Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
SearingDrive
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by SearingDrive »

allstar2010 wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:23 pm If this was any game other than a final the red card wouldn’t have been overturned. GAA have a history of rescinding a red card if it means a player will miss the chance to play in the final. It happened this year in the All Ireland final for Limerick hurler Peter Casey.
Not a very good reason. Dublin had Diarmuid Connolly reinstated before an important game some years ago.

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bracknaghboy
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by bracknaghboy »

Now that Offaly GAA have deemed a high, hard hit into the front of an opponent a yellow card offence only we could have a tasty replay.
I'd be sending my team out to lay down the law early on and "do" a few unsuspecting opponents using this new tackling style.
Hopefully Pierce has been briefed on this new yellow card only offence :lol:
I'm expecting fun and games Sunday.

first_touch
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by first_touch »

Crazy decision. It was a dangerous tackle and merited a red card.

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bracknaghboy
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by bracknaghboy »

Having downgraded the flying elbow tackle from a red to yellow card offence the county board continued that trend today by reducing the price for Sundays replay from 20 Euro to 10 Euro!! Really good value and would be great to see a massive crowd from Tullamore......remember the 2009 hurling final......10,000 there.

allstar2010
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by allstar2010 »

SearingDrive wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 6:23 pm
allstar2010 wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:23 pm If this was any game other than a final the red card wouldn’t have been overturned. GAA have a history of rescinding a red card if it means a player will miss the chance to play in the final. It happened this year in the All Ireland final for Limerick hurler Peter Casey.
Not a very good reason. Dublin had Diarmuid Connolly reinstated before an important game some years ago.
I never said it was a good reason. Just saying what tends to happen.

SearingDrive
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by SearingDrive »

allstar2010 wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:19 am
SearingDrive wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 6:23 pm
allstar2010 wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:23 pm If this was any game other than a final the red card wouldn’t have been overturned. GAA have a history of rescinding a red card if it means a player will miss the chance to play in the final. It happened this year in the All Ireland final for Limerick hurler Peter Casey.
Not a very good reason. Dublin had Diarmuid Connolly reinstated before an important game some years ago.
I never said it was a good reason. Just saying what tends to happen.
No slight on you for outlining the reason. It is the policy that I queried.

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Lone Shark
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by Lone Shark »

I'm genuinely curious as to whether or not McNamee's reprieve will be a good thing for Rhode or not. Obviously every Rhode person will have to say out loud that he's a hugely positive influence on the team and on the game, yet there's no doubt that against a team with the mobility and pace of Tullamore, it's not easy to work around a midfielder that has 20-something years of senior football behind him.

Now consider the alternative situation - where the suspension stands. Cue uproar in the village about how they've just blackguarded the man who has played in and won more county finals than probably anyone outside of Crossmaglen, and how we can't let him down by having him suspended for his last ever game for Rhode, we need to make sure he gets the chance to bow out on the field etc.

I should point out here that this isn't me saying that Alan McNamee is retiring, but presumably it's either a slight or a substantial possibility!

Now this is Rhode, and there is precisely zero chance that they will go into a county final tuned out, or anything like it. Yet when you've been in so many, when you've so many medals racked up, it's impossible for majority of that Rhode team to have the same sense of tension and focus as Tullamore will have - that's simply not humanly possible. Having a "cause" like a perceived insult to one of their all-time greats would have certainly dialled things up another notch.

Now the flip side of that argument is that while there are clubs in Offaly with plenty of depth, most notably Tullamore and Ferbane when we consider the strength of their second teams, Rhode are not one of those clubs. The injuries to Eoin Rigney and Jake Kavanagh put even more pressure on them, so in that regard, having him available is a boost, because while other clubs might have a range of serviceable players to step into the breach and still have options on the bench, Rhode don't.

However I remain to be convinced that McNamee's reprieve, regardless of the rights and wrongs of it, makes Rhode any more likely to win the game than they were if he was suspended.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by Buttons »

Personally i thought Alan deserved the line the last day, it was the follow up of the elbow after the shoulder that did it for me. The way Tullamore played after in the final 10-15 minutes i was delighted they got the result they deserved. It was a shame there wasnt a few more minutes left to see what each team was made of. Rhodes focus the last 2 weeks will be on the replay, Tullamore will have had hurling and u20s to deal with.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned was Rhodes dominance in the first quarter around the middle of the field, Tullamore were in big trouble in my opinion with the sending off changing the whole game.

For sunday i think Niall Mc and Kellaghan will have the winning of the game for Rhode, lets hope its as entertaining again.

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The Magpie
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by The Magpie »

Having attended an enjoyable County Final, I thought this was worth a post.

In no particular order:

1. Niall McNamee is doing what Ronaldo is doing. At times against Tullamore, he was triple-marked. We all know how the game ended. He put the ball in just about the only place he could squeeze it in and he did it with his bad foot – if he has such a thing. Minutes earlier he had pointed from under the stand when it just didn’t look possible – also with his bad foot. What an incredible, once in a lifetime player.

2. The disadvantage of having a player like Niall McNamee is that you don’t really have another game-plan. When Rhode couldn’t get the ball into him or couldn’t find him in space, they looked like they were out of ideas.

3. Nothing went right for Anton Sullivan. He brings trouble upon himself – we know that. He decided to take on 3 or 4 Tullamore players under the stand in the second-half and got peeled. At that point, most footballers will give up. A man down, four or five points down and you can’t buy a score. Instead, more than anyone else, he continued to do the dirty work and carry the game to Tullamore. He got a nice point and never stopped trying to break tackles with his explosive pace. And don’t forget he took the last free of the game and found Niall McNamee with an inch-perfect pass.

4. In my opinion, the Alan McNamee incident was a straight red card. Yes, players do it and yes they get away with it and yes, I’ve seen Alan McNamee do it before. And before anyone gets too excited, I’ve seen the same challenge used by some of my own club-men. It’s a real sending-out-a-message challenge where you know you’re playing on the edge. And when you play on the edge, you have to accept that sometimes a referee is going to be brave enough to send you off.

5. Declan Hogan did a really good job on Niall McNamee. His double-block on the stroke of half-time was inspirational. If there wasn’t mass confusion in the Tullamore team when the clock read 63:43, I would’ve given Declan Hogan a very good chance of keeping Niall McNamee out.

6. In their wildest dreams, Tullamore could not have thought they would be in a better position to beat Rhode with 15 minutes left to play. I’m not really sure what happened after that. Their kick-out strategy was extraordinary. In modern football, with an extra player, you can keep possession from kicks outs quite easily. I know it was a dirty day and carrying the ball led to all kinds of problems, but a more mature team with a strategy would’ve closed this game out.

7. If I remember correctly, 1-3 of Tullamore’s scores came from midfielders (from play). They really need a better return from their forwards, where it was difficult to see a target man. It’s a shame that in this superb generation of young footballers for the Blues, that their blue-chip forward is injured.

8. In both the Senior A and Senior B finals, there was no hint of ageism. It had me wondering whether people are just looking after themselves better or it’s an indication of the standard in the county. Ciaran McManus played the entire Senior B final. Scott Brady played most of it – both are over 40. That’s not to mention the 30 somethings - and there was a fair few of those (Thomas Deehan, Ross Brady, Matt Mitchell, Graham Guilfoyle, Lorcan Hiney). Alan McNamee is another over 40, while Niall is 36. I don’t know what age Shane Sullivan is. Padraic Sullivan, Glenn O’Connell, Brian & Niall Darby have been around forever. Shane Dooley (35) was one of the first subs in for Tullamore in the forward line, while Paul McConway continues to retain his place in the team.

9. To address the point made by LS. The availability of Alan McNamee is huge for Rhode. The soft ground plays right into his hands and particularly in the last 10 years he has developed into a very strong man. He remains an advantage to Rhode.

10. To call Sunday’s replay, I think it will be Rhode. Tullamore do seem to be on the brink of something and there’s no doubt that the Dowling Cup will return there soon, but Rhode have Ronaldo. Can you stop Ronaldo?
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frankthetank
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by frankthetank »

Great post Magpie!!!

llkj
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by llkj »

We are set up for another fascinating game on Sunday. In the context of the match the red was 100% the right call the last match. Given the flare up just a few minutes earlier the ref was always going to stamp his authority on proceedings next chance he got - and rightly so. If I was Rhode boss id be fuming with McNamee for going with a shoulder to chin tackle 4 minutes after the incident by the dug out. Although , the impression I get is that roughing up the opposition was a part of the Rhode game plan on the day. You can say well done to Rhode for sticking with it until the end and you can also say that they only had themselves to blame for putting themselves in such a position in the first place.

The winning of this game will be if the Rhode full forward line get the ball in space they need. If they do they will have a big say in it. If Tullamore executive their skills better next time and get a song from 2 forwards, they will win it, as I felt they were sloppy enough the last day and rudderless at times when they needed forwards to drive on.

SearingDrive
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by SearingDrive »

Tullamore 0-9. Rhode 1-4. Tullamore were the better team over the hour, the final margin does not reflect their dominance, Rhode’s penalty came in added time. Tullamore had I reckon 12 wides today. Tullamore now have 28 county titles. Rhode just did not perform today, maybe time has caught up on some of their veterans.

jimbob17
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by jimbob17 »

Fully deserved by Tullamore. What a year it has been for them! Won 2020 U20, 2021 U20, Junior A and Ladies Senior Football in 2021 and have senior B hurling final to come! They really went at Rhode for full game today while staying very diligent defensively and learned lots from errors of last day. Hogan was excellent on Niall Mc. Thought John Furlong was really good, as was C Burns who is very underrated. They still had lots of wides and probably could and should have won by more. The consolation goal at the end papered over Rhodes shortcomings today. Not sure its a changing of the guard just yet though. If Rhode get the few injured lads back they will be there or thereabouts again next year.

That said, a new winner is good for football in the county. Most Tullamore players wouldnt have a medal from 8 years ago. The likes of Edenderry and Ferbane will look on today and think that if they be well organised and have full pick available, that they can come and win next year. A relatively young Clara coming up with the improving Durrow and Shamrocks teams will also add to next years championship which could be very exciting.

For Tullamore's sake, hopefully the co board and Leinster GAA see sense and do whatever they can to help Tullamore manage the senior hurling and football clashes next weekend.
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Buttons
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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by Buttons »

Definitely over the two games Tullamore deserved to win, its an open championship now and next year there will be three or four teams thinking they can win.

Now i am not good with numbers but with a capacity of 18,000 did it only look a quarter full today?.

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Re: Offaly Senior Football Championship 2021

Post by private joker »

jimbob17 wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:41 pm Fully deserved by Tullamore. What a year it has been for them! Won 2020 U20, 2021 U20, Junior A and Ladies Senior Football in 2021 and have senior B hurling final to come! They really went at Rhode for full game today while staying very diligent defensively and learned lots from errors of last day. Hogan was excellent on Niall Mc. Thought John Furlong was really good, as was C Burns who is very underrated. They still had lots of wides and probably could and should have won by more. The consolation goal at the end papered over Rhodes shortcomings today. Not sure its a changing of the guard just yet though. If Rhode get the few injured lads back they will be there or thereabouts again next year.

That said, a new winner is good for football in the county. Most Tullamore players wouldnt have a medal from 8 years ago. The likes of Edenderry and Ferbane will look on today and think that if they be well organised and have full pick available, that they can come and win next year. A relatively young Clara coming up with the improving Durrow and Shamrocks teams will also add to next years championship which could be very exciting.

For Tullamore's sake, hopefully the co board and Leinster GAA see sense and do whatever they can to help Tullamore manage the senior hurling and football clashes next weekend.
Leinster gaa won't do a thing. All they care is their schedule and sticking to it.

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