NFL Div 3 predictions 2023

[Kevin]

He’s not injured, just opted out of the panel this year.

He played today for TUS Midlands in the Trench Cup final and was man of the match. Peach of a pass here… https://twitter.com/higheredgaa/status/ ... wqduPPgWDw

Shane O’Toole Greene and Cormac Delaney were also on the TUS team and Jack Mcevoy on the DKIT team. Semi final was played yesterday so Mcevoy would be playing 3 games in a week if he starts Sunday.

Really nice. Thanks for sharing.

[SearingDrive]

Any news on the Offaly team for Sunday.

[Fairplayalways]

Isn't it above..

[Anonymous1]

That was my prediction for the team, the official one will probably be posted on twitter sometime tomorrow.

[Hyper]

I believe Panda starts for Nigel Dunne and Cian Donohoe for Joe Maher

[Anonymous1]

Interesting, it seemed a no brainier to me after the Fermanagh game that Joe and Nigel needed to be replaced for this game.

Panda all but guaranteed himself a start after his super sub performance and I think Cian Farrell also deserves a start but still doesn’t look 100% fit so maybe Kearns has opted for Donohoe instead and we’re playing with a 7th man in defence with Anton dropping in as a wing forward and a 2 man full forward line of Panda and Hyland?

[Anonymous1]

Tipperary vs Antrim - I think Tipp are in serious relegation trouble and must win this game if they’re to stand a chance of survival but I can’t see it. A 12 point defeat to Cavan last time out coupled with injuries to their captain and vice captain makes it very hard to pick them against an Antrim side who were unlucky not to come away with a win in Down. Antrim by 4

Fermanagh vs Down - A tough enough one to call. Fermanagh had a solid win vs Longford although Longford have been really poor and then were unlucky not to come away with some points from Tullamore. Down beating Tipp by 3 doesn’t seem so wonderful in light of Cavan’s 12 point win last week and they were incredibly fortunate to come away with a win at home vs Antrim. Down also lost Barry O’Hagan for the season so this one is close to a 50-50 in my eyes. I’ll go Down by 1

Cavan vs Longford - I don’t think there’s much to say about this game, Cavan have been the most impressive side in division 3 so far and look likely to be promoted whereas Longford have been the worst side in this division to date and look in real relegation danger. Cavan by 9

Offaly vs Westmeath - No doubt the best game in this division this weekend and in my biased opinion, the best game in any division this weekend…An intriguing clash between two bitter local rivals, Westmeath will be out to prove last Summer’s 9 point win in the Tailteann cup was no fluke whereas Offaly will be determined to show the progress they’ve made since. I think this is likely to be a tit for tat battle with both sides afraid of losing and while I would fancy Offaly to win this game in a neutral venue, the Mullingar factor has swung me back in the direction of a draw. Verdict: Draw

[Fairplayalways]

Interesting points above..

[pigeon house biffo]

Jesus lads are we in a position to be leaving Cian Farrell on the bench for that much of the game

Usual failings biting us. Need to find a couple of big physical units, not being able to deal with the physical threats of Heslin or Martin killed us.

[Anonymous1]

Disappointing result, don’t think a 6 point loss is a fair reflection but the better team won.

It was always gonna be a tail of two halves because of the wind and despite us having a decent first half, I felt a 2 point lead wouldn’t be enough to hold off the inevitable Westmeath fight back and it wasn’t. The black card definitely hampered our chances of building up a bigger lead.

In all three league games so far, we’ve hit a brick wall around half way through the second half and it almost cost us against both Antrim and Fermanagh but neither were clinical enough to land the killer blow. Westmeath did just that with Kieran Martin’s flick to the net in the 60th minute, albeit fortunate, I felt we should’ve dealt better with it better.

I’m not sure if starting Cian Donohoe as a 7th defender was warranted and certainly when we went behind with ten minutes left, we should’ve had 6 forwards on and been going all out attack at that stage.

I’m still quite surprised that Cian Farrell isn’t starting on this team and if he’s not 100% fit, he’s surely worth 20 minutes. Leaving him sitting on the bench until the 69th minute is honestly baffling.

Anton and Hyland were our only threat going forward today and we seriously need to address this if we’re to have any chance next week against Cavan. Taking off Panda for Nigel Dunne at halftime when Panda had also been taken off to allow the sub keeper on was very unfair, Joe Maher offered next to nothing off the bench either while Bill Carroll and Ruairi Mac didn’t cover themselves in glory.

It’s hard to see where the scores are going to come from outside of Anton and Hyland, a quick glance at our bench doesn’t inspire confidence. We’re staring defeat in the face next week against Cavan and with that likely goes our promotion hopes as Westmeath will now be above us on scoring difference.

Lots to ponder…

[SearingDrive]

Disappointing result, don’t think a 6 point loss is a fair reflection but the better team won.

It was always gonna be a tail of two halves because of the wind and despite us having a decent first half, I felt a 2 point lead wouldn’t be enough to hold off the inevitable Westmeath fight back and it wasn’t. The black card definitely hampered our chances of building up a bigger lead.

In all three league games so far, we’ve hit a brick wall around half way through the second half and it almost cost us against both Antrim and Fermanagh but neither were clinical enough to land the killer blow. Westmeath did just that with Kieran Martin’s flick to the net in the 60th minute, albeit fortunate, I felt we should’ve dealt better with it better.

I’m not sure if starting Cian Donohoe as a 7th defender was warranted and certainly when we went behind with ten minutes left, we should’ve had 6 forwards on and been going all out attack at that stage.

I’m still quite surprised that Cian Farrell isn’t starting on this team and if he’s not 100% fit, he’s surely worth 20 minutes. Leaving him sitting on the bench until the 69th minute is honestly baffling.

Anton and Hyland were our only threat going forward today and we seriously need to address this if we’re to have any chance next week against Cavan. Taking off Panda for Nigel Dunne at halftime when Panda had also been taken off to allow the sub keeper on was very unfair, Joe Maher offered next to nothing off the bench either while Bill Carroll and Ruairi Mac didn’t cover themselves in glory.

It’s hard to see where the scores are going to come from outside of Anton and Hyland, a quick glance at our bench doesn’t inspire confidence. We’re staring defeat in the face next week against Cavan and with that likely goes our promotion hopes as Westmeath will now be above us on scoring difference.

Lots to ponder…

Have to agree with points made. A good first half saw Offaly lead at ht, despite losing Ian Duffy to a black card. Playing with wind needed to be further ahead. No goal threat, pedestrian at times.
Kieran Martin coming on turned game for Westmeath in second half.
Cian Farrell came on with about 2 mins left, should have been on earlier. Lack of physically strong players telling, have we anyone like that in the panel? Cavan are up next at GOCP. Can Offaly pick up a point or two?.

[Doon Exile]

Very disappointed leaving TEG today. The wind was always going to be a factor in the second half but was feeling reasonably confident at half time given the way we played and the scores we got. Getting the first two points of the second half put us 4 ahead but it went downhill quickly from there. Even without Martin’s goal, there was only going to be one winner.

Can’t get my head around Cian Farrell not on earlier. Jesus he should have been on in the first half when we had the play never mind throwing him in when the game was over. Equally baffled at taking off panda for Duffy.

Maybe it gets us back to reality a bit and let’s hope we give Cavan a rattle next day.

[Anonymous1]

Disappointing result, don’t think a 6 point loss is a fair reflection but the better team won.

It was always gonna be a tail of two halves because of the wind and despite us having a decent first half, I felt a 2 point lead wouldn’t be enough to hold off the inevitable Westmeath fight back and it wasn’t. The black card definitely hampered our chances of building up a bigger lead.

In all three league games so far, we’ve hit a brick wall around half way through the second half and it almost cost us against both Antrim and Fermanagh but neither were clinical enough to land the killer blow. Westmeath did just that with Kieran Martin’s flick to the net in the 60th minute, albeit fortunate, I felt we should’ve dealt better with it better.

I’m not sure if starting Cian Donohoe as a 7th defender was warranted and certainly when we went behind with ten minutes left, we should’ve had 6 forwards on and been going all out attack at that stage.

I’m still quite surprised that Cian Farrell isn’t starting on this team and if he’s not 100% fit, he’s surely worth 20 minutes. Leaving him sitting on the bench until the 69th minute is honestly baffling.

Anton and Hyland were our only threat going forward today and we seriously need to address this if we’re to have any chance next week against Cavan. Taking off Panda for Nigel Dunne at halftime when Panda had also been taken off to allow the sub keeper on was very unfair, Joe Maher offered next to nothing off the bench either while Bill Carroll and Ruairi Mac didn’t cover themselves in glory.

It’s hard to see where the scores are going to come from outside of Anton and Hyland, a quick glance at our bench doesn’t inspire confidence. We’re staring defeat in the face next week against Cavan and with that likely goes our promotion hopes as Westmeath will now be above us on scoring difference.

Lots to ponder…

Have to agree with points made. A good first half saw Offaly lead at ht, despite losing Ian Duffy to a black card. Playing with wind needed to be further ahead. No goal threat, pedestrian at times.
Kieran Martin coming on turned game for Westmeath in second half.
Cian Farrell came on with about 2 mins left, should have been on earlier. Lack of physically strong players telling, have we anyone like that in the panel? Cavan are up next at GOCP. Can Offaly pick up a point or two?.

Sadly, most of our physically strong players are either not on the panel, travelling, injured or have opted out. Here’s a list of some:

Johnny Moloney
Jordan Hayes
Eoin Carroll
Carl Stewart
Eoin Rigney
James Lalor
Niall Darby
Niall Mac
Cathal Mangan
Cathal Donoghue

Also where have the likes of Colm Doyle, Aaron Leavy and Joeseph O’Connor gone? Could really use a few more defensive options on the bench as I believe we only had 1 defender amongst the subs today. John Furlong will hopefully be available sooner than later.

As for our attacking options, we could do with Keith O’Neill and Keenan-Martin being back fit, Aaron Kellaghan and Mark Abbott weren’t on the bench today and is Cormac Egan only playing for the U20’s this year? Cathal Flynn, Shane Tierney and Cian Johnson can’t seem to get a look in either.

Can we honestly look at the 26 players named today and say half of them are even in the top 50 players in the county? I doubt it

[private joker]

Colm Doyle is working abroad for the foreseeable future

[Fairplayalways]

Some names above have opted out for various reasons..could of, should of, might be, is irrelevant really..