Meath Forum

Meath V Cork - All Ireland R1

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Replying To dickie10:  "sounds like injuries to flynn and kinsella will leave us with a short summer, cant see us going far without those players, hopefully the season doesnt peter out tamely but i fear that might happen, still fairly successful with promotion, i think we need to really make ourselves a solid div 1 team first and foremost, leinster titles will flow easier from that. promotion probably more important to long term development of meath than a leinster title"
Flynn and Kinsella head and shoulders our two best players consistantly this year so to be without one would be very disappointing but both would be fatal. If any players needed wrapping up in cotton wool for Meath, theese were the players. Hopefully they can be make it. Things have been quiet with only a week out from return to action. Any news on how team starting lineup is likely to be next week assuming players are fit?

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 998 - 16/05/2026 13:20:38    2673294

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Replying To winatallcost:  "Flynn and Kinsella head and shoulders our two best players consistantly this year so to be without one would be very disappointing but both would be fatal. If any players needed wrapping up in cotton wool for Meath, theese were the players. Hopefully they can be make it. Things have been quiet with only a week out from return to action. Any news on how team starting lineup is likely to be next week assuming players are fit?"
It's next man up, it's the way it was last year when we took down some big teams. Sure Kinsella will be a big loss but he's not David Clifford either, we have enough quality players to beat most teams. With Morris, Frayne, Costello and banty all fit and firing I'd be very hopeful next Saturday. Heard Adam Mcdonnell and Jamie Murphy are flying in challenge games.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 331 - 16/05/2026 15:47:23    2673313

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "It's next man up, it's the way it was last year when we took down some big teams. Sure Kinsella will be a big loss but he's not David Clifford either, we have enough quality players to beat most teams. With Morris, Frayne, Costello and banty all fit and firing I'd be very hopeful next Saturday. Heard Adam Mcdonnell and Jamie Murphy are flying in challenge games."
Look it, I agree but Flynn and Kinsella would be massive losses. On a brighter note, that is good to hear on McDonnell and Murphy who are really good players, two of the best based on club form last year but haven't been used yet competitively which was a little surprising. Maybe they had to build up intercounty s&c which should be good a this stage. Forwards you named are all danger if they can get hands on ball.

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 998 - 16/05/2026 16:55:49    2673326

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Is kinsella injured I didn't hear anything ? Not to be dramatic, but if Flynn and Kinsella are both out, that significantly shifts things in Cork's favour. They would be huge losses.

We've coped well at different times with Costello, Flynn, Jones and Morris missing, but never really with two major absentees together - especially arguably our two most influential players.

Kinsella gives you 4-6 scores a game along with countless attacking opportunities through his carrying and link play. Flynn is an absolute machine around midfield - he can score 1-3 points, contests on kickouts and wins a huge amount of ball and carry very hard.

We probably have more cover structurally for Flynn, but losing both at once would be massive. I hope it's not the case

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 85 - 16/05/2026 21:52:41    2673404

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Won't know for sure until they line up next Saturday but losing those two would be significant. On the positive side, Robbie & co have worded to build more depth in the panel and midfield and up front is where we have the most depth. We can still put out a strong 15 that is good enough to beat Cork. Cork are dealing with a couple of injuries too. We might see the impact more in the following games if we came up against a top 6 side - would certainly need those lads then. Anyway, I've heard all this countless times before - so and so is gone for the season and next thing you see him togging out…

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 163 - 17/05/2026 09:00:30    2673454

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "It's next man up, it's the way it was last year when we took down some big teams. Sure Kinsella will be a big loss but he's not David Clifford either, we have enough quality players to beat most teams. With Morris, Frayne, Costello and banty all fit and firing I'd be very hopeful next Saturday. Heard Adam Mcdonnell and Jamie Murphy are flying in challenge games."
Kinsella isn't far off being our Clifford, not scoring wise but he makes everything tick, leads every attack, gets on the ball more then anyone, looks for it more then anyone, chips in with 2 pointers, pretty much controls our game.... not to mention hes also a great tackler. We are in trouble without him.... we have no direct replacement for him.

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 1082 - 18/05/2026 09:43:09    2673745

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Replying To dickie10:  "sounds like injuries to flynn and kinsella will leave us with a short summer, cant see us going far without those players, hopefully the season doesnt peter out tamely but i fear that might happen, still fairly successful with promotion, i think we need to really make ourselves a solid div 1 team first and foremost, leinster titles will flow easier from that. promotion probably more important to long term development of meath than a leinster title"
Just to properly understand this post, are you saying that you have heard that Kinsella and Flynn are injured or are you talking about a hypothetical impact of losing them based on a previous post?

Kingroyal (Meath) - Posts: 67 - 18/05/2026 10:41:37    2673763

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If it's true that Flynn and Jones are out, it could be time to bring a bit more experience into the 26 to add depth. We do have midfield options in Menton, O'Neill, Gray etc., but adding a few experienced heads there could make a big difference.

Has anyone heard anything about Adam Flannagan or James Macken? As the year goes on, we'll need some cool heads around the middle.

I still have concerns about the full back line. Personally, I think Ronan Ryan would tighten things up, but it seems RB isn't too keen. Any word on Gavin McCoy, or is he still away travelling?

RegionalsGuru (Meath) - Posts: 50 - 18/05/2026 12:12:05    2673825

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Replying To RegionalsGuru:  "If it's true that Flynn and Jones are out, it could be time to bring a bit more experience into the 26 to add depth. We do have midfield options in Menton, O'Neill, Gray etc., but adding a few experienced heads there could make a big difference.

Has anyone heard anything about Adam Flannagan or James Macken? As the year goes on, we'll need some cool heads around the middle.

I still have concerns about the full back line. Personally, I think Ronan Ryan would tighten things up, but it seems RB isn't too keen. Any word on Gavin McCoy, or is he still away travelling?"
I think Liam hayes and gerry mcentee are available also.

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 1082 - 18/05/2026 15:51:20    2673920

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Replying To Kingroyal:  "Just to properly understand this post, are you saying that you have heard that Kinsella and Flynn are injured or are you talking about a hypothetical impact of losing them based on a previous post?"
Sounds like a couple of injuries were picked up in recent challenge games and talk of Costello, Banty and O'Neill starting which would suggest that there is some truth in the suggestion of Flynn & Kinsella being out. Jones had a setback - not too serious by the sounds of it but might not feature against Cork. The same 6 backs being mentioned. I'd still be optimistic of beating
Cork - we had no Rafferty or Costello the last time we played them down there, McBride was sick and O'Connor & Banty only played half a game. We'll be stronger with those lads all starting even if we are missing Flynn & Kinsella. I think we'll come out firing - Meath by 2 is my prediction and hopefully no further injuries.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 163 - 18/05/2026 16:49:29    2673948

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "Won't know for sure until they line up next Saturday but losing those two would be significant. On the positive side, Robbie & co have worded to build more depth in the panel and midfield and up front is where we have the most depth. We can still put out a strong 15 that is good enough to beat Cork. Cork are dealing with a couple of injuries too. We might see the impact more in the following games if we came up against a top 6 side - would certainly need those lads then. Anyway, I've heard all this countless times before - so and so is gone for the season and next thing you see him togging out…"
True,sure morris was gone for the year before the leinster final and yet he was starting v louth in the final(all be he wasn't 100 percent)As you say we wont know for sure until Saturday.Big response needed on Saturday and after Westmeath winning Leinster did they catch us cold or did we see difference between championship and league?Straight after the game I thought Westmeath just caught us cold but now in not so sure they backed it up with another 2 wins and fair play to them.I think anyone of 4/5 teams can beat each other on any given day in Leinster so by no means is it a given we will win one over the next couple of years like some have said on here.The pressure is on now and hopefully we can get over Cork but would be expecting a kick from them after the munster final defeat.Flynn and Kinsella would be a massive loss if true but at least Costello should be back so that would ease the blow a bit.It will come down to a shootout between both forwards as both defences are quiet open.While I think Conlon should start I dont think he will as that's an ace Robbie likes to have to use if things not right.Would Murphy get time do we think?

Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 418 - 18/05/2026 16:50:53    2673951

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Replying To southmeathgael:  "I think Liam hayes and gerry mcentee are available also."
Joe Cassells would still do a job to be fair

Selwyn (Meath) - Posts: 455 - 18/05/2026 18:20:25    2673982

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Any ideas on expected lineout for Saturday? Costello fully fit and ready to start? Banty will to play from the start too? Any chance Billy Hogan could get another go in goals? Its all very quiet.

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 998 - 18/05/2026 20:55:06    2674013

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Replying To Proudroyal:  "True,sure morris was gone for the year before the leinster final and yet he was starting v louth in the final(all be he wasn't 100 percent)As you say we wont know for sure until Saturday.Big response needed on Saturday and after Westmeath winning Leinster did they catch us cold or did we see difference between championship and league?Straight after the game I thought Westmeath just caught us cold but now in not so sure they backed it up with another 2 wins and fair play to them.I think anyone of 4/5 teams can beat each other on any given day in Leinster so by no means is it a given we will win one over the next couple of years like some have said on here.The pressure is on now and hopefully we can get over Cork but would be expecting a kick from them after the munster final defeat.Flynn and Kinsella would be a massive loss if true but at least Costello should be back so that would ease the blow a bit.It will come down to a shootout between both forwards as both defences are quiet open.While I think Conlon should start I dont think he will as that's an ace Robbie likes to have to use if things not right.Would Murphy get time do we think?"
History gets written by the winners as they say but it does look like Westmeath had been building a lot of belief and a good style of playing under McHugh. I think we underestimated that on the basis of them failing to get promotion in the league (which they nearly did but for the kick of a ball to be fair). Having been at the game, you could see our intensity wasn't at the same level so think we did see a difference between league and championship intensity. Now, Cork were lacking that intensity against Kerry so will be interesting to see which team can hit those heights. I just feel we have responded well to every setback in the last 18 months so I think we will kick ok again. As good as Westmeath have been, we were a kick of a ball away in the last 5 minutes after going asleep for 15 minutes either side of half time. I expect we'll see big games from Rafferty, Keogan, Caulfield, Menton, Morris & Frayne. Costello might be a bit rusty.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 163 - 18/05/2026 22:40:27    2674026

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Replying To winatallcost:  "Any ideas on expected lineout for Saturday? Costello fully fit and ready to start? Banty will to play from the start too? Any chance Billy Hogan could get another go in goals? Its all very quiet."
Costello is fit, whether he starts is up in the air. Conlon should start in my opinion, I get why he's on the bench because of his impact, but he's better than Curtis and Lynch and I'd prefer our best 15 on the field.

I'd be shocked if there's a change in goals.

Lots of rumours about Kinsella and Flynn, don't know where it's coming from or how true it is, but we probably won't find out the real team until 5pm on Saturday

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 146 - 19/05/2026 11:11:06    2674078

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Replying To Cabbagepatch1667:  "Costello is fit, whether he starts is up in the air. Conlon should start in my opinion, I get why he's on the bench because of his impact, but he's better than Curtis and Lynch and I'd prefer our best 15 on the field.

I'd be shocked if there's a change in goals.

Lots of rumours about Kinsella and Flynn, don't know where it's coming from or how true it is, but we probably won't find out the real team until 5pm on Saturday"
I do agree Conlon has to start but bench is so important as well. We want to see more out of Curtis. Maybe Costello on the bench to start but a lot of will depend on these Kinsella and Flynn injuries. If they are out, you'd think Costello will be replacing them.

I would take the lack of confirmation on anything from management and keeping things quiet as a positive. Keep things in house. You see with the likes of Kerry and Donegal that they keep any insider info in the camp.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 131 - 19/05/2026 11:40:08    2674091

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Replying To NYRoyal:  "I do agree Conlon has to start but bench is so important as well. We want to see more out of Curtis. Maybe Costello on the bench to start but a lot of will depend on these Kinsella and Flynn injuries. If they are out, you'd think Costello will be replacing them.

I would take the lack of confirmation on anything from management and keeping things quiet as a positive. Keep things in house. You see with the likes of Kerry and Donegal that they keep any insider info in the camp."
Costello just has to start, I don't know why one would think its a good idea to have him on the bench, he seems to always play well against Cork, this is championship football, not knockout football but obviously the next game would be knockout football if we lose this, he could and should have played against Westmeath. He's started all the challenge games.

redser123 (Meath) - Posts: 422 - 19/05/2026 15:31:00    2674169

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Replying To Proudroyal:  "True,sure morris was gone for the year before the leinster final and yet he was starting v louth in the final(all be he wasn't 100 percent)As you say we wont know for sure until Saturday.Big response needed on Saturday and after Westmeath winning Leinster did they catch us cold or did we see difference between championship and league?Straight after the game I thought Westmeath just caught us cold but now in not so sure they backed it up with another 2 wins and fair play to them.I think anyone of 4/5 teams can beat each other on any given day in Leinster so by no means is it a given we will win one over the next couple of years like some have said on here.The pressure is on now and hopefully we can get over Cork but would be expecting a kick from them after the munster final defeat.Flynn and Kinsella would be a massive loss if true but at least Costello should be back so that would ease the blow a bit.It will come down to a shootout between both forwards as both defences are quiet open.While I think Conlon should start I dont think he will as that's an ace Robbie likes to have to use if things not right.Would Murphy get time do we think?"
Morris was a sub in the leinster final came on in the second half

thestrapper49 (Louth) - Posts: 372 - 19/05/2026 15:46:02    2674180

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Replying To redser123:  "Costello just has to start, I don't know why one would think its a good idea to have him on the bench, he seems to always play well against Cork, this is championship football, not knockout football but obviously the next game would be knockout football if we lose this, he could and should have played against Westmeath. He's started all the challenge games."
But do we know his actual level of fitness? He will be rusty no matter what to get to championship pace. I mean, we haven't played any game at Championship pace as we played Westmeath at league pace!!

I do hear you though, he's one of our best players and if he's starting and raring to go, that would be great. We also seen on Sunday how important a bench is when Westmeath's subs came in and run the legs off Dublin in extra time.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 131 - 19/05/2026 17:32:21    2674201

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Iv never been to cork for a game before we're heading down Saturday morning and staying the night. Is park ui rionn a hard spot to get to ? I'm driving down but it'd be great if I could leave the car at the airbnb.

Anyone have any experience with down there?

Also is there any meet ups planned before or after? My first time doing a weekend trip specifically for a meath game. I might as well meet some heads when I'm down there.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 85 - 20/05/2026 07:34:37    2674257

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