RHODE MARCH ON

[Lone Shark]

Footballing ability wise Rhode, were more than good enough to win the All Ireland that year, I don't think they are quite as strong this time, but they have a decent chance in the Leinster final.

I'm not sure if they have deteriorated or not. On the one hand they are more dependent on Niall now than they ever were, while they are a small team with one or two comparitavely weak positions, however the addition of Mark Dunne at midfield has been huge. his recruitment has essentially added two players in the sense that he is the fielding midfielder that they never had, while his presence allows Alan McNamee to play his more natural game of dropping deep, reading the play and hoovering up a lot of loose stuff.

The reason I wouldn't rule them out is that the players that are underperforming are, in most cases, proven footballers who have it in them to be a lot better. For example, if I was to pick three lads who played a quite peripheral role on Sunday, I'd name Niall Darby, Paschal Kelleghan and Eoghan Byrne. They didn't do anything hugely wrong, but they weren't really that influential. Up until last Sunday, I'd have said that Anton wasn't playing a big part in games either, but I felt that he was a lot better this week. There's no reason why some or all of those lads can't do the same against Kilmacud.

It certainly wouldn't be fair to ask any more of Niall - that man is really on fire right now. Devastating stuff.

[Long John]

I'd be inclined to agree with BNMM on this. No question about it, this Rhode team is a bit weaker than '05, 06', and '08. Thats based on what I saw of them in the offaly championship in the semi and final. Against Shamrocks they struggled for long spells against a weak team and against Clara they left them in the game right up to the final whistle when they should of had them buried. They have slipped back a bit. But so have alot of teams in my opinion. Now this Leinster campaign is an entirely different story.

The thing is these provincial club championships are played in conditions that require a team with alot of character and hunger. Two things I think Rhode have in abundance. Rhode for me are a club that is very united in their drive to win championships, they play as a team and everybody is clear about their role. They have had a reasonably settled line up over the last number of years which is also a major contributor to them being very competitive at this level. They train hard because each and every player in the squad wants to win, theres no passengers in terms of commitment even if some players are not of the greatest standard.

Rhode have not set the world on fire with a total performance in a long time and I hope its in them for this big game. KIlmacud are very very beatable. They are a squad of talented players and these conditions suit them because they are a big team. But one thing I know for a fact, this final would mean a hell of alot more to the village of Rhode than to a big club like Kilmacud who dont have the same values. If Rhode believe they can win this and I mean really believe it, theres no reason they cant. The odds are against them but that should drive them even harder.

[Bord na Mona man]

I think they are not as good a footballing team because two big name forwards from a couple of years ago, Paschal and Roy Malone have aged. While Anton Sullivan may have improved, he is a different type of player. Their options of attacking are a little less.

However what may be in the favour is they are now having to go into the trenches to win games and that will stand to them. The games in the latter stages of the All Ireland club championships can be really dour dogfights.

You need to be a Winter football team to survive when the pitches are like glue under your boots, the ball is wet, the hits are hard, the scoring is low, the tactics are negative. Rhode need to become more like Crossmaglen and St Galls who are gruntball specialists.

[Bord na Mona man]

On Kilmacud. I would expect that they will be fairly confident of beating Rhode. My experience in Dublin GAA and of clubs like Crokes is that quite a lot of people can be quite dismissive of teams from "down da country", never mind from Offaly, or even from a village in Offaly. There can be a whiff snobbery about it. It may only be a section of the support, but it definitely exists.

Yes, the players should be well clued in, but the mindset of players can be influenced by attitude of the supporters that they meet and mingle with in the build up.

[black and red exile]

Up until last Sunday I didn't really give Rhode much of a chance of landing a Leinster title but after this win in Navan I honestly think they have a decent chance. Crokes obviously found Garrycastle quite a handful and I think most of us would fancy Rhode getting the better of the Westmeath champions in the final. There is definetly more in this Rhode side, another gear if you like and what really impressed me on Sunday was how they didn't panic when Skryne got back to within a point with 8 or 9 mins left, nobody lost the head, everyone calm, they held possession well to frustrate Skryne and when the opportunity arose up stepped the hero of 97 to be a thorn in Meath sides again.
One player that really impressed me on Sunday especially in the second half was Alan McNamee, it was the best we have seen of the big man for quite some time, he covered great ground, always wanted the ball and was back in defence when the game was in the melting pot to hoover up some loose ball, for the village to win on Sunday week Super and Mark Dunne are going to have to at least break even at midfield, Dunne certainly improved on his old leighlin performance which was promising to see so it bodes well for the final.
Anyway here is to the next two Sundays, the Sash next Sunday and the village the week after, two Leinster titles would really send us into 2011 in confident mood.

[SearingDrive]

BNM. Would that 'Rye Malone' by any chance be Roy Malone, of Rhode and once Offaly??.
It lost in the Midlands 103 translation, did he score a'gold'?

[Oceans 15]

however the addition of Mark Dunne at midfield has been huge. his recruitment has essentially added two players in the sense that he is the fielding midfielder that they never had, while his presence allows Alan McNamee to play his more natural game of dropping deep, reading the play and hoovering up a lot of loose stuff.

When has he done all this fielding ???? I wasn't at the game on Sunday but it definitely wasn't the county final as he never felt the weight of it or the game against O'Loughlins....

[Lone Shark]

He picked up a few very good ones on Sunday.

I know he's taking a while to settle in, but that's hardly surprising for a guy that just came in this summer. The fact remains that simply by contesting the high balls, he allows Alan McNamee to drop off and play the kind of football he is best at.

[Bord na Mona man]

BNM. Would that 'Rye Malone' by any chance be Roy Malone, of Rhode and once Offaly??.
It lost in the Midlands 103 translation, did he score a'gold'?

Yes, I was listening to Midlands Radio.
It was definitely Rye Malone who got the gold. I checked the papers and they had credited it to Roy Malone though.

[The Magpie]

I think they are not as good a footballing team because two big name forwards from a couple of years ago, Paschal and Roy Malone have aged. While Anton Sullivan may have improved, he is a different type of player. Their options of attacking are a little less.

Overall, it's hard to know where Rhode are. Lone Shark makes some good points, but so does BNMM.

Improvements

- New Goalkeeper. Very solid and what they've been lacking.
- The Rock's Mark Dunne. Lots of energy and competing around the middle of the field.
- The emergence of Anton Sullivan. All-energy pocket-rocket.
- The maturity and form of Niall McNamee.

Decline

- I don't think Alan McNamee is playing at the level he was. Also, unless he's improved his condition since the County Final, he didn't look 100% fit
- Roy and Paschal have played a lot of football and they're not getting younger. Both are less influential
- Fierce dependency on Niall McNamee. Rhode's scores appear to come either directly from Niall, indirectly from Niall or from free's won by Anton Sullivan

So, exactly where Rhode are is hard to measure. One thing is certain, if they keep plugging away as they are (because they do work hard) and opposing teams can't deal with Niall Mc, they're in with a chance of beating anyone - I really mean anyone.

On the contrary, if Niall is blunted (even somewhat) and Anton's running game is curbed, I can't see Rhode putting-up a respectable score - not even enough to win a match in the Winter.

I think they could win the Leinster Final. We knew that the draw in Leinster this year was kind to Offaly clubs. The draw ensured that the Laois, Kildare and Dublin champions could be avoided before a Leinster Final clash. This left a kinder path to the Final for Rhode - but they still had to get there. I won't pretend to know a lot about Kilmacud. Although they seemed to struggle against Garrycastle, they did make Portlaoise look fairly ordinary and kept them to only 6 scores. Unless Portlaoise have declined considerably, it took a good team to beat them in that manner.

Despite this, I think Rhode's greatest obstacle when the final eventually comes around will be in their own heads. They'll know that they've been in this position before and left it behind them. Those ghosts will re-surface if the game is in the balance or if they have a healthy early lead.

[Long John]

Anybody hear how Rhode are shaping up for their Leinster final against Kilmacud. How badly were their preparations affected? I know that Kilmacud have possibly had an easier time of it due to the all weather facilities available to them around Dublin that were made available.

Just looking at the Blue stars team that played Dublin at the weekend, it featured 6 kilmacud starters and 3 more introduced from the bench. Wexfords Adrian Morrissey who was suspended up to this featured impressively in the game at wing forward as did Longfords Brian Kavanagh at full forward from the reports.

Big task awaits the Rhode boys, they are huge underdogs, I hope they can do it, people might say they deserve to win a Leinster, sentiment counts little, they will have to work extremely hard for this and hope that a few things go their way on the day. Good luck to them.

[Offaly2010]

Heard Kilmacud Crokes full back Rory O'Carroll was forced off with an ankle injury just 5 minutes into that challenge match.

[Long John]

He twisted his ankle, not badly, nothing that hasnt happened to many a player in a training session. They immediately took him off as a precautionary measure. Im sure Kilmacud will build it up that he's struggling to make the game etc etc, He'll be grand, he will be playing. Interesting to see Paul Griffin is apparently expected to play some part.

Mark Vaughan came on also and hit 1.2.

This lay off has definately suited Kilmacud. I just hope the loss of momentum hasnt hit Rhode.

[Long John]

Kilmacud played Dublin in a challenge game last night under lights. Did not hear anything from the game. They seem to be getting good quality preparation for this one.

[Offaly2010]

And I also heard that Rhode played Offaly in a challenge game on Tuesday night under lights. Didn't hear any result or anything on how the game went though.