Official Cavan GAA Thread

[rodney trotter]

I'd say the high press approach is from James Burke.  That is how Mayo played under James Horan with Burke as coach. Oisin Brady playing really well. McVeety playing excellent. Some calls for McVeety to be played inside but with Oisin Brady playing well,Lynch returning not that necessary. Ryan O Neill also playing well inside.

[Itchy]

If McKiernan reaches full fitness you'd imagine it will be impossible to leave him out. Option anywhere in forward half.

I think Gearoid will be a bit like Aidan o Se for Mayo. A hugely dangerous player but difficult to find exactly where to put him. For me I'd be looking at playing him inside, he'd need 2 men to mark him. But he will need a lot of work for him to learn how to play in there.

[Dreadnought]

If McKiernan reaches full fitness you'd imagine it will be impossible to leave him out. Option anywhere in forward half.

I think Gearoid will be a bit like Aidan o Se for Mayo. A hugely dangerous player but difficult to find exactly where to put him. For me I'd be looking at playing him inside, he'd need 2 men to mark him. But he will need a lot of work for him to learn how to play in there.

Seeing how he went for Gaels last year as an inside forward, if we can have McVeety, Smith and so on doing the work in the middle third, I'd absolutely let him inside to pick off scores like he can.

[Westside]

We don't want Gearoid trying to gather ball inside as first reciever. Floating around the D looking for a pop pass, coming off the shoulder of the inside men, maybe looking for opportunities to isolate 1v1 for high ball or mark opportunities, I think that's where he can be used most effectively.

[Look-Up!]

He looked very versatile and at home in there for the Gaels albeit at club level. An absolute handful for anyone, doesn't look out of sorts with back to goal, physically imposing, very strong under a high ball, great feet with natural knack for scoring and movement off the ball. With proper service he would be a weapon.

Absolutely destroyed many a defence for Gaels especially Gowna last year until they got a stupid black card in the middle of the field and could no longer get their hands on the ball in that sector. Can be put off his game though with verbals and gamesmanship.

[Westside]

He looked very versatile and at home in there for the Gaels albeit at club level. An absolute handful for anyone, doesn't look out of sorts with back to goal, physically imposing, very strong under a high ball, great feet with natural knack for scoring and movement off the ball. With proper service he would be a weapon.

Absolutely destroyed many a defence for Gaels especially Gowna last year until they got a stupid black card in the middle of the field and could no longer get their hands on the ball in that sector. Can be put off his game though with verbals and gamesmanship.

I think the advantages he has over club defenders are significantly lessened at county level. How many scores has he ever got at county level winning ball inside and engineering room for a shot? Not many I'd guess. His size and power make him so hard to stop when he's moving towards goal. He has a fantastic awareness of space and uncommon timing and accuracy. I think all those traits are better utilised further out the pitch.

It's definitely worth trying him there but as the year goes on things get more serious and building an attacking plan around him is a risky move in big games.

[Look-Up!]

He looked very versatile and at home in there for the Gaels albeit at club level. An absolute handful for anyone, doesn't look out of sorts with back to goal, physically imposing, very strong under a high ball, great feet with natural knack for scoring and movement off the ball. With proper service he would be a weapon.

Absolutely destroyed many a defence for Gaels especially Gowna last year until they got a stupid black card in the middle of the field and could no longer get their hands on the ball in that sector. Can be put off his game though with verbals and gamesmanship.

I think the advantages he has over club defenders are significantly lessened at county level. How many scores has he ever got at county level winning ball inside and engineering room for a shot? Not many I'd guess. His size and power make him so hard to stop when he's moving towards goal. He has a fantastic awareness of space and uncommon timing and accuracy. I think all those traits are better utilised further out the pitch.

It's definitely worth trying him there but as the year goes on things get more serious and building an attacking plan around him is a risky move in big games.

You don't want to go putting all your eggs in one basket for sure and good delivery would be a must especially at IC. Getting the best out of him in big games is always a conundrum as he's a target for extra attention from opposition. Plus those legs are not getting any younger. But with the right on-field intelligence he could swap in and out of there and keep opponents guessing, create some confusion and opportunities.
Givney wasn't a FF till he was, and even then it took a good number of games for that to become apparent. Gearoid is a more natural fit although not nearly as aggressive.

[Westside]

Great stat from Donohoe on the WAC podcast this week. Niall Carolan has the fastest top speed recorded at U20 level in Cavan. Presumably that's over the last 2 years. Impressive considering Darragh Lovett was on the team.

[Dreadnought]

Gerry Smith in for Oisin Kiernan, otherwise rest of the team same as v Tipperary. Jack McKenna on the bench, no McKiernan, James Smith, or McLoughlin though. Still think it's a strong team and bench to see this one out. Longford will have a response in them after the bad loss to Westmeath, and will be up for a local match with us. Need to be wary, but should see this off

[Look-Up!]

Yeah good team, Kiernan must also have picked up a knock. Not on bench. You'd really hope we win with a bit to spare. If we are to get to D2 this is one we need 2 points from. But in this division you never know.
It will be interesting to see how all the teams come back after break and will there be any significant changes in form and performance levels.

[Dreadnought]

Yeah good team, Kiernan must also have picked up a knock. Not on bench. You'd really hope we win with a bit to spare. If we are to get to D2 this is one we need 2 points from. But in this division you never know.
It will be interesting to see how all the teams come back after break and will there be any significant changes in form and performance levels.

The WAC pod had it that Kiernan was carrying an injury into the Tipp game. Gerry coming in for him is good as a replacement and will allow him to get over any knocks. No need to risk lads too much this time of year when we've got the fellas to come in

[rodney trotter]

Cavan were in a decent position in Division 2 in 2020.but then had a really flat performance against Clare and beaten in Breffni.
They need to be consistent and not take Longford for granted. They have some good forwards.

[Itchy]

I don't think this will be simple, Cavan by 2/3 points. Got to defend long balls properly and not concede goals.

[Look-Up!]

3 games in, 6 points on the board. Not too bad. Very hard to gauge where we're at based on last two games. Level of opponent looked a division lower. Either that or we're much too good for this division.

Last 4 games should provide a much stiffer test starting in Tullamore next weekend. You'd have to be confident enough going into it but I think we should have seen the last of the walkovers. Few little knocks picked up too a worry, there's a few players there we absolutely cannot afford to lose. Down and Fermanagh at home with a trip to Belfast in between, so looking forward to what should be 4 well contested games and hopefully better ground conditions. Two more wins would generally be enough for promotion and I think that's well within our ability. If we play at the level we're capable of we'll be very tough to beat for any of those 4 teams.

[Dreadnought]

What's the thoughts for Sunday then? Do think we're in a good place after 3 wins, but very hard to take anything from the last 2 games. They clearly look the worst teams in the division. Saying that we put them both to the sword. Westmeath have got motoring, so hard to know about the first day if we were as good as we looked, or where they were at with a new coach and poor starting line-up. Anyway, that's not taking away from us, we've done what we've needed. Tullamore is a different proposition. We'll be down a few men it seems, maybe Paddy Lynch comes straight in for Oisin Brady as we do need a free taker. But should have more lads back. James Smith and McLoughlin might be seen from the bench as they were doing fitness work last week pre-game. We've a solid team anyway and the lads playing are going well, and can integrate returning fellas here and there as needed.

Offaly will be tougher, and have been sticky in their games so far. Westmeath only got the better of them near the end when they pulled away. That might be where we get them. I feel we're a very fit team who can last the distance. We gassed some teams early this year with our movement, and I'd think with the losses Offaly have had, their newer lads might not keep up with us on conditioning, and we'll see this off on the home stretch. It'll be good to get a battle though, it's needed. Hope we see a good travelling support, always liked going to Tullamore. Cavan by 4