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How many injury free seasons has Comer had in recent years, its no coincidence Galway have had their best seasons when he's had an injury free championship as we did in 2018 and 2022. Injured in 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2023. If you're picking the best 10 forwards in the country then a fit Comer walks in. Finding a way of playing without him is the key, getting a like for like replacement is not going too happen. So many have been tried and tested and its not worked, Walsh would work but everyone would just double and up on him in there. McCabe has played in there for UL and done well in terms of showing for the ball and been a link man although his shooting has been poor but physically he's not there yet. As well all know keeping Comer fit remains central to Galway having a good year. TheBishop (Galway) - Posts: 273 - 09/02/2024 10:22:07 2525202 Link
Replying To TheBishop: "How many injury free seasons has Comer had in recent years, its no coincidence Galway have had their best seasons when he's had an injury free championship as we did in 2018 and 2022. Injured in 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2023. If you're picking the best 10 forwards in the country then a fit Comer walks in. Finding a way of playing without him is the key, getting a like for like replacement is not going too happen. So many have been tried and tested and its not worked, Walsh would work but everyone would just double and up on him in there. McCabe has played in there for UL and done well in terms of showing for the ball and been a link man although his shooting has been poor but physically he's not there yet. As well all know keeping Comer fit remains central to Galway having a good year." I agree completely. Comer offers something different to most forwards in the country. He's obviously very strong physically, can win his own ball and plays a very direct style. To add to that, he's a very good kicker so he's a big scoring threat. He has a huge jump as well, which allows him to compete with players who are a good but taller. He has that combination of strength, power and explosiveness which is very hard to handle. His first thought is to always take on his man, which is rarer in today's game. It creates space for others, as he's breaking tackles and creating overlaps. The type of athlete he is and the all-action game he plays probably leaves him prone to more injuries, but I hope we have him fit and firing for this year's championship. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2105 - 09/02/2024 11:39:54 2525214 Link
I see Conor Flaherty scored from play last night while lining out in goal in The Sigerson. Madness if we don't take a look at him during the league smallfrank (Galway) - Posts: 404 - 09/02/2024 12:48:38 2525225 Link
Replying To WanPintWin: "I agree completely. Comer offers something different to most forwards in the country. He's obviously very strong physically, can win his own ball and plays a very direct style. To add to that, he's a very good kicker so he's a big scoring threat. He has a huge jump as well, which allows him to compete with players who are a good but taller. He has that combination of strength, power and explosiveness which is very hard to handle. His first thought is to always take on his man, which is rarer in today's game. It creates space for others, as he's breaking tackles and creating overlaps. The type of athlete he is and the all-action game he plays probably leaves him prone to more injuries, but I hope we have him fit and firing for this year's championship." He bleeds maroon. Galway's leader. Will win 40/60 ball and rise the team if the chips are down. Gets the crowd off their feet with his physicality and skills. Great footballer and a gent off the pitch. GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7529 - 09/02/2024 13:12:31 2525228 Link
Replying To smallfrank: "I see Conor Flaherty scored from play last night while lining out in goal in The Sigerson. Madness if we don't take a look at him during the league" If he doesn't get a run in the league it'll be madness alright. With fit goalkeeping options I just can't see a new manager playing Gleeson. jam83 (Galway) - Posts: 162 - 09/02/2024 16:57:02 2525250 Link
On the topic of Gleeson in goals, he's certainly made improvements to his game in the myriad of opportunities this management have afforded him over the last few years, and no doubt he's a good guy with a good attitude but he's simply not the best Gaelic Football goalkeeper in our county but is one heavily influenced by Joyce's Achilles heel - stubborn pride! PJ prizes stubbornness and sticking with it as positive attributes and they can be. It can become destructive. I'm going a little philosophical here but PJ has repeatedly doubled down on backing Gleeson in goal, even when it became more and more apparent that we have at 2 or perhaps 3 better options for Galway starting GK. In the modern game it's such a pivotal position and rather than building a Galway team from the foundation of a very strong keeper, we're running with an option who can't place kickouts / restarts with the required accuracy, offers poor decision making in pressure situations, doesn't use his size to claim the ball but rather soccer-style punches the ball back into play, or ludicrously, over the bar at times (it's not soccer, that punch over the bar is a score!), his ball carrying out the field is highly suspect and prone to relatively easy turnovers. Yes, Gleeson is a good shot stopper but so are our other options. He's a known risk under high ball in and around the square and he's a target on every other county's play book ahead of playing us - that's known. I hate to be saying this about such a decent guy and a great servant to the game but the number of chances and starting opportunities that he has had, ahead of some very obvious strong talents for this position is unfair on others. Conor Flaherty and Oran Burke are the two best candidates for the position and mgmt need to rethink the stubbornness and let evidence and merit prevail. togoutlads (Galway) - Posts: 936 - 11/02/2024 11:17:58 2525431 Link
Replying To togoutlads: "On the topic of Gleeson in goals, he's certainly made improvements to his game in the myriad of opportunities this management have afforded him over the last few years, and no doubt he's a good guy with a good attitude but he's simply not the best Gaelic Football goalkeeper in our county but is one heavily influenced by Joyce's Achilles heel - stubborn pride! PJ prizes stubbornness and sticking with it as positive attributes and they can be. It can become destructive. I'm going a little philosophical here but PJ has repeatedly doubled down on backing Gleeson in goal, even when it became more and more apparent that we have at 2 or perhaps 3 better options for Galway starting GK. In the modern game it's such a pivotal position and rather than building a Galway team from the foundation of a very strong keeper, we're running with an option who can't place kickouts / restarts with the required accuracy, offers poor decision making in pressure situations, doesn't use his size to claim the ball but rather soccer-style punches the ball back into play, or ludicrously, over the bar at times (it's not soccer, that punch over the bar is a score!), his ball carrying out the field is highly suspect and prone to relatively easy turnovers. Yes, Gleeson is a good shot stopper but so are our other options. He's a known risk under high ball in and around the square and he's a target on every other county's play book ahead of playing us - that's known. I hate to be saying this about such a decent guy and a great servant to the game but the number of chances and starting opportunities that he has had, ahead of some very obvious strong talents for this position is unfair on others. Conor Flaherty and Oran Burke are the two best candidates for the position and mgmt need to rethink the stubbornness and let evidence and merit prevail." there is an argument for trying out different keepers during the league I'm sure. Galway's biggest issue for me is the low scoring in most games. !0 points is a big deal for us. suckvalleypaddy (Galway) - Posts: 1700 - 11/02/2024 20:42:08 2525526 Link
Replying To smallfrank: "I see Conor Flaherty scored from play last night while lining out in goal in The Sigerson. Madness if we don't take a look at him during the league" I saw Conor Flaherty relatively recently in a friendly. He commands the area and details his defence. While he's accurate enough at short range restarts, I noticed he never tried to go long. Tbh, with practice, he should be able to achieve this, as he's a big lad. Otherwise, his game is top notch. Some other poster mentioned one of Comer's strengths is first thought to take on his man. That day is long gone. It's all about heads up and awareness.. Canavan, Gooch and Clifford. Really (Galway) - Posts: 610 - 12/02/2024 01:23:00 2525551 Link
Replying To Really: "Correct, Sean O'Shea Kerry. While not as influential as David Clifford, he is imo, a selfless player that always gives it everything." Yep I know you were talking about the Kerry version, hence why i mentioned the 2019 final (Dublin v Kerry). Sean had an absolute horror show in the 2022 final, in which some of those players you're saying don't show up for big games had star performances Sean O'Shea is a phenomenal player but has had as many quiet semi finals and finals as he has had good ones. That's what happens at this level, very few players are 9+ out of 10 every day they go out PressureKick (UK) - Posts: 233 - 12/02/2024 14:53:18 2525675 Link
Big game on Sunday. With Derry, Kerry and Dublin still to play after it's hard to see Galway surviving in division 1 unless they beat Tyrone next weekend. Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2236 - 13/02/2024 13:30:47 2525848 Link
we certainly need to get two points here one would think. third game of the league we should be motoring now cocopop (Roscommon) - Posts: 33 - 13/02/2024 15:08:38 2525873 Link
Replying To Marooned: "Big game on Sunday. With Derry, Kerry and Dublin still to play after it's hard to see Galway surviving in division 1 unless they beat Tyrone next weekend." Agreed. We need a win here or Div 1 relegation will be highly likely. I don't have confidence in us to beat any of Derry, Kerry or Dublin the way we're going. Scraping a one point win in Tyrone would be an achievement as we currently stand - with our poor energy, poor performances, poor fwd coaching, poor mgmt prep, poor positional selection, poor injury prevention work in the camp etc etc. When you really think about it, one has to think we can do so much better as a county. togoutlads (Galway) - Posts: 936 - 13/02/2024 16:43:26 2525891 Link
negativity from Galway fans is nothing new on this forum. Even if we lost on Sunday, it does not mean we lose to Dublin, Derry, Monaghan or Kerry. We have a good chance of surviving this Division. Also, this year will be defined by our Summer campaign. suckvalleypaddy (Galway) - Posts: 1700 - 13/02/2024 19:19:14 2525920 Link
Yeah I expect us to beat Tyrone but also to beat Monaghan and stay up. Derry are all out so would be hard to beat as for Kerry and Dublin if we are to beat them in 2024 I dont want it to be in the league. JahTribe (Galway) - Posts: 149 - 13/02/2024 21:06:56 2525939 Link
Replying To suckvalleypaddy: "negativity from Galway fans is nothing new on this forum. Even if we lost on Sunday, it does not mean we lose to Dublin, Derry, Monaghan or Kerry. We have a good chance of surviving this Division. Also, this year will be defined by our Summer campaign." Negative comments are not unique to fans of any county. I've only seen a handful of truly negative posts on here in the past few weeks. Most have been pretty balanced, reflecting the need for massive improvement and pointing out the current issues we have. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2105 - 14/02/2024 09:53:57 2525983 Link
Replying To Really: "I saw Conor Flaherty relatively recently in a friendly. He commands the area and details his defence. While he's accurate enough at short range restarts, I noticed he never tried to go long. Tbh, with practice, he should be able to achieve this, as he's a big lad. Otherwise, his game is top notch. Some other poster mentioned one of Comer's strengths is first thought to take on his man. That day is long gone. It's all about heads up and awareness.. Canavan, Gooch and Clifford." In fairness, Canavan, Gooch and Clifford couldn't play Comers game. That day might be gone, but maybe it's because nobody else has a Damien Comer. We do!!!!! Nothing more more enjoyable than watching Comer in full flight. StopTheLights (Galway) - Posts: 369 - 14/02/2024 10:58:46 2526003 Link
Replying To StopTheLights: "In fairness, Canavan, Gooch and Clifford couldn't play Comers game. That day might be gone, but maybe it's because nobody else has a Damien Comer. We do!!!!! Nothing more more enjoyable than watching Comer in full flight." A defender's worst nightmare is a player who has the ability to blow by him and will do it when the opportunity arises. The day for that is far from gone. Clifford does it also when it's on. Look his goal against Mayo in the league final when he went at and past O'Hora. He's physically very strong, which is something that doesn't get mentioned often enough when talking about his attributes. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2105 - 14/02/2024 12:16:03 2526012 Link
None of the injured players expected back for this weekend according to GBFM. Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2236 - 14/02/2024 18:01:32 2526080 Link
So no Jack Glynn, Liam Silke, Damo Comer, Sean Kelly and Shane Walsh? Be a tough trip up north. MapleSyrup (Galway) - Posts: 165 - 15/02/2024 09:59:15 2526153 Link
Replying To MapleSyrup: "So no Jack Glynn, Liam Silke, Damo Comer, Sean Kelly and Shane Walsh? Be a tough trip up north." No Cillian McDaid either! tommy k (Galway) - Posts: 3470 - 15/02/2024 10:15:45 2526157 Link