Meath Forum

League Final

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I'd say the difference today was Sean Brennan. His ability off the deck was far better than Cork's. Particularly in the first half when we were under pressure - if Brennan was just lumping it long down the middle like Cork often did, their purple patch could have been a lot more damaging.

There were good spells across the half-back line, midfield and forwards. Yes, we were wasteful and a bit sloppy at times, but lads stood up when it mattered. O'Connor's goal and two-pointer, Kinsella hit big scores, Frayne at the end, Jack Flynn in the second half, and Banty's impact.

I do think we missed Adam O'Neill's midfield work towards the end. He'd have been a big help to bring on when things got tight.

Still disappointing how we let Cork back into it after going five up.

The full-back line struggled, but in fairness, that Cork forward unit is lethal. Jones would score in a phone box and Sherlock is probably top 2 or 3 in the country for point-taking.

Selection-wise, Costello coming back is a real headache. McBride is such a nuisance on kickouts he's hard to leave out, and O'Connor is nailed on. The issue is Lynch gives great balance, and Banty coming in to do a similar role works well.

For me, Lynch probably loses out and Costello goes in at full forward.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 63 - 29/03/2026 21:13:04    2663830

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "Great win, this meath team are such a team of winners, wasn't looking great at times but they know how to grind it out. Thought Frayne's last 15-20 minutes were huge, between his free taking and his decision making he had a real impact on the outcome. Bench was brilliant. Killian Smyth, Ronan Ryan, Cathal Hickey and Banty really improved things.

Full back line struggled again, we seem to be winning games because of a good midfield and our firepower in attack rather than any sticky defending. Interesting that Robbie took both corner backs off, we looked steadier when the full back line was Ronan Ryan, Keoghan and Raff. Be interesting how we line up against Westmeath/Longford. Don't think Menton or Jack O'connor injuries are anything serious, possibly just cramp."
Don't think we have any sticky sticky corner backs on the panel or in the county. I think Lavin, Raff and BOH is the best we got and they aren't sticky sticky, don't get me wrong they'll shut up shop and are all brilliant defenders but in terms of someone who will just mark a man and stop him getting the ball just don't see who can do it. The bench has a full back line depth of just Ryan who's similar to what's there already. Smyth would be wasted in corner back before anyone mentions it has too many other stronger attributes

paddyfong (Meath) - Posts: 7 - 29/03/2026 21:33:22    2663840

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Replying To NYRoyal:  "Any chance we have O'Connor or a half forward to half back for Championship and Keoghan to corner back? Probably won't happen as team is settled but we're getting exposed there, like how did we concede the second goal and nearly throw it away? We're 5 points up with less than 10 left, you have to stop a goal like that.

The win is great no doubt but plenty to work on. Kicked our fair share of wides and decision making for unforced turn overs in first half wasn't good.

Flynn, Frayne, Coffey and Conlon top class in the 2nd half. Does Conlon start or is he a super sub now? It's a tough one. Lynch has been playing well and not sure he'd have same impact off bench as Conlon."
Think Killian Smyth coming in at wing back or Cathal Hickey who also had a very good impact today at wing forward are the two wing back options to allow Keoghan to drop back should he need to. Bench impact was excellant and there are others that are still out through injury plus subs that didn't come in today that can make important contributions as this team develops. There is a rawness to the whole setup that is very encouraging from the improvement that is still to come yet point of view. Defensively Meath definately need to tighten up but are brilliant ball winning and attacking options that most other counties just don't have. Exciting times to be Meath supporters!

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 961 - 30/03/2026 00:03:53    2663876

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Replying To paddyfong:  "Don't think we have any sticky sticky corner backs on the panel or in the county. I think Lavin, Raff and BOH is the best we got and they aren't sticky sticky, don't get me wrong they'll shut up shop and are all brilliant defenders but in terms of someone who will just mark a man and stop him getting the ball just don't see who can do it. The bench has a full back line depth of just Ryan who's similar to what's there already. Smyth would be wasted in corner back before anyone mentions it has too many other stronger attributes"
Dead right, the lads are great, but we really, really need a top-class man-marker, someone who won't let a fella breathe on the ball. We won't need that type of player for every game, to be fair, but in my opinion the best lad in the county for that job is in St Pat's, and we need him over in Dunganny to get fine-tuned.

Holymoly#6 (Meath) - Posts: 50 - 30/03/2026 08:00:35    2663893

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You have to give the Cork inside forward line a lot of credit, because they are extremely dangerous but we were at 6s and 7s at times yesterday. Nobody knew who was picking up who, and resulted in chaos every time the ball came in. 2 clear goals should have been converted by Chris Og in the fist half, and obviously the 2 they took in the 2nd half. Stephen Sherlock is as good of a shooter of the ball as there is in the country, can't be giving the likes of him that much space.

Rafferty is miles off the form he showed last year, massive improvement needed. Lavin had a really really tough day too. Ronan Ryan assured things a bit when he came on. We are a bit light on defenders, we really only have 2 on the bench in Ronan Ryan and Killian Smyth - and Smyth isn't a corner back so very very limited there.

Also what was that decision to refuse Conlon's point and go back for the advantage near the 45? Didn't even know you could do that. But completely backfired with Brennan kicking the 2pf wide, bizzare decision from Robbie given you tight the game was.

Conlon was great when he came on, and although I think he's better than Lynch or Curtis, his impact off the bench can't be underestimated and I'd nearly keep him in reserve for that very purpose. Cathal Hickey was good on breaking ball and played his part when he came in, and generally the subs made a good impact.

But great win in the end, had to battle for it, and we finished very strong. Got a bit nervy in the end, but I think we were the better team overall. Looking forward to hopefully a good crack at Leinster, winning division 2 and a Leinster title would constitute a great season.

Based on yesterday though, i'd fear for us against the likes of Donegal, they are relentless with the runners, and we really struggle when teams run at us. But everything is trending in the right direction.

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 126 - 30/03/2026 11:10:15    2663931

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Delighted that we ground out the win to complete a league campaign that, honestly, went better than I anticipated, beating every team in the division. Hope the lads enjoy the celebrations but, once they're done, I'm sure the win will be put behind us and full focus will be on Westmeath/Longford on April 19th. Offaly nearly caught us in the championship in 2019 after a good league campaign so we can't go into that game thinking we've got the game won.

The usual issues during the game yesterday. Defence far too loose at times and we should really have conceded two goals in the first half with defenders losing their men too easily. Having said that, we defended well from the front, forcing a number of turnovers resulting in crucial scores. Thought the speed of transition from defence into attack left a lot to be desired at times. Also, some of the balls into the likes of Frayne, Conlon, Lynch never gave them any chance (high balls instead of low balls out in front). Nonetheless, lifting a national trophy in the Hogan Stand is nothing to be sniffed at. Kinsella deservedly got POTM but Conlon (again) was excellent! His accuracy from play is incredible. I was screaming at him not to attempt a shot from that narrow angle in the second half, only for him to prove me wrong.

Really looking forward to the championship! Hopefully more progress made before the end of the season with perhaps more silverware.

Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1466 - 30/03/2026 13:01:08    2663950

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Congratulations to the Meath team and management yesterday with getting the win.

Mixed bag of a performance really and rode our luck at times but you'd take it every single time.

To concentrate on a negative, the elephant in the room is how far off our zonal defence is and the blueprint on how to defeat this team was laid bare in Croke Park.

Any forward unit with 3 capable/confident kickers would have destroyed us yesterday. Cork had two quality shooters on the ball and are definitely up there with the best in the country - but that doesnt excuse the ease in which they got the ball and got the space.

Three to four quick transitions to another free man and there would have been a dozen more points scored on us yesterday. That's where Cork failed, they hadn't an extra shooter.

That has to be the focus for championship now as we need better tracking of channels or we will take a big hiding later on in summer

I'm hoping now we can get a Leinster title in the bag and have a go in the A.I series. That would be a huge huge season on this teams journey.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 833 - 30/03/2026 14:55:07    2663969

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Fair play to Colm for blooding all these young lads during his tenure. It goes to show how forward thinking the man was at the time. Delighted for the lads and hoped they enjoyed the celebrations.

RegionalsGuru (Meath) - Posts: 46 - 30/03/2026 15:39:24    2663978

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Replying To Royalio11:  "Congratulations to the Meath team and management yesterday with getting the win.

Mixed bag of a performance really and rode our luck at times but you'd take it every single time.

To concentrate on a negative, the elephant in the room is how far off our zonal defence is and the blueprint on how to defeat this team was laid bare in Croke Park.

Any forward unit with 3 capable/confident kickers would have destroyed us yesterday. Cork had two quality shooters on the ball and are definitely up there with the best in the country - but that doesnt excuse the ease in which they got the ball and got the space.

Three to four quick transitions to another free man and there would have been a dozen more points scored on us yesterday. That's where Cork failed, they hadn't an extra shooter.

That has to be the focus for championship now as we need better tracking of channels or we will take a big hiding later on in summer

I'm hoping now we can get a Leinster title in the bag and have a go in the A.I series. That would be a huge huge season on this teams journey."
I don't quite see it as bad as this.

The full back line did not play well yesterday against our equal in the division.

Sherlock and og Jones are both in the top scorers in the division. The reality is no div 2 team has that scoring power in the full forward line. Its how cork play they rely heavily on them and they delivered in a system that has allowed them to be fantastic in the league. Yes agreed we should have limited them more.

Meath were for the most part marginally better in the other lines of the pitch and that is why they won.

The any forward unit comment doesn't stand up for me, because no team in div2 or even bottom of div1 have 3 scoring inside forwards or even 2 forwards that will score like the cork men . Roscommon, Donegal, Kerry are the only ones that come to mind with 3 men who will score heavy from the full forward line.

And only Roscommon, Kerry and cork will actually play in such a way that would expose the full back line like that again.

Our attacking play gain was our defenders loss, keoghan, caufield bombed on and made things happen. They could have stayed back and mind the house and id say we loose the game without them attacking.

But again I do accept they were well off their own standards particularly raf looked sloppy,they will improve.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 63 - 30/03/2026 21:01:01    2664027

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Have watch the replay and it has to be said. Rafferty is not at the level of 2025. He just seems to making rash decisions. Corks goal chance just before half time he went for a ball that wasn't on and left the lad he was marking in oceans of space. For Corks first goal I think he could have Virgil Van Dike'd it. It wasn't an easy spot covering two lads but he really made the attackers decision very easy for him by going to the ball carrier instead of holding a central position until late as possible. Brian O'Halloran has dropped his level from the first couple of rounds (I wouldnt be adverse to trying Smyth at 5 and dropping Keoghan back), Lavin had his worst day of the league so far.

Would love to see McGill just back in the squad for additional depth. I presume he's just decided Meath is not his gig anymore.

We need more options in the full back line coming through and I'm not seeing them right now.

Coylesrighthand (Meath) - Posts: 37 - 30/03/2026 22:34:21    2664040

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I think a bit of perspective is needed. The reality is a lot of teams are getting cut open at the back, such is the nature of the game with the new rules. Look at Kerry Sunday. No one's immune to it. If a team has has 2/3 top class forwards, they're going to do damage. We're not all Ireland contenders yet and can't demand that we keep every team we play under x amount of points. Cork would put up decent scores against most teams (Kerry last year for instance) if they have Jones, Sherlock and Hurley on the field.
Saying all that, I do think we should/could be tighter at the back. There have been times in most of our games where forwards have been 1 on 1 with our full back line and they ghosted past them easily. The last 2 games come to mind immediately. I was glad to see Robbie actually make full back line substitutions the other day, although he could have done it earlier I guess.

On a separate issue, those cynical fouls we do to beat the hooter, apparently they are in fact punishable with a 50m free. Rule 5.42 from the football rulebook states this. If this is a rule, how the hell have we gotten away with it so many times (Louth, Derry, Cork)?

Selwyn (Meath) - Posts: 448 - 31/03/2026 06:25:41    2664057

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I accept the point that we sacrifice some of our defensive solidity by having our half backs join the attacks. However, have to agree with the previous poster - we seem to struggle to defend against teams who transition quickly and have lads running at pace. Now, it's only an issue against the better teams who have the forwards to take the scores but it's an issue nonetheless and it was exposed against Donegal last year. I suppose the concern is whether management have come up with a plan to defend in those situations and it didn't look like it against Cork. We could easily be sitting here after Cork scoring 4 goals and losing the game so it has to be addressed. The Sunday Game rightfully highlighted it because Meath won't become a top tier team without fixing it and it's not just a case of a couple of lads having an off-day.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 127 - 31/03/2026 08:35:09    2664062

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Replying To Coylesrighthand:  "Have watch the replay and it has to be said. Rafferty is not at the level of 2025. He just seems to making rash decisions. Corks goal chance just before half time he went for a ball that wasn't on and left the lad he was marking in oceans of space. For Corks first goal I think he could have Virgil Van Dike'd it. It wasn't an easy spot covering two lads but he really made the attackers decision very easy for him by going to the ball carrier instead of holding a central position until late as possible. Brian O'Halloran has dropped his level from the first couple of rounds (I wouldnt be adverse to trying Smyth at 5 and dropping Keoghan back), Lavin had his worst day of the league so far.

Would love to see McGill just back in the squad for additional depth. I presume he's just decided Meath is not his gig anymore.

We need more options in the full back line coming through and I'm not seeing them right now."
I'm interested in this post. At the moment the full back line is probably the most difficult position to play on the pitch ? Yes / No. I think we're being overly harsh here on O'Halloran. I'm fairly sure he kept Cronin scoreless before being switched over in the second half the by the way they lined out to mark Sherlock. The full back line was exposed at times but you must ask yourself how. I thought we had a serious amount to unforced turnovers at times leading to quick attacks. Every full back line in Ireland is struggling at the moment prime example Kerry at the weekend. I'm really worried about Rafferty he's not up to his standards at all. Will write the weekend down as off day for lavin

mrmagican (Meath) - Posts: 17 - 31/03/2026 11:01:55    2664081

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Replying To mrmagican:  "I'm interested in this post. At the moment the full back line is probably the most difficult position to play on the pitch ? Yes / No. I think we're being overly harsh here on O'Halloran. I'm fairly sure he kept Cronin scoreless before being switched over in the second half the by the way they lined out to mark Sherlock. The full back line was exposed at times but you must ask yourself how. I thought we had a serious amount to unforced turnovers at times leading to quick attacks. Every full back line in Ireland is struggling at the moment prime example Kerry at the weekend. I'm really worried about Rafferty he's not up to his standards at all. Will write the weekend down as off day for lavin"
I'm not too worried about Raff, he's an All Star full back so even if he doesn't quite hit those heights again this year, he should still be hitting a decent standard with some normal improvement. He did pick up an injury during the league and expect he will be better when the ground hardens. Also, he operating in a very positive environment so not like he's fighting to regain form in a losing set-up. I would be open to moving Keogan back to corner-back and bringing Smyth or Hickey into half back line. I wouldn't see that weakening the team and could actually strengthen it. Lavin or O'Halloran would be great to guys to bring in if we needed some impact.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 127 - 31/03/2026 15:03:21    2664146

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Replying To Selwyn:  "I think a bit of perspective is needed. The reality is a lot of teams are getting cut open at the back, such is the nature of the game with the new rules. Look at Kerry Sunday. No one's immune to it. If a team has has 2/3 top class forwards, they're going to do damage. We're not all Ireland contenders yet and can't demand that we keep every team we play under x amount of points. Cork would put up decent scores against most teams (Kerry last year for instance) if they have Jones, Sherlock and Hurley on the field.
Saying all that, I do think we should/could be tighter at the back. There have been times in most of our games where forwards have been 1 on 1 with our full back line and they ghosted past them easily. The last 2 games come to mind immediately. I was glad to see Robbie actually make full back line substitutions the other day, although he could have done it earlier I guess.

On a separate issue, those cynical fouls we do to beat the hooter, apparently they are in fact punishable with a 50m free. Rule 5.42 from the football rulebook states this. If this is a rule, how the hell have we gotten away with it so many times (Louth, Derry, Cork)?"
The rule issue was brought up by an Irish Examiner journalist who is going to be bias towards Cork. Conlon fouled the Cork player and got a black card for cynical foul. He did not stop the quick free which is what the 50m penalty is for. It can't be a black card and 50m penalty. The Cork players were trying to convince ref to give a 50m penalty which it wasn't.

As a side point to this, we didn't need to foul cynically or risk anything stupid, there was 10/15 seconds left. That was not enough time to get it up the field for a shot. Just tackle normally with regular pressure. I guess it's a natural reaction to back off but if you don't drop off there's simply not enough time to get shot off, fouling stupidly can give the ref the opportunity to penalize you. Just let it play out.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 89 - 31/03/2026 16:16:44    2664169

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "I'm not too worried about Raff, he's an All Star full back so even if he doesn't quite hit those heights again this year, he should still be hitting a decent standard with some normal improvement. He did pick up an injury during the league and expect he will be better when the ground hardens. Also, he operating in a very positive environment so not like he's fighting to regain form in a losing set-up. I would be open to moving Keogan back to corner-back and bringing Smyth or Hickey into half back line. I wouldn't see that weakening the team and could actually strengthen it. Lavin or O'Halloran would be great to guys to bring in if we needed some impact."
To be fair, the one game Rafferty didn't play, we lost. He's looked a little off but our defensive issues are not on an individual. It's the system we play at times where there's more of an emphasis on attack. And to be fair to Rafferty, he probably won the All-Star based more on rampaging runs forward more than tight, sticky marking.

When the game becomes end to end with all out attack, we are vulnerable. If you look at Cork's 2 goals, these are examples of that where we're just wide open. Basically the defensive issues could be rectified with coaching and tactics. But I'm sure they've looked at this already and they're happy to try out score opponents.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 89 - 31/03/2026 16:32:39    2664171

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "I'm not too worried about Raff, he's an All Star full back so even if he doesn't quite hit those heights again this year, he should still be hitting a decent standard with some normal improvement. He did pick up an injury during the league and expect he will be better when the ground hardens. Also, he operating in a very positive environment so not like he's fighting to regain form in a losing set-up. I would be open to moving Keogan back to corner-back and bringing Smyth or Hickey into half back line. I wouldn't see that weakening the team and could actually strengthen it. Lavin or O'Halloran would be great to guys to bring in if we needed some impact."
Yes I agree with everything you said above and some are very good takes. Hickey and smyth would add a different dynamic to the team but they've both only played a number of minutes. Just found it interesting O'halloran name was mentioned considering his man didn't do the damage, while Chris of and Sherlock did.

mrmagican (Meath) - Posts: 17 - 31/03/2026 18:01:51    2664185

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