Meath Forum

Offaly V Meath

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "Thanks for the response - they were the 4 names I was thinking of too and you could probably add Ronan Jones as cover for centre back so maybe that's fine for now on the assumption that there are a few more guys training away in the background. One other minor gripe from yesterday - we won a free outside the arc, Brennan came up to take it but was waved away and Flynn ended up taking it and completely mis-kicking it and it went wide off the hand of one of our lads. It was at a time too when Offaly were still in the game. Presumably the thinking was that Flynn might be better off taking them from the left hand side but Brennan has successfully kicked them from that side already in the league so I would have thought he should just take all of them? It was the lack of a clear strategy that seemed odd to me."
Those 4 have been steadily amongst the replacements and without knowledge of a full squad/panel I will not even speculate as to who else is there or showing well.

The new rules also give you that freedom of having a half forward move to the half back line and there is always plenty of rotation with the 3 up and sometimes a forward will have to do their own defensive covering if a back is caught up the field. I think so far we are OK for cover as things stand but if you lose two of No. 2 to No.7 long term we are in certainly in trouble.

Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship. I think the management deserve enormous credit for letting lads recover and not risk them in league.

I think we all noticed the Flynn free situation. He turned immediately after fluffing the kick and acknowledged Brennan right away. I wouldn't like to see such a situation happening in tighter games. In Cork, Morris missed two 2 pt free efforts. I'd rather have seen Brennan come up on them but look it, if he had and missed we'd have been asking why wasn't a forward on them.

Anyway, there is no harm in having an alternative for long range frees should Brennan (or Costello) not be available. I believe myself it was a management call from the beginning. Similar to a previous post I where mentioned the lack of two point attempts we had yesterday, we took the safer worked option and kicked 20 points (missing 2-3 long range efforts). Not a concern IMO we are the best in the busiess at the 2pters and good to see us make use of the space and clip over the 'easier' point.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 23/03/2026 16:32:14    2662611

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Those 4 have been steadily amongst the replacements and without knowledge of a full squad/panel I will not even speculate as to who else is there or showing well.

The new rules also give you that freedom of having a half forward move to the half back line and there is always plenty of rotation with the 3 up and sometimes a forward will have to do their own defensive covering if a back is caught up the field. I think so far we are OK for cover as things stand but if you lose two of No. 2 to No.7 long term we are in certainly in trouble.

Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship. I think the management deserve enormous credit for letting lads recover and not risk them in league.

I think we all noticed the Flynn free situation. He turned immediately after fluffing the kick and acknowledged Brennan right away. I wouldn't like to see such a situation happening in tighter games. In Cork, Morris missed two 2 pt free efforts. I'd rather have seen Brennan come up on them but look it, if he had and missed we'd have been asking why wasn't a forward on them.

Anyway, there is no harm in having an alternative for long range frees should Brennan (or Costello) not be available. I believe myself it was a management call from the beginning. Similar to a previous post I where mentioned the lack of two point attempts we had yesterday, we took the safer worked option and kicked 20 points (missing 2-3 long range efforts). Not a concern IMO we are the best in the busiess at the 2pters and good to see us make use of the space and clip over the 'easier' point."
"Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship"

I don't think he's ever played half back in his life for starters, maybe thats a typo and you meant half forward? He certainly hasnt played there for Meath. With Dunboyne he's nearly always midfield.

He seems to have a big following of fans on this forum who things he's a nailed on starter despite everything that has been achieved without him. I find it disrespectful to the current starters who are all outstanding.

As a previous poster mentioned it's horses for courses with Jones, if we are struggling for physicality around the middle or on breaking ball he would be a good option to bring on. It's not like Matthew Costello who is a certainty to start come championship.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 313 - 23/03/2026 17:15:50    2662634

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  ""Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship"

I don't think he's ever played half back in his life for starters, maybe thats a typo and you meant half forward? He certainly hasnt played there for Meath. With Dunboyne he's nearly always midfield.

He seems to have a big following of fans on this forum who things he's a nailed on starter despite everything that has been achieved without him. I find it disrespectful to the current starters who are all outstanding.

As a previous poster mentioned it's horses for courses with Jones, if we are struggling for physicality around the middle or on breaking ball he would be a good option to bring on. It's not like Matthew Costello who is a certainty to start come championship."
Fair enough, he has mostly started in midfield or in the half forward line. Have to remember though he was our captain in 2024 (for good reason) and he was our best player in the 2025 league until he got injured so you have to think he has a huge amount of credit built up with management. So don't think it's disrespectful to anyone to suggest they might find room for him, particularly when we already have so many options in midfield and attack.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 127 - 23/03/2026 18:14:49    2662653

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  ""Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship"

I don't think he's ever played half back in his life for starters, maybe thats a typo and you meant half forward? He certainly hasnt played there for Meath. With Dunboyne he's nearly always midfield.

He seems to have a big following of fans on this forum who things he's a nailed on starter despite everything that has been achieved without him. I find it disrespectful to the current starters who are all outstanding.

As a previous poster mentioned it's horses for courses with Jones, if we are struggling for physicality around the middle or on breaking ball he would be a good option to bring on. It's not like Matthew Costello who is a certainty to start come championship."
Costello is an interesting one - I'm a big fan and he brings something different to our attack. He probably wasn't firing on all cylinders before his injury which wasn't surprising as I think he's more of a top of the ground player anyway. But our attack has looked very potent since he's been out and guys like O'Connor, Frayne and Lynch have all stepped up their game in his absence. It will be interesting to see how he's re-integrated and whether the attack will be as fluid. Don't think it will happen but he would be a cracking impact sub to bring on against a tiring defence with 20/25 minutes to go.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 127 - 23/03/2026 18:27:51    2662660

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  ""Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship"

I don't think he's ever played half back in his life for starters, maybe thats a typo and you meant half forward? He certainly hasnt played there for Meath. With Dunboyne he's nearly always midfield.

He seems to have a big following of fans on this forum who things he's a nailed on starter despite everything that has been achieved without him. I find it disrespectful to the current starters who are all outstanding.

As a previous poster mentioned it's horses for courses with Jones, if we are struggling for physicality around the middle or on breaking ball he would be a good option to bring on. It's not like Matthew Costello who is a certainty to start come championship."
Jones will be doing well to make the bench no matter what level of fitness he's at. Robbie Brennan is correctly loyal to the guys who have the minutes under their belt from the league. Our championship team is going to be similar to yesterday. Would say maybe Matty Costello will be in and that's it. The 3 big men around the middle is a guarantee as well as we've had either Duke/O'Neill/McBride at wing forward since Brennan came in and that's been a clear, successful tactic. McBride slotted back in nicely yesterday. I know O'Connor has looked good but his pace and driving at defenses could be reason he'd be a great sub to bring in against tired teams late on.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 89 - 23/03/2026 18:36:05    2662662

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Yes I understand that he's an out and out No. 8 and has had his stint in the half forward line for the County. But many a time he has sat on half back line transitioning defence to attack from deep. I think that is a role he can fulfil with Meath particularly in how we set up. He would play between the 45s.

There's no way I see him coming in and dislodging Menton/Flynn/McBride from a centrefield berth given their form and absolutely no chance he takes a half forward position - unless he shares with Jack O Connor depending on game/opposition. Same goes for half back line. But I see him as an obvious choice as an auxiliary player given how little players we have capable of slotting in there

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 23/03/2026 18:45:02    2662663

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Yes I understand that he's an out and out No. 8 and has had his stint in the half forward line for the County. But many a time he has sat on half back line transitioning defence to attack from deep. I think that is a role he can fulfil with Meath particularly in how we set up. He would play between the 45s.

There's no way I see him coming in and dislodging Menton/Flynn/McBride from a centrefield berth given their form and absolutely no chance he takes a half forward position - unless he shares with Jack O Connor depending on game/opposition. Same goes for half back line. But I see him as an obvious choice as an auxiliary player given how little players we have capable of slotting in there

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 23/03/2026 18:51:41    2662668

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Just off the top of my head from recent 26-man match panels you have Ronan Ryan, Killian Smyth, Adam O Neill and Cathal Hickey as four defensive backs.

I think the league panel simply comes down to match selection as opposed to cover. It's been deemed more important to load the bench with midfielders and attacking forwards than backs - particularly given the type of games we have played this campaign but cover is still there with a full back, two half backs and an auxiliary full/centre back.

From No. 2 to No. 7 we have settled players who have earned their jersey throughout the league. In my opinion they are the best we have and will play better as a unit the more they play together.

I would agree with you though and say that we are quite thin in the backs overall and could very quickly lose cohesion if we had to start filling gaps as championship progresses through injuries to key players and that's just where squad depth comes into it. We need to trust that there are 3 or 4 lads training away just waiting for a moment to step in. They might lack serious Inter County experience but they will be drilled into the bigger system and know their job when called upon."
They are all fair points.

There is probably not the same need to carry defensive players on the bench any more.

What I would say though is form/ability will force a squad selection. We don't have defensive minded squad players that are better players than curtis, hickey, gray, charlie O'Connor, lynch/Conlon and I would say we are probably the better for it with the new rules.

If necessity requires we will convert a running style player into a half back or a midfielder into a full/centre back. I would actually say Bryan menton is the third choice 6 he naturally covers that area alot. Ronan Ryan is the first man into the full back line and then we have keoghan and O'Neill as back up. A little bit too make shift but the reality is that's a 2027 fix now.

I wonder will one or two be rested at the weekend. Like we need keoghan, menton, morris, Flynn,kinsella in cotton wool now until championship, now that said I don't see it happening. Those men have had very few opportunities to play finals id say they're mad for road. I do hope the bench is ran out earlier though, Ryan, gray, Conlon, curtis all need minutes.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 63 - 23/03/2026 20:23:24    2662678

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Those 4 have been steadily amongst the replacements and without knowledge of a full squad/panel I will not even speculate as to who else is there or showing well.

The new rules also give you that freedom of having a half forward move to the half back line and there is always plenty of rotation with the 3 up and sometimes a forward will have to do their own defensive covering if a back is caught up the field. I think so far we are OK for cover as things stand but if you lose two of No. 2 to No.7 long term we are in certainly in trouble.

Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship. I think the management deserve enormous credit for letting lads recover and not risk them in league.

I think we all noticed the Flynn free situation. He turned immediately after fluffing the kick and acknowledged Brennan right away. I wouldn't like to see such a situation happening in tighter games. In Cork, Morris missed two 2 pt free efforts. I'd rather have seen Brennan come up on them but look it, if he had and missed we'd have been asking why wasn't a forward on them.

Anyway, there is no harm in having an alternative for long range frees should Brennan (or Costello) not be available. I believe myself it was a management call from the beginning. Similar to a previous post I where mentioned the lack of two point attempts we had yesterday, we took the safer worked option and kicked 20 points (missing 2-3 long range efforts). Not a concern IMO we are the best in the busiess at the 2pters and good to see us make use of the space and clip over the 'easier' point."
Wouldn't be making much of the Flynn early free. Wasn't an easy kick or gimme for Brennan either by any means as was on his wrong side and Flynn kicked excellantly against Derry from range off the ground as he does with Ratoath and it suited a right footer. He mishit it but would agree anything central and right hand side Brennan should take. Interestingly not sure we took on any shots from outside 2 pt arc from play in entire game so looks like we were going for a risk free game plan. Think we will take on more next week so expect both Jack's to be more in the game in front of posts from range.

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 961 - 23/03/2026 20:52:44    2662681

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  ""Jones will absolutely come into half back line should he return to play by championship"

I don't think he's ever played half back in his life for starters, maybe thats a typo and you meant half forward? He certainly hasnt played there for Meath. With Dunboyne he's nearly always midfield.

He seems to have a big following of fans on this forum who things he's a nailed on starter despite everything that has been achieved without him. I find it disrespectful to the current starters who are all outstanding.

As a previous poster mentioned it's horses for courses with Jones, if we are struggling for physicality around the middle or on breaking ball he would be a good option to bring on. It's not like Matthew Costello who is a certainty to start come championship."
I don't think it's disrespectful. It's only natural to wonder - and hope - that when he's fully fit, he can work his way back into the team.

At around 30, and after a really tough run of injuries, he probably isn't a guaranteed starter anymore. But that doesn't take away from what he's done, or what he can still offer.

In fairness, the following he has is fully earned. It comes from years of putting in performances (not perfect or elite standard but solid) when things weren't going well for Meath. There were plenty of bad days in Division 2 and one-sided Leinster defeats where he, Keoghan and Costello were often the only ones driving things on.

He's a former captain, was first-choice midfielder in the Tailteann Cup win, started last year's league as a key player, scored two goals against Cavan in 2025, and made a contribution against Dublin. He would be a much needed extra bit of experience needed on otherwise a very young attacking unit.

He absolutely has as much to offer as the likes of Adam O'Neill, Cian McBride and Conor Gray - all of whom have contributed really well at midfield. What he brings is a real dynamism, power and a bit more attacking football ability, which could be a huge asset, especially with how important momentum swings have become in games. I do get your point though we are doing fantastic without him and O'Neill and mcbride are contributing really well to that.

And I think that's really what it comes down to - as supporters, we can't help but wonder what a fully fit Meath squad would actually look like.

Because if everyone was available, you're suddenly looking at a midfield pool of Flynn, Menton, McBride, O'Neill, Gray, Jones… it really would be a land of giants. I for one would love to see them all fit and chomping at the bit. The lads who have come in to replace injuries have now earned their jerseys which would mean we could have proven championship starters such as Jones and Conlon on the bench.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 63 - 23/03/2026 21:39:32    2662691

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "Costello is an interesting one - I'm a big fan and he brings something different to our attack. He probably wasn't firing on all cylinders before his injury which wasn't surprising as I think he's more of a top of the ground player anyway. But our attack has looked very potent since he's been out and guys like O'Connor, Frayne and Lynch have all stepped up their game in his absence. It will be interesting to see how he's re-integrated and whether the attack will be as fluid. Don't think it will happen but he would be a cracking impact sub to bring on against a tiring defence with 20/25 minutes to go."
Interesting point. I have felt the same.

I think we all agree he starts all day everyday but it is interesting point that the fringe men in O'Connor/lynch stood up and kinsella is running the show now.

I would like to see him be more direct. He's a little safe at times for a man of his ability and he is a man should be allowed try things.

Galway last year, first half in particular and that's not even his ceiling and that performance earned him an all star nominee.

Kinsella and morris have in my opinion got very close to being ELITE this year, it looks like they've really improved from last year.

That's the challenge for him to go be an elite all star forward and drive this team into the next tier. I think he can do it, he certainly has the raw goods.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 63 - 23/03/2026 22:18:19    2662711

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Replying To royalcounty1:  "They are all fair points.

There is probably not the same need to carry defensive players on the bench any more.

What I would say though is form/ability will force a squad selection. We don't have defensive minded squad players that are better players than curtis, hickey, gray, charlie O'Connor, lynch/Conlon and I would say we are probably the better for it with the new rules.

If necessity requires we will convert a running style player into a half back or a midfielder into a full/centre back. I would actually say Bryan menton is the third choice 6 he naturally covers that area alot. Ronan Ryan is the first man into the full back line and then we have keoghan and O'Neill as back up. A little bit too make shift but the reality is that's a 2027 fix now.

I wonder will one or two be rested at the weekend. Like we need keoghan, menton, morris, Flynn,kinsella in cotton wool now until championship, now that said I don't see it happening. Those men have had very few opportunities to play finals id say they're mad for road. I do hope the bench is ran out earlier though, Ryan, gray, Conlon, curtis all need minutes."
Resting lads for a league final in Croke Park? What are you drinking, because I wouldn't mind some on sunday night

Faithfulmeath (Meath) - Posts: 46 - 23/03/2026 23:58:22    2662730

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