NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
jimbob17
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by jimbob17 »

Very interesting the way they started. Could team management members be on here reading the debate over the last week and taking it on board. Amazing how so much of what was suggested changed to exactly that.
Ie Pearson back to No4
Donoghoe back to wing back
Hyland to wing forward
Dunne and Panda started inside
Ruairi Mc as a corner forward drifting around and Evans as a dynamic running 11. I think once Evans gets fully fit, he will play a big role in this team and could be a great fit for centre forward role. He was a hugely talented lad a few years ago that never really had to push himself at club level.

Great to get the win. There are 2 games now left that we can win to finish on 10. Probably wont be enough this year but conceivable that Cavan top group and in unlikely event that both ourselves and Fermanagh finished on 10pts on our own, we would be ahead on head to head. That is only way I see us having any chance. If we don't it is good to have safety got with 2 rounds remaining. I'd be expecting us to win at least one more game which is a decent league campaign by previous campaign standards.
jimbob

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

Jimbob17, were you there? I'm not having a go, quite the opposite. I see you have a good grasp of how the team lined out, and I wouldn't mind expanding on that for the records section of this site. I've seen two differing versions on match reports so far. And I appreciate football teams very quickly deviate away from a 3-3-2-3-3 once the ball is thrown in.
jimbob17 wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:31 am Very interesting the way they started. Could team management members be on here reading the debate over the last week and taking it on board. Amazing how so much of what was suggested changed to exactly that.
Ie Pearson back to No4
Donoghoe back to wing back
Hyland to wing forward
Dunne and Panda started inside
Ruairi Mc as a corner forward drifting around and Evans as a dynamic running 11. I think once Evans gets fully fit, he will play a big role in this team and could be a great fit for centre forward role. He was a hugely talented lad a few years ago that never really had to push himself at club level.

Great to get the win. There are 2 games now left that we can win to finish on 10. Probably wont be enough this year but conceivable that Cavan top group and in unlikely event that both ourselves and Fermanagh finished on 10pts on our own, we would be ahead on head to head. That is only way I see us having any chance. If we don't it is good to have safety got with 2 rounds remaining. I'd be expecting us to win at least one more game which is a decent league campaign by previous campaign standards.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Anonymous1
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Anonymous1 »

From my viewing of the situation, there are a couple of scenarios in which Offaly could be promoted.

These include Offaly beating both Tipp and Down and then either:

1. Fermanagh beat/draw with Westmeath but lose to Cavan
2. Westmeath beats Fermanagh but draws/loses to Tipp

OR

Offaly beats one of Tipp/Down and draws with the other and then either:

1. Westmeath beats Fermanagh but loses to Tipp and Fermanagh loses to Cavan
2. Fermanagh and Westmeath draw, Fermanagh loses to Cavan, Westmeath loses to Tipp

OR

Offaly finishes level on points with both of Fermanagh and Westmeath but finishes above them via score difference, however this is virtually impossible as Offaly are 19 points worse off than Cavan and 53 worse off Westmeath.

I believe that is all the hypothetical scenarios covered but am open to correction.

The most likely scenario is the first one so we should all be hoping for a draw in the Westmeath vs Fermanagh game or a Fermanagh win, if we can beat Tipp, we’d then go into the last round knowing a win over Down and a Cavan win vs Fermanagh would see us promoted although Cavan may already be promoted by then and could field a weakened team. A Westmeath win over Fermanagh all but sinks our promotion chances.
Last edited by Anonymous1 on Mon Mar 06, 2023 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

Anonymous1
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Anonymous1 »

Plain of the Herbs wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:42 am Jimbob17, were you there? I'm not having a go, quite the opposite. I see you have a good grasp of how the team lined out, and I wouldn't mind expanding on that for the records section of this site. I've seen two differing versions on match reports so far. And I appreciate football teams very quickly deviate away from a 3-3-2-3-3 once the ball is thrown in.
jimbob17 wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:31 am Very interesting the way they started. Could team management members be on here reading the debate over the last week and taking it on board. Amazing how so much of what was suggested changed to exactly that.
Ie Pearson back to No4
Donoghoe back to wing back
Hyland to wing forward
Dunne and Panda started inside
Ruairi Mc as a corner forward drifting around and Evans as a dynamic running 11. I think once Evans gets fully fit, he will play a big role in this team and could be a great fit for centre forward role. He was a hugely talented lad a few years ago that never really had to push himself at club level.

Great to get the win. There are 2 games now left that we can win to finish on 10. Probably wont be enough this year but conceivable that Cavan top group and in unlikely event that both ourselves and Fermanagh finished on 10pts on our own, we would be ahead on head to head. That is only way I see us having any chance. If we don't it is good to have safety got with 2 rounds remaining. I'd be expecting us to win at least one more game which is a decent league campaign by previous campaign standards.
I was there, the team as I seen it lined out positionally was

1. Ian Duffy
2. Lee Pearson
3. Declan Hogan
4. David Dempsey
5. Rory Egan
6. Peter Cunningham
7. Cian Donohoe
8. Jack Mcevoy
9. Conor Mcnamee
10. Dylan Hyland
11. Jamie Evans
12. Anton Sullivan
13. Bernard Allen
14. Ruairi Mcnamee
15. Nigel Dunne

Anonymous1
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Anonymous1 »

As regards the game itself, I have to be honest and say despite the win, it was one of the worst Offaly performances I’ve seen in a long time.

It was clear from the early stages that Longford were nowhere near Offaly fitness wise and they gave us oceans of space to attack, particularly in the first half and we were outrageously wasteful. If we were any way clinical, we should’ve been well in front at halftime especially considering we were playing with the wind but we let them hang around for far too long and it was almost to our detriment in the end.

Longford will feel they left a result behind them, they certainly deserved atleast a draw and had James Mcgivney and Gary Rogers not left the panel midweek, they surely would’ve beaten us. They had a ridiculous amount of possession in the second half and kicked an unholy 13 wides including a couple of clear cut goal chances.

To our credit, we defended brilliantly in the final 2 minutes or so to hold out for the win but we went 4 points clear with 5 minutes left and really should’ve seen the game out better from there.

A bright spot too was the impact from our bench with Bryant and Maher offering an injection of pace and energy, the two of them combined for Bryant’s well taken goal, I think he has potentially earned himself a start against Tipp on the back of his impact in this game. Was also nice to see Farrell kick a score off the bench.

Anton was as good as ever yesterday and Panda must surely be the most accurate forward on the panel, rarely seems to kick a wide. Hyland was also decent once again, don’t think he’s had a bad game yet this year. Nigel kicked two points from play but wasn’t as involved as he would’ve liked and Ruairi seemed lost at sea in the full forward line, he needs to be switched back to 11 for the Tipp game. Evans kicked a point but wasn’t very involved, hopefully he can kick on from here.

Defensively we were way too open and it showed on the scoreboard with Longford putting up their highest scoring tally of the year and by some distance. They’d scored 0-08, 0-09, 0-11 and 0-14 before kicking 1-16 yesterday, albeit their goal was a gift from the gods thanks to a comedic Duffy kickout.

None of the back 6 covered themselves in glory except Cunningham at No.6, anyone advocating him switching to midfield would never do so again if they seen yesterdays game. He saved our backsides a number of times and made numerous bursts forward to engineer attacks, the management were justified by leaving him at 6 also because Mcevoy and Mcnamee held their own at midfield, Mcevoy in particular had a good game, winning a number of kick outs and adding a beautiful score of his own.

In conclusion, a disappointing performance but a win is a win and it guarantees division 3 status for 2024 and keeps us in the promotion hunt albeit tentatively. It’s never easy to win away at Longford and going back there in 5 weeks for the opening round of the championship will be a real 50/50.

However, one can’t help but wonder what might’ve been for Offaly in this division this year had the likes of Hayes, Carroll, Moloney and Rigney been available. One would have to fancy us for promotion next year with a couple of those added back in to this panel which I believe was Kearns stated aim when he took over, survive in division 3 this year and push hard for promotion next year.

Superhans75
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Superhans75 »

Great win not pretty but neither is division 3 .
Longford are not great but it's nice to beat them . realistically we have not got any worse than last year
But not any better need a proper goalscorer
Chances are being created but need a clinical finisher .
Have a good week people 👍

Fairplayalways
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Fairplayalways »

was listening to most of it on R3, Longford kicked 13 wides and missed two great goal scoring chances apparently, we had our luck today I think, Longford seemed to run out of steam at 1-14 to 1-09, I was fearful at that stage for Offaly, Longfords position and performances too have to be put in perspective and without going checking I think their 1-16 toda was their highest total in this league and yes it came against Offaly. The Antrim collapse in Mullingar is a mystery altogether, they were unlucky to lose some of their previous games and the scoring returns prove that, but lordy me a 30 point defeat is some change around...As good a people will say Westmeath were, I wold balance it out with how poor Antrim had to be..promotion for Offaly looks difficult now, but you never know, teams are still scrapping around us and one favourable result and two Offaly wins might get us into the mix again..

ah lethimoutwithit
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by ah lethimoutwithit »

Was not at the game and had no carvery in the L Arms, any updates on that.

Anonymous 1 sums it up perfect as would be my opinion from listening to the match.

We are not in any means clinical, mgt felt we could have a go at Longford but it looks like when we have a go, we get caught out at the back, but look a couple of things,
1) We gave away a poor goal again, but hopefully learning,
2) Longford kicked 3 points at a time when we would get over the line if we didnt concede a goal
3) It appears we got some impact off the bench

When Longford went 4 down it would have left them relegated (pretty much ) , unles they threw the kitchen sink at us.

But having said all that, it is clear that the management are doing a decent job, and the confidence of staying in the Div with 2 games to go will allow guys to play with a bit more freedom for the last 2 games. There is a bit of competition coming into play and it is a nice position to be in.
Personally I would have taken this all day before the league and being brutally honest would have thought that we could have been heading into yesterdays fixture needing to beat both Longford and Tipp next weekend to have a chance of staying up.

So fair play to the players and management.

As a matter of interest, Paddy Christie would have been very well regarded as a coach and if he had been linked with Offaly we probably would have been happy enough with him coming in. Tough to move from that into management, and would have expected more from them.

Tmacmahon
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Tmacmahon »

‘’Ruairi seemed lost at sea in the full forward line, he needs to be switched back to 11 for the Tipp game‘’

I was at the game and Ruari Mcnamee played the WHOLE game in the half forward line. That is a bewildering comment , it was very evident he did not play in the full forward line.

Anonymous1
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Anonymous1 »

Tmacmahon wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 6:31 pm ‘’Ruairi seemed lost at sea in the full forward line, he needs to be switched back to 11 for the Tipp game‘’

I was at the game and Ruari Mcnamee played the WHOLE game in the half forward line. That is a bewildering comment , it was very evident he did not play in the full forward line.
I was also at the game and was in line with the Offaly full forwards for the first half, Ruairi started and played the WHOLE first half in the full forward line. Hyland, Evans and Anton were the three half forwards, he moved further out the field in the second half but it’s bewildering to me that you couldn’t see him start in the full forward line. What are you trying to suggest then, that Evans and Ruairi both played at 11? Nonsense

Tmacmahon
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Tmacmahon »

They both did play 11 , that is a very common occurrence in the modern game. False 11 is a regular position.

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

Thank you, @Anonymous1
Anonymous1 wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 6:01 am
Plain of the Herbs wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:42 am Jimbob17, were you there? I'm not having a go, quite the opposite. I see you have a good grasp of how the team lined out, and I wouldn't mind expanding on that for the records section of this site. I've seen two differing versions on match reports so far. And I appreciate football teams very quickly deviate away from a 3-3-2-3-3 once the ball is thrown in.
I was there, the team as I seen it lined out positionally was

1. Ian Duffy
2. Lee Pearson
3. Declan Hogan
4. David Dempsey
5. Rory Egan
6. Peter Cunningham
7. Cian Donohoe
8. Jack Mcevoy
9. Conor Mcnamee
10. Dylan Hyland
11. Jamie Evans
12. Anton Sullivan
13. Bernard Allen
14. Ruairi Mcnamee
15. Nigel Dunne
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Anonymous1
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Anonymous1 »

Right well we clearly have a divergence of viewpoint here but sadly none of the match reports can clear it up because none of them have the team even remotely correct.

RTE have Evans down at 2, Pearson at 7, Dunne at 10, Donohoe at 12 and Anton at 14…

The Offaly Express have Donohoe at 2, Pearson at 7,Evans at 10 and Nigel at 12, Cian Farrell down as starting at 13 and Anton at 14…

The Examiner have Evans at 2, Pearson at 7, Donohoe at 12 and Anton at 14…

And The Longford Leader has Donohoe at 2, Pearson at 7, Evans at 12 and Anton at 14…

Either the reporters were drinking something strong in the press box or Offaly have managed to confuse everyone…

Tmacmahon
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Tmacmahon »

That’s actually true, haha fair point, I was thinking the same when reading the reports today

Plain of the Herbs
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Re: NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

Post by Plain of the Herbs »

The Offaly Express one has the lad what scored 1-3 not lining out at all!
Anonymous1 wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:17 pm Right well we clearly have a divergence of viewpoint here but sadly none of the match reports can clear it up because none of them have the team even remotely correct.

RTE have Evans down at 2, Pearson at 7, Dunne at 10, Donohoe at 12 and Anton at 14…

The Offaly Express have Donohoe at 2, Pearson at 7,Evans at 10 and Nigel at 12, Cian Farrell down as starting at 13 and Anton at 14…

The Examiner have Evans at 2, Pearson at 7, Donohoe at 12 and Anton at 14…

And The Longford Leader has Donohoe at 2, Pearson at 7, Evans at 12 and Anton at 14…

Either the reporters were drinking something strong in the press box or Offaly have managed to confuse everyone…
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

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