Cadbury's Best U-21 XV 2005 - 2010

[DownFanatic]

http://www.hoganstand.com/down/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=138584

The 'Cadbury 15' :

Brian Fox (Tipperary)
Fintan Goold (Cork)
Daniel Goulding (Cork)
Pearce Hanley (Mayo)
Keith Higgins (Mayo)
Paul McComiskey (Down)
Justin McMahon (Tyrone)
Michael Murphy (Donegal)
Rory O'Carroll (Dublin)
David O'Gara (Roscommon)
Colm O'Neill (Cork)
Aidan O'Shea (Mayo)
Tom Parsons (Mayo)
Brendan Quigley (Laois)
Killian Young (Kerry)

[The Worker]

http://www.hoganstand.com/down/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=138584

The 'Cadbury 15' :

Brian Fox (Tipperary)
Fintan Goold (Cork)
Daniel Goulding (Cork)
Pearce Hanley (Mayo)
Keith Higgins (Mayo)
Paul McComiskey (Down)
Justin McMahon (Tyrone)
Michael Murphy (Donegal)
Rory O'Carroll (Dublin)
David O'Gara (Roscommon)
Colm O'Neill (Cork)
Aidan O'Shea (Mayo)
Tom Parsons (Mayo)
Brendan Quigley (Laois)
Killian Young (Kerry)

Some talent above!

[Rossfan]

Good to see 2 men from my County there.
Well done to David O'Gara.

[muppet]

To be honest I'm a little surprised to see so many Mayo players. Not sure they all deserve it tbh.

Higgins definitely yes.
Hanley destroyed Ros in a Connacht Final U-21 Final but is that enough?
O'Se would want a good year next year.
Parsons talented but hasn't really done it at any level yet.

I think they just picked former Cadbury U-21 players who became established seniors.

[GaillimhIarthair]

I'm quite surprised Micheal Meehan and to a lesser extent Sean Armstrong are not in there based on their exploits in leading our lot to the 2005 title.  The 2 of them were absolutely outstanding that year.

[EagleLord]

Both scored hat-tricks in the final!

[DuffleKing]

Why pick 15 if you're not going to pick a team?

[nrico2006]

Was thinking the same DuffleKing, why not pick a best 10, 20, 50 or 100 if its not a team or based on positions?

Surprised to see so few Down players on the selection too, has Aidan O'Shea been any good at U-21?

[Onlooker]

Good to see Brian Fox on the list.  He had a couple of outstanding years with Tipp Under 21's and was so unlucky not to captain Tipp to a Munster title in 2009, although maybe that loss to Cork made the 2010 Munster title even sweeter.  He has developed into a fine wing back at senior level.

[spectator]

Hanley destroyed Ros in a Connacht Final U-21 Final

The recording of the national anthem raced out over the PA at a hundred miles an hour in Castlebar that day prior to the ref throwing in the ball.

Never heard it played at such a whirlwind pace before or since. Pearce Hanley caught the groove and had Ros destroyed in jig time.

I still get uneasy when hearing a speeded up version to this very day.

The more recent fashion of having Scór winners sing out a reassuringly sedate rendition before a match sits much more easily with me, tbh. 

That's some going by Mayo with four players selected, more than other county! An indication that the green and reds have laid the groundworks for a new glorious era, perhaps?

[RedandGreenSniper]

Fair going by Mayo players I guess. Higgins was outstanding in 2006. Inspirational. Definitely deserved it. Not sure about Pearce. His display against the Rossies was phenomenal and left us in no doubt about where his loyalties lie But he was kept very quiet by Cahir Healy from Laois in the All-Ireland semi-final and wasn't around for the following two years when he was still underage.
Parsons won three Connacht titles and, to be fair, gave some very impressive displays with give note to his undoubted talent. Aidan O'Shea had a pretty good year in 2009 and was Mayo's best player in the defeat to Roscommon this year. Has he done enough? Probably borderline along with Hanley. Higgins and Parsons are definites.

[spectator]

The Hanleys are Rossies R&GS and in any case Pearse had no choice in the matter of which county he wished to play for. But to give you your dues, you've always said you have no argument with Ballagh lads being given that choice, so we have no argument there. It's well off topic on this thread anyway. The sad reality is that Johnno had little influence over Pearce when it came to trying to persuade him to forego the opportunity to play AFL in order to pursue an ic career with Mayo instead. That's the GAA's loss tbh and a loss to all of us who have a genuine interest in seeing the best players remain within the GAA code. Pearce demonstrated his loyalty to Ballagh though when he returned to help them to a county title, fulfilling his & his teammates boyhood dreams in the process, which is what the GAA is really all about when it comes down to it. He had some game in Castlebar that day, in any case.

[GalwayBayBoy]

I'm quite surprised Micheal Meehan and to a lesser extent Sean Armstrong are not in there based on their exploits in leading our lot to the 2005 title.  The 2 of them were absolutely outstanding that year.

Must admit those two stuck out alright. Especially Meehan. They definitely did more in one year than some of those selected did in two. Feck they did more in one game than some of those selected did in two years.

Maybe it's because they only played one year in the time period (2005)?

[muppet]

Fair going by Mayo players I guess. Higgins was outstanding in 2006. Inspirational. Definitely deserved it. Not sure about Pearce. His display against the Rossies was phenomenal and left us in no doubt about where his loyalties lie But he was kept very quiet by Cahir Healy from Laois in the All-Ireland semi-final and wasn't around for the following two years when he was still underage.
Parsons won three Connacht titles and, to be fair, gave some very impressive displays with give note to his undoubted talent. Aidan O'Shea had a pretty good year in 2009 and was Mayo's best player in the defeat to Roscommon this year. Has he done enough? Probably borderline along with Hanley. Higgins and Parsons are definites.

To be fair to Parson I now recall a performance against Kerry in a semi where he was marking David Moran and cleaned him. Kerry sent out Tommy Walsh to try to win some ball but Parsons and Seamus O'Se continued to dominate.

[ross matt]

I'm quite surprised Micheal Meehan and to a lesser extent Sean Armstrong are not in there based on their exploits in leading our lot to the 2005 title.  The 2 of them were absolutely outstanding that year.

The fact the two of them are'nt on it makes a farce of the selection. Also with no positional selections picking 15 is irrelevant. Not alot of thought gone in to this I think.