McDonnell calls up hurling quartet

[durra1]

I’d be interested to know what the sages of the large ball have to say about this...

Offaly football manager Emmett McDonnell has drafted Shane Dooley, Conor Mahon, Dan Currams and Sean Ryan into his squad in the wake of the hurlers' exit from the All-Ireland race.

The quartet are all talented dual players, with Dooley - who won an Offaly SFC medal with Tullamore in 2007 - regarded as one of the top football forwards in the county. Ryan, Mahon and Currams have represented the senior footballers in the past and could be in line to feature against Tyrone in Saturday's All-Ireland SFC qualifier at O'Connor Park.

McDonnell has been forced to turn to the hurlers following the departures of Brian Connor, Johnny Moloney, Luke Kelly, Eoin Rigney and Michael Brazil to the US in recent weeks.

[Lone Shark]

On the one hand, you could make a team out of the guys he's lost, so he had to get players from somewhere. Just for reminder, here's the absentees for this week:

Pender, R Brady, Dalton - discipline
Anton, D Brady, Mulhall, Allen - injury
Rigney, Connor, Brazil, Moloney, Kelly - US.

Also, he knows that the four guys he's called up are strong and have been doing intercounty training - so they've a lot less ground to make up than a promising under-21 player, in terms of making a contribution this week.

That said he'll have to walk a fine line here - it's one thing calling in guys to make up training games, and I believe they had a good XV vs XV game on Monday, but it's another thing entirely to spring them into the matchday 26 for a game against Tyrone. If McDonnell chooses to do that - and I've no idea if he will or not - then he has to bear in mind that he'll be running the risk of demoralising guys that he'll need next January that he may need when Dooley, Currams, Mahon and Ryan are all likely to be back into the hurling panel.

Secondly, it's hard to tell which of these players are in the best position to make a contribution now, if indeed any of them are. Seán Ryan has the bit more experience and I always felt that he did a lot of hidden work as a centre forward, which could be of value in the absence of Brian Connor, and if one of the likely full forward line of Casey, McNamee and Mulhall misfires, there's a case to be made for Shane Dooley as an option off the bench. However whether either of those guys would offer more than existing teenagers like Joe Maher and Peter Cunningham, who are there and ready to go now, is another question altogether.

[DAF]

I always liked Sean Ryan as a footballer and would like him to be a permanent member of the football panel, a really good player to go at the opposition who is direct and stong as a horse.

Curram was the best junior footballer in the county last year and could be useful from the bench.

Mahon although he didnt play football last year is a tough as the come and could perhaps do a job from the bench as a target man at full forward perhaps, he is a great player to stifle his opponent.

Dooley although lacking in pace is a quality footballer, a very reliable and accurate fretaker (which we have lacked) , and is very accurate from play, if he gets the ball he would be dangerous however because he lacks pace he may have trouble getting the ball.

I am all for involving as many dual players on both teams as possible we have a small pick and should try to make the best of the resources we have available, also I don't have an issue with them being parachuted in as it isnt as if they havent been doing any training and I don't think any of them will start but is does strengthen our bench.

[Sharp Eye]

I presume the HURLERS will train-on for the Summer under Mc Donnell. Great to see Offaly using Dual-Players.