Leitrim GAA thread - 6 Like(s)
Honeyman, Cox and Guckian were our best players on show yesterday. Conor Quinn had some really good catches but physically he can't sustain it for a long period and not near a full game. Hopefully now with S&C he will improve further. Our U20 players are really standing out which is good for the future - but theyve all been earmarked to make an impact for years. Worryingly I'm not seeing any of the 'new players' who have been drafted in this year making an impact or coming to terms with the higher level of football they are at. Not sure if thats a poor reflection on the coaching they are receiving or if they are just not able for it. On a separate note (hopefully the Admin won't cut this) The county board need to really cut out the nonsense with the posts on our social media pages from a fan (who is obviously a great reflection of our support) but I'm not sure why his opinions are being broadcast ahead of everyone elses. It was nice the first few times but unfortunately now the posts are just cringy and increasingly irrelevant.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 03/03/2025 12:24:16

Leitrim GAA thread - 4 Like(s)
A lot of unbalanced criticism of Andy Moran here. I don't think anybody is saying he is Jim Gavin either but when the job became available Moran/Sloan were the best option. Now Moran/Graham are a duo most Division 3 or 4 counties would be very happy to have. That's the bottom line of it. That conversation needs to be parked until September. The players also love playing for him which was not the case even if we had great success. This is shown with pretty much all available players comminating over the last few years. They have also had to deal with Covid, The Keith Beirne situation, Ryan O'Rourkes injuries and mass emigration of young people out of the county which has weakened our playing pool/standards in the county considerably. We are 3 wins from 3 in Division Four. Without Keith Beirne, Pearce Dolan, Cillian McGloin, Jordan Reynolds, Jack Heslin, David Bruen, Fergal McTague and Shane Moran for various reasons. They also took the brave decision to push Paddy Maguire into retirement after his waning commitment last year. All of those players would start for Leitrim or make a big impact on the panel. However, I do think Moran and co. are particularly weak when it comes to in-game substitutions which again baffled me at the weekend. Bringing on Tom Prior before Plunkett and Keaney was strange when we clearly needed ball winners. As good as newcomers McGreal and Foley have been I do think our half back line is really struggling physically which is natural as it will take a few years to build up their S&C. Diffley in my eyes is not a natural 6 and also struggles physically. Plunkett or Gilheany at 6 is the natural solution. Plunkett is also our best foot passer so that should stop a lot of the lateral play if he was played there. He is struggling with a hip injury according to the radio so maybe they are easing him back in. Does anyone know of Jordan Reynolds injury status? He would defiantly be a starter along with Keaney in our forward line. Was a huge call to start Cathal McHugh at corner back for his first start for Leitrim. He looks to have huge potential and a great engine. He struggled a small bit but I've never seen him play for Ballinamore in the full back line before so it'll be a great learning experience for him. McNulty looks like he is ready to go to the next level which could be huge for the team. He was our best player against Wexford and hopefully he kicks on now. The hatrick and overall performance by O'Rourke should give him the confidence to go on and show that he's the best forward in the Division on his day. Hopefully we continue to play him close to goal. The Goalkeeper situation still makes me uneasy. A natural goalkeeper deals with the Wexford goal easily but at the same time O'Donnell offers long-range free taking and is a good option to receive the ball as a 'fly' keeper. They must not rate Gaffey as highly as others do. That performance won't be good enough to beat Carlow but add in Pearce Dolan who is a huge loss and a few other players and we now have a real chance of going up. Wexford have every right to be livid about the penalty decision but Ben Brosnan should have been sent off before that. In Leitrim its very rare we have got the rub of the green so we ill take what we get.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 19/02/2024 23:08:06

Leitrim v Roscommon May 22nd - 3 Like(s)
By allowing Ward to continue the county board obviously thinks theres no one better to replace him? Off the tip off my tongue Glen Young, Michael Moyles, Gary Donoghoe Aidan Rooney are all more capable then this present management team and that's just inside the county. There's definitely coaches in either Rosscommon or Cavan that can't get their own county job because of the success that they are having that would take on Leitrim in an effort to prove themselves. Declan Darcy would be the ideal candidate. Clearly capable because of his role in Dublin and would surely inspire all players to join the panel. Even if he couldn't be convinced to take the job surely he could be an advisor for structures or have some involvement. The signs are that the county board are slowly waking up with their proposed new coaching template but it needs to be implemented ASAP with good young energetic coaches. When people see good structures being put in place money will also start to flow so the excuse of a lack of resources would quit. Something small to consider Mohill won last years championship and are clearly the best team in the county at present had two players playing yesterday and Aughawillan won it the year previously and had none starting? Surely in a small county we should be using players from the strongest teams, are they not committing or not being picked?

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 23/05/2016 13:31:13

County Panel 2019 - 3 Like(s)
Enjoyed the positivity in that last post. I might not agree with all of the selections but in the main if all them players commit we are looking up. The age profile is something that Terry H must be impressed with. Most exciting time in 20 years to be a Leitrim supporter in my view. New management team that we could only have dreamed of in the last 10 years. A young group of attack minded players who have huge potential to develop. Yet then we have our most high profile player in Emlyn Mulligan who has been at every media possible in the past few weeks putting a downer on everything. He attended the draw for the Connacht championship where we could only draw Sligo, Mayo, Galway or Roscommon and we drew Roscommon. In my view the second best result we could have hoped for. He then proceeds to attempt to gain as much publicity as possible by stating his dismay with this. Would he have preferred to have drawn Mayo or Galway? Why go to the event if you are just going to be negative about your own county straight away. Terry Hyland and the rest of the players must have been fuming with him. I understand his overall point but he knows the structures are not going to be changed for next year yet still uses his 'status' for negativity. All he had to say was 'our focus is on Division 4 and we will worry about Ross later on in the year'. I would imagine most of the younger players will have a complete contrasting view of things and will only relish the challenge. Genuine question and when you consider the new rules with the 'attacking Mark' and the pace of the current game does Emlyn on current form get into the Leitrim starting line up next year? I know he was only coming back from another serious knee injury this year but on his form does he get in a forward line that will feature Ryan O'Rourke, Gary Plunkett, Jack Heslin, Shane Moran, Keith Beirne, Mark Plunkett, Darragh Rooney, Cillian McGloin and Niall McGovern? I can't see how he does. Now I do believe he has been our top player in god knows how long especially when you consider the torture with his injuries but I can't see any way in that he won't be an impact sub especially with that attitude.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 22/10/2018 14:39:10

Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Has taken a few days to digest that Laois game. One of the most sobering Leitrim games I've been to in 40 years. Firstly, some absolutely ridiculous and embarrassing comments coming out of anonymous posters here. Personally insulting/criticising players who gave up a decade to represent Leitrim instead of addressing what is actually happening with the current set up or in this year. Shows a lack of class and knowledge of actual football to be even saying things like that especially when they have no relevance to this year? Keyboard warriors. As I've said here numerous times, I'm not surprised with the hammering that Leitrim team took against Laois. What else would anyone expect coming from the panel available at the weekend? Along with the 20 - 25 players who haven't been part of the panel from the start of the year add in Ben Guckian, Cillian McGloin, Adam Reynolds and Donal Casey who were all sitting with the subs at the weekend and who were injured. Then Barry McNulty who now seems will miss the Sigerson final and the rest of our League campaign. This was also compounded by Jordan Reynolds taking a bad looking injury in the first half. Along with this Jack Foley seemed to be on a 'minutes restriction' which the management agreed to before the game as he was only returning from injury. Who in their right mind think Leitrim could compete with any county when missing 20-25 players from their original panel, then add in the 5 injuries mentioned above? On to what we seen at the weekend - We looked comically unfit and undersized strength wise. The fitness aspect lies squarely with the management. From speaking to panel members Poacher speaks a good game to the group and 'enjoys' his media commitments but the training itself has been lacklustre with many questioning the level of fitness work that is being completed in training along with some of the analysis work being done. Tactically and game plan wise we looked underprepared. Kickouts for example were a disaster. We had two men in Keegan/Quinn from the same club yet they consistently jumped for the ball (winning very few). Keith Beirne seems well short of match fitness (which is to be expected when he was not involved in pre-season) but this made it a strange decision not to use him as our forward played closest to goal) He was toiling out around the middle third for large parts of the game. Sean Harkin has never played corner back for Mohill yet he was put in their and Eanna McNamara at wing back and Harkin was shown up and replaced after 15 mins - this was unfair and cost us on the scoreboard. Paul Honeyman is known as an out an out scorer yet he was played as one of our middle third players and was competing for kickouts. We are playing a low block with Mark Diffley trying to play sweeper yet we are conceding 3 goals in the first 10 minutes? To me this doesn't add up. The whole point in a low block is to kill the space but with the new rules you need to be really well drilled and communicate well for this to be a success. On the few positives, Tom Prior on occasion can cause havoc for the opposition. Paul Honeyman has no ego and works so hard for the team and competed well and Darren Cox looked lively. On a side point on Prior and Cox. They have so much ability and are a joy to watch on the ball - But in no other county would a player that 'light' be able to come through all the underage county development panels and not have the required S&C work done to be stronger. That needs to change. The best that we can hope for is damage limitation for the rest of the year. See these young players develop within this years set-up and then have a glut of returning players next year. The management and county Board have some tough questions to ask themselves - Should Honeyman, McNamara and any other U20 player be left with the U20 squad only? It's a tough decision but it may be better for the county in the long run. Poacher and Co. wouldn't be impressed with hat idea however.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 11/02/2025 11:18:03

Championship 2018 - 3 Like(s)
From what I understand the named team will have a change or two. Noel Plunkett is supposedly starting at Wing Back. If the Roscommon teams starts as announced I see a few areas where we could potentially gain the upper hand. Compton and O'Rourke are two brilliant rangy midfielders but thankfully they are not hugely athletic which suits us perfectly. We were in so much trouble at midfield in the Bronx as a result of the sheer pace and athleticism of the New York midfielders so hopefully this match up will suit us better. Brian Stack is named at Centre Back for them. I can see him switching with McManus on the wing but if he does start there we need to move M. Plunkett onto him as Stack may be a brilliant footballer but I think Plunkett would have the upper hand physically on him. Dominican at Full Back is a past Roscommon captain but with the form Beirne has been in the past year I have no doubts that he can pick off a few scores. Kilroy is their Centre Forward. He is a brilliant fast footballer but is tiny, he generally drops deep so if this is the case Wrynn can become a sweeper in front of our full back line if Kilroy pushes up I would argue that we should put Madden on him as he has the pace and agility to track him whereas Wrynn could struggle is this respect. The Ross player I worry most about is Enda Smith from the named team I don't see anyone who has the pace, strength and awareness to match him. This is why I think Benny will place Noel Plunkett on him with James Rooney going to Wing Forward and dropping deep as an extra defender. Our Full back line is where I think we need to say our prayers as we will be under considerable pressure trying to control Diarmuid Murtagh (Paddy will tag him), Donie Smith and Ciaran Murtagh who will come deeper to leave space for the other two. In our forward line I would like to think Ryan O'Rourke can get Deaveny playing on the back foot taking him on. He should also have the pace to track his runs from deep. Mulligan will probably be marked by McInerney where I hope he can engineer a few frees. I hope the boys are fired up and bring physicality to this game otherwise the Rossies will run through us again. I'd have no problem with us getting very physical and getting into a dog fight and taking them out of their comfort zone. We are at home against our main rivals after getting embarrassed last year so we need to get stuck in and not show them to much respect. Look, I don't expect Leitrim to win but we should all be expecting a good performance at the very least. If we can avoid conceding a raft of goals I think it's possible we can keep it under 10 points. Defensive Match ups: Donie Smith - Michael McWeeney D.Murtagh - Paddy Maguire C. Murtagh -Donal Wrynn Kilroy - Oisin Madden E.Smith - N Plunkett Fintan Cregg - Shane Quinn

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 24/05/2018 16:32:52

Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
Lads, How in gods name is there anyone still discussing the rights and wrong of Andy Morans tenure? Its embarrassing. He's gone and we are onto our second manager since. Move on. Good to see Donal Casey back and Cillian McGloin back on the bench - they will both help to steady the ship. same goes for Ben Guckian. I'm assuming McNulty won't play in our remaining league fixtures - would be crazy not to take the opportunity (now that the games are meaningless) to allow him to do a full and proper rehab on that hamstring. Offaly coming to town next weekend - They play a lovely fast brand of football and have been racking up a lot of goals in this campaign. Physically they wont be as developed as other teams but they are fast with very dangerous forwards. Hopefully Poacher and co this week come up with an improved plan for our kickouts and the oppositions kickouts as what we attempted to do in Belfast at the weekend (in the first half) was pathetic and looked badly coached. As Cox, Prior and Honeyman showed in Corrigan Park- They are well capable of doing some damage but we need to gain more primary possession. Nobody is even expecting a win but seeing some sort of progress or improvement should be a minimum requirement.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 24/02/2025 11:38:01

Qualifiers 2019 - 3 Like(s)

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 04/06/2019 15:50:20

Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
It's taken a few days for that performance and result to sink in. The result itself is so so disappointing. With 5 minutes left ourselves and Laois were being promoted but the reality of it is when the game finished we were in 5th place in division four. A bottom half team in the weakest division. The players have set to high of a standard in the last few years to hide from that fact. If that was any other management team there would be serious questions being asked. The performance itself was so blunt and really poor. If we are being honest Sligo were at least a 6 point better team then us. It would have been a lovely daylight robbery if they won. We were so deep and invited Sligo onto us and went out of the game after the first 10 minutes. We rallied really well when it looked as if there was nothing to play for but in reality their was no plan as to what we were doing. It was all guts at hearts from the lads and a fantastic performance from Tom Prior that got us back into the game. I see a poster is getting abuse for saying Keith doesn't perform when it matters. If we just take this game in isolation he was roasted. Have a watch of this video https://twitter.com/NoPlanBGAA/status/1640379215982874628. I would say Keith won't mind admitting that himself. It can happen to any player on any day. The problem is we have had no strategy whatsoever all year apart from hoping that Beirne kicks 10 points a game. You might get away with that against poor teams but against half decent opposition it just won't happen. Paul Keaney isn't ready or conditioned enough to play at midfield on a county team just yet. I thought he should have been on the 40. But taking him and Plunkett off with 15 minutes left was lunacy and made me question Morans decision making once again. We had no shooters left on the field when it mattered and it meant Sligo could crowd Beirne out. We all know Plunkett and Keaney have the ability to kick long range scores and draw the opposition out. Which would have created space for our inside forwards. Starting Domhnail Flynn in our half back was a nightmare waiting to happen and it's exactly what occurred. Trying to copy what Mayo are doing with Conor Loftus was a lazy strategy. Fair play to Nevin O'Donnell for keeping us in the game with the two superb saves he made but his kickouts along with Beirne being out of the game were the main reason we lost the game. It was like watching Leitrim in the 90s where every kickout would be ballooned upon the great Mickey Quinn. Pearce Dolan (and Plunkett in the first half) were having to jump against two men every time and was completely gassed by the end of the game. I'm not sure if we went short once? Paddy Maguire was exceptional again but I do think we got it wrong and he should have been our man marker closest to our goals. Diffley was roasted and doesn't have the power to compete yet. He was brushed aside at times. The referee was a disgrace I thought at significant moments as well which was the most frustrating thing. From what I know there has been no falling our with Ryan O'Rourke but after NYC he will not be a part of the panel along with a few other squad players. Its completely understandable. He can't get his body right to play and with the management Fenagh have in place there is now real pressure to win the club championship. New York have Quinlivan from Tipp and Gavin O'Brien from Kerry and it was interesting to see some of their management team in the Pairc at the weekend.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 29/03/2023 10:40:04

Leitrim GAA thread - 3 Like(s)
I went to Ballinasloe for the U21 game. Last night. Firstly, I'd be surprised if Galway aren't the best team we face all year at that age group. That's also a Galway pane; who only have 4/5 players on the panel that won the U19 a few years ago. A crazily impressive stat. Firstly the make-up of the backroom team. Andy Moran, Barry McWeeney, Ryan Jones and James Mannion (who is extremely well regarded in Galway Gaa as a coach) So theres no doubt the team is getting top-class coaching. They don't get it often but credit to the county board for that. Galway were excellent. Pace, Power and Top class forwards a long with an excellent goalkeeper. I think we will be hearing/seeing a lot about Mathhew Thompson and Colm Costello for Galway seniors in the next few years. Their S&C looked a fair few steps ahead of ours and it told. Its an area where Leitrim Gaa need to address and get into the secondary schools. I think Galway were missing a few regulars through injury but that's why they are one of the favourites for the All Ireland. Saying all this I was quite impressed with Leitrim. The scoreline flattered Galway. A 3 or 4 point difference would have been a real reflection of the game. The team really picked itself - The only gripes I would have is: why play Michael McBrien who was one of the best Wing-Backs in the club championship last year at wing-forward? He looked a little lost and didn't impact the game. Paul Moran was also used as a sub (he had a slight knock) If he was fit to play I find it a brave call that he wasn't starting seeing as he has already played for Leitrim seniors. I also would have liked to have seen more of Tom Plunkett. Paul Honeyman really justified the hype. He was really excellent especially in the first half on limited ball. Up there as good as anything Galway had. The umpire getting involved needlessly and getting him a black card for nothing towards the end was a disgrace we missed him when he was off the field. Darren Cox is a joy to watch as well. Reminds me of a Darragh Canavan type player. It takes real courage to play how he does (which will also lead to mistakes) but his vision and running with the ball caused Galway problems all night. His attempt at a goal from a quick free and a few other attempts at points just showed his lack of experience though and it'll be a good lesson for him. He's a throwback. Barry McNulty really showed his class/leadership in what has been a hectic time for him. He really gave his all and drove the team on all night. I was really impressed with his workrate for such a big player he covered a serious amount of ground. Hopefully his injury isn't too bad and that he is fit for the Senior game on Sunday. He has been carrying a knock on that ankle for a while now. I also think Eannagh McNamara and Brian Cull had great games and have big futures if they want it. Galways first goal was a killer - We were just about keeping in touch with them and we lazily didn't track a runner and they punished us with a brilliant finish. This was then compounded by the penalty miss (which clipped the post). A question that no one at the ground could understand: The penalty award looked extremely soft - but if the Ref thought it was a penalty why was the Galway defender not black carded? Honeyman was destroying him at the time. We then started slowly in the second half - poor turn-overs and poor shot selection let Galway extend the lead. But when we fought back in the 3rd quarter Galway were really on the ropes. There was 4 points in it with 8 minutes left. There was a fierce buzz in the crowd from our supporters - It looked like a shock was on. They turned us over from a short kick-out and punished us with a goal - That was game over. Their subs made a huge impact and it sucked the life out of the game. Theres no doubt a few players like Ben Guckian, Jack Casey McBrien and Moran can make a bigger impact in the upcoming games. Serious talent and potential in that team. It's fantastic that its now league based and not just a knock out game. Hopefully they can shock a few teams in the next games.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 21/03/2024 08:55:10

National League 2018 - 2 Like(s)
I know I have been saying this for a long time on here and I get no happiness out of being right but when do the county board begin to act? The unfortunate thing is losing to Carlow is no surprise. We beat them by 2 points last year in the league and should have won way easier so within a year we have had a turnover of 14 points. We have lost the majority of players that backboned the team that beat Carlow last year. It seems as if we have no clear defined game plan other than just hope for moments of magic off Rooney, O'Rourke and Beirne. That may have worked when John O'Mahony was in his pomp and Benny and Seamus were players but Football has completely changed and their needs to be structures and systems in place. Especially, when these three players are only in their second year of senior county football. Carlow are a case study in this, I believe within the county we have far better footballers then Carlow but they have an effective even if it's an ugly system that has been getting them results. To play against a blanket defence you need width, patience and power to break through the lines. We have lost Shane Moran, the two Plunketts, Paddy McGuire to name a few who are all physically able to break the lines. Yesterday we just lost our patience and either kicked the ball into the Carlows spare men or got bottled up in the tackles as we had no plan in place to deal with the blanket defence. How long before the rest of the players get sick of this ineptness? Our 2 sub keepers are already gone off the panel so if anyone has spare gloves be prepared for a call. Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 11/02/2018 19:23:37

National League 2018 - 2 Like(s)
The most frustrating aspect of this debacle is even if we had of just at the very least retained all of our players from last year and developed them over the winter along with adding players like Shane Quinn Etc. Then I think we would have had our best shot ever at getting promoted. Imagine what playing in Croke Park would have done for this group of young players along with the boost it would have given supporters and clubs in the county. Many have been saying since the end of last year that change was required and the reasons why. If people on a forum are able to spot this and players themselves won't commit as they don't have faith in the management after a year of working with them then surely the county board aren't clueless? We could have been lining up with a team similar to this: Flynn Murphy McGuire McWeeney Madden Wrynn Quinn Moran McGovern O'Rourke Plunkett J.Rooney Rooney Beirne Kennedy That would have left McKiernan, Cullen, Mulligan, Gaffney, P.Dolan, Ward, Heslin, Moreton, N.Plunkett, Ward Mitchell, G.Plunkett, O'Donnell Keegan, Canning, Flynn, Carberry on the bench. That is also without considering Conlan or Brennan I for one think that panel would have been good enough to get us promoted. Criticising the management isn't nice especially as they just aren't good enough and shouldn't have been granted the role. Then when you factor in that a lot of our top players just won't commit under this set up it's truly hard to judge how good or bad they are. The bottom line is that in intercounty management a significant portion of a manager's job is to be able to get the best players in the county to commit to the cause Benny and Seamus clearly can't do this which means they aren't fulfilling their duties. That's before we even examine how there is a lack of a tactical know how or the ability to coach a proficient structure. Where can anyone see us getting a win? This is all before club manager's start asking their players on the panel if it is worth missing club training and matches for.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 11/02/2018 20:18:42

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Great news that Mickey Graham and Barry McWeeney are back in. Would have been back to square one if management had to start from scratch and didn't know the players and clubs they come from etc. I'll be extremely interested to see who Graham brings in with him. James Mannion who was practically over our U20s last year is held in extremely high regard in Galway and then Keven Stritch was coaching our Minor Team and is also highly regarded. He was also Galway's main football coach before and has had success with clubs in Dublin and Meath aswell. So either of those would be well known to the county board and Graham. Personally I'd go for Alan Flynn. the St Marys manager. He has serious intercounty experience as well as coaching big club teams before his stint with Carrick. He has brought them on leaps and bounds. They seem highly organised and all know the system they are trying to play and of course he have an in-depth knowledge of the players within Leitrim. I would imagine St Marys would be keen to hold onto him however as they seem to be building a force their. It doesn't happen on here often but credit to the County Board. The last three appointments of Hyland, Moran/Sloan (Moran/Graham) and Now Graham on his own have been excellent and many would have been thinking that they'd be out of reach of Leitrim to be fair. Any word on any other players apart from Plunkett and Dolan stepping away for next year? That is the key to any success that we can continue to retain our top players.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 07/08/2024 14:17:25

Galway Football thread - 2 Like(s)
Been at a lot of club games in Galway this year as I'm living up here and I've heard a lot of people mention it: Ruari Lavelle looks like the best keeper in Galway to me and by quite a distance. He was made a scapegoat by supporters (first chapter of Walsh's book) previously in a team that was nowhere near as good as what Galway have now. Is it a personal matter between him and Joyce? (supposedly the manner in which he was dropped upset a lot of people) or is it a work/commitment issue? Or is he just burnt by what happened previously? His kicking out of hand and from the deck is excellent and he's just as good a shot stopper as Gleeson or Bernie Power. In an area where every other county seems to be finding that edge its strange that he's not being called in or talked about? Outside of Moycullen I've been a small bit disappointed with the overall standard would be surprised if they didn't win it out.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 13/10/2023 09:34:24

Division 4 - National League - 2 Like(s)
Must say I like 'OnTheBanks' team for the game against Waterford. But the risk of injury worries me. Very undecided personally on how we should approach this game. Do we try and give squad players another chance to impress or do we put out a full team in an effort to gain more confidence and pray we don't pick up injuries? With the way the surface is in Pairc Sean I'd be worried about injuries. From what I can see Shane Moran, Mark Plunkett, Shane Quinn and Aidan Flynn have played all the games so I'd give them a rest this weekend. I also want to see if McTague is back to his best yet, same goes for Oisin Madden. Dean McGovern has been poor since the Mayo game so he needs to play himself into contention. Is Flanagan still injured since before the Limerick game. Would have been good to see what he would bring. Agree that we should not be defensive. A Big win would give everyone's confidence a boost going for Croker. Not sure what to do with Jack Heslin, feel he could be our Key Player in Croker with his pace but his history of Hamstring injuries worries me especially with the sod in Carrick. But does he need game time to be sharp? Maybe a second half appearance would be enough. McCrann Reynolds McTague (Michael) McWeeney Madden Reynolds (Nicholas)McWeeney McGovern Cullen McGloin Rooney Domhnail Flynn Sweeney Mulligan (G)Plunkett

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 21/03/2019 15:59:29

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)

Leitrim1234 (National) - 16/05/2023 11:47:15

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Anyway. Still no white smoke regarding the managers position. Rumours that O'Hara is in line for the role is concerning after his behaviour last weekend and throughout the championship. Hopefully James Mannion will be kept on with the U20s and Kevin Stritch will be with the U17s again as they brought some top level coaching to both teams last year which our own coaches could then learn off. How James Glancy hasn't been reintegrated somehow into his position with the county board is both telling and bewildering. He might rub people up the wrong way but theres no doubt the structures he was trying to implement at underage level and his focus on coaching workshops was having an effect before he stepped away. He would also be a good inclusion as a coach for our U20s/U17s. Same goes for Shane Ward.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 18/10/2024 11:45:59

Championship 2018 - 2 Like(s)
McKiernan Madden McWeeney Paddy Rooney Wrynn Plunkett Quinn McGovern O'Rourke Plunkett McGloin Rooney Beirne Mulligan With Murphy being ruled out I feel Madden might be moved into corner back. His speed will suit Gaelic Park and give an out ball to the defence especially as most teams only play two-inside these days aswell so he will be left free if McWeeney and McGuire are man-marking. The midfield is an issue McGovern is the only guaranteed starter here. I would have thought Plunkett would have been nailed on once he returned but he doesn't even start there for the Willies and would be a massive presence on our half forward line if left there where he could roam to the middle. Shane Quinn has been our most consistent performer all year and I'm not comfortable taking him away from wingback but he easily holds his own for Mohill at midfield and he should be able to do this while protecting the defence for the county. I feel O'Rourke (if fit), Beirne and Darragh Rooney are the three forwards who have their name on the team sheet so far. Mulligan if he is comfortable playing on the synthetic surface will also probably start at corner forward and then it's between McGloin, Gaffney, Gallagher (who played well for Lucan in the Dublin championship), Heslin, Flynn, Ward etc. for the final wing forward spot. I feel McGloin will get the call as he has height, can kick long range scores and is fast, his only negatives are his lack of strength and his inexperience. Ward could be a dark horse as he could become an auxiliary centre back to help out our defence. Heslin is unfortunate as his form at the tail end of the league was superb but himself, Gaffney and Kennedy could make a big impact off the bench which we will need in the heat. With this selection it is fair to question both wing back slots as they have both played little inter-county football this year but to me of what players are on the squad and fit this is our strongest starting team. We can't let New York get a good start as it will drive them on as well as putting more doubt into the minds of our players. Winning the middle third will be crucial.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 16/04/2018 15:13:41

Division 4 - National League - 2 Like(s)
Going to name what I think will be our panel of 26 for the day. I to agree with previous posters when they said there's probably 13 or 14 of the starting team decided upon already. The hardest part I feel is going to be deciding on who doesn't make the panel for such a big day. As far as I know Noel Plunkett and Sean Flanagan are still injured or not back to sufficient fitness to be considered and there's question marks over Damien Moran. 1. Diarmuid McKiernan 2. Aidan Flynn 3. Michael McWeeney 4. Paddy Maguire 5. Shane Quinn 6. Mark Plunkett 7. Ray Mulvey 8. Shane Moran 9. Dean McGovern 10. Sean McWeeney 11. Domhnail Flynn 12. Jack Heslin 13. Evan Sweeney 14. Pearce Dolan 15. Ryan O'Rourke 16. Cathal McCrann 17. Fergal McTague 18. Conor Reynolds 19. Oisin Madden 20. Gary Reynolds 21. Emlyn Mulligan 22. Gary Plunkett 23. Darragh Rooney 24. Cillian McGloin 25. Conor Cullen 26. Damien Moran* Players who are on the panel but won't be named. 1. Cathal McCauley 2. Niall Brady 3. James Rooney 4. Nicholas McWeeney 5. Oisin McCaffery 6. Sean Flanagan* 7. Noel Plunkett*

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - 26/03/2019 11:01:51

Leitrim GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Before I get into my reaction to the league final and what I think might happen in R1 of the championship I've a side point to make. I think I've seen nearly every senior team play atleast twice this year and I've seen a fair few underage games along with county games aswell. We have a brilliant crop of young players coming through - Especially forwards, in the next few years. Can some other posters let me know if all of these players are U20 for the county in 2024. Barry McNulty (Manor), Paul Moran (Ballinamore), Tom Plunkett (Aughawillan), Darren Cox (Annaduff), Paul Honeyman (Ballinamore), Jack Casey & Ben Guckian (St Marys). Those seven players have enormous potential to be top class players for Leitrim and their clubs in the coming years (I'm sure I'm missing a few aswell). There can be a lot of doom and gloom around Leitrim football but they all have serious potential. Onto the league final - A Final nobody apart from St Mary's wanted to be in. Then St.Marys proceeded to give lads a chance or rest their main players with knocks etc. To give some context. Paul Keaney is still playing football in Boston, Daire Farrell is injured and they then left Nicholas McWeeney (their most important player), Adam Reynolds, Ben Guckian, Gavin Reynolds and Diarmuid Kelleher on the bench. The fact that they could still challenge a 'top team' such as Fenagh while not starting or playing those players is both scary and impressive. Also rumours that Michael Mcweeney may be staying around for the championship. I'll frame the game in this way. Carrick were way of the pace of the game in the first half. Jack Casey was their standout player and looks like he has a brilliant future if he can focus on his conditioning over the winter. Riordan O'Rourke and Jack Gilheany were Fenaghs two crucial players. Riordan playing in his natural position as a forward and not as a wing-back as he was bizzarely used with the county. Gilheany dominated the middle third and it's a must that he is brought back into the county Set-Up. Mark Diffley was roasted by O'Rourke and it has to be questioned how suited he is to full back after the tough time he has had this year. He was directly at fault for Fenaghs winning goal. McWeeney and a few more came on at half time and the game instantly changed in St. Mary's favour. How they didn't get across the line will raise many questions for Marys management but im sure their players wont be happy with their managements selections either. Was happy to see Donal Wrynn score the game winning goal. He has soldiered with Leitrim and Fenagh for years and taken a lot of unwarranted abuse while always giving his all and not getting involved in anything he shouldn't unlike some others. Fenagh will rattle most teams if they can get Ryan O'Rourke back fully fit but their defence looks suspect. The McCormacks find a way to win again. No Shock to anyone there. Predictions for the weekend: Ballinamore -V- Aughnasheelin = Ballinamore by a landslide Gortlettragh -V- St Mary's = St Mary's by a landslide Fenagh -V- Leitrim Gaels = There could be a shock in this game. Fenagh were out on their feet by the end of the league final and Leitrim Gaels have David Bruen back. Dromahair -V- Mohill = Mohill by +10 Aughawillan -V- Manor - The tie of the round. A lot will focus on if Evan Sweeney is back fit for Manor, They should have a bite to them after being relegated. If not I can see Aughawillan getting over the line by a couple of points in a dog of a game.

Leitrim1234 (National) - 01/08/2023 13:50:40