nobull456 (Meath) - Posts: 1292 - 13/07/2025 22:15:49    2625431

Overall a disappointing day but the build up was something else. It felt like an All Ireland final.

Beside Frayne and Curtis none of our forwards showed up. Took the wrong option too many times and against a team like Donegal they will punish you. Menton going off was a killer blow and Gray didn't have an impact. In defence, Keoghan was excellent and Coffey had good moments but left us very open through the center. Rafferty was below par and struggled at times.

On the year as a whole it has been a success. At the start of the year I said a top half finish in division 2, make a Leinster semi final and put in a good performance against Dublin. Then make it out of the group ans compete with the likes of Tyrone, Mayo, Dublin etc.

We achieved a lot more than what my expectations were. We beat Dublin, got to a Leinster final. Beat Galway and Kerry who are two of the top teams (Albeit it was a weakened Kerry side and if we came up against the one Armagh or Tyrone faced it would have been another 20 point hammering).

In my opinion Kerry, Donegal and Armagh are that top cohort of teams. I would say we're in the next bracket with the likes of Dublin, Tyrone, Galway and Monaghan. We have proven we can compete and beat teams in this bracket.

As for next year, I would be looking at winning Division 2 (promotion is minimum and winning Leinster). Leinster will be tough, Dublin are still a decent side, Louth will be interesting if they can kick on another gear, the next step for them is to kick on and start beating the likes of Dublin, Tyrone, Galway and Monaghan. Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath will all be dangerous as well.

Each team will have targets, we're now seen as a team who is probably in that top 8 bracket but to kick on next year we will need to get some silverware.

UsernameInvalid (Meath) - Posts: 425 - 13/07/2025 22:40:42    2625436

TigerKing (Meath) - Posts: 43 - 13/07/2025 22:46:34    2625438

Incredible season, brought us to places we never thought we'd get to, especially so quickly, but a bitter pill to swallow how it ended.

The biggest thing will be hopefully there's no physiological damage, a very heavy defeat on the big stage - Robbie will have to galvanise them and go again next year. Lots of potential there and plenty of new blood coming through.

My biggest concern would be we just have up. Just threw in the towel and it was a throwback to what Dublin have been doing to us in Leinster for 10 years. The heads dropped, good players made bad decisions, and let's call a spade a spade it was embarrassing.

Donegal gave us respect and were ruthless. The squad depth they have is very telling, and they are just a really good team. But it's the level we have to get to if we want to compete.

We have the Skeleton of a really good team just need a few players. Won't name names today but there's a few lads who just aren't up to it at this level, and today showed that. Massive eye opener. Congratulations Donegal, brilliant performance and deserved winners

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 48 - 13/07/2025 23:28:37    2625454

Coylesrighthand (Meath) - Posts: 25 - 14/07/2025 00:02:45    2625460

MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 1119 - 14/07/2025 00:13:39    2625466

Thank you to the management and the players for this season. It's been such a long time since I've seen such an enthusiastic support of Meath. Yesterday was exceptionally tough to take but I think it was a case of us going to the well once too often. The fact that we managed to get so far with the amount of injuries to first team players is a testament to the team. Look at the depth that Donegal had compared to us.

Everything that could go wrong yesterday, did go wrong. Two pointed efforts that were going over earlier in the season just weren't working for us yesterday. Final, crucial passes went astray. Breaks and ricochets always seemed to fall Donegal's way. And the last straw, I feel, was Menton's injury. He's been exceptional this season and we needed another experienced head to keep us mildly competitive.

But we didn't become a bad team overnight. Donegal are way further down the line than us and it showed yesterday in their ruthlessness and our naivety. But it's still been a season that went far beyond my expectations. I was hopeful of avoiding relegation, putting a decent performance in against Dublin and maybe making the preliminary quarter finals. Promotion from division 2 next year has to be one of our main goals, though that is going to be exceptionally tough. But after the season we've had along with hopefully some new additions to the panel and backroom team, I think it's a realistic goal.

Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1394 - 14/07/2025 07:45:30    2625482

thelutch (Meath) - Posts: 1113 - 14/07/2025 09:02:26    2625493

What a great season we had. The lads played some excellent football at times. I would have settled for a decent showing against the Dubs but the lads had other ideas. They have done themselves and the county proud. Looking forward to the club championship now to see if anyone else puts there hand up for a place in the squad to push us forward again. Hon the Royal

atta (Meath) - Posts: 710 - 14/07/2025 09:09:22    2625500

Much to be grateful for, best season for Meath in 15 years by some margin. Looking forward to 2026

bert09 (Meath) - Posts: 1836 - 14/07/2025 09:13:10    2625503

Yesterday was as bad as some of the defeats to Dublin in recent years but in big picture we have made a step forward in this year's championship.

Yes each of the 3 division 1 teams we have beaten have had issues but this is the first time in a long time that we were in a position to capitalise on this (Kerry might have been understrength but mad to think we beat them by 9 points). In the group stages previously you would have been looking to scrape 3'rd place not toping the group.

The new rules have helped us a lot this year but yesterday made it harder to counteract Donegal's strong running, and we really faced a Donegal firing on all cylinders yesterday, Donegal were brilliant on the day. The athleticism of their running was a sight to behold.

We face into next year in a better position than previous years.
Hopefully we will get a clear run with injuries, Jones/ Flynn back from injuries will mean a lot and strengthen midfield options a lot.

GreenMan1987 (Meath) - Posts: 84 - 14/07/2025 09:13:21    2625504

Anyone else a bit worried for next year?Mentons injury looked bad will he comeback next year?He is a key component in that team.He started every league and championship match this year and In my opinion our best midfielder.Jones unfortunately seems to be injury prone and Flynn tends to drifts in and out of games albeit he is still quite young.Will that be Keoghans lot?Cant be easy on the body and 14 years non stop has to take its toll.Lose both of them and we have very little experience.Hopefully I'm wrong and they don't quit because were definitely in the mix for a leinster next year.Wont be easy as I think Dublin will improve and Kildare,Westmeath and Offaly also are and Louth will also have a few under 20s coming through so its going to be a competitive championship.Need to find another forward or 2 so maybe Stafford or murphy will step in next year.

Proudroyal (Meath) - Posts: 402 - 14/07/2025 09:33:08    2625508

A step too far yesterday, but an unbelievable year and one that surpassed any expectations.

We just simply had too many injuries yesterday. Menton, Jonesy, Flynn, Banty, Cathal Hickey and Kinlough are just too big of losses to this team.

We have so much to look foward to next year, Jack O'Connor and Campion have already agreed to come back into the squad and hopefully one or two 20s will come into the side. Promotion from division 2 will be crucial and hopefully we can get back to the Leinster Final.

On a side note it is awful funny seeing Louth fans piping up. They finally for the first time in 57 years won a trophy, and we still outshone them.

contributingtoamelee (Meath) - Posts: 74 - 14/07/2025 09:33:40    2625510

It was such a down-to-earth experience. It reminded me of when Cork beat us in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2007 - we were well beaten. No complaints, no what-ifs, no close calls. Just comprehensively outplayed.

Of course, the hindsight managers come out in force after every game. Take my own group chat with friends - I quote: "I knew Meath were no good, they shouldn't have gotten this far..." and so on.

But the reality is this: we've now broken into the top six or eight teams in the country. The standard has been set. In Meath, we don't do moral victories. We were spoilt with success years ago, and as a result, we always expect trophies - and I think that's perfectly fine. We back our team, but we expect results too.

We are accused of being deluded at times with the standards we expect. Look at the other counties that can a get to a similar level - Roscommon, Kildare, Westmeath, Monaghan, Cork. They have loyal support as well, but not always with the same pressure or expectation to win silverware. And often, those teams don't push on either.

Based on the evidence of this weekend, Meath are five or six senior players short. Costello, Morris, Keoghan, Menton, and Kinsella - they're our leaders. But truthfully, aside from Keoghan, most of them would likely be fringe players on the top-tier teams.

What Meath need now is to fast-track lads into being comfortable - comfortable under pressure, comfortable in fluid roles. Positions aren't fixed at the top level anymore. Next year's league should be used to broaden these players' exposure and stretch their limits. Start Costello at midfield sometimes. Try Coffey at wing-back. Put Kinsella there too. Drop a couple of regulars. Develop their abilities.
Right now, we have a solid fifteen in fairly set positions. But we need more adaptability. Costello is the only forward we have who can genuinely play inside or out, or even in midfield. The rest are clearly defined as either inside or outside men.

Duke, for example, needs to be able to properly occupy the full-forward role - and play like a full-forward. Frayne is stylish, but he needs to add a yard of pace and learn to hold the 40 for a stretch. I think these lads will get there - the question is how fast.

There's only so much space at the top. Galway, Mayo, Dublin - it's rare that all three have a down year at the same time. If we're serious, we need to leapfrog teams and keep them in the chasing pack instead of us being there. The margins are tight - but the opportunity is there.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 27 - 14/07/2025 09:43:13    2625512

summerof09 (Meath) - Posts: 335 - 14/07/2025 09:52:46    2625516

Anyway - hard lines yesterday lads. I thought ye were competing very well until Menton had to go off injured. I also thought ye went a bit too gung-ho with the two-pointer attempts. It's a fairly young team though bar one or two, so the experience will stand to them.

In 2026, I think the targets for Meath should be promption to Div1 and a Leinster title. Both are achievable. Brennan has done a good job in getting a bit of a stir back in Meath football. Hopefully the injured lads can get back into it, and maybe your upcoming club championships will unearth another few diamonds.

All the best.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9897 - 14/07/2025 10:11:43    2625525

Donegalexile (Donegal) - Posts: 4 - 14/07/2025 10:35:09    2625531

summerof09 (Meath) - Posts: 335 - 14/07/2025 11:04:58    2625537

bert09 (Meath) - Posts: 1836 - 14/07/2025 11:08:38    2625538

Donegalexile (Donegal) - Posts: 4 - 14/07/2025 11:19:50    2625541