Meath Forum

Meath 2023

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To ratlag:  "Well the best full back in his club apparently isn't fit enough/doesn't have a good enough attitude/wouldn't buy into O Rourkes standards or whatever rubbish excuse for him being dropped was given. Liam Kelly most likely will start this year, alongside Ben Wyer and McGill I would imagine, but at the minute I would have Wyer in ahead of Kelly in the Meath senior team and would have no issues in starting him ahead of Flood, O Neill or Hickey in that team in the full back line"
Well you obviously are blinkered. Kelly is now near good enough to start for the county seniors. Can't even make his club team. To even compare him to the other lads is laughable. I watched him last year playing for Ratoath seconds and was ordinary at best.

latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 540 - 06/04/2023 18:20:37    2469329

Link

Replying To brian:  "No one took a stab here… hmmmm

Okay I'll bite….

I'll assume the U20's don't progress

1 Harry Hogan
2 Adam O'Neill
3 Liam Kelly (if he's good enough start him)
4 Cathal Hickey
5 Donal Keoghan
6 Ross Ryan
7 Padraic Harnan
8 Jack Flynn
9 Ronan Jones
10 Jason Scully
11 Matthew Costello
12 Daithi McGowan
13 Shane Walsh
14 Eoghan Frayne
15 Cillian o'sullivan

16 Billy Hogan/ Sean Brennan
17 michael flood
18 Harry O'Higgins
19 jack o'connor
20 shane Crosby
21 Connor Gray
22 Thomas O'Reilly
23 Aaron Lynch
24 Donal Lenihan
25 Diarmuid Moriarty
26 John O'Regan/ Darragh Campion (there'll be a Skryne player in the squad)

Left out the 4 lads were told are gone Harkin, Morris, Conlon and Clarke, Dan O'Neill I think also back with Tones I think some one here said (apologies if untrue) Keith Curtis misses out"
How does Harnan still get in these teams

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 938 - 06/04/2023 19:20:13    2469339

Link

Replying To royaldunne:  "Unfortunately the best fullback in county is sitting at home twiddling his thumbs.
Hopefully some progress has been made in resolving this and we actually have the best players playing for Meath. We in too dire situation not to have them , everyone including management must know this by now. According to reports Colm and the players had a frank and open discussion over the last week and we must be all hopeful this has ironed out some of the problems which we have faced from both players and sideline. We live in hope and Sundays game in munster could have a huge impact on us. I believe ulster will not have a non top 2 division in final. But clare are a different animal, as Colm has said it is still in their own hands but I would like the safety net of Cork winning beforehand."
I hear Conor has gone travelling - so don't expect any change to that situation! Talking to a couple of the Ratoath lads and said he is in Asia!

Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 515 - 07/04/2023 08:08:16    2469353

Link

Replying To southmeathgael:  "How does Harnan still get in these teams"
Exactly, and Ross Ryan. Don't ever remember either of them ever having a 'great' game for Meath.

Selwyn (Meath) - Posts: 387 - 07/04/2023 13:31:27    2469397

Link

Replying To latouche25:  "Well you obviously are blinkered. Kelly is now near good enough to start for the county seniors. Can't even make his club team. To even compare him to the other lads is laughable. I watched him last year playing for Ratoath seconds and was ordinary at best."
And you are obviously unable to read a response properly. I said that Kelly will start this year for his club alongside McGill and Wyer. And I said I would start Wyer for the Meath seniors over Kelly this year as I think he is better than O Neill and Hickey and Flood. Also your lying now because Kelly started the second round for us against Ashbourne last year and didn't play any second team championship for Ratoath.

ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 582 - 07/04/2023 15:08:36    2469428

Link

Replying To Royalblufill:  "I hear Conor has gone travelling - so don't expect any change to that situation! Talking to a couple of the Ratoath lads and said he is in Asia!"
Pity, but can't blame him I suppose. Hopefully next year he will be back.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 07/04/2023 16:31:57    2469447

Link

Replying To southmeathgael:  "How does Harnan still get in these teams"
Harnan played last night in the league vs St Michaels, Wasn't up to it at all by all accounts starting at centre forward I believe. Mcloughlin kicked 10 points. Shane McDonnell kicked 1-13 out of 1-20 for st michaels I believe? Not sure if Harnan picked him up or not but surely Harnan doesn't make Meaths starting team if he can't even stand out in the league for his club… He has been a great player over the years but just isn't up to it at the moment and he's only recently back in too? but surely there is new and fresh lads that can step up

redracoon (Meath) - Posts: 57 - 07/04/2023 20:20:31    2469480

Link

Fionn Reilly back playing with Kells I see. If he's interested, he has to be on the panel.

Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 1352 - 07/04/2023 21:32:27    2469492

Link

Replying To Crinigan:  "Fionn Reilly back playing with Kells I see. If he's interested, he has to be on the panel."
Agreed.

Was very good in 2021

Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6347 - 08/04/2023 13:34:06    2469537

Link

Replying To Jinxie:  "Agreed.

Was very good in 2021"
McEntee did Fionn no favours last time he played him - by playing him out of position.

Couldnt believe he played him in the half backs - no wonder he was taken before the half hour mark....

Fionn could defo do a job in the half forwards.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4051 - 08/04/2023 16:05:49    2469565

Link

Replying To Fionn:  "McEntee did Fionn no favours last time he played him - by playing him out of position.

Couldnt believe he played him in the half backs - no wonder he was taken before the half hour mark....

Fionn could defo do a job in the half forwards."
Saw him Play against Kildare and was cleaned out. A lot of lads play well for club and against weak County teams offering no challenge but Meath need guys who will stand up under pressure and play well against Dublin /Kerry. Guys who played well against Dublin in 2021 to the extent that Meath would have won but for Conor Lanes hometeam refereeing wer'ent wanted afterwards for political reasons. i.e They stood up for their club manager against club sponsors.

For those who did not see the match Mc Mahon was jumped on by Fenton with only the goalie to beat near the small square with no penalty or sending off. 2 Minutes later Fenton dived the other end and got a penalty. Dublin claimed that Leinster final by 6 points. Worse refereeing than that which Louth cried about for 10 years.

Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 553 - 10/04/2023 14:28:24    2470016

Link

Replying To Ashrules:  "Saw him Play against Kildare and was cleaned out. A lot of lads play well for club and against weak County teams offering no challenge but Meath need guys who will stand up under pressure and play well against Dublin /Kerry. Guys who played well against Dublin in 2021 to the extent that Meath would have won but for Conor Lanes hometeam refereeing wer'ent wanted afterwards for political reasons. i.e They stood up for their club manager against club sponsors.

For those who did not see the match Mc Mahon was jumped on by Fenton with only the goalie to beat near the small square with no penalty or sending off. 2 Minutes later Fenton dived the other end and got a penalty. Dublin claimed that Leinster final by 6 points. Worse refereeing than that which Louth cried about for 10 years."
Fionn has always impressed me for his club. I'd hope he is at least part of the development squad. I asked a while back but does anyone know who is on that?

seasiderblues (Meath) - Posts: 353 - 11/04/2023 12:04:03    2470207

Link

Replying To Ashrules:  "Saw him Play against Kildare and was cleaned out. A lot of lads play well for club and against weak County teams offering no challenge but Meath need guys who will stand up under pressure and play well against Dublin /Kerry. Guys who played well against Dublin in 2021 to the extent that Meath would have won but for Conor Lanes hometeam refereeing wer'ent wanted afterwards for political reasons. i.e They stood up for their club manager against club sponsors.

For those who did not see the match Mc Mahon was jumped on by Fenton with only the goalie to beat near the small square with no penalty or sending off. 2 Minutes later Fenton dived the other end and got a penalty. Dublin claimed that Leinster final by 6 points. Worse refereeing than that which Louth cried about for 10 years."
Oh I remember that well. For me the best performance by a Meath team in years. Against Dublin near their best.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 11/04/2023 12:45:13    2470229

Link

Replying To Ashrules:  "Saw him Play against Kildare and was cleaned out. A lot of lads play well for club and against weak County teams offering no challenge but Meath need guys who will stand up under pressure and play well against Dublin /Kerry. Guys who played well against Dublin in 2021 to the extent that Meath would have won but for Conor Lanes hometeam refereeing wer'ent wanted afterwards for political reasons. i.e They stood up for their club manager against club sponsors.

For those who did not see the match Mc Mahon was jumped on by Fenton with only the goalie to beat near the small square with no penalty or sending off. 2 Minutes later Fenton dived the other end and got a penalty. Dublin claimed that Leinster final by 6 points. Worse refereeing than that which Louth cried about for 10 years."
I get the whole attitude of he may he good for his club but not good enough for county, but at this stage it's being said about every single player who is playing well for club and not currently on the county squad

Players deserve second chances especially when the panel that's there now is struggling and surely those playing best for their club are the ones that deserve that second chance ?

Especially someone young like fionn Reilly who can definitely improve with a few more county games under his belt.

Royal.1 (Meath) - Posts: 29 - 11/04/2023 13:37:12    2470245

Link

Replying To Royal.1:  "I get the whole attitude of he may he good for his club but not good enough for county, but at this stage it's being said about every single player who is playing well for club and not currently on the county squad

Players deserve second chances especially when the panel that's there now is struggling and surely those playing best for their club are the ones that deserve that second chance ?

Especially someone young like fionn Reilly who can definitely improve with a few more county games under his belt."
I'd agree. Same applies to James Conlon.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 11/04/2023 14:15:42    2470268

Link

Replying To seasiderblues:  "Fionn has always impressed me for his club. I'd hope he is at least part of the development squad. I asked a while back but does anyone know who is on that?"
Going Australia

DefenceWinsChampionships (Meath) - Posts: 45 - 11/04/2023 16:03:07    2470319

Link

Replying To DefenceWinsChampionships:  "Going Australia"
thanks

seasiderblues (Meath) - Posts: 353 - 12/04/2023 11:50:07    2470479

Link

I think it's a good time to bring this thread back up now that the season has finished. The season was really split into two. The very negative league and Leinster and the very positive Tailteann cup. Winning the Tailteann cup probably leaves us somewhere between 14th-17th in Ireland which is probably lower than we were 2019-2021 but it's much improved from where we were 3 months ago.

In terms of building a team going forward there's been some big positives.

Sean Brennan came in and done very well in goals.
Adam O'Neill is definitely a county player and with a bit more S&C work very possibly the McGill replacement (unless he comes back which I hope he does) at 3.
Coffey done excellently in the Tailteann cup.
Conor Gray and Jack Flynn the midfield of the future (liked having both of them and Jones in the same team for physicality), both mobile, skilful and units of men. Gray the better fielder, Flynn the better of the two on the ball so a good balance.
Costello had a good year as an inside forward and took over free responsibilities from his side very well. I expect him to continue to get better.
And despite our poor league we stayed up so get a good test next year and know we have all Ireland football secured.
We won a proper trophy which we haven't done since 2010 (Joe Sheridan curse broken).

There's also been a few negatives,
Like I said we are further off the top teams than we were 2/3 years ago.
We lost key experienced players like McGill and Menton, and a very promising defender in Harkin.
We did have a terrible league with some really bad performances against teams above the Tailteann Cup standard.
Campion and Walsh picked up bad long term injuries and lost out on the feel good factor and the exposure of the Tailteann cup.
Some of the young players did not look up to the level but that is to be expected.

Overall you can't really grade this year until you see next year. If we up our levels in the league and compete really well in the all Ireland series then the TC win will be seen as the launchpad. If we stutter it will be seen as a false dawn and us getting overexcited. There is a core of players 25 or younger on the panel that have the makings of a really good team. Hopefully this success gives them all the motivation they need to have a good off/pre season and push on in terms of S&C and skill development. We have 1 last 8 appearance since 2010 so that has to the be the goal, Cork got there this year and Kildare were very close and we are not far off those teams.

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1527 - 18/07/2023 10:31:33    2495326

Link

Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "I think it's a good time to bring this thread back up now that the season has finished. The season was really split into two. The very negative league and Leinster and the very positive Tailteann cup. Winning the Tailteann cup probably leaves us somewhere between 14th-17th in Ireland which is probably lower than we were 2019-2021 but it's much improved from where we were 3 months ago.

In terms of building a team going forward there's been some big positives.

Sean Brennan came in and done very well in goals.
Adam O'Neill is definitely a county player and with a bit more S&C work very possibly the McGill replacement (unless he comes back which I hope he does) at 3.
Coffey done excellently in the Tailteann cup.
Conor Gray and Jack Flynn the midfield of the future (liked having both of them and Jones in the same team for physicality), both mobile, skilful and units of men. Gray the better fielder, Flynn the better of the two on the ball so a good balance.
Costello had a good year as an inside forward and took over free responsibilities from his side very well. I expect him to continue to get better.
And despite our poor league we stayed up so get a good test next year and know we have all Ireland football secured.
We won a proper trophy which we haven't done since 2010 (Joe Sheridan curse broken).

There's also been a few negatives,
Like I said we are further off the top teams than we were 2/3 years ago.
We lost key experienced players like McGill and Menton, and a very promising defender in Harkin.
We did have a terrible league with some really bad performances against teams above the Tailteann Cup standard.
Campion and Walsh picked up bad long term injuries and lost out on the feel good factor and the exposure of the Tailteann cup.
Some of the young players did not look up to the level but that is to be expected.

Overall you can't really grade this year until you see next year. If we up our levels in the league and compete really well in the all Ireland series then the TC win will be seen as the launchpad. If we stutter it will be seen as a false dawn and us getting overexcited. There is a core of players 25 or younger on the panel that have the makings of a really good team. Hopefully this success gives them all the motivation they need to have a good off/pre season and push on in terms of S&C and skill development. We have 1 last 8 appearance since 2010 so that has to the be the goal, Cork got there this year and Kildare were very close and we are not far off those teams."
Great summary. Haven't been this excited about Meath prospects in a long time (hence my first post in donkeys).

I keep seeing stuff about how young the team is but haven't seen much on specific ages. Who's got another 10+ years ahead of them, who is new to first XV but a relatively late starters? Also, will Shane Walsh be back next year?

Meathjourno (Meath) - Posts: 3 - 18/07/2023 11:43:04    2495358

Link

Replying To LeitrimRoyal99:  "I think it's a good time to bring this thread back up now that the season has finished. The season was really split into two. The very negative league and Leinster and the very positive Tailteann cup. Winning the Tailteann cup probably leaves us somewhere between 14th-17th in Ireland which is probably lower than we were 2019-2021 but it's much improved from where we were 3 months ago.

In terms of building a team going forward there's been some big positives.

Sean Brennan came in and done very well in goals.
Adam O'Neill is definitely a county player and with a bit more S&C work very possibly the McGill replacement (unless he comes back which I hope he does) at 3.
Coffey done excellently in the Tailteann cup.
Conor Gray and Jack Flynn the midfield of the future (liked having both of them and Jones in the same team for physicality), both mobile, skilful and units of men. Gray the better fielder, Flynn the better of the two on the ball so a good balance.
Costello had a good year as an inside forward and took over free responsibilities from his side very well. I expect him to continue to get better.
And despite our poor league we stayed up so get a good test next year and know we have all Ireland football secured.
We won a proper trophy which we haven't done since 2010 (Joe Sheridan curse broken).

There's also been a few negatives,
Like I said we are further off the top teams than we were 2/3 years ago.
We lost key experienced players like McGill and Menton, and a very promising defender in Harkin.
We did have a terrible league with some really bad performances against teams above the Tailteann Cup standard.
Campion and Walsh picked up bad long term injuries and lost out on the feel good factor and the exposure of the Tailteann cup.
Some of the young players did not look up to the level but that is to be expected.

Overall you can't really grade this year until you see next year. If we up our levels in the league and compete really well in the all Ireland series then the TC win will be seen as the launchpad. If we stutter it will be seen as a false dawn and us getting overexcited. There is a core of players 25 or younger on the panel that have the makings of a really good team. Hopefully this success gives them all the motivation they need to have a good off/pre season and push on in terms of S&C and skill development. We have 1 last 8 appearance since 2010 so that has to the be the goal, Cork got there this year and Kildare were very close and we are not far off those teams."
An accurate summary of the year and where Meath are at present LeitrimRoyal.

kingofclubs (Meath) - Posts: 330 - 18/07/2023 12:06:36    2495370

Link