Rhode in Leinster - 2014

[townman]

I'm loving the positivity around rhode but St. Vincents are another step up from anything that Rhode have played all year. I think only St. Vincent's complacency can beat them on the day as they should have too much for Rhode all over the field.

Can't see Rhode having the players to hold Connelly or Quinn quiet for the game while rhode's scoring will ultimately fall on Anton & Niall to keep Rhode in it.

St.Vincents led a decent Garrycastle team by 10 pts before completely switching off & letting them right back into it, you can't imagine that they'll be so careless in the final & if they build a nice lead then they could really kick for home.

All that been said, I'd love to see Rhode win & give football in the county a real lift.

same as who's going to hold Niall Mac and Anto on the vincents team.

[sam88885a]

i love this positive vibe townman , as pat flannagan said lets be proud of our clubs .
all this negative stuff hasnt worked , lets be positive .
rhode can win , their good enough to be leinster champions

up rhode

[townman]

they are good enough to win leinster and if they do they will be on the hogan stand on paddys day to
they have great backs in Rigney,mcpadden,Darby, forwards in Anton,mcpadden, and one of the best forwards in the country in Niall Mac. i am sick hearing all this shit that they played no one yet that vincents had to play portlaoise and garycastle, that Rhode side would have beaten both portlaoise and garycastle as well.

[timber]

Obviously Vincents are red hot favourites. Up here they are talking about the all Ireland semi already and expect this should be a straight forward win.
When you look at the facilities and resources Vincents have compared to the wee village it would be a massive achievement to take them down.

Personally I have always felt that Rhode are not as strong as they were. They certainly left a leinster final behind them in parnell park against kilmacud and that team were good enough. Probably short some decent subs that would make a difference in heavy winter conditions.
I like some contributors on here have had many the battle on the field with most of these lads. And have met some of them off the field and had a good laugh. The club definately deserves a leinster in my opinion. So I genuinely hope they get a bit of luck on the day and play to their potential.

Its interesting that Vincents strongest attacking areas are quiet fragile when they have to defend. Certainly Connolly is an excellent footballer but he wont want to be tracking back. The key is midfield. If Rhode can stop any vincents platform from there and make connolly and co try defend it will be interesting. Brennan is another good man on the ball and a very cynical but cute defensive figure. Rhode need to get their noses in front with 15 minutes to go otherwise lads like him will close the game out by happily taking a yellow or black. We've seen it numerous times and that is the way they play it.

[mickey]

How many county players have Vincent?

[townman]

one Connolly, Ger Brennan was out for the year Mossie Quinn retired a few years ago, young Shane Carthy could be one to watch in 2015 as he had a few problems early in the year with his health good to see the chap back on the field of play. Eamom Fennell is other ex county man at midfield they have a sligo man with them to.

[mickey]

They kept the brogan quite in County final

[mickey]

Often curious about this.when a club get to a final do the rivals at County level shout for them? Because they representing offaly I for on er definitely would.rivalry gones out the window now

[ah lethimoutwithit]

Ah no, sure we'll go and shout for Vincents, sur would hate to see Nialler get a Leinster medal! Hope that clears your curiosity Mickey!! Fcukin hell:-(

[mickey]

Jees only asked

[RhodeforSam]

My attempt at an impartial preview for Sundays's game ... but as you can guess from the name I'm far from impartial

Leinster Senior Club Football Final

Rhode v St Vincent’s

This Sunday St. Vincent’s, defending Leinster and All-Ireland champions, will bid to retain their Leinster title against Rhode of Offaly. Vincent’s have had the perfect year to date, running rule over the Dublin championship and overcoming two tough tests in Leinster to reach the final. In the Dublin final against St Oliver Plunketts a one point margin of victory didn’t represent Vincent’s superiority and Portlaoise could not handle Vincent’s quality the Leinster quarter finals. Perhaps Vincent’s hardest game this year came on their last day out against Garrycastle. Having built up a comfortable lead Garrycastle battled back to parity with Vincent’s and made the Dublin men dig deeper than they had all year.

Rhode on the other hand probably had their easiest outing this year in the Leinster semi final. In that game Moorefield appeared a few steps off the pace all over the field. Rhode capitalised on the Moorefield mistakes with style to register a comfortable win. Getting to the Leinster semi final was a different story for Rhode. In a poor Offaly final Edenderry pushed a nervous looking Rhode team to the end. St. Patrick’s of Louth were no pushovers in the first Round of Leinster and Navan O’Mahonys forced Rhode to play their best football this year to reach the semi final.

While watching Vincent’s play a spectator’s immediate attention is taken by the big name players they have at their disposal and obviously having the class of Diarmuid Connolly, Thomas Quinn and Ger Brennan is a huge advantage for them. However, when you analyse their style of play, they don’t attempt in any way to single out or feature the big names. In defence the Vincent’s team filter back from the half forward line and it is very rare to see a Vincent’s defender being isolated one on one with an opposition attacker. This style of defence also informs their attacking ambitions.

When Vincent’s gain possession they will primarily attempt to carry and pass through the opposition using the pace and power that players like Shane Carty and the aforementioned Diarmuid Connolly possess. Should the opportunity arise to play in a longer ball to the inside forward line Vincent’s won’t turn down the chance, but against a team that like themselves drops back in defence, they won’t kick aimless ball in. This figures to be a large feature of the game if Rhode’s previous outings are a good measure. Rhode attempt to drop large numbers deep in defence, sit at least one if not two players in front of the fullback line and allow Vincent’s possession out of scoring range.

Rhode will themselves attempt to carry a lot of ball out of defence. They are known for strong off the shoulder running and good use of the hand pass to reach the midfield. Rhode’s game plan may differ from Vincent’s at this point. Early long ball into an isolated forward line has been Rhodes most fruitful scoring tactic all year. Good delivery from the likes of Alan McNamee and Pauric Sullivan into a dangerous forward line of Anton Sullivan and Niall McNamee has caused defences havoc this season. Additionally players such as Pauric Sullivan and Glenn O’Connell to have the ability to run and carry ball at a defence should the longer passes be well defended.

Overall this game lines up to be an intriguing encounter. Should Vincent’s be able to stop Rhode’s quick supply to its scorers, Rhode could find it hard to put up the score needed to win the game. An area where Rhode could have an advantage is in the midfield. Vincent’s have faded badly in that area at times this season and if Rhode get a foothold in the middle, perhaps this could provide some opportunities for the forwards. However, in a game where both teams will prefer to carry and handpass the ball, the midfield contest is not so important.

[Toxicity234]

Best of Luck to Rhode on Sunday.

[sam88885a]

hope rhode approch the game like kk did last sunday and really belive in each other and go out and work like dogs for each other . it 15 against 15 .
best of luck rhode

[kingscounty]

Rhode as a club deserve to win a leinster , they have dominated Offaly for the past 10 years +, they are a solid unit and on their day can mix it with the best . An hour away from History , an hour from glory , best of luck to all involved .

[Chris]

The very best of luck to the Rhode lads on Sunday.......believe!!!!!