GAA 2018

Dublin very good, to be in with any chance against them you need to score almost all of your opportunities, which Galway didn’t do. A solid first half but they simply didn’t come out after half time.
 
Dublin looked like a machine on saturday. Tyrone and Monaghan slugged it out a bit. I have to say I thought Tyrone have the right mix of cynicsim and overall ability to beat Dublin but if they give the Dubs the lions share of possession and arent more clinical than they were yesterday then I think Sam will stay in the capital.
 
First time at Croker this season on Saturday. I thought Galway gave a good account of themselves overall but ran out of legs at the end. Apparently Dublin’s subs scored more than the entire Galway team in the last 15 minutes. Hard for any of the smaller counties to cope with that sort of strength in depth.
 
First time at Croker this season on Saturday. I thought Galway gave a good account of themselves overall but ran out of legs at the end. Apparently Dublin’s subs scored more than the entire Galway team in the last 15 minutes. Hard for any of the smaller counties to cope with that sort of strength in depth.

First half was decent but when they missed those few chances to actually pull ahead, it was fairly clear even then that they were going to lose. Teams have to be impeccable against Dublin to even be within shouting distance. It was pretty depressing as the gap started to stretch.
 
Seriously whats the point of anyone trying anymore? They need to do something ffs or it will become the SPL/Bundesliga
I think that the standard of football has really dropped off in the challenging counties. This Dublin team are very good but they haven't got outstanding stars. They have a large group of very good players that all perform consistently to excellent standards but I still don't see them as being as iconical as the Kerry four in a row team. When you say something needs to be done do you mean that the other counties need to start investing more in youth development? Or would you like the approach that splits Dublin in two?
 
I think that the standard of football has really dropped off in the challenging counties. This Dublin team are very good but they haven't got outstanding stars. They have a large group of very good players that all perform consistently to excellent standards but I still don't see them as being as iconical as the Kerry four in a row team. When you say something needs to be done do you mean that the other counties need to start investing more in youth development? Or would you like the approach that splits Dublin in two?

Thing is that Kildare have been every bit as successful in underage level as Dublin in the last 10 years, or at least comparable to them. I really don't know what can be done to change things. Honestly (apart from the screw up against Carlow this year) Kildare are a long way ahead of the other Leinster sides while still being miles behind Dublin. Kerry are miles ahead in Munster. Connacht is a 2 horse race while Ulster is somewhat competitive. There is more problems than just Dublin I feel. Split Dublin in two and both sections will still dominate Leinster and probably be pretty hard to beat in the All Ireland still.
 
I think that the standard of football has really dropped off in the challenging counties. This Dublin team are very good but they haven't got outstanding stars. They have a large group of very good players that all perform consistently to excellent standards but I still don't see them as being as iconical as the Kerry four in a row team. When you say something needs to be done do you mean that the other counties need to start investing more in youth development? Or would you like the approach that splits Dublin in two?

No the splitting into Dublin and Fingal is ridiculous. The GAA has to level the playing field by pumping money into the 31 other county boards to make them more competitive because if they dont the game will lose interest from the public
 
here is my plan to beat Dublin.

Install 3 gym bikes at the side of the pitch for Tyrone subs to warm up on. every tens mins bring on 3 subs. change the full - half forward line. in one full sweep.

do this every 10 or 15 mins with the same 6 subs. use the entire bench or the 6 subs allowed. get into Dublin Heads. Presentky all the teams are beaten before a ball is thrown in at Croker.

I'd also put a self belief coach on everyone of the Tyrone heads 10 days before the throw in. it has to be won in the mind.
 
No the splitting into Dublin and Fingal is ridiculous. The GAA has to level the playing field by pumping money into the 31 other county boards to make them more competitive because if they dont the game will lose interest from the public
Dublin GAA probably have more money than most county boards but I think Dublin is benefitting from about 20 years of hard work at underage level in the county. When I was younger there were no summer camps in my GAA club so you played whatever in the summer. The GAA clubs in Dublin are brilliant for getting players in from the age of 4 upwards to get the basic skills of the game. The folk training are actually qualified and approved coaches. It is a fantastic way of getting into a young persons head and giving them a love for the game and the basics. I think in Dublin they took this stance because they were facing so much competition from soccer/rugby etc.

I think that the other counties are doing this now but Dublin have a head start which means that for a couple more years there will be a good chance of Dublin domination but this isnt unprecedented. Kerry have done the 4 in a row twice and Wexford once. Kilkenny dominated hurling for close to a decade. I admit it may be slightly boring for the other folk but for Dubs it's finally an end to what was nearly 20 years in the doldrums.
 
here is my plan to beat Dublin.

Install 3 gym bikes at the side of the pitch for Tyrone subs to warm up on. every tens mins bring on 3 subs. change the full - half forward line. in one full sweep.

do this every 10 or 15 mins with the same 6 subs. use the entire bench or the 6 subs allowed. get into Dublin Heads. Presentky all the teams are beaten before a ball is thrown in at Croker.

I'd also put a self belief coach on everyone of the Tyrone heads 10 days before the throw in. it has to be won in the mind.
Can Dublin do this too. Also you would be sending knackered lads on to try chase down lads that are up to speed in a game already. Like sending a jack russell out to catch a Porshe! :D
 
Dublin GAA probably have more money than most county boards but I think Dublin is benefitting from about 20 years of hard work at underage level in the county. When I was younger there were no summer camps in my GAA club so you played whatever in the summer. The GAA clubs in Dublin are brilliant for getting players in from the age of 4 upwards to get the basic skills of the game. The folk training are actually qualified and approved coaches. It is a fantastic way of getting into a young persons head and giving them a love for the game and the basics. I think in Dublin they took this stance because they were facing so much competition from soccer/rugby etc.

I think that the other counties are doing this now but Dublin have a head start which means that for a couple more years there will be a good chance of Dublin domination but this isnt unprecedented. Kerry have done the 4 in a row twice and Wexford once. Kilkenny dominated hurling for close to a decade. I admit it may be slightly boring for the other folk but for Dubs it's finally an end to what was nearly 20 years in the doldrums.

Yeah, agreed. I live in a part of Dublin where - when I was in school - kids would typically mainly play rugby or soccer and it was relatively rare for anyone to get involved in GAA. Completely changed over the last couple of decades and there would be more kids in my son's national school playing GAA at the weekends than any other sports. Considering the massive advantage Dublin has in terms of size, as soon as you started winning over the kids it was only a matter of time before we end up in this situation. What's interesting to me is why we're not yet dominant in hurling. That's just as popular as football amongst younger kids right now, but maybe this is a more recent shift and we won't see the benefits until they all start coming through in 5-10 years time.
 
Can Dublin do this too. Also you would be sending knackered lads on to try chase down lads that are up to speed in a game already. Like sending a jack russell out to catch a Porshe! :D

works in Rugby, AFL and American Football.
 
Yeah, agreed. I live in a part of Dublin where - when I was in school - kids would typically mainly play rugby or soccer and it was relatively rare for anyone to get involved in GAA. Completely changed over the last couple of decades and there would be more kids in my son's national school playing GAA at the weekends than any other sports. Considering the massive advantage Dublin has in terms of size, as soon as you started winning over the kids it was only a matter of time before we end up in this situation. What's interesting to me is why we're not yet dominant in hurling. That's just as popular as football amongst younger kids right now, but maybe this is a more recent shift and we won't see the benefits until they all start coming through in 5-10 years time.
Hurling and ground hurling for kids took off about 15 years ago in my area of Dublin. My club has shifted completely from a mainly football (5 adult teams) to a mainly hurling club. I think it will translate into decent championshp performances in 5-10 years. I think it's a slow burner because hurling doesnt have the same pull and history as football in the capital and gets less players as a result.
 
What do you lads think other counties could do to close the gap? Is it a case that they aren't trying hard enough? I think at underage level that Dublin are not as dominant which suggests that the move from underage to senior football is where some problems exist. I think in Dublin the club very definitely feeds the county team and the club is second to the county team but it's not as clear in other counties. Also the size of some counties and the poor transport systems can go against bringing an elite group together to train regularly. Was the super 8s a chance to get teams more used to playing at a high level or just money in the GAA pockets?
 
You can't rotate substitutes in any game can you?

has it even been tried. I know in gaa you are only allowed use 6 subs. I don't think this means 6 substitutions. in underage we are forever changing the bench.

I know Peter caravan came off in an All Ireland final before and came back on later in game.


as regards mind games I remember we (Westmeath) minors had a great mind trick. certainly team of 95 when we won all Ireland minor that year. we used go out with a ball each and be first team out on croker and bury the balls in to hill 16 and then clap the dub fans waiting on the hills as if they were our supporters. (for record we won minor that year and dubs won senior). the dubs raked it in and loved the love-in.

anytime the opposition came out to boo's. we played Tipp in the semi final and I remember them wondering WTF have Tipp done to deserve that with the hill sending a corus of boo's.

worked a treat.when we won the minor we climbed onto the fencing and showed the Blue Army the cup as they waited to play Tyrone in the AI final that year.

I really think any team playing Dublin nowadays need do win the mind games.




just on a side note - when Harte won his first all Ireland with Tyrone - every single player to a man brought their duvet and pillows they used in their own house to the hotel night before the game.
 
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Hope Limerick do it today. They’ve played the most positive hurling this year and never take a back step. The sooner the better this trend of flooding the midfield and half-back line with forwards (alá Galway) dies off. Mannion and Canning are great at nipping off points from distance but it’s nauseating to watch fifteen-to-twenty bodies inside a 20m radius in the middle third. Galway have really worked hard on adopting that style of play but I’m not a fan of it at all.

Also, I think Limerick’s strength off the bench will prove pivotal. They’ve been getting great returns from their substitutes in the final 10-15 minutes of games, whereas Galway only really have Jason Flynn as a standout impact sub. If the game is tight coming down the stretch, I think this factor will swing it Limerick’s way. Hoping for a great game either way. Potential to be the best final since Tipperary v Kilkenny in 2014 (drawn match) and possibly even surpass it.
 
I'm somewhat shocked it's only 4 points
Galway have been very poor, second to every ball
Incredible they're still in the game