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A result that has been coming if the truth be told.

How many of us Dubs highlighted our midfield and kickouts as being our weaknesses.

I am not going to have a go at any Dublin players after that but I wasn't shocked at all that we lost.
But surprised by the margin.

Effectively that is our season over now.
We are miles off competing for Sam.

I whole heartedly congratulate Westmeath.
Great performance and thrilled for ye.

Nearly 37,000 in Croker today.
And I reckon 30,000 of them were from Westmeath.
Unbelievable support.
At this rate it won't be long before the Dubs are back playing Football in the Neller. Quite a few of us on the Hill were of the same opinion.

Despite what others might proclaim - Con clearly is our most important player. But I am not sure even he would have changed that result today.
Westmeath fully deserved it. Well done them.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 17/05/2026 18:28:58    2673603

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "Dublin players tried to the end to be fair to them, Westmeath were just fitter and deserved their win.

A bigger concern for Dublin would be that they were outnumbered by Westmeath supporters in a home final."
The massive fall off in performances by the Dubs is more than matched by the amount of previous fans who no longer go to the Dubs games.

I still see our core group on the Hill even at those games in January, but at this stage I really think we are getting very close to the point, where I don't see the point in us playing our league games in Croker anymore. The attendance by the Dubs fans today for a Leinster Final was very low. Extremely so.

Well done Westmeath fans. They travelled in massive numbers and got their reward.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 17/05/2026 18:37:37    2673609

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "Dublin players tried to the end to be fair to them, Westmeath were just fitter and deserved their win.

A bigger concern for Dublin would be that they were outnumbered by Westmeath supporters in a home final."
I believe it's what's known as over-egging the pudding.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5324 - 17/05/2026 18:49:59    2673611

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I didn't get to post about our Hurlers yesterday as I was out in Galway for the night. ;o)

Wonderful result and some excellent performances.
But let's not forget that Galway had 17 wides, I think it was, to our handful.

A better judge of where we are at, will be next Sunday v the Cats, with a Leinster Hurling Final up for grabs. So I will reserve judgement until then. Even though I was over the moon with the result yesterday.

Really looking forward to the game v Kilkenny in Parnell Park next weekend. Hopefully we get a similar result.

Our squad is quite strong now and the addition of Rushie is making such a difference to us.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 17/05/2026 18:56:41    2673615

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "Dublin players tried to the end to be fair to them, Westmeath were just fitter and deserved their win.

A bigger concern for Dublin would be that they were outnumbered by Westmeath supporters in a home final."
We have lots to keep us busy like the hurlers.Its not a conxern and its not a home game.Parnell park is our home ground but if Donegal had their way Dubs would not play in Dublin at all.

brayballer (Wicklow) - Posts: 579 - 17/05/2026 19:44:39    2673634

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Replying To brayballer:  "We have lots to keep us busy like the hurlers.Its not a conxern and its not a home game.Parnell park is our home ground but if Donegal had their way Dubs would not play in Dublin at all."
Keep the chin up Dave Brown, still plenty to look forward to.

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1604 - 17/05/2026 19:59:30    2673641

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Replying To brayballer:  "We have lots to keep us busy like the hurlers.Its not a conxern and its not a home game.Parnell park is our home ground but if Donegal had their way Dubs would not play in Dublin at all."
I loved the sportsmanship by the Dubs on the Hill staying on to applaud Westmeath as they were presented with the Leinster trophy. Good to see.
Fully deserved recognition for the achievement of the Westmeath footballers.
I wish them well for the rest of the Championship.

As for us - a true reflection of where we currently are tbh.
But hey, we will continue to cheer the lads on.
It is the least we can do for them.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 17/05/2026 20:13:14    2673650

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Replying To brayballer:  "We have lots to keep us busy like the hurlers.Its not a conxern and its not a home game.Parnell park is our home ground but if Donegal had their way Dubs would not play in Dublin at all."
It's where you've played your home league games for years. It's a home venue.
Although if the fairweather fan levels dwindle much further, ye could be back in Parnell!

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5324 - 17/05/2026 20:58:23    2673665

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Gallant effort today, well done.

Gantric (Leitrim) - Posts: 91 - 17/05/2026 21:26:34    2673671

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Well Dublin is really a hurling county so its a bonus to get into a SF Leinster final.

avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 2030 - 17/05/2026 21:30:55    2673674

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As disappointing as it is to lose a final, it's better for Leinster to have a competitive championship like in Ulster or connacht than it being a formality like it used to be, you'll learn from it. The goals killed Dublin but westmeath full value for their win

gaelsboy (Leitrim) - Posts: 769 - 17/05/2026 22:31:57    2673691

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You'd imagine they will keep dublin Croke park next year with double headers with Meath in league ? Of course dublin div 2 matches will be 5 pm with Meath at 7pm don't know if that will affect crowd or not. After next year Meath will be back home in navan and dublin in Parnell I'd say. Dublin will be doing very well to not drop to div 3 for those games in 28

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 947 - 18/05/2026 00:48:39    2673710

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Still not sure what to make of yesterday. Performance and fitness levels were miles off it and Westmeath were full value for their win. If anything I'd have preferred they took the win in normal time and saved us the extra time embarrassment. Lets not forget the injury list they had also!

Part of me wonders if Dublin were seeing yesterday as nothing more than a run out though. I know silverware was on the line but its clear it means far more to Westmeath that it does to us given the raft of provincial titles won over the last number of years. I have heard from a fairly reliable contact that all of the injured cohort bar Murchan could have played a part yesterday but given there was no jeopardy involved (other than not winning the title) there was little sense in risking them. I will stress though that the squad we had out was more than enough to win on paper but that just didn't translate to reality. We are very one dimensional and if Scully and Kilkenny are not pulling the strings then very few others are stepping up. Losing POCB left us massively short of a target man around the middle and our persistence to keep going long despite being absolutely cleaned out at midfield was fairly baffling. The less said about Comerford's performance in general the better. He will be under real pressure now to hold onto that no.1 spot.

There are two ways this could go now. 1) We get the injured lads back, galvanise the whole thing and do some proper soul searching and bounce back or 2) the season fizzles out with Louth beating us and whoever else comes after that. If its option 2 then we won't see Kilkenny, Byrne and possibly Con, Howard, Scully also in a Dublin jersey again and then we are really in trouble.

I am still clutching to the hope that if we get our strongest team fit and firing that we could take some sort of scalp but that right now is a big if.

TrueBlue35 (Dublin) - Posts: 329 - 18/05/2026 09:25:57    2673741

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Replying To cavanman47:  "It's where you've played your home league games for years. It's a home venue.
Although if the fairweather fan levels dwindle much further, ye could be back in Parnell!"
The crowd that was on Hill is pretty much the same crowd that will be there in the freezing rain in February and which travels to away games. A lot of them also support the hurlers and we had 1,000 in Salthill on Saturday.

I am concerned that the GAA is rapidly going off radar as the city becomes something unrecognisable. If there is no county team with a large following that will be further reduce the appeal.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 4302 - 18/05/2026 10:22:07    2673754

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "The crowd that was on Hill is pretty much the same crowd that will be there in the freezing rain in February and which travels to away games. A lot of them also support the hurlers and we had 1,000 in Salthill on Saturday.

I am concerned that the GAA is rapidly going off radar as the city becomes something unrecognisable. If there is no county team with a large following that will be further reduce the appeal."
Correct Barney.
For all the talk about the great Dublin support,the truth is there is the hardcore fans and the bandwagon fans.We had olenty bandwagonsfans during the six in a row but they disappear when the boys are struggling.I met many so called fans during the six in a roe and they did nt know the names of half the players.The real fans are there for the lows also.After all the highs the team gave the fans it was sad and embarassing to be outnumbered by opposing fans in our home city for a Leinster final.

brayballer (Wicklow) - Posts: 579 - 18/05/2026 11:15:14    2673791

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Replying To TrueBlue35:  "Still not sure what to make of yesterday. Performance and fitness levels were miles off it and Westmeath were full value for their win. If anything I'd have preferred they took the win in normal time and saved us the extra time embarrassment. Lets not forget the injury list they had also!

Part of me wonders if Dublin were seeing yesterday as nothing more than a run out though. I know silverware was on the line but its clear it means far more to Westmeath that it does to us given the raft of provincial titles won over the last number of years. I have heard from a fairly reliable contact that all of the injured cohort bar Murchan could have played a part yesterday but given there was no jeopardy involved (other than not winning the title) there was little sense in risking them. I will stress though that the squad we had out was more than enough to win on paper but that just didn't translate to reality. We are very one dimensional and if Scully and Kilkenny are not pulling the strings then very few others are stepping up. Losing POCB left us massively short of a target man around the middle and our persistence to keep going long despite being absolutely cleaned out at midfield was fairly baffling. The less said about Comerford's performance in general the better. He will be under real pressure now to hold onto that no.1 spot.

There are two ways this could go now. 1) We get the injured lads back, galvanise the whole thing and do some proper soul searching and bounce back or 2) the season fizzles out with Louth beating us and whoever else comes after that. If its option 2 then we won't see Kilkenny, Byrne and possibly Con, Howard, Scully also in a Dublin jersey again and then we are really in trouble.

I am still clutching to the hope that if we get our strongest team fit and firing that we could take some sort of scalp but that right now is a big if."
I called this ages ago. I could see it a mile away.

The writing has been on the wall for a couple of years now, despite all the bs from the usual suspects.
I think Cossie will also be gone at the end to the year tbh.

I had hoped we would win Leinster one final time for the likes of the old guard, but we simply didn't deserve to win that game.

I don't buy into that thing of saving players for later in the Championship, nonsense. There was a trophy on offer yesterday and the only one we had a real chance of winning this season. So saving returning players for what exactly.??? If the management needed an eye opener, then they got it yesterday.

Realism will finally set in now for many more people.

And once Meath move back into PT, I see no reason why the Dubs shouldn't seriously consider going back to playing our games in our home ground of Parnell Park. Our following has gone back that much and those bandwagon fans are long gone.
This could have a real knock on effect in terms of future sponsorship deals etc but that is a conversation for another day.

At this stage I really just hope our players put in another couple of good performances before the season is over.
A defeat in our next game could mean an early curtain call for many of our remaining stalwarts unfortunately.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 18/05/2026 11:25:06    2673801

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "The crowd that was on Hill is pretty much the same crowd that will be there in the freezing rain in February and which travels to away games. A lot of them also support the hurlers and we had 1,000 in Salthill on Saturday.

I am concerned that the GAA is rapidly going off radar as the city becomes something unrecognisable. If there is no county team with a large following that will be further reduce the appeal."
Nail on the head there Barney..!

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 18/05/2026 11:29:12    2673804

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Replying To brayballer:  "Correct Barney.
For all the talk about the great Dublin support,the truth is there is the hardcore fans and the bandwagon fans.We had olenty bandwagonsfans during the six in a row but they disappear when the boys are struggling.I met many so called fans during the six in a roe and they did nt know the names of half the players.The real fans are there for the lows also.After all the highs the team gave the fans it was sad and embarassing to be outnumbered by opposing fans in our home city for a Leinster final."
GAA continues to pay 2nd fiddle to Soccer in Dublin and with the way the LOI are finally getting their act together in both grassroots and club, I think the gap between both sports will actually widen in Dublin.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 18/05/2026 11:54:32    2673814

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The championship structure is a mess. It's started far too early, straight rolled off the back of the League, which is denigrated by everyone now as an extended training session. Provincial Championships over and done and the kids are still in school. The GAA treating the Championships like a chore that have to be gotten out of the way was always going to affect how they were viewed by the crowds. Matches coming thick and fast now, tickets ramping up in price. To a lot of Dublin fans yesterday's match might have represented a dead rubber, with a potential outlay on tickets coming up. Now we go into the murky weirdness of the All Ireland Series. What does it all mean?

Also, the two pointer rule is into its second full season. Why have Dublin not properly copped this?

Gavvygavgav (Dublin) - Posts: 387 - 18/05/2026 12:43:45    2673841

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Replying To Gavvygavgav:  "The championship structure is a mess. It's started far too early, straight rolled off the back of the League, which is denigrated by everyone now as an extended training session. Provincial Championships over and done and the kids are still in school. The GAA treating the Championships like a chore that have to be gotten out of the way was always going to affect how they were viewed by the crowds. Matches coming thick and fast now, tickets ramping up in price. To a lot of Dublin fans yesterday's match might have represented a dead rubber, with a potential outlay on tickets coming up. Now we go into the murky weirdness of the All Ireland Series. What does it all mean?

Also, the two pointer rule is into its second full season. Why have Dublin not properly copped this?"
The 2 point rule is one thing but for me the new rule which has affected the Dubs most, is the new kick out rule. We are being completely exposed with no midfield now.
I said it at the time and I will say it again, Fento retiring early was a game changer for us, and not in a good way.
With no one coming through from underage age in that position - you get what we got yesterday.

It will take 5 years at least for us based on what I have seen at u20 and minor.

Sadly we are miles off it.

This was the main topic of conversation leaving the stadium yesterday - where are the midfielders in our clubs.?

Also, a lot of the players who shone best in our club championship last year are from other counties.

And that is a massive issue for Dublin football.

Fionn (Dublin) - Posts: 4959 - 18/05/2026 14:04:37    2673877

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