choice at this stage. If in it, try win it..Your h/b line could get a scorching. Of course Kildare may opt to act the jennet as well.

These games are financial death-traps, fookers acting the maggot, sparing themselves, experimenting etc.,

Though, after all the bluster and having a weeks respite, I may visit the capital over the weekend and CP would kill the Sunday.

bocerty wrote:Interestingly enough there are those in Tyrone who think these guys biggest problem is that they grew up in an era of unprecedented success and have got to the point were they take if for granted that its going to continue, they have yet to realise that there is an awful lot of work required to get to that level and even more required to stay there.

Unfortunately, I don't think that it is that simple, Boc. The 2003 team were all highly talented, even as young fellas. Consider some of the midfielders and forwards:

Cormac McAnallen - Ulster Footballer of the year at 21
Sean Cavanagh - All Star at 20
Kevin Hughes - MOM in Ulster final at 21
Enda McGinley - Played in AI final at 22
Brian McGuigan - Played in AI final at 23
Gerald Cavlan - Senior debut before starting his last year at minor. At 19 scored 1-6 away to Derry and 0-8 away to Meath in league games
Brian Dooher - Ulster Footballer of the Year at 21
Eoin Mulligan - Scored goal within 10 seconds of his championship debut vs Armagh (age 20)
Stephen O'Neill - All star at 20
Peter Canavan - 2 x AI U21 winning captain

These lads had all made significant impacts at a genuinely young age, partly because they worked hard, but largely because they were all very talented. We were exceptionally fortunate for them all to come along at a similar time. I think it is talent more than discipline that is lacking in the new breed.

The 'young lads' we have now are, in many cases, not so young. Ronan McNamee, Peter Harte, Kyle Coney, Mattie Donnelly are all 23. Conor McAliskey is 22. Aidan McCrory, Cathal McCarron and Paddy McNeice are all in their mid 20s. Ronan O'Neill is 21, and Darren McCurry and Conor Clarke are already 20. We call them young lads, but they are all at an age where they should be making proper impacts. They aren't because, in most cases, they are good players, but none of them are superstars, and most of them never will be.

(Having said that, I'd still be optimistic about a few of them, and wouldn't write Ronan O'Neill off just yet. He's only a few weeks returned from his cruciate injury, and now has a hamstring strain. He is talented though, and I think he could yet come good. As for Coney, this could be a make or break year.)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Dublins new found bite has been around for a while

Tyrone team to play Dublin in the division 1 final:

1 Niall Morgan
2 PJ Quinn
3 Conor Clarke
4 Cathal McCarron
5 Conor Gormley
6 Dermot Carlin
7 Justin McMahon
8 Colm Cavanagh
9 Sean Cavanagh
10 Matthew Donnelly
11 Mark Donnelly
12 Joe McMahon
13 Martin Penrose
14 Stephen O’Neill
15 Patrick McNeice

16 Pascal McConnell
17 Aidan Cassidy
18 Kyle Coney
19 Plunkett Kane
20 Connor McAliskey
21 Aidan McCrory
22 Darren McCurry
23 Ciaran McGinley
24 Ryan McKenna
25 Ronan McNamee
26 Ronan O’Neill

This is probably the most defensive side we've picked this year, with only O'Neill representing what I would term a scoring forward.

The plan looks very clear: Try to dominate Dublin with physicality and workrate, and hope to frustrate them.

With Cassidy, Kane, McCurry, McAliskey, Coney & O'Neill, the bench looks talented, but the first 15 looks very much like horses for courses.

Hi guys,

Analysis of Dublin's win over Tyrone now up [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Emmet

And they say that the league doesn't matter...

This was a brilliant game of football, and as good as I can remember in April. It was intense, competitive and not short on quality. Both sides will have learnt a lot, and with each having won a league match against the other by a scoreline of 18-17, it is clear that there is nothing between the teams.

Dublin won yesterday because they had a stronger bench. While most of the good counties have c.17-18 really good players, Dublin have more than this, particularly in attack. Having started without SON and Peter Harte, and then lost Carlin, Justin McMahon, Gormley and Cassidy to injury, Tyrone were running on fumes in the last few minutes. To their credit, Dublin stuck at it, and Rock's cameo will surely have propelled him further up the selection list for the championship.

Dublin looked the more dangerous side in the 1st half, with MDMA dominating at midfield. Connolly and Mannion both flashed their talent during the early stages, and Tyrone made the most of more meagre rations to go in level at 10 points apiece. The introduction of Aidan Cassidy and the tiring of MDMA saw the momentum swing in the 2nd period, with Tyrone dominating for long periods. We nudged a point ahead a couple of times, but a string of wides (McAliskey/Kane) and efforts that dropped short (Kane/Cassidy/Coney) at crucial stages prevented us from eking the lead out to 2 or 3 points, a bridge that may have been too far for Dublin in such a tight encounter.

Dublin will be delighted to win the league, although you'd never have guessed from the sour expression on Stephen Cluxton's face (seriously Stephen, it's ok to look happy once in a while!). They have an abundance of threats in attack, and are dangerous even on days when Bernard Brogan is held. They will also have learnt that their defence is not the finished article, and the 4 young lads who have played there throughout the league (Daly/Cooper/O'Brien/McCaffrey) may collectively be a bit too naive for what lies ahead. While it may make them slightly less dynamic, at least one of Kevin Nolan, Mick Fitzsimmons or Philly McMahon is likely to be starting before long. Cian O'Sullivan is another option, as he isn't really cut out for the middle of the field. That is another area in which Dublin are thin on resources, and MDMA's continued form, health and availability is crucial.

I read all week that Tyrone were going to be hammered by Dublin, just as I had read the same before the regular season game. We've played them twice now, and have shown that they are beatable. Given that Dublin are the best side in Ireland right now, that is very encouraging in itself.

The defence played very well, and I'd single out Cathal McCarron's excellent form. He dominated Bernard Brogan, just as he has most opponents this spring. McCarron always had the athleticism, but his defending has become a lot more disciplined this year. Conor Clarke mixes the brilliant and the scary. He is so slow to turn that, when beaten, he can be completely out of things, but his strength and anticipation gets him out of a lot of scrapes. Mattie Donnelly has added considerable pace this year, and now looks every inch a top intercounty footballer. Mark Donnelly, Conor McAliskey, Sean Cavanagh and Aidan Cassidy all had big games for Tyrone, although most praise must be reserved for Niall Morgan, who was outstanding in everything that he did.

Conversely, Colm Cavanagh and Paddy McNeice were peripheral for long periods. To be fair to McNeice, he isn't a corner forward at this level, and is more suited to a running role.

For all that I and others have said about the relative depth of the 2 panels, I have little doubt that if SON or maybe even Peter Harte had been fit to come on in the last 5 minutes we would have won this game. We are stronger and faster than last year, and better organised also. The hope now will be that the likes of McAliskey and maybe Coney push on, and we add a more potent scoring threat to those foundations.

Our biggest concern however will be injuries, with Gormley, Cassidy, Justin McMahon and Carlin all going off yesterday yesterday. In addition to these and SON/Harte, Kyle Coney, Darren McCurry and Ronan O'Neill are also all just coming back from breaks, and Ronan McNabb is just about to return after a long layoff, so it is now race against time leading up to Ballybofey.

So, well done to Dublin on a just-about deserved victory. It has been a very good league campaign, and both sides deserve huge credit for serving up a great final.

Went along to this yeserday - Very enjoyable game in tough conditions - strong swirling wind.

TC has said most of what needs to be said thoough few additional observations

1. Morgan was excellent in terms of shot stopping and long range dead balls but
Dublin won huge swathes of Tyrone kick outs in the First half, partly down to MDMA excellent form but I expect the ratios versus cluxtons were hugely different

2. Though Tyrone could have won this 10/15 minutes out but they took several bad options from good positions when they were 1 clear. The must have kicked to Keepers hands 4/5 during a ten minute spell. Coney I think being guilty on at least two occasions.

Game was played in as good a spirit as you will see though at close to championship intensity - not withstanding this there were at least 7 frees (one or two harshly) awarded to players running at goal. Would this have resulted in a plethora of black cards under new rule ?


From a Donegal perspective Morgans ability from 55 yards is a concern. It will mean that the Donegal "no Foul" zone will need to be a bit wider than in the last two meetings !!

Speaking of Cameos - excellent contribution from Dessie Dolan in the closing stages of the first game