Expecting us to put in a good performance in Croke Park and for the players to enjoy the occasion. A fine summers day in Croke Park is what it's all about and no less than this group of players and management deserve.

Laois full forward line is very strong and they play nice brand of football generally.

Any changes lads/lassies can see or would like to see made to our approach/starting 15?

Crinigan (Meath) - Posts: 1316 - 26/05/2019 18:20:40    2187712

Yeah looking forward to this game. Laois are dangerous and are capable of playing long ball into their good full forward line or working it up the pitch so we will have to be good defensively to come away with a win here.

Only change I would make is bring Shane McEntee back in for Flanagan if he is fit again. Even if James McEntee is available I would leave Harnan in the half back line to see how he performs.

Barney123 (Meath) - Posts: 676 - 26/05/2019 18:30:16    2187716

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 26/05/2019 18:37:01    2187723

Although the performance was still only 75/80% and there was cold patches in the play, it has to be said that a win like that vs. the current Carlow team is a good result, and well done to the players, panel, and management on a job well done. I think we'd all have taken a 3/4 point win and ran with it. In saying that we are lucky to be avoiding the Kildare/Longford/Dublin side and the players can build on the momentum of the last two games going into Croke Park vs. Laois. The open space will suit this Meath side and it will be a very legitimate test. Laois can play, and will likely set out an attacking game so we can expect some good open-field football to be played. Id stay with the selection from yesterday tbh, the inclusion of Flanagan was a good move for the Carlow game and he should keep his spot. The players have been getting the job done and that cant be taken away from them, regardless of the quality of performance, when all is said and done so far this year they've only lost to Donegal albeit twice, and Kerry in a friendly. They've drawn with Roscommon recently (who beat Mayo) and taken a few fine scalps in the Div.2 campaign. Im maybe getting a bit naive but I think the type of team we have could really do damage in Croke Park against any opposition, and Im buzzing for the Laois game. The big variable is the confidence of the players/management when they meet a tough opposition, which I constantly harp on about but its this team's greatest inhibitor.

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 587 - 26/05/2019 18:53:10    2187733

Young_gael (Meath) - Posts: 587 - 26/05/2019 19:02:31    2187739

Looking forward to this nownthelat we know who we are playing.

Changes to the team i would suggest would be to bring James McEntee into the backs and push Harnan up to the forwards in place of Tobin. He could sweep around the middle and add a physical presence there with a box to box role. After his display yesterday I do not feel he is a lad we can afford to keep on the bench.

Unsure if Flanagan will keep his place or if Shane McEntee will come back in. Suppose that's managements call. Although Flanagan caught plenty of ball his marker was off the field and the game was gone. Not sure what the midfield of Laois is like so the call will come down to that.

This will be a challenging game but I think we can cause them trouble with our running game. It will be testing for our full back line as they have big mobile units to target.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 757 - 26/05/2019 19:07:11    2187741

Funny to think if we win this, many Dublin fans will have seen us play 3 times! I'm expecting a tough battle but unless we are 5+ down with 15 to go I think our fitness will see us through. The league final experience in Croker will stand to this team. I suppose you could say the same for Laois. They are Div 3 champs yeah?

If we win will many of you attend the leinster final? The result is a foregone conclusion and it's not going to be cheap.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 27/05/2019 02:48:24    2187935

I am really looking forward to visiting Croke Park again for Championship football. Great win against Carlow big improvement from the Offaly game but i still think we can play even better again. Laois will be tough opposition but if we play like we did on Saturday with a few tweeks we should get through to the final. Conlon looks so fast and took his scores well i would nearly start him instead of O'Reilly and maybe give them a half each.

SheridansTry (Meath) - Posts: 180 - 27/05/2019 10:09:12    2187989

If you take the starters v Carlow plus Ryan, James McEntee and Kane to hopefully come back during the summer we have really good cover in the backs. Midfield is what it is - we just don't have an abundance of natural midfielders to choose from. My hope for the next couple of matches is for us to settle on a front 6. It seems like there are two starting spots up for grabs (assuming Newman, O'Sullivan, McMahon and Brennan are all fit they should start) with Graham Reilly in the role of impact sub. It's up to Dardis, O'Reilly, Campion, Conlon, Devine and Tobin to scrap it out and put their hands up now and nail down a spot.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 88 - 27/05/2019 10:13:18    2187992

Some big calls to be made by Andy for Laois game.
Direct call between Flanagan & Shane McEntee (if fit). In Croker I would go with Shane.
Thomas Oreilly will most likely be dropped, probably for Dardis to come back in.
Does Tobin keep his place?
What back loses out for James McEntee?
On Saturday Padraic Harnan sent a huge message to the management team, it was a total insult he was A 75TH min substitute against Offaly, and even worse he was an unused sub in the league final. He has a wealth of experience in the bank and is one of the leaders on this team and should be an undisputed starter.
McCoy should also keep his place.

Anmhi364 (Meath) - Posts: 65 - 27/05/2019 10:18:15    2187995

Agree with a lot of the sentiment here that there are a couple of spots up for grabs in the team.
Provided Shane McEntee is fit I would have him back in at the expense of Flanagan.
In the forward division Tobin and O'Reilly are those most at threat of losing out. I suspect O'Reilly will keep his place. Dardis still has a lot to prove so I don't think he is a certainty to come back in by any means. I like him coming in off the bench.
Conlon has been impressive when introduced and he has that spark which is probably best served as an impact sub when defences tire.

Laois have been building nicely under Sugrue over the last 18 months and won't be at all intimidated by facing us. A dangerous prospect but one I am confident we can overcome. We are operating at a higher level than Laois and our performances this year suggest we are a better team. Looking forward to seeing how this team goes in a championship game in Croke Park!

men_of_49 (Meath) - Posts: 1987 - 27/05/2019 10:31:55    2188004

If S McEntee isn't fit do yous think Harnan could be considered at midfield? Honestly don't think we can go with Flanagan in croke park.

TakeYourPoints6 (Meath) - Posts: 229 - 27/05/2019 11:07:51    2188035

It's good to have competition for places, I think our squad is developing nicely and hopefully that trend will continue. Midfield is a slight concern, we're not rich with options in that department so we just have to do the best with what we have.

On the game itself, Laois will be tough, they nearly always seem to play well against us and they're not looking too bad again this year. It's a 50/50 game for me.

Just as a matter of interest we've played Laois 6 times since the turn of the century in championship football, with Laois winning 3, Meath winning 2 and 1 draw.

We last played in 2012 in the qualifiers with Laois winning 1-15 to 1-12.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 27/05/2019 11:23:02    2188045

will the game definitely go ahead in Crokers still? Now that Kildare/Longford drew it puts the Dub game back so will they open Croker for a potential Meath/Laois and Kildare/Longford??

Eri (Meath) - Posts: 45 - 27/05/2019 11:47:11    2188059

men_of_49 (Meath) - Posts: 1987 - 27/05/2019 12:11:50    2188069

Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6342 - 27/05/2019 12:15:53    2188072

Royal_Gunner (Meath) - Posts: 534 - 27/05/2019 12:18:44    2188073

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 27/05/2019 15:51:29    2188186

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 27/05/2019 20:11:19    2188294

redser123 (Meath) - Posts: 402 - 27/05/2019 21:19:05    2188323