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Kildare V Meath

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Any updates on injury situation and likely team for Saturday? Hadn't heard of any new injuries from last Sunday which is a positive. Hopefully McBride fully recovered to go and perhaps Rafferty may be available? Another week for a few others may mean they are ready for at least some minutes. winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 934 - 26/02/2026 22:18:00 2658815 Link
Replying To winatallcost: "Any updates on injury situation and likely team for Saturday? Hadn't heard of any new injuries from last Sunday which is a positive. Hopefully McBride fully recovered to go and perhaps Rafferty may be available? Another week for a few others may mean they are ready for at least some minutes." Would be great to see those two fit to play. Would also like to see some of our bench players get 15/20 mins. Feel like we have been relying fairly heavily on the same core group for the first 4 games and some of them might benefit from a lighter workload. gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 102 - 26/02/2026 23:18:53 2658827 Link
Hopefully we get over this tough task in Newbridge. It's an important game and could set the tone for a Leinster semi final in a few more weeks. With Meath sort of safe in Sam Maguire and Kildare in anyway pride is more of what is at stake and they really need the points. I hope that's not a deciding factor Having slipped over Cavan and Louth in other Derby's I'd be delighted to do the same here but feel unsure A win would cement my feelings that maybe this team is better than I give them credit for. Here's hoping numberedjerseys (USA) - Posts: 380 - 27/02/2026 06:58:09 2658835 Link
Replying To winatallcost: "Any updates on injury situation and likely team for Saturday? Hadn't heard of any new injuries from last Sunday which is a positive. Hopefully McBride fully recovered to go and perhaps Rafferty may be available? Another week for a few others may mean they are ready for at least some minutes." Heard rafferty is still out. Cast still on Royalroyal97 (Meath) - Posts: 34 - 27/02/2026 09:46:59 2658843 Link
Replying To numberedjerseys: "Hopefully we get over this tough task in Newbridge. It's an important game and could set the tone for a Leinster semi final in a few more weeks. With Meath sort of safe in Sam Maguire and Kildare in anyway pride is more of what is at stake and they really need the points. I hope that's not a deciding factor Having slipped over Cavan and Louth in other Derby's I'd be delighted to do the same here but feel unsure A win would cement my feelings that maybe this team is better than I give them credit for. Here's hoping" I disagree with pride being the main factor - we want Division 1 football and Kildare certainly don't want to be relegated. LobinstownMan (Meath) - Posts: 135 - 27/02/2026 10:46:46 2658852 Link
Rafferty and Costello will miss the remainder of the league, Jones on the way back but he's unlikely to be rushed. McBride a doubt too. Looks like injuries hitting us hard when it matters. Gray could return. Kildare are a decent team, some really good forwards and are a young team. I think we'll do well to get out of there with a win, and they'll be keen to lay down a marker. They are fighting for their life too, relegation back to D3 would be a disaster for them. But we're further along in our development and I think we get it done by 4 Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 120 - 27/02/2026 14:15:42 2658895 Link
Replying To Cabbagepatch1667: "Rafferty and Costello will miss the remainder of the league, Jones on the way back but he's unlikely to be rushed. McBride a doubt too. Looks like injuries hitting us hard when it matters. Gray could return. Kildare are a decent team, some really good forwards and are a young team. I think we'll do well to get out of there with a win, and they'll be keen to lay down a marker. They are fighting for their life too, relegation back to D3 would be a disaster for them. But we're further along in our development and I think we get it done by 4" Rafferty will be a huge loss for the rest of the league. Worrying that McBride a doubt too as we look short on backup in midfield . Still think we will have too much for Kildare. A win on Saturday would have us with one foot in Division 1. Big improvement from Cork needed though. Northroyal55 (Meath) - Posts: 19 - 27/02/2026 14:57:17 2658900 Link
Replying To Northroyal55: "Rafferty will be a huge loss for the rest of the league. Worrying that McBride a doubt too as we look short on backup in midfield . Still think we will have too much for Kildare. A win on Saturday would have us with one foot in Division 1. Big improvement from Cork needed though." I'm not so sure about one foot in Division 1 if we beat Kildare. After 4 games last year we had won 3 of 4 and were sitting 2nd in the table. We beat Westmeath in round 5 but lost our last 2 and finished 3rd. I'd be very surprised if Cork don't pick up another win (they should beat Kildare in Pairc Ui Rinn) which would put them on 10 points. They have us on the head2head if we finish level on points so that gives them an advantage. There's a decent chance that Derry finish on 10 points as well which means it would all come down to score difference. If Cork beat Derry and we beat Kildare, then we're in a great spot. gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 102 - 27/02/2026 15:57:47 2658912 Link
The top three could all finish on 12 points, leaving us with the need to beat Offaly well on the last day to ensure we finish above Cork; Derry's points difference would be difficult to match. LobinstownMan (Meath) - Posts: 135 - 27/02/2026 16:50:52 2658928 Link
Replying To Cabbagepatch1667: "Rafferty and Costello will miss the remainder of the league, Jones on the way back but he's unlikely to be rushed. McBride a doubt too. Looks like injuries hitting us hard when it matters. Gray could return. Kildare are a decent team, some really good forwards and are a young team. I think we'll do well to get out of there with a win, and they'll be keen to lay down a marker. They are fighting for their life too, relegation back to D3 would be a disaster for them. But we're further along in our development and I think we get it done by 4" If panel is really going to be strengthened in advance of championship, now is the time to road test a few bodies even if it means giving them 15 or 20 mins. Costello and Rafferty huge losses but other counties also have to deal with major absentees so we are no different. Having Gray available for some time would be a help but we need more backup defensively. Kildare are not without their issues so need to focus on putting in a good performance regardless of who is abscent and try and get the win. Think we have a great chance if we stop the goals and put enough pressure on outside arc. We will score heavily with enough possesion ourselves. winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 934 - 27/02/2026 17:30:11 2658935 Link
If our scoring average is around the same, 1 19, 1 20, then I think we win a tight enough game, if we can capitalise on all our chances we should win more comfortably. Im not sure what kildares conversion rate is, but they only average around 16 points a game so keep the goals out and we should be fine. Midfield a worry but I heard they were destroyed in Midfield by cavan last week, also 13 points against the cavan defence we seen is really poor. Of course they'll be a different animal in Newbridge, will be a factor. Meath by 2 or 3 I think. southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 1054 - 28/02/2026 07:41:45 2658972 Link
Lads & ladies travelling to Newbridge this evening. There's a farmer protest in Newbridge scheduled for 2.30pm. No idea how long it will last. Traffic is bad enough normally so will be choked up for a few hours I'd imagine. Maybe someone from farming community can get more details? St.Conleth (Kildare) - Posts: 1740 - 28/02/2026 08:30:21 2658974 Link
The consistent mileage on the first team is starting to show now. At least this isn't a dummy team. Naming Costello to start last week felt unnecessary, so it's right that McBride gets the nod and the number 10 jersey properly. I'm happy to see him take ownership of that role - it's his to lose now. Even with a weakened squad, there are still solid bench options. Jack O'Connor, Conor Gray, James Conlon and Adam O'Neill all have/will start championship games. Realistically, O'Connor, Conlon and O'Neill are guaranteed off the bench now. Scully will probably see game time ahead of Gray, depending on who O'Neill is replacing. Most of the depth is from midfield up, though. Looking ahead to the summer, there should be healthy competition in the forwards and around midfield. Keith Curtis started an All-Ireland semi-final last year and took his scores well - he'll push hard when he's back. Ronan Jones, if fit, and Lynch is putting his hand up too. One thing I can't help thinking about is whether we have someone with real power to play at full forward. I'd also like to see Frayne tried on the 40 - his passing ability could be a serious asset out there. We should also consider converting a few lads into wing-backs. If they've the right physique, wing-forward and wing-back can be fluid roles. That flexibility would allow someone like Keoghan or Coffey to cover at corner-back if needed. I haven't seen much of Kildare. I know they've some big, forward-minded players like ourselves, so it's hard to judge the tactical matchup. Personally, I'd love to see a more professional edge to our performance - clip the scores, win and nail the frees, and avoid getting dragged into a chaotic battle for once. royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 50 - 28/02/2026 09:07:42 2658976 Link
Replying To LobinstownMan: "I disagree with pride being the main factor - we want Division 1 football and Kildare certainly don't want to be relegated." Hands Up…. Hats off super display and Division 1 is in the sights God Kildare looked brutal numberedjerseys (USA) - Posts: 380 - 28/02/2026 20:43:12 2659099 Link
Great intensity which was badly missing last week, particularly at the start into that wind which was a huge factor, not sure if it came across on TV. A few nice add ons by Brennan at the end also to bolster our score difference to ensure we'll still be in the top two tomorrow night. LobinstownMan (Meath) - Posts: 135 - 28/02/2026 20:55:45 2659102 Link
Replying To LobinstownMan: "Great intensity which was badly missing last week, particularly at the start into that wind which was a huge factor, not sure if it came across on TV. A few nice add ons by Brennan at the end also to bolster our score difference to ensure we'll still be in the top two tomorrow night." Despite playing a mediocre Kildare team , we showed definate inprovement in defence and general intensity . Nice to see we are playing to our strenghts by maximising on our capability to grab those 2 pointers This team has the potential to go far and will compete with the best with a bit of luck . We can see last year was not a flash in the pan. nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1298 - 28/02/2026 21:44:14 2659117 Link
Well done to the players and the management team. It was challenging conditions tonight but we played with a lot more cuteness and it was obvious that we had a game plan for both halves. Worked our scores against the wind in first half and found our kickers. Few instances of over playing the ball which would have been punished by a better team. I am glad we werent hesitant and take on hail marys. Second half I would have thought we could have kicked on particularly with a few 2pters but the wind was tricky tailing. Again, we adapted well and took our points and got the high percentage scores and kept the scoreboard going - that's a learning from the Louth game. I expected more from Kildare to be honest and they are really in a relegation battle now. That said, limiting any team to 10 points was impressive and we managed to get over 1-20 again. Delighted we could introduce a few players for league minutes and brilliant to have Rafferty back along with Kurtis returning. Charlie O Connor had an impressive cameo. The break is well needed to take stock and get ready for Tyrone. Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 821 - 28/02/2026 22:13:09 2659125 Link