Round 4 Qualfier: Armagh v Meath

[Orior]

Meath's master scavengers thrive in barren Orchard

MEATH 0-15  ARMAGH 2-05


MEATH: C. O'Sullivan; M. O'Reilly, D. Fay, C. Murphy; P. Reynolds, E. McManus, H. Traynor; N. Crawford, J. McDermott; E. Kelly, T. Giles, N. Nestor; O. Murphy, G. Geraghty (capt.), D. Curtis.. Sub: R. Magee for Murphy, (injured 22nd minute).

Hank Traynor

Great name.

(for a culchie anyway)

I played against Hank Kernan from Crossmaglen many years ago. He flirted briefly with the county team before heading off into obscurity - I'm sure someone from XMG will report if otherwise

[armaghniac]

Hank Kernan died the best part of a decade ago.

[brokencrossbar1]

Hank died in 2008 I think it was,  he played for Armagh for a few years and picked up 2 Ulster medals in 1980 and 82.  He was torn apart by MS and it was devastating for him as he really lived life to the full.  A legend on and off the field in these parts.

[Orior]

Ah, a sad story indeed

[Sea The Stars]

I'm not too sure of the average age of the Meath team but Armagh have quite a few young players involved and this game is vital for their progress over next year and beyond, a heavy defeat to Meath in Croke Park could set them back but a win there could really give them the confidence to move to the next level...
I'm not too sure how the injuries will have cleared up by next weekend but I'd imagine there won't be too many changes from the last game, I'm led to believe C Rafferty season is over as he apparently needs pins in his hand...

Interesting point about Meath's average age, I reckon the starting team vs Dublin average age is about 25.

Stephen Bray - 34
Eoghan Harrington - 29
Kevin Reilly - 28
Shane O'Rourke - 26
Graham Reilly & Paddy O'Rourke, Dalton McDonagh - 25
Mickey Newman, Andrew Tormey, Donnacha Tobin - 24
Donal Keoghan, Bryan Menton, Damian Carroll - 23
Bryan McMahon - 21
Padraic Harnan - 20

[T Fearon]

Hank Kernan,my old classmate,and a member of Armagh's 1977 minor team,that lost the Ulster Final after a replay to that year's eventual All Ireland Champions,Down,after a replay,along with my late brother and the late Paddy Mc Stay,all of whom died way too young,as did Ambrose Rodgers of the Down team that year.

Hank's real name was actually Frank,and when ine if the teachers at school finally realised that he made him use his real name in class and on books and home works etc

[Jinxy]

One thing's for sure, Meath won't fear Armagh.

[agorm]

I'm not too sure of the average age of the Meath team but Armagh have quite a few young players involved and this game is vital for their progress over next year and beyond, a heavy defeat to Meath in Croke Park could set them back but a win there could really give them the confidence to move to the next level...
I'm not too sure how the injuries will have cleared up by next weekend but I'd imagine there won't be too many changes from the last game, I'm led to believe C Rafferty season is over as he apparently needs pins in his hand...

Interesting point about Meath's average age, I reckon the starting team vs Dublin average age is about 25.

Stephen Bray - 34
Eoghan Harrington - 29
Kevin Reilly - 28
Shane O'Rourke - 26
Graham Reilly & Paddy O'Rourke, Dalton McDonagh - 25
Mickey Newman, Andrew Tormey, Donnacha Tobin - 24
Donal Keoghan, Bryan Menton, Damian Carroll - 23
Bryan McMahon - 21
Padraic Harnan - 20

I didnt realise that Stephen Bray was 34! Thought he was 30, maybe 31 max. Those ages dont make good reading for us thinking that we are building for the future. We might need to be running to even stand still.

[thejuice]

Interesting to see Joe, Cian Ward and Queeney are tearing things up in the Meath championship this year.

I can imagine there might be a reluctance to go back that way but their experience on the bench wouldn't hurt. I don't think Joey Wallace is ready yet nor McMahon.

[Throw ball]

One thing's for sure, Meath won't fear Armagh.

And Armagh will respect Meath.

[meathie]

Interesting to see Joe, Cian Ward and Queeney are tearing things up in the Meath championship this year.

I can imagine there might be a reluctance to go back that way but their experience on the bench wouldn't hurt. I don't think Joey Wallace is ready yet nor McMahon.

Was just saying that myself yesterday to a friend. I'd say O'Dowd is secretly thinking we could do with a few of those lads but he couldn't go back now. It's a pity cos I always thought it was a little hasty doing the cull, even with Brian Farrell....felt hugely sorry for joey Wallace, he will be super but Sunday was not a day for him.  That pic of him and Paul Flynn summed it up I think, man and boy!

[Syferus]

Banty'd never have made those mistakes.

[Sea The Stars]

O'Dowd may have been hasty getting rid of Sheridan and Farrell (In Sheridan's case probably not, in Farrell's case he possibly had another year or two to offer) but they're both 30 now and the year out will probably have set them back an awful lot so it's unlikely we'll ever see them in Meath jerseys again.

Ward and Queeney would be a bit younger. 27 and 28 respectively I think. Ward probably didn't fit in with the vision O'Dowd had but Queeney was probably a victim of his versatility and the multiple change in managers. He would probably have been worth a try in midfield.

It's hard to believe Bray is 34 alright. When you think about it all the players above getting culled and Bray would be a lot older and not only has he survived but he's thrived. O'Dowd has managed to keep him injury free too something he struggled with since Coyler. He has a Leinster u21 medal from 2001, an All-Ireland junior one in 2003 and an AllStar in 2007 as well as a couple of Meath SFC's and one IFC and then the infamous Leinster one in 2010. He deserves a second one though. There's no other footballer in the country that side of 30 who would is going as well as him in my opinion. A credit to Meath GAA.

[thejuice]

I have the Meath GAA annual from 2003, Stephen Bray is on the cover and only a gossun.

I got to sit down and watch the Dublin game in full now today. To me, the fitness levels and strength and conditioning are worlds apart but for footballing and skills wise I don't think there is that much difference. When you are that much quicker than your opponent it's easier to find room and therefore less pressure on your shooting.

That said you would wonder why we tried going toe to toe with Dublin in the first half. I thought Mick would have had a more nuanced approach than that. I would have had the heavyweights like Burke on from the start kept plenty of men in our own half with O'Rourke and Bray as a two man forward line. With the extra bodies back there should be less space and therefore less running and less energy spent. All going well, there should be a tight game at the half, then bring in the quicker lads in the second half when it suits Meath to open up and attack.

Instead we had Reilly, O'Rourke and Carroll all knackered by half time. If we can close that gap in terms of fitness/S&C I think we'll not be far off. Easier said than done though. Trevor Giles or whoever is the fitness coach has his work cut out for him.

[Jinxy]

In my opinion, we can't cut the S&C gap with this current group of players.
Everyone can get fit but everyone can't be an athlete.
There's an important distinction between the two.
Our young players need to be arriving into the senior set-up with 4-5 good years of intelligent, science-based S&C training.
It may sound harsh, but we need to weed out players who don't have the necessary athleticism.
We have too many players that are not physically or biomechanically suited to the elite level of the modern game and trying to pack muscle on them won't make much of a difference.
It gives me no pleasure to say it, but some of our younger guys that played against Dublin will never be able to physically compete with them no matter how much training we throw at them.
And Dublin are the benchmark ultimately.
Of course, the other way to compete is to develop an ultra-defensive, ultra-physical, ultra-disciplined system of play.
That will narrow the gap in fairness, but it's a short-term solution to a long-term problem.