Meath Forum

Meath V Galway

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Replying To royalcounty1:  "I'd agree with the general game plan, but I think a lot of our play still feels a bit instinctive rather than fully tactical - we seem to mirror the opposition at times rather than dictating the terms ourselves. That said, it can make us dangerous to opposition too because they often get sucked into a shootout with us, and when we click, we're hard to stop.

From an outside perspective, you'd wonder if shutting down Caulfield and Kinsella could cut off a lot of our supply - they're doing serious work out the field. The forwards closer to goal are a bit in and out of form, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either. We've seen flashes - Costello against Cork, Conlon against Roscommon, Kinsella against Kerry and Louth - and you'd hope it all comes together at the right time. But we probably do need more consistency if we're aiming to go further past sunday and back to div1.

Depth is a big factor too - you look at squads like Galway or Armagh, and on any given day a big name might be rotated out. That sort of pressure drives performance. Our bench has promise - Hickey and O'Neill have made a strong case as impact subs - but I'd still be a little unsure about the later changes or unused options. Hopefully we'll see a few more step up or be given the chance, not likely with knockout football though.

Billy in goal has a clear tactic - going wide with kickouts - and while the execution isn't always perfect, you can see what they're trying to do. It's a hard one to criticise too much, because he's obviously following instruction. Still, you wonder if he'd sometimes prefer to just go long and back our athleticism. other counties have changed goal keeper, if sean brennans form is as you say, it means billy is being pushed. if we refine the kickout i think billy is a solid keeper and has confidence which goes a long way.

All in all, plenty of positives, id love for one more sub to really put his hand up, so we are not worried about the big names as much."
Agree with your point on the subs. Shane Walsh came on against Kerry and kicked a wide, the game was well over but you'd have loved for that to gone over for his confidence. I think it's important for RB to not overuse the subs if they aren't putting their hand up. I know the demands of the game now with the new rules require a lot of running and makes sense to bring fresh legs on but I'd be worried about taking players like Frayne and Menton off (which he did against Roscommon) when the game is tight and you need a score. Especially when the subs aren't really showing any form. Obviously each game is different and Sunday might require 4 or 5 subs but there is nothing wrong with keeping it at 1 or 2 if things are going OK.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 251 - 24/06/2025 14:21:38    2620700

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Any news on injuries yet? Think we're all hoping Costello makes it and O'Neill will be back at midfield but not sure on their status.

Meath and Galway mirror each other a little in that we both compete well around the middle, have some very good forwards who can be lethal on their day, kick plenty 2 pointers but defenses who are very suspect at times. So that lends itself to the fact this one could be high scoring kind of like the Galway-Down game.

But let's not kid ourselves Galway have a couple of the best forwards in Ireland in Walsh and Finnerty and a lot will depend how we deal with them. Comer been injured a lot but they could bring him off bench if needed. The likes of Cooke coming off the bench leaves them very strong too.

But with every passing game we can see Robbie Brennan exudes the presence and ability to set this team up and get the best out of them and it's obvious the players are playing for him and buying into his message.

He's got to pinpointing Galway's weakness' which are certainly there. They've major uncertainty around their goalkeeper so would be putting a serious press on from the very start to test that. Their defense can be got at if you see some of the scores teams have been putting on them. Morris and Costello, if he plays, can trouble them if they run at them. If Duke, Menton and O'Neill compete well around the middle, we'll be in with a chance.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 52 - 24/06/2025 16:20:05    2620758

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What kind of Meath attendance are we expecting? I'd say 25,000-30,000 ish Meath following attended the Leinster final, interesting to see if that's replicated on Sunday.

Charlie_90 (Westmeath) - Posts: 5 - 25/06/2025 13:51:32    2620965

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Replying To Charlie_90:  "What kind of Meath attendance are we expecting? I'd say 25,000-30,000 ish Meath following attended the Leinster final, interesting to see if that's replicated on Sunday."
I would say around that. Like a lot of counties, if team is going well, there will be a following. Armagh always bring a massive following especially for big games and they're reigning champions. Galway have a good following too. Kerry seem to be trying to rally their fans to travel as it's massive for them as well. I'd say Sunday could be close to a sell out.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 52 - 25/06/2025 15:38:57    2620994

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Must be a great bit of excitement and anticipation in the Royal right now.
There is a chance there! Don't let it pass you by.

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8795 - 25/06/2025 15:53:03    2620998

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Must be a great bit of excitement and anticipation in the Royal right now.
There is a chance there! Don't let it pass you by.

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8795 - 25/06/2025 17:04:52    2621026

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Replying To realdub:  "Must be a great bit of excitement and anticipation in the Royal right now.
There is a chance there! Don't let it pass you by."
I agree.
I think Meath have a great opportunity to make the All Ireland Football Semi Final.

Galway are fav's in my mind but if Comer & Walsh dont play, then Meath really have a great chance.

Looking like both Sat and Sun will have large numbers attending, so plenty of colour and a great atmosphere.

Best of luck...

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4350 - 26/06/2025 09:37:25    2621144

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I'd rather play the best version of Galway, people hoping that Walsh won't be fit are kidding themselves and it's a bit disingenuous to Galway too. With or without him, they're a great team. We want to see the best players on display, and want to see how we can compete with a top team. Because there's no doubt it, Galway are a very good side, and it will take a big effort from someone to beat them.

This is unknown territory for Meath, and we're playing with house money. But there's a real opportunity there. If we perform to our absolute peak, we have the players to beat them. But if we don't, they'll destroy us because they have so many live weapons.

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 35 - 26/06/2025 13:36:08    2621221

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