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After last nights games it's hard to see anything but a Down win, however if Laois play to their potential they are well capable of winning it. Nevertheless with rumours of trouble in the Laois camp persisting I'll do for Down.

That's my point OM if Cork are ordinary then so is every other team in the championship bar Dublin. I'd give Cork a great chance against any team other than Dublin and Kerry.

If Dublin don't have to beat Kerry I'd say they will win the AI, there isn't an AI winner in either Connacht or Ulster IMO so I'd say it is Dublin (favs) Kerry (2nd favs) and Cork(3rd favs, though you could swop them for 4-5 other teams).

Impressive win from the Dubs today but after watching the Fermanagh Armagh game I would say the Dubs will struggle against the more organised outfits as their Midfield won't win as much possession and their forwards won't get as much space but they have definitely moved themselves into the favourites position for this All Ireland... it's been said before though and they have failed to deliver.

On a side note how bad must Leinster football be at the minute. Carlow, Wexford, Meath, Offaly, Louth all getting tanked in this year's championship. Aside from Westmeath and Dublin there are no other serious teams to my mind!

I'm not sure Leinster football is as bad as some of ye are making out, Kildare (beaten by Wiclow) beat Cavan (4 point losers to Armagh) yesterday, Dublin are a match for anyone, Wexford aren't as bad as they looked today and Meath got to last years semi final. So maybe it is the general standard of football that isn't great rather than Leinster being weak, because there is no outstanding team in Ulster, Connacht looks poor and with Kerry looking shakey Munster is without a standout team either.

Say what ye like about the standard of football in Leinster but this is impressive from Dublin, they have a lot of scoring threats and some decent backs. Wexford may be poor today but they have shown themselves over the past few years to be a decent mid ranking team, I'm not sure there are too many other counties that could do what Dublin are doing to them.

I think Waterford will win this by 8-10 points, Kilikenny hammered Offaly so one good win over a poor and disinterested Limerick doesn't mean Offaly are any good.

I see it's mentioned elsewhere that a T. Brosnan is the best forward in Meath and isn't even on the panel, is this true? And if so why not?

Mickey Ned is dead right not to allow the game be brought forward and th eLimerick CB shouldn't have entertained the suggestion either. As for the game itself I think it will be close with Meath maybe winning by 2-3 points in a relatively low scoring game, 1-13 to 1-10.

How can you say he is dead right?     These are the times of the games - Monaghan v Derry (3.00pm), Tipperary v Westmeath (3.00pm), Donegal v Roscommon (5.00pm),
Kildare v Cavan (7.00pm), Longford v Laois (7.00pm), Louth v Tyrone (7.00pm), Offaly v Down (7.00pm)  and Limerick v Meath (7.00pm).

Meath supporters have the longest distance to travel of the teams above. I am not sure how the times are determined but especially since the Minors were in the semifinal at the time of the draw it could have been factored into the time. According to the Chronicle Meath were very accomodating to teams last year with similar requests. If there was a genuine reason for not playing earlier then I would accept that but I have to suspect that there is a bit of up yours being played by Mickey Ned.

Anyway, the important thing is the performance and the result and lets hope that Mickey Ned wont be having to disrupt any more of his Saturday afternoons with early starts!!

Sorry I got my wires crossed last night, I thought the game was on much earlier and I now agree ye should have been accomodated. Interesting Meath team, some big calls being made by Coyle.

What do you mean you are looking to become a hurling coach? Do you coach a team and want to find some drills or do you want to become a GAA development officer and need some info on how to pursue this?

Mickey Ned is dead right not to allow the game be brought forward and th eLimerick CB shouldn't have entertained the suggestion either. As for the game itself I think it will be close with Meath maybe winning by 2-3 points in a relatively low scoring game, 1-13 to 1-10.

I'd agree a wee bit with Zulu on this. Coaches can try all they like, but until you get a fella willing to try a kick over and over again by themselves it'll never happen. I've never played at the highest level, but after seeing Canavan hit one with the outside of his boats when I was a young lad I spend hours/days trying over and over until I could do it. No-one showed me bar seeing the actual point and the replay how it was done but I could and can do it relatively accurately. On the other hand, I was coached over and over about catching a high ball and i'll still sh&%e at it.
Although I think the mini coaching that they do in a lot of counties now will improve things in 5-8 years time, as its about skills and not about winning an underage thing at all costs

well I coached a team most of which who couldnt kick a ball properly starting out and at the end of it after showing them and coaching them how to kick with inside, outside, top of foot with both feet plus when to kick with whatever part of the foot - then show them the best, easiest and alternative ways of kicking for points (eg if kicking with outside of boot , to lean over away from the target as yer kicking)  - they ended up to be relatively prolific scorers - inc the ones who were a disaster at the start.

one of which went on to be a county minor midfielder this year.

imo coaching works, but none of this dumbass coaching and coaching for coachings sake - with no intelligence or purpose behind it !
but thats IMO

I agree with you Lynchbhoy, coaching does work but only when players apply themselves to the skills in their spare time. Learning the skills of a sport is'nt any different than learning a musical instrument, if you were teaching a guy to play the guitar and he never practiced between lessons you wouldn't expected him to bang out 'Stairway to heaven' at his next staff party would you? Far from knocking coaches I was infact defending them, I was just pointing out you can't improve every aspect of every players game unless they are putting in the hours themselves.

I don't think the Wexford midfield is brilliant but they have done well enough against Fermanagh's, Meath's (second half) and Laois's so I'm not sure their getting the credit they deserve. AZ might be right and I do think it is a possibility but if Wexford were wearing Meath or Kildare colours I'm not sure they would be written off so easily. It's been a summer of shocks so far and I think this has the potential to be another.

Coaching isn't the solution to all problems. Players only really improve if they practice in their own time, a coach can't work on 20-30 players weaknesses in 2 or 3 training sessions a week. And anyway all the coaching and practice in the world won't make most players proficient at such a difficult skill as kicking on the run. The great players didn't become great because they worked with better coaches, they became great because of talent and application. Coaches can only help players reach their potential.

a player can train on his own 18 hours a day , seven days a week, but if he is doing it wrong or not clued into the things that will improve him , then its a waste of time

a coach , or a good coach - shoul dshow players the things that will help, and these things can be taken away and practisced by players
so its a little of what you say, but coaching and informing players on HOW to play and improve their games (if it is taken on board) is extremely useful if not vital !
imo

True but players can self coach, some players in all the top sports go against the 'proper' technique when striking but are still successful, so if players find what works for them then they should improve and this can only happen through practicing on their own. Coaches can, if they know the correct technique, help players but they would need to work with players as individuals or in small groups for this to be successful. The point I was trying to make was that it isn't necessarily coaches fault when players execute poor technique as they can only do so much with the time available to them.

I don't see Dublin winning this one easily, in fact I have my doubts they'll win it at all, Wexford beat Fermanagh in a league final, Meath from 10 points down and Laois who aren't that bad. Dublin are short Moran and Brogan, Whelan hasn't much football under his belt and a good few of Dublin's better players couldn't be said to be motoring so far. Wexford have what most teams don't, scoring forwards, if they can protect Wallace at full back and break even at midfield I'd give them every chance. Anyway I'm looking forward to this game more than any one so far, it should be an absolute belter. 

Coaching isn't the solution to all problems. Players only really improve if they practice in their own time, a coach can't work on 20-30 players weaknesses in 2 or 3 training sessions a week. And anyway all the coaching and practice in the world won't make most players proficient at such a difficult skill as kicking on the run. The great players didn't become great because they worked with better coaches, they became great because of talent and application. Coaches can only help players reach their potential.