NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

[jimbob17]

To be fair, think some of commentary is unfair. Johnson is young. Had bad injury. Great finisher but thats probably it. Has he much else than that? Anton Hyland and Panda were all great young finishers, but have developed physically to compete at high level. Question marks there over physicality. Needs to follow suit and if he does, will be great player. We should keep him involved for s&c work even if he has been left off. No problem with letting him back to club for while. Needs to get back playing.

never heard anything as ridiculous as saying cian johnston was only a great finisher but no more than that?!?! a fully fit cian along with the other cian are the best 2 forwards offaly have.(obv outside of niall whos unavailable it seems)

Have to agree with this, a fully fit Johnson is as dangerous a forward as we have in the county. Absolutely a great finisher, when he goes through on goals it almost always ends up in the net but he’s a lot more than just a finisher. He rarely kicks a wide, is a good playmaker, wins an unhealthy number of frees and has also shown the steel to come up with big scores late in games when others would be afraid to shoot. He’s almost always the top scorer in the club championship from play despite often being targeted by the opposing team and/or double marked. Maybe he does need to get slightly more physical but that can be easily worked on whereas only a gifted few have the other things I mentioned. In a county the size of Offaly, we really can’t afford to let players of his quality slip through the cracks.

Above is what I said about Johnson. Its broadly similar. Class finisher at club level, and as good as we have got as a finisher, goals or points, but at inter-county level, it is different game. You dont get the space and time. Markers / sweepers can double team and there is a huge difference in standard between Offaly club football and inter county senior, particularly in terms of athleticism.

For example, can and will Johnson sprint 100m to track an attacking corner back leaving corner back position to link the play. Could he stay with the likes of Pearson or Dempsey equivalent? If he can't, that'll be a factor in him being selected. If he can track, can he then put in a hit, turn it over and get back down to the forwards. That is what is required now of an inter county senior. You need to be a serious athlete all over the field. I think Johnson would be long way off likes of Anton and Hyland in this capacity currently. If you can't do that, then the game turns into 15 v 14 very quickly - but with the relevant work, he could get there, that is all I am saying. Nobody doubts his footballing ability.

Johnson can become something for Offaly but he has a lot of physical work to get there as he isn't the biggest or most athletic lad in the world and I am not sure if he ever had to work hard at fitness. To make a county senior footballer now, that is a given. He is still young enough and good enough if he gets that work done. You can see the way Jack Bryant has struggled at senior level to date. Its for similar reasons. There is probably a block of 2-3 years of consistent investment in S&C by both players for them to get to fulfil their potential at inter county senior level especially as they are not big lads. Some talented lads just dont have that single minded application to do that work and fall away as the calibre of athlete at inter county senior now is off the charts and it is no shame on them if they don't get to become what we would all like for them. Inter-county football is not everything and there are still plenty of demands in being a club senior footballer.

[Superhans75]

Maybe the case but you can't make anyone physically
Taller .
Also they don't have the biggest frame to work with
As someone who has played professional sport as a young man you might have the skill but some times your body is never going to develop a certain way no matter how much strength and conditioning is applied.
There are literally thousands of players let go every year
From soccer clubs in UK
They have talent and but physically and mentally
It's not going to happen
Also there is the early development syndrome
Which some lads peak early 20s

[Fairplayalways]

I am not a betting man, but Johnson and maybe one or two others mentioned above, if with a top county, would be turned into some sort of first 15 player if they had the ability we see in them, we are too quick to dispense in Offaly when a player isnt tall or physical etc. All points above taken but why oh why is there always something in Offaly with the next best thing that comes on board...

[offalyman08]

I am not a betting man, but Johnson and maybe one or two others mentioned above, if with a top county, would be turned into some sort of first 15 player if they had the ability we see in them, we are too quick to dispense in Offaly when a player isnt tall or physical etc. All points above taken but why oh why is there always something in Offaly with the next best thing that comes on board...

I'm not referring to Cian Johnson in what I'm going to say because I don't know anything about the man. Never met or spoke to him.

But in regard to the remark of top counties turning players into a first 15 player. You could say this is exactly what Dublin done over the past 10-12 years but in a different way than what you mean.

There was arguably better footballers in Dublin that weren't in the Dublin squads through their recent successful years because they weren't willing to live the lifestyle required by Pat Gilroy & Jim Gavin (rightly or wrongly in amateur - I'd argue rightly given their success!). They had corner forwards tackling harder than corner backs. Nobody could every question their players from 1-24 over work-rate and every player in the squad knew that the fella next to him was going to work like a demon as well. Their subs rarely if ever failed to make an impact, starving to succeed.

I think (without naming any) you could say some Dublin footballers who achieved phenomenal success weren't as technically gifted, nowhere near the skillset of say someone like Diarmuid Connolly, but through sheer determination & desire etc they became instrumental to Jim Gavin

[jimbob17]

I am not a betting man, but Johnson and maybe one or two others mentioned above, if with a top county, would be turned into some sort of first 15 player if they had the ability we see in them, we are too quick to dispense in Offaly when a player isnt tall or physical etc. All points above taken but why oh why is there always something in Offaly with the next best thing that comes on board...

I'm not referring to Cian Johnson in what I'm going to say because I don't know anything about the man. Never met or spoke to him.

But in regard to the remark of top counties turning players into a first 15 player. You could say this is exactly what Dublin done over the past 10-12 years but in a different way than what you mean.

There was arguably better footballers in Dublin that weren't in the Dublin squads through their recent successful years because they weren't willing to live the lifestyle required by Pat Gilroy & Jim Gavin (rightly or wrongly in amateur - I'd argue rightly given their success!). They had corner forwards tackling harder than corner backs. Nobody could every question their players from 1-24 over work-rate and every player in the squad knew that the fella next to him was going to work like a demon as well. Their subs rarely if ever failed to make an impact, starving to succeed.

I think (without naming any) you could say some Dublin footballers who achieved phenomenal success weren't as technically gifted, nowhere near the skillset of say someone like Diarmuid Connolly, but through sheer determination & desire etc they became instrumental to Jim Gavin

Fully agree with this sentiment. At Co level now, it's so important to get balance right between sthleticism and work rate, and skills. If a lad can't cover the ground and do the work, it doesn't matter how skillful he is. We probably played too many skilled lads without required work ethic over last 15 or so years - and that is why we were so far off the mark.

And this is not about any particular player. There is young talent in Offaly that has been put up on a pedestal before it was ready for county senior for way too long. We are too quick to put lads up there. Lots of young lads can't handle acclaim at such young age as they are not mature enough and don't actually know where the bar is. Plenty of talented lads in county have struggled with this.

It's why I'm not so sure too many of the u20 team will become consistent inter county seniors. Happening for years.

[Fairplayalways]

Which in a way is gone back in a loop to my point and previous point stated several times, why do we need to "restrict" or hold off on exposing them to top class football standards, other counties wheel them out at 18/19/20 and they adapt, we in Offaly don't and its "mind" them mentality.. in a short few years they are 24 or 5 and still haven't delivered and tail off the panel on some cases...

[Bord na Mona man]

Which in a way is gone back in a loop to my point and previous point stated several times, why do we need to "restrict" or hold off on exposing them to top class football standards, other counties wheel them out at 18/19/20 and they adapt, we in Offaly don't and its "mind" them mentality.. in a short few years they are 24 or 5 and still haven't delivered and tail off the panel on some cases...

Only exceptional players are ready for inter-county football as teenagers. And even less so nowadays as it needs a higher level of strength and fitness.
What is the rush?

Pushing them and overplaying them early in their career just shaves time off their end of their careers as you burn them out with injuries and overuse.
In Offaly we're mad keen to throw kids into the fray early in order to be able to quickly dismiss them as not being up to it.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

Surely that team as named is unlikely to start today?

[jimbob17]

Big defeat but not all bad. Played quite well in stages I thought and Cavan will likely top the league.

We have few issues I think, main one being physicality. As I saw it, Cavan nos 3,5,6,7,8,9,10,17, and 20 were all clearly bigger men than Offaly markers. This mattered on 50 50 ball and kickouts. This was even more pronounced when Maher, prob our biggest man went off.

Thought we did lots of good things today against a very decent side. 1st half would have been better for us if we hadn't kicked lots of balls into hands of their covering backs. A bit more work on this could prove fruitful.

Some observations. Lots of our players are quite similar, lightish and mobile and good few need significant strength work yet. Thought Hogan going off a strange call barring he was injured. Paddy Lynch the 17 for Cavan is a class act and did untold damage when Hogan went off.

Prefer to see Pearson at corner back. Can do more from there I think as lacks physicality (just yet) under kickouts and in contact. We are lacking size and physicality in general in middle third and its possibly our main issue. Pound for pound, we are as good or better than lots of teams. McEvoy looks a lovely footballer, and really applies himself but was just outmuscled on high ball today by very big men - not his fault. Give him 2 years of extra growth and strength work and he is going to be excellent player at midfield for Offaly.

Dempsey has great running ability and I think we need him back in middle third to help address this lack of physicality, maybe half back or false 11 like he did last year. I think we need it particularly with Hayes, Carroll and few more absent. Cian Donoghue at times appears not comfortable in forwards and appears reluctant to take man on at times. Play him left corner or wing back or nowhere. Could possibly do job as a 6 also if we moved Cunningham up but he is a back and not a forward.

Because of lack of physicality, we don't get enough penetration as result from 8, 9 or 11. Ruairi Mc is excellent footballer but I'd prefer him playing a withdrawn corner forward role as he doesn't just give us that dynamic running game other teams have from a centre forward. The Cavan 6 played big attacking role today too for Cavan bombing forward on many occasions. Would love to see P Cunningham at 11 if we could afford it as he is one of best attacking threats we have. Anton too could do job there as he is dynamic and goes at teams.

Dylan Hyland has really become important to this team which is good achievement for him given he is not long home from abroad. Was very good today again. Good to have Cian Farrell coming back but needs bit of time to get back to where he was.

Panda has to start regularly in my opinion. More threat from him again today and very clever in movement when introduced.

Luke Egan is fine young player but physically, needs to get stronger / bigger and he will in time. Still only 20 years of age so he has lots of time.

We didn't threaten a goal today which was disappointing as we needed one. Given that, can't understand how Nigel Dunne has fallen so far down pecking order as 3 or 4 forward subs went in today. Dunne has a bit of physicality about him that other forwards don't and he will be disappointed that 3 inside forwards in Egan, Bryant and Allen went in today ahead of him. Surprised Tierney not getting look in on panel as Paddy Christie and DCU had him starting at Sigerson level only last year ahead of some very good inter county players from other counties.

All in all, the lads look lot fitter than last year and while today will be disappointing, there is clearly a lot of good work going on and I'd suggest our shortcomings today were a little out of our control. Need another win to ensure safety and hopefully that will happen in next few weeks.

[Superhans75]

I'm writing this from Gatwick airport went to the London Sligo game today pretty dire .
From what I heard of the game today I probably dodged a bullet .
I think for Lent anyone mentioning strength and conditioning must give a euro to charity!
Longford next week is a must win game
Will be able to drink my duty frees !
Have a good week people

[SearingDrive]

I'm writing this from Gatwick airport went to the London Sligo game today pretty dire .
From what I heard of the game today I probably dodged a bullet .
I think for Lent anyone mentioning strength and conditioning must give a euro to charity!
Longford next week is a must win game
Will be able to drink my duty frees !
Have a good week people

Killarney- Gatwick. You must be a jet setter. Today was a bad day, not able to compete with Cavan on the scoreboard. Longford will be tough opponents. Need to find a goal scorer or two somewhere.

[Fairplayalways]

Rd 4 NFL - Sat 25/Sun 26th Feb
Allianz FL Division 3 round 4
Saturdays games:
Antrim v Fermanagh, Corrigan Park, 2pm - interesting game this with both teams winning last day out, Antrim picking up their first. Fermanagh will have shocked a few with their impressive win over Down in a high scoring game. Fermanagh probably had the tougher game against Down and were impressive in most games upto last day, as were Antrim, but Antrim just didnt win those games.In Antrim, a draw could be the result here - Antrim 1-15 Fermanagh 2-12 actual result Fermanagh 2-14 Antrim 3-09

Down v Westmeath, Páirc Esler, 6pm - another interesting game with Westmeath having 2 wins now out of 3, Down lost to Fermanagh the last day to lose their unbeaten start. This will be a tough away game for Westmeath, who will want to build on their Offaly win. Scoring wise, it will be a close, another draw?? I will go with Down by a point or two as i expect them to bounce back from last day - Down 2-11 Westmeath 0-15 actual result Down 1-10 Westmeath 0-11

Sundays games:
Offaly v Cavan, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2pm - last thing Offaly needed after Westmeath game but apart from Longford and Tipp to play yet, this and the Down game have to be faced, crucial games for Offaly and indeed Down and Cavan. Cavan are unbeaten in this Division and look like promotion candidates already, Offaly need response to Sundays loss, will they get it - hard to see here - Cavan by 5 or 6 possibly. Cavan 1-16 Offaly 0-13 actual result Cavan 0-21 Offaly 0-14

Longford v Tipperary, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm - A game both teams will be out to win and feel they can win - Longford one shold think to have that little bit more in this league but results are not showing that, another heay beating by Cavan last weekend - Tipp play well often but not reflected on scoreboard (was driving last Saturday night and was listening to the commentary of their game V Antrim on Tipp FM) Tipp appear to be playing that bit better - a draw possible but I think Tipp could win this game - Tipperary 0-14 Longford 0-11.

actual result Tipperarry 0-14 Longford 1-11.

[first_touch]

Disappointing result today. Cavan are really a Division 2 team and today showed them to be further down the road than Offaly. While we stayed with them for half an hour, even at that stage the writing was on the wall as Cavan were getting their scores more easily. At times in the first half Offaly were only playing one forward up front which left little outlet for a long kick pass. A running/short passing game only gets you so far especially when playing against a physically stronger team.
I'd agree with Jimbob's points re the placing of Pearson, Dempsey, Cunningham and Ruairi Mc. I was surprised that Joe Maher was taken off at half time as he was playing quite well.
We need to secure at least two points from our remaining games in order to stay in Division Three. This should be achievable.

[Doon Exile]

Disappointed as always to lose but I was impressed by our play at times. We kept pegging them back and it was only in the last 5 minutes of first half that Cavan opened a bit of daylight on the scoreboard.

In reality it’s our inability to create goal chances that is our biggest challenge. We were crying out for a goal in the second half to get us back into it. Midfield too is not physical enough and we get muscled out of it. Lost a lot of our kick outs today. Cavan are decent team but no world beaters.

Next two games are must win and would set us up for a great shot at Down In Tullamore for the last game.

[Buttons]

Lets be honest, Cavan were a yo yo division 1 to division 2 team until they went down to 4 and are now going back to division 2 were they will hold their own, they are an Ulster champion county in the last few years.

I didn't expect the win but was looking more for areas of the game that have improved, shooting wise not sure how many wides but we kicked some super scores which compared to the last few weeks is a great improvement.

As mentioned previously we arent blessed with height, as a result they have to be smart from kick outs, lots of running with a designated person ready to catch, too many 50:50s and i think on two occasions Cavan kicked out and within 3 passes ball was over the bar, thats the difference.

I was talking about Roscommon during the week and what has changed to them this year, i was informed they have brought in a lot of the u20s that played Offaly so checked and for the squad that played Monaghan today they had Conor Carroll, Ruaidhri Fallon, Robbie Dolan, Daire Cregg, Ben O Carroll, Keith Doyle and Colin Walsh. That is 7 players that came from that u20 team playing division 1 football.