Replying To baire:  "Would you give us the link to that so we can view it?"

Replying To realdub:  "I'm actually glad for Hennelly, he's had a couple of nightmares against us. Showed great nerve ."

Replying To daytona11:  "This is the kind of talk which irritates neutrals.

It's not so long ago since Rob was costing Mayo All-Irelands."

Replying To Mailman98:  "I guess the GAA want to wait before making the game unwatchable like rugby has become since the head injury rules have changed. Head injuries are inevitable in contact sports played at high intensity. Next thing we'll be asking for no head shots in boxing. The difference of opinion on the Small tackle from fans and pundits range from no free to a red card. This just shows how tough a job a referee has. At the same time we don't want to bring TV referees into GAA as it slows the game down way too much and don't forget we are already have 6 and 7 minutes injury time regularly at the end of matches."

Replying To tiobraid:  "What are people on about with the John Small tackle? If a man on your team hit a lad as clean as that you'd be delighted. I've watched it 20 times and see it equally as good as the Paudie maher tackle on John canning a few years ago. If it was any other player or county apart from Small there'd be nothing about it"

Replying To mayo_123:  "watch it on YouTube plenty time now for you to look it up"

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "They never said anything about Aidan O'Shea being on the pitch in the middle of that row when he wasn't even playing. RTE are so full **** it's unreal."

Replying To Mailman98:  "None of them were clear though. Still hearing pundits disagree on the McLaughlin one, the high arm ones are not clear either. It's very difficult to judge between a high tackle and a swimming arm. The only clear one was Mccarthy after the equaliser."

Replying To BlueBeret:  "I am sure Lane regrets being appointed to this game as it was clearly was a very bad day at the office for him.

It's amazing how blind some people are and how willing some are to throw dirt at a player especially if he is from Ballymun in Dublin. I have no doubt that Small went in to hit McLaughlin wIth a fair shoulder. I think the actual intended challenge was fair and okay but unfortunately there were moving parts that ended up where we are or more to the point where McLaughlin is. This is regrettable in the extreme.
Reading some of the vile comments here it seems that Small is the incarnation of the devil. We are told that McLaughlin is 6 foot tall . So did he actually duck into the challenge or did Small just up into him? We are informed that it was a frontal challenge but the evidence is clearly that the two shoulders collided. I saw a shoulder charge, legal within the Rules of the GAA, but where the momentum of Smalls challenge caused his shoulder to slide up and collide with McLaughlins head OR where McLaughlin dropped his head. It wasn't a frontal charge as we are also informed by the educated witch hunters.

I, as all Dublin supporters do, wish McLaughlin a speedy and full recovery and lament the fact that he will not be able to play in the All Ireland Final."

Replying To avonali:  "Dubs can have no complaints.
1. Small's shoulder was a straight red. There is no debate. That would be a straight red on a rugby pitch. I absolutely hate it when people celebrate "big hits" on a rugby or Gaelic pitch, as if it was some great feat of machismo. It usually involves a player receiving a hospital pass or being caught in a stationary, passive position without a chance to brace themselves for the full impact. The 'tackler" just can't lose in that situation if he lines a man up and catches him before he is ready to take the impact. I'm all for a fair shoulder but if a shoulder is executed properly it should not result in that type of serious injury. I like John Small and but he plays on the edge and several times in big matches he has crossed the line.
2, I thought the first half was the most boring spectacle. I couldn't believe Dublin resorted to keep ball that early in a game and that endless sleep inducing toing and froing, across and backwards with the ball. It's as if they felt they no longer felt they had to go for the jugular and open up Mayo. There were very few players running into space or running off the shoulder at pace. When Mayo pressed up on them in the second half they had become so complacent they just couldn't switch gears and up the intensity. When a collective complacency sets it's very hard for a team to rouse themselves out of it; they gift wrapped and handed the initiative back to the other team and Mayo were not going to look the gift horse in the mouth this time. in There's a lesson in that.
3. I was disappointed to see the loss of composure from some Dublin players. That clip of a certain Dublin player pinching his opponent and then calling the ref's attention when the Mayo man retaliated is an unnacceptable level of b*llsh8t. Focus on trying to win the bloody game back and leave the sh*thousery out.

We've had a great run but all things must pass. Dublin teams from 2011-21 were an incomparable group of players, the best I've seen in my lifetime. Very sad this morning but angry because I feel this loss was partly self-inflicted by management (I suspect) adopting a mode of football that is not not in the spirit of the game. This team cut Kerry open 4 times in a recent National League game. They still had the firepower but as soon as the stakes went up it's as if they were
happy to adopt a low risk, conservative approach that just invited the opposition on to them. It was fitting that it would be Mayo to end the great run. I hope they go and finish the job now. Horan will have some job to settle things down and re-focus them. I hope the inevitable hype doesn't get to the players and that expectations are managed."

Replying To Jackeen:  "Clearly should have been a red. Shoulders to the head = red card. Why on earth is this even debatable?"

Replying To baire:  "I'd believe Horan's version of what he saw in front of him yesterday and Pádraic Joyce's version of what he saw in the Connacht final sooner than an anonymous poster here!"

Replying To greysoil:  "Clearly should have been a red. Shoulders to the head = red card. Why on earth is this even debatable?"

Replying To Gavvygavgav:  "we were in 332 right in front of the McLaughlin-Small incident, everyone including the Mayo lads around us thought it was square on and legit in real time. They were as surprised as anyone when I told them my brother had just texted me that Small should have been sent off."

Replying To Loughduff Lad:  "Yes they did, they said he shouldn't have been in there entering the field of play. But come on, there were far more bigger incidents that needing highlighting than this one, hence why they likely didn't go into it in detail. But they did mention it"

Replying To daytona11:  "Hey Lads,

So I let the dust settle before coming on here to pick apart the game.

I'll start with the Ref:

1. In real time the John Small tackle was really hard to call, impossible actually to be fair to the officials. It's grand the Sunday game etc looking at 200 hundred replays of it and being able to tell us how bad it was. In real time, which is the only time Conor Lane gets to see it the tackle looked legitimate as per the rule book.

2. Black Cards

A lot of people including RTE calling for Davy Byrne to be black carded. A tug of the jersey is not a black card. No issues there. The other black cards didn't have an impact on the result of the game and were easy calls.

3. The retaken 45.

He got that wrong. If there were interference with the free taker he was correct to order the retake. However the ball should have been advanced 13 meters more advantageous. If Hennelly had of missed the retake I can guarantee this would have been highlighted. That was a massive mistake and although a score came from the retaken 45 it was a huge error on Lanes part.

Overall I think he probably did ok in what was a really tough game to officiate. In the big games like this at the bug venues it's time to let refs look at a monitor.


The Dubs

1. Simply put they have lost to many of the best players to play the game over the last 12-36 months. It's a natural breakup of a team and we have seen it with other great teams in many sports.

2. No other county ever reached the level the Dubs played at for their 6 in a row. The pack are not catching up, the Dub are regressing.

3. I felt the biggest loss for them in a game like that was Kevin McManamon. They laboured and weren't capable of breaking from defence to attack like we have seen on the past. McManamon would have given them the direct approach and ability to run at a defence. It can't be underestimated the lift a player like McManamon can give a team when he gives the defence a break but also wins a couple of 50/50 frees.

4. Dessie. He just didn't seem to have any ideas in the Kildare, Meath or Mayo games when Dublin slumped. After the Meath game Jim Gavin or Pat Gilroy would have addressed the second half performances and got it sorted. It's something we haven't seen with Dublin before. The warning signs were there from the league. The players body language going in at the end of the 70 mins and at half time in extra time was telling. He held the team back from going into the tunnel with Mayo etc Little things like that can play at a teams a players psyche. I'd have let them in at the same time and let them at it.

5. Cluxton. When it was evident before the Wexford game Dessie should have come out and said Cluxton wasn't part of the panel anymore. Clear it up there and then. Evan Comerford may reach that level but he isn't near it at the moment. Between himself and Byrne they effectively done a Mayo on it and handed them extra time. If in doubt put your boot through the ball.

6. Retirements. Ciaran Kilkenny, McCarthy, Philly and Rock will have some soul searching to do.

Mayo

1. AOS. I don't think he should start the final. Keep him in reserve. He'd give the team and supporters a huge lift if needed. He slows things down to much and against the better teams he just isn't effective as a target man. He offers very little in full forward. The wide open spaces of Croker don't suit him.

2. James Horan. Got everything right on the day.

3. Rob Hennelly. The comeback kid. Well done.

4. Youth. Stick with it. Fearless. Strange that we can actually say that not having COC has been a boost.

5. No more talk of curses or hard luck stories now. It's time to get over the line. It won't be easy but they are arguably going to be playing a cold Kerry/Tyrone team. Hard to see how they will have a better chance than this. Don't beat yourselves is key here also.

6. Padraic O'Hora. Inspirational.


Overall it's hard to know how good Mayo are and how poor Dublin have been this year. Mayo fully deserve their win and place in the final. Hopefully Horan can get them backdown to earth now. No medals were handed out last Saturday that's for sure."

Replying To mayo_123:  "horan and everyone seen it because it was right in front of them in the course of play are u telling me pj spent the day watching shane walsh that might explain why he didnt see them getting ripped to shreds in the second half any this thread is about mayo v dublin if you look"

Replying To sligo joe:  "What are you on, "Ciaran Kilkenny retirement" he only turned 28 last month, nominated for player of the year 7 months ago?
As for the retaken 45, a lucky call for Mayo(worthy winners) there were 16 Mayo players on the field, Stephen Coen who was subbed was just short of the sideline on his way off."