Messages

I don't want to lose the head over this result but having said that it's also clear that the O'Byrne-Div2-Leinster-Sam quadruple is very much on.

HT
Meath 1-13
Wicklow 0-02

Pile in at 66/1 on Meath for Sam . That price will be impossible to find tomorrow
http://www.paddypower.com/bet/gaa-sports/gaa-football/all-ireland-sfc

Just for anyone unfamiliar with betting and odds, here's the way that works.
If for example, you put €20 on at 66-1, then you lose €20.

Lack of knowledge by whoever wrote the first two pieces is startling ... Jimmy Hyland won't play for Kildare at any level this year (cruciate) and Luke Flynn is highly unlikely to feature either (not on the panel).

LilyS, don't think Dan was anywhere near the Port Adelaide team. Twohands, yeah, that figure seems high to me, would like to find out for sure.

[The money isn't hectic]

So now it turns out Conor Nash is going to the AFL after signing with Hawthorns for two years.

Well all I can say is SHIT. 

Best of luck to him all the same but we certainly could have done with him. Would have been hard with both the AFL and Leinster Rugby after him too.

Very difficult for any young fella not to have a crack at being a professional athlete - hard to blame him and all you can do is wish him the very best of luck - its a wonderful opportunity.

Everyone says this, but I'm starting to question the wisdom of it. The money isn't hectic, the lifestyle is strict, and a tiny fraction of them ever play an AFL game. I'm not sure the opportunity is as wonderful or the decision as clearcut as people make it out to be.

The vast majority of them end up struggling in VFL in front of a couple of thousand people - is that really so much better than playing for your county in Croke Park?

The standard 2 year international rookie contract all the Irish guys are getting is worth €110k over 2 years and that's with accommodation and car paid for plus a number of return flights to Ireland.
For a young lad of 19/20/21 that's seriously decent money especially considering that it's guaranteed pretty much for showing up.

If they get a senior contract, the wages go up and the average Aussie rules annual contract is worth over €200k a year with some of the very top earners are not far off the €1,000,000 a year mark.
Aussie rules has a draft system and salary caps so overall it's fairly clear what sort of money the players are getting.

Last time I checked the minimum for rookies was about $35,000 a year, which is 25,000 euro. Granted that's a few years ago, but still ... where did you get the 55,000 euro a year figure?  That would be $80,000, about double what they have to pay them. Doesn't sound right, maybe you're confusing rookies with draftees? Or maybe you're factoring in the flights, etc?
As for what established AFL players make, yeah, four players make more than $1m a year. Think the average salary is $300,000, or 210,000 euro. Not bad coin, I'll grant you, but I'd estimate that 90% or Irish recruits won't make it that far.

I'm just saying, there seems to be a reflex among everyone that life as an Aussie Rules rookie is fantastic. I live in Australia and I don't think the choice facing these lads is as simple as it's made out to be.

So now it turns out Conor Nash is going to the AFL after signing with Hawthorns for two years.

Well all I can say is SHIT. 

Best of luck to him all the same but we certainly could have done with him. Would have been hard with both the AFL and Leinster Rugby after him too.

Very difficult for any young fella not to have a crack at being a professional athlete - hard to blame him and all you can do is wish him the very best of luck - its a wonderful opportunity.

Everyone says this, but I'm starting to question the wisdom of it. The money isn't hectic, the lifestyle is strict, and a tiny fraction of them ever play an AFL game. I'm not sure the opportunity is as wonderful or the decision as clearcut as people make it out to be.

The vast majority of them end up struggling in VFL in front of a couple of thousand people - is that really so much better than playing for your county in Croke Park?

I'll give it a go (didn't see as much football as I usually would this year though)
1 Comerford
2 McGrath
3 Kyne
4 McCarron
5 McCann
6 Kiely
7 McHugh
8 Colm Cav
9 Brennan
10 Keane
11 Conroy
12 Harte
13 Corrigan
14 Quinlivan
15 McManus

Of course games development money should be distributed more evenly but I don't see how it's behind Dublin's four All-Irelands.

The vast majority of their key players were long out of primary school when this project started.

Cluxton
ODriscoll
OCarroll
Cooper
McCarthy
OSullivan
Moran
Mullins
Brogan
Flynn
Hanahoe
O'Toole
Connolly
Keaveney
Doyle

[Meath got 6 in 1991 and Down got 4]

If Dublin somehow manage to lose to Mayo. Will it be the first time that a losing finalist wins more all stars than the winning team?

Nope. Meath got 6 in 1991 and Down got 4. James McCartan got man of the match in the AIF and didnt get an Allstar.

Which, in a way, tells you who the real champions were that year.

Roscommon

Wickla were very close to beating Meath that year - people forget that.

It's not an Internet/data issue for me at least. Plenty of speed, Netflix, Amazon Fire, HBO Go, Hulu etc all work great at all times. Only GAA Go seems to have a problem.

That's what gets me when I complain to Gaa Go, which I've done a couple of times. They act like it must be a problem on my end, yet I've never had a single problem with any other website or streaming service.

Throw in a manbun-liness coach and it's a deal.

I would expect Meath to improve but ye simply don't have the players to compete with Dublin.

You'd forgive Gaa Go the glitches if it wasn't so expensive. I've cut back to only watching the bigger games because the pass is just mad money for an amateur game. But I wanted to see the minor and senior games on Sunday - 24 euro please. At least the stream worked reasonably well. Of course this whole venture is just about bringing the games to the diaspora, it's not about the cash at all.

[some from as far away as Kildare]

Did Jarlaths not take a lot of boarders, some from as far away as Kildare?

Know a couple of Mayo lads who attended Jarlaths.

Yep, James Kavanagh went there.