Very open championship this year judging by the opening round games. Summerhill still favourites and their experience over the last few years will stand to them but certainly not so far ahead that they can't be caught on a given day. After them there's 5 or 6 teams next who can all beat each other on their day and will fancy their chances if they get out of the group like Dunshaughlin Cilles Dunboyne Ratoath Ashbourne The Bracks etc

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1003 - 12/08/2024 12:33:23    2564746

Royalblufill (Meath) - Posts: 511 - 12/08/2024 13:06:26    2564755

Group A
Dunshauglin v Don/Ash- Dunshauglin getting the job done and in the first round of championship that's all you want. The big boy like Costello, Mitchell and Kinsella stood up when they needed to. Don/Ash playing knockout football from here on in isn't a good start and its hard to see them picking up wins against both ballinabracky and also summerhill. Dunsh will fancy their chances after seeing Bracks running Shill so close.
Ballinabrackey v Summerhill- Winners know how to win. Bracks will be kicking themselves that they didnt get something out of the game but will fancy themselves to get a result V Ashbourne. Summerhill V Dunsh a great fixture.Frayne for such a young lad really knows how to grab a game by the scruff of the neck, kicked the insurance from some angle.

Group B
Gaeil Colmcille v Wolfe Tones- Wolfe Tones again just know how to do it and are a pure championship side. Very young no doubt but still have the breeding of the young lads thatll carry that tradition too. Great to see amn like Stephen Shep still buzzing around, best player on the pitch too. Hard to know where Kells go from here, a shell of a squad we once knew. A result V Curraha which you'd have to expect may flip fortunes but i don't see them getting out of this group after an opening day defeat.
Curraha v Dunboyne- Dunboyne looking strong- Lenihan and esp Kinlough are a real threat. Hard to imagine this exact side almost got swept into a relegation final last year but whatever Andy Mc has done it seems to be working. Still not convinced they could topple Shill, Dunsh or Ratoath but arent far off the pack. Curraha missing 2 big players doesn't help fortunes.

Group C
St Colmcilles v Senchalstown- St Colmcilles kicked into gear and the difference in operating at Div2 V Div1 seemed to be a big factor. The minor winning teams starting to pull through and Liam Stafford made a good impression. Sench really lack anything without Cathal Finnegan, a real worry going into a big game V Simonstown. Cilles would fancy themselves to finish the top of this group based on form.
Na Fianna v Simonstown- Na Fianna beat Simonstown 4 weeks ago in the league to ultimately put Simonstown one foot in Div2. Different Simonstown that played Sunday compared to that one in the league and a massive result for them to put league woes behind them. Na Fianna seemed to struggle with Simonstown going forward, watched this game after NOM V Walterstown and Aaron Farrelly for simonstown made a massive impression for me.

Group D
Rathkenny v Trim- Trim getting over the line without their main man as well as James Toher. Comradory seemed to be a man on fire from league and Rathkenny didnt do a job on him. Rathkenny actually played better football but in championship a result is all that matters. Trimleave their fate in their own hands whilst its an uphill battle for Rathkenny.
Ratoath v Sykrne- Not a big a shock i think as many made out, fairplay to everyone getting on Skyrne at 5/1. Skyrne under O'Dowd have developed this crazy press, leaving a corner back as the only option for a keeper tom kick to then they squeeze until they force a turnover. Ratoath lacked anything in midfield once Mcgowan went off but with Flynn back from America that issue resolves itself. Still fancy Ratoath to get out of the group with Skyrne.

COUNTYTOCOUNTY (Meath) - Posts: 30 - 13/08/2024 14:19:57    2564969

Two teams who will take great confidence from the 1st round are Dunboyne and St. Colmcille's as they had the biggest winning margins, eleven and eight points respectively. All the other winning margins were much smaller.
St. Colmcille's are the top scoring team (3-12) just ahead of Dunboyne (0-20) who had eleven different scorers while teams like Summerhill, Dunshaughlin, Wolfe Tones and Gael Colmcille had only four men each get their name on the score sheet. Ballinabrackey had the lowest of all with only 3 players scoring.
St. Colmcille's (3-7) are also joint top scoring team from play with Simonstown (1-13).
Both Gael Colmcille & Ballinabrackey only managed to get 0-3 each from play and are also the joint lowest scoring teams overall on 0-8 after Round 1.

madmeath (Meath) - Posts: 83 - 19/08/2024 18:40:19    2565880

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1489 - 20/08/2024 10:57:59    2565962

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 403 - 20/08/2024 13:22:52    2565983

SFC round 2 Predictions
Group A
Donaghmore ashbourne vs Ballinabrackey: Must win game for both teams, the bracks are coming off a brilliant display vs the county champions and were unfortunate to not have come away with a point at least. The moors will feel hard done by and will feel they left a win behind them vs dunsh, they played well and I think they will carry this form into the Bracks game who I feel put too much into the Summerhill game and will find it hard to get back to that level. Don Ash by 4.

Summerhill vs Dunshaughlin: Should be a great game between two of the three favourites for the championship. Both teams will think they will win this game and will know they will need to be alot better than what they showed in the first round. These sides could meet again later on in the year but I think and this will go right to the wire and Shills experience will pay off in the end winning by 1.

Group B
Curraha vs Gaeil Colmcille: The Kells men were only average last time out vs tones while Curraha looked like they will be an intermediate side next year in the first round. Curraha carrying too many lads at this level, although Jack O'Connor and Diarmuid Moriarty can be match winners on any given day. The North Meath outfit are a well more balanced side and I'd back the Kells men to win here putting themselves in with a chance of getting out of the group going into the last round. Kells by 6.

Dunboyne vs Wolfe Tones: A repeat of the 2021 final for the first time in championship since Tones won the Keegan cup that day. The teams have had very contrasting last 2 years however with the Tones being comfortably the 3rd best team in championship the last 2 years, with a very unlucky one point loss to Ratoath in last years semi and Dunboyne fighting relegation both times. However Dunboyne look to be the superior team so far this year and were the most impressive side in the first round while the Gaeltacht men just scraped over the line last time out. The tones will keep this tight but think the Andy McEntee coached side will win by 2 in the end.

Group C
Simonstown vs Seneschalstown: A team who got relegated from the league but won their first round and and a team who got promoted from division 2 but lost their first round. Two complete opposites a country club vs a town club. Will be a very interesting game with it being a local rivalry and a championship game. Again I expect another tight game but I can see Simonstown having too much quality in the end. If Cathal Finnegan plays this could well go a different way but I see the town side winning by 5.

Na Fianna vs St Colmcilles: A must win game for Naf if they have any hope of getting out of this group. Can see this game going two ways and it comes down to how one man plays and that's Shane Walsh. He had an off day the last day and if he plays like that again then Naf will get a good beating but if he's on it then I can see him lifting the others and if they get Ethan Devine back I can see them edging this by a point.

Group D
Ratoath vs Trim: Two teams who had poor opening matches with Ratoath loosing when they were well fancied and Trim just winning after loosing the whole match. A good win for Trim none the less but this is a must win match for Ratoath and can see them winning comfortably showing they are still a top side and that they will have a say in this championship. Ratoath by 12

Rathkenny vs Skryne: Skryne under former Meath manager Mick O'Dowd are going extremely well this year compared to how last year went. After getting to the semi final stage in the league and beating bookies favourite Ratoath in the first round. They will be looking to insure a quarter final spot at the weekend with their young team but I can't see Skryne having it all their own way at all. I think after last weeks performance Rathkenny have showed they can be a competitive team and I expect a shock here with Rathkenny led by Keogan and Curtis winning by the minimum.

Meathboyos86 (Meath) - Posts: 29 - 20/08/2024 15:43:21    2566020

SFC round 2 Predictions
Group A
Donaghmore ashbourne vs Ballinabrackey:
Knockout football form here on for both teams. Sean Coffey returning from suspension is a plus but expect Ashbourne to just have enough with here and win by 2

Summerhill vs Dunshaughlin:
The champions vs the contenders , Summerhill I expect to bully a young Dunshaughlin team with the best 3 and 6 duo in Meath club football (two Ryan's ) and Flanagan to be to much for Mitchell , Gray and kinsella , Costello could be the only difference as his performance can differ for this team . Summerhill by 4

Group B
Curraha vs Gaeil Colmcille:
Always skeptical of backing against the Ha as they can show up and do anything on the day with their star studded forward line. However I expect the experience of the Kells men to prevail by 3

Dunboyne vs Wolfe Tones:
The most under achieving team in meath football against a team who have consistently been a top four team over the
Last few years. I expect the under achievers to finally make knockout football with a
Win here. Kinlough , Ryan , Murphy and Lacey ( if back from international duties) to be to much for the tones dunboyne by 3

Group C
Simonstown vs Seneschalstown:
A greater Navan derby here , the yellow fuzz are well set up and have star players like Finnegan and hickey, but the North town blues will fancy their chances after a good win in rd1 - draw

Na Fianna vs St Colmcilles:
Devine should be back for naf which is a massive plus as he is the heart beat of the team, if he plays well and Walsh shows up in full form I can see a possibly upset on the cards, naf by 2

Group D
Ratoath vs Trim:
Two big town teams battling here, both will have players returning from state sides but find it hard to see Rathaoth being knocked out after two rounds, trim seemed to have gotten out of jail the last day to. The bigger town (rathoath ) should win by 5

Rathkenny vs Skryne:
A semi Navan derby here with alot of ex St pats alumni playing here. Not quite sure
How mick o dowd got this team to beat rathoath but he seems to be doing something right with them. Skyrne by 2

Faithfulmeath (Meath) - Posts: 13 - 23/08/2024 12:03:39    2566418

Very interesting round , going to be some mouth watering games in two weeks. Dunboyne look very physically strong, a lot of big men on the field, Lacey made big difference when coming on. They will have a big Say in this championship. Wolf tones should get a result against Naf who have nothing to play for. Two o neills big loses today, tones on their day could still cause an upset.

Dunshaughlin with a statement win, still feel like they have some more improvement yet, Costello has the ability to change the game out of nothing, as talented as a forward as their is in meath, just seems to glide across the ground. Summerhill haven't kicked into form yet this championship, didn't deserve the win in truth. I would be worried that their middle 8 isn't looking anywhere near as strong this year, doesn't seem to be clicking.
Conor frayne very impressive in the first half, not sure if he has been in with the seniors before but he is as good as club corner forward as I have seen in meath over the last four years.

Meathfootball12 (Meath) - Posts: 6 - 25/08/2024 23:23:22    2566789

As a lot of people had predicted the Senior Championship is very open this year.
Dunshaughlin with their big win over Summerhill in an enthralling game are the only team guaranteed to top their group after 2 rounds (head to head is first tie breaker). Their game against Ballinabrackey is a dead rubber. The other match in the group is likely to be another exciting contest with County champions Summerhill needing a win over Don/Ash to make it to the QF, a draw is no good to the hill (as next tie breaker is scoring dif).
Dunboyne are as good as Mathematically qualified & Curraha are as good as mathematically doomed to Relegation QF.
Group C Colmcilles and Simonstown are through to QF's and play each other for top spot.
Group D is all up in the air and people in both venues will be closely following the scores in the other game in the group.
Don/Ash (with only one win) are top scoring team 3-27 (36) followed by Simonstown 3-26 (35), Dunshaughlin 3-25 (34), St. Colmcilles 4-21 (33) & Dunboyne 0-31.
Lowest are Wolfe Tones 0-16 and along with Dunboyne & Ratoath are the three teams who have yet to score a goal in the 2024 SFC.

madmeath (Meath) - Posts: 83 - 26/08/2024 11:02:20    2566885

Not a huge surprise that Dunshauglin beat S'hill. They should have been in the final last year only for self-destructing again Ratoath. They wobbled a bit against Don/Ash, but have a nice mix of mobile players to put it up to any Meath team.

Ratoath were unconvincing against Trim, despite making wholesale changes and facing opponents that couldn't finish off good attacking runs. Jack Flynn looked very promising on his return to the centre and will improve from this run out. Poor game management to leave on a player, who picked up a needless yellow, when it was clear that he'd pick up another. Bringing on a lad who is clearly injured, was another strange decision.

Still think Ratoath will improve. There are some encouraging signs and they have a lot of experience.

Well done to neighbours Kilbride. Came good after a shaky start and fully deserved their victory.

rathgah (Meath) - Posts: 5 - 26/08/2024 14:30:05    2566959

The biggest thing of note to take from the weekends action is the disparity in the quality of refereeing in this county. I was at the double header in Navan on Sunday and the Ratoath v Trim game on Saturday. Keith Sheering was excellent in the Dunshaughlin game, let ting it flow o a limit and then giving free's and cards when required.

The other two however were shocking, blatant fouls and free's not being given, is it any wonder our club championship isn't at a good standard when the rules that lads play under change depending on who the man in the middle is

ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 582 - 27/08/2024 12:19:34    2567111

Was also in navan, and fully agreed regarding referees performances in senior games

royler (Meath) - Posts: 278 - 27/08/2024 15:10:33    2567167

On the impact the mark is having in relation to scoring.
After two rounds of the Meath Senior Championship only 3% of the total scores have come from marks.
Only seven teams of the sixteen in the Senior Championship have scored marks.

madmeath (Meath) - Posts: 83 - 29/08/2024 09:02:59    2567476

Ratoath scored more in one game today (8-19) than 10 of the other 15 teams scored in all three of their championship games, that includes three of the quarterfinalists, Summerhill, Skryne & Wolfe Tones and Trim, Na Fianna, Gael Colmcille, Seneschalstown, Curraha, Ballinabrackey & Rathkenny.

madmeath (Meath) - Posts: 83 - 08/09/2024 20:08:53    2568974

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 403 - 09/09/2024 08:37:00    2569016

royler (Meath) - Posts: 278 - 09/09/2024 08:51:24    2569017

royal1967 (Meath) - Posts: 293 - 09/09/2024 08:53:52    2569019

royler (Meath) - Posts: 278 - 09/09/2024 10:16:41    2569035

Ratoath have been creating plenty of chances in recent games and leaving them behind, including the first half yesterday. Hard to explain what happened to Rathkenny in the second half, but it turned into a complete mismatch. In that second half form, Ratoath would be unbeatable, but I think we all know that won't happen again.

Will it be a help or a hinder going in against a dangerous Dunshaughlin side, who should have beaten us last year? Time will tell, but it was great to see the lads in full flight yesterday.

rathgah (Meath) - Posts: 5 - 09/09/2024 10:46:43    2569041