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They are all well over 6 ft. McDonnell would be the only back we have that is around that size. If Roscommon start launching big high balls in on that forward line then I think we are in bother.

Any news on injuries? Will we be without anyone since the league campaign? Any new additions?

I think the we will Carew go with a side like the following.

1. Devaney
2. Maye 3. McDonnell 4. Donovan
10. Ewing
5. Cawley 6. Egan 7. Flanagan
8. Gilmartin 9.  C Breheny
14. Hughes 11. M Breheny 12. Murphy
13. Marren 15. Kelly

We're just badly lacking in size. I believe we have as good as footballers as anyone else in Connacht right now but we just don't have the physicality for it. Look at the Galway game last year and the total wipe out round the middle of the field. My main worry about the Roscommon game is the size of their forward line. Cregg, Shine, Kilbride and Smith and I'd worry about the physicality in our backs to handle that.

I dread to think of what Mayo would do to us around the middle of the pitch.

Quite a serious accusation from Devenney today over a Donegal minor being taunted in the minor game over his dead father.

Obviously this is sickening if true. Not sure if Devenney is the most credible source so hopefully the minor involved comes forward and identifies the culprits.

http://m.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/triumphalism-sparks-fury-26305173.html

Funny you bring that up here after I sent you running for the hills in the other thread.

I think we have a good chance against Roscommon, they have been blown by all and sundry and I really think they are nowhere near the team they/others believe them to be. Sligo had a strong end to the league and got some good results at the close of the league so hopefully they can bring that with them. My one worry would be around the middle of the pitch, we have probably the smallest team size wise in the country and if Roscommon line Shine and Kilbride in the full forward line we would have problems there as we don't really have a good defender apart from McDonnell who is still learning his trade there. The two young lads did well at midfield towards the end but they are not midfielders by trade and I think in the heat of the championship this will become apparent.

The other options are very uninspiring, Gilmartin has had his chances and not really done much with them. Is Kilcullen still on the panel, I don't think he is county level? How is Tony Taylor doing these days, any chance he may return to the county fold? Another player who had his chances and didn't really grasp them but always felt he was our best option there which probably says something about our midfield in recent years! The team I would go with

Devaney
Donovan McDonnell Martyn
Cawley Egan Flanagan
Hughes Muprhy Breheny
Ewing Breheny Davey
Marren Kelly

The half back lines and half forward lines are really lacking in physicality but sadly that's the best we've got.

Good post weareros. The Tyrone performance v ros was awesome and they deserved to win by more, I hope our coaches learn loads fom this defeat. Tyrone coaches were excellent and performed their duties very well. I did not think the interview performed by Logan after this game was necessary ie his rant about southern media bias. Thought they deserved to beat tip in the final, the goal was worked and taken very well by the excellent mcshane, a player with a great attitude.
Regarding sligoman, your comments and bias towards ros are petty. Sufferus is best ignored, o hara sledged o Neil calling him farmer Dan, because of an interview he did with the farmers journal, o Neil thumped him, proper order. O hara is an awful gobshite, he goaded the Mayo midfielder in the Connacht final 2012 and came out with a bloodied nose. Your comments about the 4 ros players were uncalled for, we fully deserved to win the 2010 game. Ros are not considered to be dirty, chit most of the time, but not dirty.

I have no problem with certain people having views on O'Hara, he went out and sought an awful lot of bother. I won't argue with that.

I do have a problem with a lot of the Roscommon lads here drawing issue with another team's antics when they had a team who regularly crossed the line and used underhand tactics to get their results. You think it's proper order than O'Neill thumped O'Hara for calling him a farmer? I suppose you think there was a mitigating factor with regards the dirty act Grehan pulled on Joyce? Maybe that says a lot about the Roscommon victim mentality. Let's call a spade a spade. Grehan and O'Neill were dirty players who committed thuggish acts throughout their career. I'm sure if you asked any of the other Connacht  lads here they'd wouldn't share too many nice words for them.

sligoman, 11 posts by you all anti roscommon, not a word about any other county, that 6-18 to 0-12 hammering we gave ye in kiltoom a couple of months ago must really have hit the spot, see ye in sligo on that five a side pitch of yers in 6 weeks time.

Couldn't give a damn, we lost fair and square. I'm just here to show the irony in Roscommon lads preaching about the way to play the game. Tyrone beat you fair and square, it was a relatively quiet game with few incidents. Yet you the likes of Syferus and others coming on here cribbing about them and the way they play football. To hear a Roscommon lad criticising another team for how they got themselves over the line is the ultimate in hypocrisy. This could have been nipped in the bud fairly quickly if Syferus tried to address the issue but a bit like yourself, you don't want to talk about Roscommon's shame yet feel it perfectly reasonable to jump on a crusade against another county.

If Syferus was so outraged at the handbags the Tyrone full forward was involved in with the Roscommon player them God help us with what his reaction would have been like with what Grehan and O'Neill used get up to on a football pitch. Of course it's much more likely that his outrage and fear for the way the game is going is merely a pretence for a very bad loser.

First of all myself and many Roscommon contributors congratulated Tyrone. They were by far the better team, scored amazing points against us and won fair and square.

That said: Don't know if you are a bot or a troll but you leave out one important fact when you refer ad nauseam to past Roscommon county players as thugs. Invariably when the likes of Frankie Dolan stepped out of line (and for the most part it was the same for someone like Eamon O'Hara), they ended up getting hefty suspensions. The last time Frankie Dolan verbally abused an official he got a 48 week ban, later reduced to 20 weeks, still a sizable ban. When he took a swing at a Galway selector who should not have been on the pitch, he was given a 3 month ban. Do most punches we see nowadays get 3 months bans? Does verbal abuse get a 5 month ban?

Of course Tommy Carr (who I remember as a Dublin manager running onto the pitch and verbally abusing a ref and pushing his head in his face) decided to end Frankie's county career and John Maughan too, due to his reputation - so Frankie was given the ultimate ban in the end even though he was still one of the best forwards in Connacht. I would say he had the last laugh when he won an All-Ireland and displayed his footballing skills for all to see. I doubt he is too worried that a keyboard warrior like you has little to contribute other than call him a thug.  Grehan was a hard player, not a dirty player. But he once was caught in the act of stamping (even though Galway player in act of sportsmanship denied he was stamped). End result: 3 month ban for Grehan in championship season. Do stamps and real stamps at that we see in games today get 3 months bans? Any bans from the U21 game for instance?

What causes a lot of anger today are players indulging in all sorts of things (stamps, verbal abuse, premeditated elbows into the face and the like) and it results in no bans. They get away with it.

Finally you mentioned earlier Cake's gamesmanship in 2004. What he did was shake Paul Taylor's hand before the penalty? Hardly thuggery. As I mentioned EOH punched David Casey in the balls. Would consider that worse. While he got away with it that time, EOH always found himself getting plenty of suspensions. He was a great player and Rossies supported Sligo in their droves when ye won Connacht in Hyde Park and I was happier than any to see Eamon bury the ball in the net. I just think some counties and some players get picked on because of reputations while lots of others simply get away with it. Very little consistency by the GAA.

I'm just adding balance to an argument, Syferus bemoaning the way Tyrone behaved on the field of play is a little bit rich when Roscommon had players who regularly crossed the line. You talk about Roscommon players not getting away with it? You could clearly hear some of the things Dolan would call the referee in matches, if he paid the ultimate price in the end it was a long time coming. Curran would do anything and everything to get inside an opponent's head. It wasn't just shaking his hand, he delayed the penalty by about two minutes and the aim was to put a player off his game, it is gamesmanship and I accept that is part of it, I'm simply bringing these incidents up as a point of balance.

In 2004 Seamie O'Neill levelled O'Hara with a punch right after the final whistle in full view of the referee he got away with it, I don't think I saw a match involving Roscommon where O'Neill wasn't throwing punches at an opposition player. It was hard to pick out who was a bigger thug between himself and Grehan but again I'm only bringing these incidents and examples up as a point of balance - Roscommon people are in no position to lecture other counties about the wrongs of cynicism, diving, cheating, gamesmanship and even defensive football with they way ye lined out against Armagh last year.

sligoman, 11 posts by you all anti roscommon, not a word about any other county, that 6-18 to 0-12 hammering we gave ye in kiltoom a couple of months ago must really have hit the spot, see ye in sligo on that five a side pitch of yers in 6 weeks time.

Couldn't give a damn, we lost fair and square. I'm just here to show the irony in Roscommon lads preaching about the way to play the game. Tyrone beat you fair and square, it was a relatively quiet game with few incidents. Yet you the likes of Syferus and others coming on here cribbing about them and the way they play football. To hear a Roscommon lad criticising another team for how they got themselves over the line is the ultimate in hypocrisy. This could have been nipped in the bud fairly quickly if Syferus tried to address the issue but a bit like yourself, you don't want to talk about Roscommon's shame yet feel it perfectly reasonable to jump on a crusade against another county.

If Syferus was so outraged at the handbags the Tyrone full forward was involved in with the Roscommon player them God help us with what his reaction would have been like with what Grehan and O'Neill used get up to on a football pitch. Of course it's much more likely that his outrage and fear for the way the game is going is merely a pretence for a very bad loser.

Cake, Dolan, O Neill, Grehan, four of the best and cleanest players ever to play for Roscommon, never saw any of them hit a dirty stroke or complain to the ref, as for Sligo in 2010 well they were a joke, fouled all day, had not a clue, played like sligo rovers are playing at the moment, born losers as they always are, but sligo people are not biased in any way and can take their defeats, god knows they are well used to it like ourselves, and they always comment objectively and would not have any issues with any individual county.
Now wheres me old moores almanac.

Just pointing out Roscommon are in no position to be giving out about the way other team's conduct their affairs given some of the players and tactics they've employed in their recent history.

Play close attention to Roscommon this year, they are Connacht's masters of cynical play and outright thuggery.

Have to say. We all love the under dog! When Meath beat Louth in the 2010 Leinster final we all felt for them. If the shoe was on the other foot. We'd have said wasn't it a good one Louth winning that way. Same rules would have applied if Tipperary had done a Tyrone to Tyrone. We'd all say they did the right thing to close out the game. But it's different when the so called traditional county achieves their goals by adverse means.

In fairness Bunker you're warping the issue most have. Lots of teams close out games by trying to shut up shop but lots of teams don't knee players in head, elbow them in the face or throw them at goal-posts. Tipp were guilty of a stamp in the final but Tyrone's rap sheet this year extends far beyond that and anyone who's trying to isolate the final without the context of the whole campaign is missing the bigger picture. I think this topic is more about player safety than it is about tactics.

Catch yourself on.  All teams are at it and always have been. Tyrone are no different to any other team. Have you never seen Kerrys golden years - the best footballing team ever and each one of them would have taken your life given half a chance.
And your silence to Sligomans posts directed at you about the Roscommon thugs of yesteryear speaks volumes.

Some you Tyrone lads are fairly desperate to deflect from this topic if you're clinging onto the words of an alt account made for the express purpose of responding to a single user's posts to validate your point-of-view.

I'm not an alternative account, I have been there first hand throughout the intercounty careers of Grehan, Dolan, Curran and O'Neill - four of your best players who backboned your team for a good 10 years and every one of them behaved like vermin on the pitch, without doubt you were the most hated team in Connacht during that period - for good reason and not because you were successful either.

Ask any of the Connacht lads here, outside Roscommon and I'd say the have plenty of incidents involving these lads that would rankle with them - maybe it might be more of an issue with Sligo or Leitrim lads as we didn't have great success in those times but they were loathsome players. You don't want to acknowledge your shame, fair enough. Don't come on here playing the victim card though when your guys had no issue at all dishing it out through the years.

Have to say. We all love the under dog! When Meath beat Louth in the 2010 Leinster final we all felt for them. If the shoe was on the other foot. We'd have said wasn't it a good one Louth winning that way. Same rules would have applied if Tipperary had done a Tyrone to Tyrone. We'd all say they did the right thing to close out the game. But it's different when the so called traditional county achieves their goals by adverse means.

In fairness Bunker you're warping the issue most have. Lots of teams close out games by trying to shut up shop but lots of teams don't knee players in head, elbow them in the face or throw them at goal-posts. Tipp were guilty of a stamp in the final but Tyrone's rap sheet this year extends far beyond that and anyone who's trying to isolate the final without the context of the whole campaign is missing the bigger picture. I think this topic is more about player safety than it is about tactics.

Kerry instigated two brawls in injury time In their games against Donegal and Mayo. Did your faux outrage extend to them last year or is it only against teams who knock ye out?

You must be incredibly young, blinkered or delusional to keep this conversation going when you hail from Roscommon. The team ye had about 10 years ago was backboned by thugs, cheats and loudmouths. The last time we played you in a championship game was 2010, where your player consistently went to ground and exaggerated contact when they got the ball in scoring areas.  This had to be a tactic as you lacked the quality from open play to break us down. You were equally as cynical with our attack, McDermott had a hold of Kelly all day long. Sligo took that defeat on the chin, we accepted that Roscommon had been that bit cuter and we went in a bit cocky and naive to the way ye would play.

But hearing you bemoan another team who beat you fair and square for the way they played is sickening. You were comprehesively beaten fair  and square, move on. Maybe you should hand back the 2010 Nestor Cup if you feel so strongly about fair play.

You are happy to criticise other teams and their actions but you don't want to acknowledge your own county's shame. It's not so long ago you had one of the dirtiest and sneakiest teams in the land.

And all the Connacht lads here will know about the antics of Dolan, Grehan,  O, Neill, Curran and Co.

[I think this topic is more about player safety than it is about tactics.]

Have to say. We all love the under dog! When Meath beat Louth in the 2010 Leinster final we all felt for them. If the shoe was on the other foot. We'd have said wasn't it a good one Louth winning that way. Same rules would have applied if Tipperary had done a Tyrone to Tyrone. We'd all say they did the right thing to close out the game. But it's different when the so called traditional county achieves their goals by adverse means.

In fairness Bunker you're warping the issue most have. Lots of teams close out games by trying to shut up shop but lots of teams don't knee players in head, elbow them in the face or throw them at goal-posts. Tipp were guilty of a stamp in the final but Tyrone's rap sheet this year extends far beyond that and anyone who's trying to isolate the final without the context of the whole campaign is missing the bigger picture. I think this topic is more about player safety than it is about tactics.

I doubt that's what you really think. I think you think it's more about Roscommon losing to an All-Ireland semi-final to a team they perceived to be inferior, and thereby losing a golden opportunity for All-Ireland success.

Tyrone would have beaten us without any of that. They were clearly the better team which makes it sadder that they lowered themselves to that level.

U21 is usually a grade you come out of cooing about good football and honestly what Tyrone did - mostly off the ball - means that discussion around the grade is now about cynism and player safety. That's a tad depressing.

I care about the grade and underage as a whole and I'd hate for the willingness to just play ball that a lot of teams display to be replaced by what we saw from Tyrone. In the end everyone will lose if that happens.

I take it you must have boycotted Roscommon senior games when they had Grehan,  O'Neill, Dolan and Curran in their ranks such is your high moral standards on ethical behaviour on the football field.