howya
I certainly wasnt backing up Offaly there i was only giving my view on Dublin, i have to disagree with you on the gesturing of the Dublin players.
For all sports lack of respect for the game means that the game will not serve you well, whenever you most need it...e.g. lucky breaks...decisions...turning moments in the game will go against you, Maybe not next week, but soon enough. of that you can be certain. It's the law of the game.
This has been proved time and time again in all sports e.g. Paul Gascoigne, Prince Naseem Hammed, Roy Keane, Mike Tyson and in GAA Graham Geraghty, Davy Fitzgerald, and look who was arrested last Monday moring in Dublin - Kevin Bonnar one of the guys involved in the taunting. Because of his wrong attitude both on and off the field he probably wont play again for Dublin this year.
U-21 v Dublin
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Offalys Future
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Every part of this game is burnt into my brain. I was pinning all the year's hopes on this and I was hoping that Offaly would finally win the elusive Under 21 All Ireland or at least a Leinster.
Congratulations to Efan and Offalys Future for zeroing on the tactical contrast between Offaly and Dublin. Spot On!!
I agree that we shouldn't have left the 2 man forward line there so long in the first half with the loose man cleaning up, that Colm Coughlan should have been taken off earlier and most of all that we should have left the loose man inside (Hernon?) in the 2nd half when Dublin withdrew their man to centre field.
I was surprised that Brian Leonard was taken off. He is a class hurler and I thought he could have been moved rather than subbed. One lift and strike clearance from the square was pure class in the second half.
We had a great bench for once. I don't know who was putting it in at training but I was surprised that James Gorman wasn't given a chance. He's great in the air and can take scores. At the same time Stephen Molloy is a good player.
I see in the programme that Sean Lane has had this group of Dublin players since the 2000 Under 14 development panel. Under Sean's reign (it says) they have already contested three Leinster finals, minor '04 and U21 '05 & '06.
Apart from tactics and preparation Dublin have some exceptional players. Last year I thought that Tomas Brady was the best underage player in Leinster, maybe Ireland. I'm just lost in admiration also for Alan McCrabbe (always tortures us) and Johnny McCaffrey (even on one leg in a 20 minute cameo he looked Class).
I was looking on Reservoir Dubs and they all seemed to be very happy with the Offaly supporters attitude. It was a real family occasion on Wednesday night and great for the GAA. Good to see the kids on the pitch like in Birr.
The other thing that hits me in the face every time Offaly play at any grade is that our love of Ground Hurling is destroying us. I've lost count of the number of times that a player in space will hit a hurried ground clearance straight to an opponent who then works a score.
The name of the game now is Possession. Win possession in the air, drive forward immediately (to beat or draw a man or win a free) and slick handpassing to the open man. Dublin had that "Blueprint" down perfectly. We need to learn from them.
Congratulations to Efan and Offalys Future for zeroing on the tactical contrast between Offaly and Dublin. Spot On!!
I agree that we shouldn't have left the 2 man forward line there so long in the first half with the loose man cleaning up, that Colm Coughlan should have been taken off earlier and most of all that we should have left the loose man inside (Hernon?) in the 2nd half when Dublin withdrew their man to centre field.
I was surprised that Brian Leonard was taken off. He is a class hurler and I thought he could have been moved rather than subbed. One lift and strike clearance from the square was pure class in the second half.
We had a great bench for once. I don't know who was putting it in at training but I was surprised that James Gorman wasn't given a chance. He's great in the air and can take scores. At the same time Stephen Molloy is a good player.
I see in the programme that Sean Lane has had this group of Dublin players since the 2000 Under 14 development panel. Under Sean's reign (it says) they have already contested three Leinster finals, minor '04 and U21 '05 & '06.
Apart from tactics and preparation Dublin have some exceptional players. Last year I thought that Tomas Brady was the best underage player in Leinster, maybe Ireland. I'm just lost in admiration also for Alan McCrabbe (always tortures us) and Johnny McCaffrey (even on one leg in a 20 minute cameo he looked Class).
I was looking on Reservoir Dubs and they all seemed to be very happy with the Offaly supporters attitude. It was a real family occasion on Wednesday night and great for the GAA. Good to see the kids on the pitch like in Birr.
The other thing that hits me in the face every time Offaly play at any grade is that our love of Ground Hurling is destroying us. I've lost count of the number of times that a player in space will hit a hurried ground clearance straight to an opponent who then works a score.
The name of the game now is Possession. Win possession in the air, drive forward immediately (to beat or draw a man or win a free) and slick handpassing to the open man. Dublin had that "Blueprint" down perfectly. We need to learn from them.
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Plain of the Herbs
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Prior to last Wednesday’s match I wrote that to win, Offaly would have to break even in the air and win the ground battle. What transpired was that, for the third successive year at this grade, Dublin beat Offaly the same way. Offaly were overwhelmed by Dublin’s power and intensity throughout the match. It is clear to those who have observed Dublin in recent years that they have some very strong ball winners who in turn lay off to a supporting runner who takes the pass running at speed.
As in previous years Offaly were unprepared for this and on several occasions the Dublin ‘runner’ was allowed take the pass unhindered. Bogman is indeed correct when he writes about the importance of possession in the modern game and Offaly’s inability to adapt to this. A misdirected ground stroke is conceding valuable possession which is difficult to recover. Offaly don’t attack down the flanks at all. They look to horse the ball straight down the middle at every oppertunity. Now this was never the Offaly way and it won’t work now either. Full forwards (all three) should get out on front of their man to collect a low driven delivery. Hitting dropping ball to Alan Egan is not going to help him create the space he craves.
I wrote during the winter elsewhere on this site about the need for Offaly to adapt to this. In previous decades most of the country either hurled the ball directly, or if they tried to play a possession game it was too uncoordinated and failed. Nowadays, with a more professional approach, teams know they will have a supporting player to take a pass and lads won’t have to bash it as far as they can if caught in possession. As a result, it’s much harder for the tackling team to pick up possession in loose play as teams lose control less frequently. Playing hurling standing still will not yield results.
Last week Lone Shark made a point that the relative lack of competitiveness in local hurling was part of the problem for county hurlers when it came to tight finishes. It’s broadly an issue. The next step of the problem is the style of play within the county. No other club teams play a possession – lay it off to a supporting player – type game. Kilcormac tried it for a while last year before reverting to a more direct style. As a result, hurlers aren’t used to watching any man other than the man who holds the ball. In club hurling three tacklers can approach the ball carrier and ‘rob’ him. At county level, three would-be-tacklers would leave an overlap of two hurlers. One reason for Birr’s continued dominance is that they are well able to pick out the pass, and don’t rush in to tackle in numbers.
As for Dublin, their performance in the All-Ireland will tell us as much of Offaly’s current standing as it will of Dublin’s. Following the excellent reception we got from the Dublin hurling folk on Wednesday night only the more begrudging Offaly folk won’t join me in wishing them well in the All Ireland series. Even on the way out Dublin followers getting into their cars were anxious to discuss the match with us. The great thing about the Under 21 championships is that while they draw crowds of four digits, they bring the more knowledgeable followers while the boo-boys are oblivious to their very existence.
The Parnell Park arena is an excellent venue for such matches. The one drawback is it’s location- it’s not very accessible for midweek fixtures given evening rush hour traffic. Although it worked against Offaly this year, I would still like to see these matches played at home or away venues, including finals. However it should operate on an alternating basis between the counties from year to year, not the team on the top.
As in previous years Offaly were unprepared for this and on several occasions the Dublin ‘runner’ was allowed take the pass unhindered. Bogman is indeed correct when he writes about the importance of possession in the modern game and Offaly’s inability to adapt to this. A misdirected ground stroke is conceding valuable possession which is difficult to recover. Offaly don’t attack down the flanks at all. They look to horse the ball straight down the middle at every oppertunity. Now this was never the Offaly way and it won’t work now either. Full forwards (all three) should get out on front of their man to collect a low driven delivery. Hitting dropping ball to Alan Egan is not going to help him create the space he craves.
I wrote during the winter elsewhere on this site about the need for Offaly to adapt to this. In previous decades most of the country either hurled the ball directly, or if they tried to play a possession game it was too uncoordinated and failed. Nowadays, with a more professional approach, teams know they will have a supporting player to take a pass and lads won’t have to bash it as far as they can if caught in possession. As a result, it’s much harder for the tackling team to pick up possession in loose play as teams lose control less frequently. Playing hurling standing still will not yield results.
Last week Lone Shark made a point that the relative lack of competitiveness in local hurling was part of the problem for county hurlers when it came to tight finishes. It’s broadly an issue. The next step of the problem is the style of play within the county. No other club teams play a possession – lay it off to a supporting player – type game. Kilcormac tried it for a while last year before reverting to a more direct style. As a result, hurlers aren’t used to watching any man other than the man who holds the ball. In club hurling three tacklers can approach the ball carrier and ‘rob’ him. At county level, three would-be-tacklers would leave an overlap of two hurlers. One reason for Birr’s continued dominance is that they are well able to pick out the pass, and don’t rush in to tackle in numbers.
As for Dublin, their performance in the All-Ireland will tell us as much of Offaly’s current standing as it will of Dublin’s. Following the excellent reception we got from the Dublin hurling folk on Wednesday night only the more begrudging Offaly folk won’t join me in wishing them well in the All Ireland series. Even on the way out Dublin followers getting into their cars were anxious to discuss the match with us. The great thing about the Under 21 championships is that while they draw crowds of four digits, they bring the more knowledgeable followers while the boo-boys are oblivious to their very existence.
The Parnell Park arena is an excellent venue for such matches. The one drawback is it’s location- it’s not very accessible for midweek fixtures given evening rush hour traffic. Although it worked against Offaly this year, I would still like to see these matches played at home or away venues, including finals. However it should operate on an alternating basis between the counties from year to year, not the team on the top.
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Plain of the Herbs
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The Last sentence of my post should have read as follows:-
“However it should operate on an alternating basis between the counties from year to year, not the team on the top half of the draw being at home as was the case this year. Otherwise it could be donkey’s years before the county gets a home game.”
I also feel the senior championship should now be played on a home and away basis except for the final and Kilkenny v Wexford ties which would take place in Croke Park.
Apologies for any confusion caused.
“However it should operate on an alternating basis between the counties from year to year, not the team on the top half of the draw being at home as was the case this year. Otherwise it could be donkey’s years before the county gets a home game.”
I also feel the senior championship should now be played on a home and away basis except for the final and Kilkenny v Wexford ties which would take place in Croke Park.
Apologies for any confusion caused.
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Lone Shark
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To be fair I don't think any county out there would go against the idea of more home and away games. The issue of whether we get a fair share of home ones out of all these ties is long aired, but I'd much prefer playing every second game against the Dubs in Parnell and Birr/Tullamore than playing both in Portlaoise or Navan.
I'd second the good will to the Dubs too. Aside from how it would boost the formline for us, another under 21 title would mean feck all to Cork or Galway but would mean the world to Dublin. Offaly dropping to tenth in the overall hurling rankings does not upset me unduly, as long as it comes about because of an improvement in Dublin hurling rather than us getting worse.
I'd second the good will to the Dubs too. Aside from how it would boost the formline for us, another under 21 title would mean feck all to Cork or Galway but would mean the world to Dublin. Offaly dropping to tenth in the overall hurling rankings does not upset me unduly, as long as it comes about because of an improvement in Dublin hurling rather than us getting worse.
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Offalys Future
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"Kevin Bonnar arrested and charged with cocaine possession"Offalys Future wrote:howya
I certainly wasnt backing up Offaly there i was only giving my view on Dublin, i have to disagree with you on the gesturing of the Dublin players.
For all sports lack of respect for the game means that the game will not serve you well, whenever you most need it...e.g. lucky breaks...decisions...turning moments in the game will go against you, Maybe not next week, but soon enough. of that you can be certain. It's the law of the game.
This has been proved time and time again in all sports e.g. Paul Gascoigne, Prince Naseem Hammed, Roy Keane, Mike Tyson and in GAA Graham Geraghty, Davy Fitzgerald, and look who was arrested last Monday moring in Dublin - Kevin Bonnar one of the guys involved in the taunting. Because of his wrong attitude both on and off the field he probably wont play again for Dublin this year.
Your attitude and lifestyle off the field nearly always resembles your attitude on the field.
Kevin Bonnar is a good example. That wasnt just the heat of the moment in Croke Park against Laois. He knows no better. He was also arrested after the Leinster Final.
Lets see this year how many times he plays for Dublin??
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