Tyrone County Football and Hurling

[Angelo]

Hamsey
R Donnelly
M Donnelly
Mcaliskey
Brennan
Morgan
T McCann
Harte
McShane
M Cassidy
Cavanagh
M McKernan
B Kennedy
Meyler


Question lads. How many of these would start

Hamsey 
M Donnelly
Brennan
Morgan 
Harte   
Cavanagh 
B Kennedy
Can see these all on the sheet, if fit

Harte still on honeymoon. Mid feb by the  time he is back

Isn't Harte a teacher? How does he get the time off?

Unpaid leave?

If all players are fit it will be a difficult choice on who makes the cut as many at a similar level and time for men to take the step forward if they have it. Still the lack of inside forwards without McShane though the opportunity is there for someone to put their handup in the league.

The inside mark once won't just benefit the bigger forwards, clever smaller men like O'Neill/Bradley will thrive under quick ball in. Provided they get it.

The problem is the ball has to be perfect for the likes of O'Neill and Bradley. McShane was the type of guy who could win it any way, under pressure or not. If the ball goes into Bradley it has to be low and there's a good chance with type of ball that it will hit the ground before reaching him.

[GetOverTheBar]

It's not that it would need to be perfect, but you would have to commit to having at least two options to kick to in the FF line in order for it to remotely work. The benefit with McShane or the bigger man would be you could get away with a one man FF line.

[Angelo]

It's not that it would need to be perfect, but you would have to commit to having at least two options to kick to in the FF line in order for it to remotely work. The benefit with McShane or the bigger man would be you could get away with a one man FF line.

If teams play with sweepers or drop players deep the only way is to play it in over.

[southtyronegael]

Tyrone/Donegal games should be tasty this year. Shots been fired by Mc namee and harte, Barry Monaghan with a shot back.

[GaaFanatic123]

Tyrone/Donegal games should be tasty this year. Shots been fired by Mc namee and harte, Barry Monaghan with a shot back.

Whats been said??

[southtyronegael]

Harte had a dig at Donegal for not fielding against Monaghan, Mc namee done likewise. Barry Monaghan came out and said harte should keep his nose out.

[Eastie]

Rule Number One: Always play an Errigal man.

[under the bar]

Rule Number One: Always play an Errigal man.

Cos it was Errigal men who delivered the 3 Sams!

[Angelo]

Poor enough game tonight, plenty of dew on the surface which meant the ball didn't bounce and there were a lot of handling errors.

McCurry was the star man for Tyrone when he came in, showed well for the ball and hit a number of lovely points. Ronan O'Neill scored a few nice points as well but struggled to win his own ball.

I thought Michael O'Neill looked very good at no 6, got on a lot of ball, made a few good turnovers and chipped in with a nice point in the first half. He may have put himself in the reckoning for next weekend. Kerr started off well, won a bit of ball and has a nice turn of pace and hit a good point early on but went very quiet for the remainder of the game, looks like he is worth keeping around for the league. Thought Quinn was solid at corner back, he's a good frame on him but is all bone at the minute and I'd say he needs a year or two in the gym before he'll force himself in that defence.

We had Burns at FF and he won a lot of ball but I think he looks like a fish out of water there, he didn't look comfortable there, hit a few wild shots and doesn't seem to be able to turn on the run so ended up 10 yards further back everytime he collected the ball. It's an experiment not worth looking at again for me.

McNamee and Hugh Pat were very good at the back, solid and won their battles fairly comprehensively. Colm Cavanagh got on an awful lot of ball in the first half and seems in good shape, he played as an orthodox midfielder tonight and had a good first half. Grugan really underwhelmed again and could be one of those likely to get the chop if we are cutting down the squad before the league. Tiarnan McCann had a poor enough game too. Meyler and McGeary got through a lot of work as usual.

I'd like to see something like the following for Meath next weekend.

1. Morgan
2. HP McGeary
3. McNamee
4. R Brennan
5. F Burns
6. M O'Neill
7. Rafferty
8. Cavanagh
9. Kilpatrick
10. K McGeary
11. Coney
12. Sludden
13. McCurry
14. C McCann
15. R O'Neill

That full forward line isn't going to put fear into anyone but we are bereft of a lot of options at the minute, Donnelly and Harte would be in there if available. McShane and Skeet are gone and I didn't think Burns worked there tonight. C McCann seems to have done ok in his two outings there so far so he should get the chance next weekend.

I'd give R O'Neill the benefit of the doubt tonight, we will probably need someone for the frees from the left and while he struggled to win ball he did finish off with a few nice points from play.

[square_ball]

I actually think Burns is worth another game or two at full forward. Played well there last year for Pomeroy (I know I know it's not the same level) and felt he was a good outlet there tonight. Michael O'Neill did himself no harm tonight at all and would be surprised if he was left out next Sunday. If 6 months ago you'd have said C McCann and RON would be in our full forward line for the first league game then you would be fearing the worst. I just don't think they are up to the level but we'll soon find out.

[Angelo]

I actually think Burns is worth another game or two at full forward. Played well there last year for Pomeroy (I know I know it's not the same level) and felt he was a good outlet there tonight. Michael O'Neill did himself no harm tonight at all and would be surprised if he was left out next Sunday. If 6 months ago you'd have said C McCann and RON would be in our full forward line for the first league game then you would be fearing the worst. I just don't think they are up to the level but we'll soon find out.

He won a lot of ball but he just looked so unnatural when he had to try and make a shooting opportunity out of it. He was running straight onto the ball.

The great thing about McShane was his movement first and foremost, he was superb last year in the angles he was able to come at the ball off. Burns is a good player, he's not a full forward for me though.

[Goals_Will_Come]

Poor enough game tonight, plenty of dew on the surface which meant the ball didn't bounce and there were a lot of handling errors.

McCurry was the star man for Tyrone when he came in, showed well for the ball and hit a number of lovely points. Ronan O'Neill scored a few nice points as well but struggled to win his own ball.

I thought Michael O'Neill looked very good at no 6, got on a lot of ball, made a few good turnovers and chipped in with a nice point in the first half. He may have put himself in the reckoning for next weekend. Kerr started off well, won a bit of ball and has a nice turn of pace and hit a good point early on but went very quiet for the remainder of the game, looks like he is worth keeping around for the league. Thought Quinn was solid at corner back, he's a good frame on him but is all bone at the minute and I'd say he needs a year or two in the gym before he'll force himself in that defence.

We had Burns at FF and he won a lot of ball but I think he looks like a fish out of water there, he didn't look comfortable there, hit a few wild shots and doesn't seem to be able to turn on the run so ended up 10 yards further back everytime he collected the ball. It's an experiment not worth looking at again for me.

McNamee and Hugh Pat were very good at the back, solid and won their battles fairly comprehensively. Colm Cavanagh got on an awful lot of ball in the first half and seems in good shape, he played as an orthodox midfielder tonight and had a good first half. Grugan really underwhelmed again and could be one of those likely to get the chop if we are cutting down the squad before the league. Tiarnan McCann had a poor enough game too. Meyler and McGeary got through a lot of work as usual.

I'd like to see something like the following for Meath next weekend.

1. Morgan
2. HP McGeary
3. McNamee
4. R Brennan
5. F Burns
6. M O'Neill
7. Rafferty
8. Cavanagh
9. Kilpatrick
10. K McGeary
11. Coney
12. Sludden
13. McCurry
14. C McCann
15. R O'Neill

That full forward line isn't going to put fear into anyone but we are bereft of a lot of options at the minute, Donnelly and Harte would be in there if available. McShane and Skeet are gone and I didn't think Burns worked there tonight. C McCann seems to have done ok in his two outings there so far so he should get the chance next weekend.

I'd give R O'Neill the benefit of the doubt tonight, we will probably need someone for the frees from the left and while he struggled to win ball he did finish off with a few nice points from play.

1. Morgan
2. Rafferty
3. McNamee
4. HP McGeary
5. Cassidy
6. R Brennan
7. M O'Neill
8. Cavanagh
9. Kilpatrick
10. K McGeary
11. Sludden
12. Meyler
13. McCurry
14. F Burns
15. R O'Neill

I'd give Burns another try at full forward. Was very disappointed with Coney so far, wouldn't expect him to get a start next week. We have enough players who drop deep, recycle possession and get plenty of touches. Think you get much more penetration with McGeary Sludden and Meyler. Would like to see plenty of Kilpatrick during the league, has been excellent so far.

[LeoMc]

Was the referee as bad as Tyrones official twitter seemed to insinuate?

[Angelo]

Was the referee as bad as Tyrones official twitter seemed to insinuate?

Only saw the last 15-20 minutes. Some mind boggling decisions. He blew Ronan O'Neill for overcarrying as he got through on goal. How he came by that decision is anyone's guess.

O'Neill may have overcarried and it was harsh in terms of what is generally let go in terms of steps but the thing was he was fouled on about 3 separate occasions as he made his way toward goal.

I didn't think the referee performance was too bad though but maybe that's more an indication of how little Monaghan offered and how comfortable Tyrone were all night.

The following players saw no action in the McKenna Cup:

Hampsey
Harte
M Donnelly
R Donnelly
McClure
Loughran
Bradley

3 of those are guaranteed starters and Bradley and R Donnelly would be strongly pushing for spots too.

Rory Brennan was not in the 26 for the last two games and Coney and McHugh were pulled from the squad last night, also no sign of Brian Kennedy and Mulgrew came off early with what looked like some sort of injury, we also know McKernan will miss the most part of the league.

So all in all we are probably down about 10 players or more for the opener against Meath, it's a good opportunity for some of the new guys and some of the players on the fringes in the past few seasons to make their claim. From what I've seen from the new call ups this year, they seem to be capable of holding their own, Quinn and Grimes are just out of u20 so I suspect they are unlikely to feature a whole pile this year and are more ones for the future.

Usually Harte would trim the squad after the McKenna Cup but with so many absentees this year I'd imagine he'll probably wait until the cessation of the league to look at it again.

[GaelTheGael]

Was the referee as bad as Tyrones official twitter seemed to insinuate?

Only saw the last 15-20 minutes. Some mind boggling decisions. He blew Ronan O'Neill for overcarrying as he got through on goal. How he came by that decision is anyone's guess.

O'Neill may have overcarried and it was harsh in terms of what is generally let go in terms of steps but the thing was he was fouled on about 3 separate occasions as he made his way toward goal.

I didn't think the referee performance was too bad though but maybe that's more an indication of how little Monaghan offered and how comfortable Tyrone were all night.

The following players saw no action in the McKenna Cup:

Hampsey
Harte
M Donnelly
R Donnelly
McClure
Loughran
Bradley

3 of those are guaranteed starters and Bradley and R Donnelly would be strongly pushing for spots too.

Rory Brennan was not in the 26 for the last two games and Coney and McHugh were pulled from the squad last night, also no sign of Brian Kennedy and Mulgrew came off early with what looked like some sort of injury, we also know McKernan will miss the most part of the league.

So all in all we are probably down about 10 players or more for the opener against Meath, it's a good opportunity for some of the new guys and some of the players on the fringes in the past few seasons to make their claim. From what I've seen from the new call ups this year, they seem to be capable of holding their own, Quinn and Grimes are just out of u20 so I suspect they are unlikely to feature a whole pile this year and are more ones for the future.

Usually Harte would trim the squad after the McKenna Cup but with so many absentees this year I'd imagine he'll probably wait until the cessation of the league to look at it again.

Are Mattie Donnelly, Hampsey and Loughran long term injuries? Will they be available for any of the league games?