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Donegal GAA thread - 5 Like(s)

Replying To monaghanmad:  "Wouldnt that be great, get the popcorn"
We outnumbered you with support in your home ground yesterday. Just take a wee bit of time to have a think about that to yourself.

peiledoir20 (National) - 23/03/2026 11:37:55

Westmeath Football thread - 5 Like(s)

Replying To Greengrass1:  "Well if Cox 's shot was made 20 seconds later and same result applied it wouldn't have made any difference. Time would have been up. The shot was there for the taking though an older head would have recycled it but once that decision occurred, then the set up wasn't there to counteract Wexford which was my point. Had it gone over then it would have been inspired! Narrow margins."
The shot was not there to be taken , he seen the headlines simple as.

Westmeath213 (National) - 23/03/2026 16:29:39

Roscommon GAA thread - 2 Like(s)

Replying To S1234:  "Loool love the way you are the Rossies biggest fan when it comes to mayo / rossies haha"
Not sure about biggest fan but how can one not be admirer of a county of their size and resources to have comfortably retained Division one status and stood toe to toe with Galway,Armagh,Donegal and Kerry in this league campaign.

Now stay humble Ms Kennedy.

Drax_the_destroyer (National) - 23/03/2026 15:57:37

Donegal GAA thread - 2 Like(s)

Replying To S1234:  "Think ye may have peaked to soon haha"
And are still miles ahead of Mayo thankfully

eddieSize5Balls (National) - 23/03/2026 14:48:54

Sligo GAA thread - 2 Like(s)

Replying To ShellyGael:  "I think some people's expectations exceeded reality considering almost half of last years team was unavailable. Some people have an obvious agenda too. It was not a terrible campaign but there is loads of room for improvement. There was some excellent football played yesterday but Clare's two pointers offset a lot of the 23 singles scored. As previous poster said, Clare had 3 of the best forwards in the league on show yesterday. Someone must have been watching a different game. Humble pie doesn't taste that nice"
We all watched the same game and overall Sligo is extremely lucky to have retained D3 status. On that basis, no progress from last year. A lot of players tried and tested with a longer view in mind. Sligo's biggest fault to me, is the lack of bite in the defensive tackle, 8 x 2 pointers would not occur if real pressure was imposed on the kicker. Defensive steel has been absent throughout the League. I also feel that the player/ manager cohesion that was apparent under McEntee has not been developed yet. An unexpected good run in the Championship or Tailteann is all that can save the current managerial setup from coming under intense pressure next year.

Maggiepie (National) - 23/03/2026 18:02:03

How Do We Take Hurling On From Here - 2 Like(s)

Replying To Tadhg2020:  "How has that worked out for Laois and Antrim or westmeath? It has worked out ok so far for Offaly and Wexford."
The Leinster Championship went to 6 in 2021. Offaly were un the Christy Ring then, so not sure how you think the change helped Offaly.
If you follow your logic of creating more 'jeopardy', how about bringing relegation in for Munster?

Firceall (National) - 23/03/2026 18:46:47

Openess Of Croke Park And Pitch Sizes - 2 Like(s)
It's always funny that the "tight pitches" are always either claimed to be in:

1. Ulster counties, because it supports the notion they play "negative" football
2. Weak counties, because it supports the notion that everyone they play will be better than them, so they want to deny the opposition space to express their ability.

As if counties knew decades in advance where they'd stand in the football landscape and designed their pitches accordingly.

As this article shows, most "common knowledge" about GAA pitch dimensions is wrong;

https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2022/0511/1297395-size-matters-gaa-pitch-dimensions-irk-beyond-measure/

Cusack Park in Ennis and Dr. Hyde Park are both the maximum possible size for GAA pitches, but you hear them being called "tight" for some reason.

Similarly you never hear MacHale Park or the Gaelic Grounds being called tight, despite being among the smallest inter county fields.

CastleBravo (National) - 23/03/2026 21:11:15

Donegal GAA thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To panamasam:  "First game of the year after a couple of months away. Great to get to a game. The game felt like a glorified challenge match with Monaghan not offering much resistance but the goals woke them up and in Stephen O'Hanlon they had a player whom we couldn't handle in the first half. Only for Jamie's goal we were looking at a HT deficit which was head scratching to say the least as Donegal generally controlled the game. The Monaghan goals while good finishes seemed to stem from defensive mix ups with poor tracking or players not being where they were supposed to be. This was rectified at HT and the 2 subs made a huge difference. It did take an uncharacteristic slip up from Beggan to reverse the tide but once we did we seem out the game comfortably enough. As already pointed out similar defending next week and it'll be a blow out. Jason was again MOTM and was excellent throughout. Some great scores from Langan too and Shea had a great game. He'd remind you of Brolly in his pomp and it'll be interesting to see how he copes in the heat of championship battle. Interesting to see the approach next week. Will Kerry want to put down a marker? How will Jim approach it? Keep cards close to his chest for down the line or road test a little. It makes for an intriguing game."
To be realistic, I can't see us beating Kerry in this league final, we have too many niggles and injuries at the moment and to beat this Kerry team, you really need a full strength fit squad with a strong bench. There is a chance Gavin Mulreany and Brendan McCole won't feature next week after yesterday, added to Shaun Patton, Ciaran Thompson, Daire O'Baoill, Ciaran Moore and Oisin Gallen.

However it is still an opportunity to learn for later in the year, because we know Kerry will likely field a full strength team and go full tilt at it, so its an opportunity to maybe test other players and really see how they fare against the All Ireland Champions.

Commodore (National) - 23/03/2026 21:08:58

How Do We Take Hurling On From Here - 1 Like(s)

Replying To Pikeman96:  "You know, had never actually considered things in that way before about what would have happened if Leinster was still only five teams, but you're right.

Take Westmeath results out of the '22 Leinster Championship, and we've have been in the final.
Take Westmeath results out of the '23 Championship, and while we'd still only have finished fourth, we would have been going into our last match threatened with relegation.
Take Antrim results out of the '24 Championship, and we'd have been back in the final.

Things would look a lot more positive!"
In relation to '23 - what I meant to say was we wouldn't have been going into our last match threatened with relegation.

An important distinction to make!!!!

Pikeman96 (National) - 23/03/2026 21:03:24

Leitrim GAA thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To leitrimabu1:  "Don't get that right about Allen Gaels strength. Heard they were short 8 first choice players which in the circumstances was a good result for themt. The next game against Leitrim Gaels will be the real test of their new status at Senior level. And I think another poster criticising Leitrim Observer Sports coverage is way off the mark. John Connolly & PJ Leddy do a fantastic job in covering so much Sport in the County with limited resources . With so many Club & County games going on they can't be everywhere .very unfair criticism"
Yea they mentioned that alright at the game that there was a wedding on and had a lot of players missing. I hear their corner forward ciaran mc morrow is injured and caleb duffy they said could be out for a few months with a bad injury. I'd like to see themselves or aughavas staying up. Too many times we see of strong enough team come up to senior and go straight back down again.

Loughallenbanks (National) - 23/03/2026 20:38:26

Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
President Trump sounds confident today he can settle the war with Iran, hopefully he does.

Tirchonaill1 (National) - 23/03/2026 19:06:55

How Do We Take Hurling On From Here - 1 Like(s)

Replying To Tadhg2020:  "I actually replied to this last night but it never got published here. I will give you the short version. Its very noble of the competing counties to agree to extend the competition from 5 to 6. At least it appears and can be presented that way. However when you examine who it actually benefits then you see that it is actually more of an act of preserving the old guard than developing hurling as portrayed. How is finishing 5th in a 5 team competition any different to finishing 6th in a 6 team one for Antrim, Laois or Kildare? Who does going from 5 teams to 6 actually benefit? The team finishing 5th maybe?"
And yes, I'd have thought it was obvious that the change to six teams benefits the team finishing in 5th. Instead of being relegated from 5th, they'd retain their status for another year.

It also benefits the team coming up from the McDonagh Cup, even if they end up finishing 6th and going straight back down again. At least they'd have had a game against a team more generally of their own level to give them a chance to survive, instead of having to hope for the odd shock result like Westmeath or Antrim beating Wexford, or Carlow drawing with Kilkenny.

The change to six teams actually happened in 2022 (not 2021, as somebody said above). If you consider the teams involved as being split into two groups:
Group A (the ever-presents): Kilkenny, Galway, Dublin, Wexford
Group B (the others): Westmeath, Laois, Antrim, Carlow, Offaly

There have been 32 matches where a Group A team played a Group B team. Group A's record is won 27, drew 3, lost 2.

If there weren't six teams, there'd almost certainly be a 'yo-yo effect' of the team coming up ending up going straight back down again. As already pointed out, even in the year we diced with relegation ourselves, we wouldn't have been in that position if there were still only five teams in the championship.

Pikeman96 (National) - 23/03/2026 22:08:10

Donegal GAA thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To WeGoAgain:  "The Langan incident was just Gough being Gough as far as I'm concerned. Langan was walking away from the monaghan player taking the sideline and he kicked the ball directly at him and then looked to the officials. Not dissimilar to when players charge directly into opposition players after winning a free looking for the ref to bring it forward.
On a side note, does anyone know if the season ticket gets you entry into the division 3 and 4 finals too or will I have to shell out a few more euros for that?"
I watched it back on YouTube and really can't understand how that was instructed to be moved up by the linesman.

Also the fact it leads to concession of two points is not very well conceived as a rule. In a higher profile closer game it would be a huge talking point.

Overall the ref I found decent. He was letting a bit of contact and not blowing things up unnecessarily.

Ulsterchamps_32 (National) - 23/03/2026 17:58:59

Galway Football thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To giveitlong:  "Galway were very reluctant to shoot from terrace side in the first half, presumably due to their local knowledge of the wind situation, the 2 shots they did go for from that side were missed. The dubs missed numerous chances from that area in the second half, including a bad wide from Con. The Dubs had their strongest side so far in action and played with savage intensity, which along with the melee carry on, goes to show how badly they wanted to stay up. I think management have learned from past mistakes of bringing back players who had picked up knocks etc before they were 100% ready. There will be no return to action this time until fully ready and fit. For me the best sight yesterday was that of Sean Mulkerrin's comeback. Fair play to him for persisting to overcome his injury."
Just a bit of perspective, Dublin down to 14 for the last 20(down a man is big with new rules), Con coming back from injury only played 25 minutes and Dublins best scorer from play in the league out injured

sligo joe (National) - 23/03/2026 16:59:59

Westmeath Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To Dheen:  "St Mary's 1st years not to be out done by the 2nd year's beat Castlecomer by 12 pts in the Leinster A championship today. They are competing and winning at A level in all age groups now, a great conveyor belt of talent and hopefully we see the fruits of it with Westmeath starting with the minors this year who have plenty of talent, many who have been coming through St Mary's and competed at that higher A level grade. I believe they are going well although have to wait another week for a game as Down dropped out of the Leinster championship."
Unbelievable we are apparently in a knockout situation now.Leinster GAA is a joke they can't even put the fixtures up for the competition and allow a non Leinster team destroy the competition for a Leinster county. What are Westmeath doing about it? Down should never be allowed back into Leinster competitions.

jobber (National) - 23/03/2026 23:02:55

Westmeath Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To Dheen:  "Some win for St Mary's 2nd year's over CBS Kilkenny in the Leinster A quarter final. 2-24-0-13, that's a big win. They face Good Counsel in the semi final next."
St Mary's 1st years not to be out done by the 2nd year's beat Castlecomer by 12 pts in the Leinster A championship today. They are competing and winning at A level in all age groups now, a great conveyor belt of talent and hopefully we see the fruits of it with Westmeath starting with the minors this year who have plenty of talent, many who have been coming through St Mary's and competed at that higher A level grade. I believe they are going well although have to wait another week for a game as Down dropped out of the Leinster championship.

Dheen (National) - 23/03/2026 16:14:30

RIP Michael Lyster - 1 Like(s)
So sad to hear of Mi hael s passing.Had the pleasure of meeting him years ago and found bim to be a real genuine decent person.A great presenter.He will be missed.Sincere condolences to his family and rest easy Michael.

CiarraiMick (National) - 23/03/2026 11:19:50

Openess Of Croke Park And Pitch Sizes - 1 Like(s)
It's a lie that's been peddled for years, the 'wide open spaces of croke park".

letsgosligo (National) - 24/03/2026 01:13:46

Roscommon GAA thread - 1 Like(s)

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "Not trying to rub it in - far from it.

It would be concerning for Roscommon (or Mayo) that when you put out a B team, that they don't at least pull on the jersey and try to prove they have a right to that jersey full time.

If Roscommon's reserves cant get motiviated to put on a show against a weak Mayo team - you would be worried about calling on them in championship later in the summer. If the manager put them on the field and told them not to try a leg - he wont be long in place either."
Wasn't a weak Mayo team. Jack Coyne,
Rory Brickenden, Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Jack Carney,Ryan O'Donoghue,Jordan Flynn and Aidan O'Shea who started yesterday who will all likely start again should we meet again next month.

Then you had good young players playing along side that strong spine in Hugh O'Loughlin,Séamus Howard two of your stand out players at U20 level last year and Cian McHale who was one the best forwards in the Sigerson cup.

Also worth factoring in you were off the back of a heavy defeat where a big reaction was seeked and obtained.

It was collectively than individually was our main issue yesterday, the amount of changes brought about a system meltdown that had us in 6s and 7s in defence we had the look of a team that didn't even train with that starting 15 prior to the match. Basic errors and cheap turnovers played a huge part in our heavy defeat thankfully we didn't play like that against Monaghan,Galway,Armagh,Donegal or I would be talking about a league campaign with zero points than 8 points.

The_analyser (National) - 23/03/2026 13:04:14

NFL 2026 Predictions Competition - Week 7 - 1 Like(s)
Hi all, I'm still in the country so I managed to get this week's scores done.
Somre great shouts this week, but particularly to MrPBoylan who landed a whopping 32 points. I think it might be a record score in all the years I've been doing this. Maith thú.

@TacaíLiatroma - I saw your post on last week's thread. I'll review your score from last week and update if needed. Thanks.

Username Week 7
MrPBoylan 32
Byanthon 24
letsgetgoing 22
OffalyBigBall 22
Viking66 21
jacktheboy 20
Sligoman1234 19
Gaa_lover 18
Tirchonaill1 18
Liftball 18
batitout 16
Glarg 16
HeadButter 16
legendzxix 15
eoinog 14
katser 14
Lula571210 14
The Flaker 14
Auldleitrimgael 13
HowManyStepsRef 13
Kerry15 13
lilywhite1 13
ORIELMAN85 13
dave1988 12
Dermy 12
peiledoir20 12
Ros2013 12
South Galway 12
CarlowRising 11
CTGAA10 11
foreveryoung 11
banada 10
MeathOnHill16 10
Tacaí Liatroima 10
thestrapper49 10
drumalee 9
Lockjaw 9
mickcunningham 9
ulsterrules 9
Ciarrai Mick 8
Erne12 8
Temple56 8
alalalalalum 0
C.Hopper 0
D.Hyde 0
Dunmore10 0
Fkd12 0
jm25 0
kickitout 0
Michaelbeag 0
PSMurphy 0
Richieq 0
Royaler89 0
SayNothing 0
SLGO 0
St.Conleth 0
tommy 0
97 Cavans 0


*** UPDATED LEADERBOARD ***

Username Score
MrPBoylan 118
letsgetgoing 105
dave1988 102
Byanthon 101
drumalee 100
eoinog 100
Kerry15 100
Lula571210 100
Ros2013 99
Sligoman1234 99
jacktheboy 97
MeathOnHill16 96
Temple56 95
OffalyBigBall 93
mickcunningham 92
Gaa_lover 91
HowManyStepsRef 91
Erne12 90
Dermy 89
thestrapper49 89
peiledoir20 88
The Flaker 88
Tirchonaill1 88
Viking66 88
CTGAA10 87
legendzxix 85
Tacaí Liatroima 83
Glarg 80
katser 79
HeadButter 78
PSMurphy 78
batitout 76
Lockjaw 76
foreveryoung 75
banada 73
lilywhite1 73
ORIELMAN85 71
Liftball 71
CarlowRising 69
Ciarrai Mick 67
ulsterrules 66
Auldleitrimgael 64
D.Hyde 57
Royaler89 57
Fkd12 55
jm25 55
South Galway 55
97 Cavans 55
St.Conleth 54
tommy 53
Richieq 39
C.Hopper 15
SLGO 13
Michaelbeag 10
alalalalalum 9
kickitout 5
Dunmore10 0
SayNothing 0

Lockjaw (National) - 23/03/2026 11:38:01