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Some Draw,
What are the views on this one, Tyrone at home.

Couldn't have gotten a harder draw but you know what i was hoping for this, our footballers will have had to go up against 2 top tier teams in a row, and we will hopefully learn a lot from these encounters for our Division 3 league campaign.
I would hope for another good performance from the team as we are at home, and see what happens, should be way out of our grasp though.

We'll be massive underdogs for this one but at least its at home and there should be no trouble getting a good crowd to Tullamore for it.There was a great atmosphere at the hurling last week hopefully we can generate a good atmosphere with a big crowd for this match.

Needless to say it's the toughest fixture we could have been asked to play and yet again you'd have to think that we're going in looking for a moral victory rather than having any meaningful chance of finding our way into the pot for round 2. However when you consider that we aren't All Ireland contenders right now one way or another, then maybe going out in a blaze of glory early and giving players the summer with their clubs might be no bad thing either. It also could be an interesting lesson for players to bear in mind in advance of what's sure to be another heavy winter of training. After all a lot is being made of the value of playing teams like this in the league - well surely playing them in the championship is even better.

Still, it would have been nice to have got a run of games together - there are a lot of teams in that qualifier draw that would have been very beatable if we put up a good show, and equally six of the seven teams that we could have drawn in round two of the qualifiers would have been very attractive ties also. In fact you'd expect that most of the round one winners will win their round two tie as well.

My bullish instinct is telling me we should tear into them and see what they're made off but i'll try and take a Lone Shark viewpoint on this and look at it logically, the bottom line is even if Tyrone are off the pace in Ulster its still way ahead of us at the moment and again i agree all we can hope for is another pride and guts style performance however it might be harder to reproduce it as the side have lost one or two players that could have made an impact in this game namely Connor and Maloney who could have had a big say in this game given their physique
Still as others have said you only improve by playing the top teams and learning from the experience, if the team can learn to replicate the pace they have and will play against with regards to Kildare and Tyrone then they will have all the tools they need to get out of division 3 next year

Just a quick note on the players leaving for America during the qualifiers, while you can't blame the lads for going and lets not forget money is tight for those not working it might not be a bad thing that Mcdonnell has to do without them as it gives him an opportunity to widen his options and look at alternative players

Also if i was Mcdonnell i would be telling the new lads coming in that they have an opportunity to stake a claim in the team for next years league campaign and that should they put their hand up in the Tyrone match the guys going abroad will have to fight for their place when they come back which might make them stop and think about going abroad next year as they will not be guaranteed to waltz back into the starting line up
Might be thinking about it sunny side up but then i like to look at the positives when it comes to sports

The Indo says this game is set for Omagh. Please tell me they're wrong (not for the first time) ....

http://www.independent.ie/sport/big-gun ... 50152.html

The Biff wrote:The Indo says this game is set for Omagh. Please tell me they're wrong (not for the first time) ....

http://www.independent.ie/sport/big-gun ... 50152.html

It's the Indo FFS!
Nope, it's in Tellamore (or Birr maybe) on account of Offaly going to Thurles last year.
Stupid rule, but we won't complain. We spent a decade getting shafted on venues, so we'll lap up any good fortune that comes our way.

Nice of the Indo to listen to half of the Radio report and miss the bit about the counties "seeded" for Home draws.

Tyrone are not what they used to be, so we shouldn't write this off at this stage. Who would you fancy in a Kildare v Tyrone face-off? Will the Red-Hands be tougher opponents than the Lillys were? Certainly different styles likely, but we should have a bit of self-belief back in ourselves now.

Both Hurling and Football qualifier draws have given us home games against the two strongest possible opponents. Surely we can win one of them? Two? Say no more.

McNamee relishing Tyrone clash
17 June 2013

Offaly captain Niall McNamee is looking forward to welcoming Tyrone to Tullamore on the weekend after next.

The Faithful drew the short straw when they were paired with the Allianz League Division 1 finalists in this morning's All-Ireland SFC qualifier first round draw, but McNamee stressed to hoganstand.com that it's a challenge they will meet head on.

"It was the hardest draw we could have got - Tyrone was the draw everyone wanted to avoid," the highly-rated forward pointed out.

"But having spoken to some of the lads, they're very optimistic, especially as the game's in O'Connor Park. It's nice to get a home draw after having to go to Tipperary last year. Even though we lost to Kildare (in the Leinster SFC quarter-final), the supporters were happy enough with our display and I'd expect them to turn out in big numbers for this game."

The Red Hands were the reigning All-Ireland champions when McNamee last played against them in 2006, and he feels they are just as formidable now.

"I played against them in the league in 2005 and 2006," he explained.

"They were strong then and are still a top-six team. It will be a great experience for the young lads in our team and a great way to measure the progress we've made this year. It will be another good test of the team's development.

"There is no doubt that the Offaly supporters are starting to warm to this team. They see the work that's been put in, and hopefully we'll be able to cause an upset."

Since their three-point defeat to Kildare in Croke Park, Offaly have lost Brian Connor and John Moloney to summer emigration, but the captain insists they can be replaced.

"It's a blow to lose two of the team that started against Kildare, but there have been 60-65 players training between the senior and U21 panels this year and they're going to be trying even harder now that there are places up for grabs," he concluded.

http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=194637

Slightly off-topic but it relates to the qualifier draw and associated fixtures.

The media herd are reporting the Laois v Carlow fixture as being the first ever championship fixture to be played on a Friday night. This is incorrect.

I recall Laois played Limerick in a hurling qualifier on a Friday evening in Portaloos about a decade ago. I've a feeling it was in 2005 and was the evening before Offaly hurled Clare at the 'home' venue of Portaloos. Part of the reason was because Limerick footballers were fixed to play Carlow in a qualifier on the Saturday at the same time Offaly played Clare, and so the hurlers played on the Friday night to avoid a clash.

I'm fairly sure the 2003 Offaly vs Limerick hurling qualifier in Thurles was on a Friday.

signinlate wrote:I'm fairly sure the 2003 Offaly vs Limerick hurling qualifier in Thurles was on a Friday.

That one was on a Thursday actually.

signinlate wrote:I'm fairly sure the 2003 Offaly vs Limerick hurling qualifier in Thurles was on a Friday.

Seems I was mistaken. According to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_All-I ... Qualifiers it was a Thursday.
Edit You got in before me there.

Seems Tyrone might have a few injurys going into this game but that could be all mind games , we wont know for sure till throw in. Its an extremly hard challenge ahead , a win and the confidence the team would get would be massive for football in Offaly , a loss and its what everyone was expecting so really the team have nothing to be fearful of , just go out and give it the same heart and fight as the last day and do us proud once more.

I hear alan mulhall is ruled out. Anyone hear anything about this?