Down Club Hurling & Football

[NP 76]

Greg Blaney ? Hope So

[NP 76]

Could it be either Jamie O Reilly going to join the panel or Ronan Murtagh back on board

[supersub]

Probably McComiskey!

[DownFanatic]

John Clarke?

[Leo]

Probably McComiskey!

Yes, according to IN.
I hope he rediscovers the form he had in 2010 when he was our best player in the All-Ireland Final.
And I hope that the management have learned from losing that day (cork didn't as much win it as we lost it) that other players are not "untouchable", leading them to take off the best forward we had.

[Mid Down Gael]

McComiskey it is. Hopefully the break has refreshed the lad. Be a great boost to our attack. Could be a very useful impact man to bring on in up incoming league games.

[EagleLord]

Irish News tweeting the following:

Irish News Sport‏@irishnewssport

In tomoro's Irish News: Down ace ready to come back after holding talks with Mourne management team...

Any idea who it is?

Holding talks? Sounds like contract negotiations ffs!

[whitegoodman]

Good to hear Paul is back, will be a welcome addition to the inside line.

On Mourne Rover's point, very difficult to predict Sunday's team.  Hughes, Garvey, McGinn, B McArdle should be fully fit and Rooney is back in training.  Add to this the availability of A McArdle and McKernan and things a looking a bit better player fitness wise anyway.  It remains a mystery on Ambrose fitness and where exactly he fits at the min.  If he wasnt deemed fit enough or in good enough form to make the trip to Cork, I doubt he will start against Kerry.  I could see James picking something like this even though it wouldnt exactly be my choice.

McVeigh
G McCartan
Gordon
B McArdle
McKernan
Doyle
Garvey
Turley
A McArdle
Hughes
Carr
McGinn
Lavery
Coulter
Poland

A very small forward line which could see King coming in but James likes McGinn and I dont see him dropping Poland or Carr at this stage.  I also have worries about McKernan and Doyle on the one defensive line but think James will go for that.  If Rooney was fully fit I would try him at FB which would let Gordon stay out the field but that could be an option firther down the line.

[Mourne Rover]

It would be very surprising if King did not start the game, either at midfield, wing half forward or full forward. Whitegoodman is probably right that Benny McArdle will be at corner back if available, but Rooney has been tried at full back on several previous occasions - going back to the USC of 2007 - and it simply did not work. The only real option to Gordon at no 3 might be Turley, although Garvey could also be worth a look.

[supersub]

Probably McComiskey!

Yes, according to IN.
I hope he rediscovers the form he had in 2010 when he was our best player in the All-Ireland Final.
And I hope that the management have learned from losing that day (cork didn't as much win it as we lost it) that other players are not "untouchable", leading them to take off the best forward we had.

Thought so, a lot more than a back injury keeping him away thus far

[Leo]

Benny McArdle is the best option at FB and should have been persevered with there. I also think Turley coud add to what is required in that position but so far the management have not even looked at that. We definitely need Garvey's grit in the half back line.
I think that Carr will struggle to hold his place in the forwards, he is a decent footballer and his frees can be useful but he goes absent for too long in games and in today's high intensity game no team can afford that luxury. With Maginn, Poland, Lavery and McComiskey all pushing to join Hughes, Coulter, Rodgers & possibly King in that sector he will struggle.
With Doyle returning to form at CHB it should allow us to useMcKernan's attacking qualities from wing half back where he can get cover from the likes of Hughes' hard work.

[whitegoodman]

Rooney played 3 games at FB in Ross Carrs first year in charge and did reasonably well including marking Thomas Freeman in one.  Given that none of the alternatives other than Dan have been great, I dont think he can be dismissed out of hand as an option there.  He has the height and athleticism to play it and having been on the county team for a number of years, hopefully the experience to play it.

Really hope I am proved wrong on McKernan and Doyle but I fear carcrash TV coming on against O Sullivan, Galvin and co.

[Mourne Rover]

Rooney started as full back and captain in Ross Carr's first championship match, which finished in a draw away to Cavan in 2007. He did reasonably well that day, but was not as effective in the course of the replay and was eventually moved outfield. In his third game, against Monaghan in Newry, he was switched to the corner to mark Freeman with Brendan Grant at full back. By the stage of our fourth and final championship game that summer, at home to Meath in the qualifiers, Ross obviously did not fancy either Rooney or Grant at full back and very surprisingly put John Clarke there instead. It is possible that Rooney could be tried at no 3 again when he regains fitness, but he looks much more suited to the half back line. The truth is that we are lacking in natural defenders across a range of positions, and the full back dilemma is probably a symptom rather than the cause of our wider problems.

[NP 76]

I see that Connor Gough has been picked along with Patrick Mc Breaty and Emmet Devlin to attend a 1 week Aussie Rules trial in London . Looks like we could be losing another young prospect

[Ed Hardy]

Rooney started as full back and captain in Ross Carr's first championship match, which finished in a draw away to Cavan in 2007. He did reasonably well that day, but was not as effective in the course of the replay and was eventually moved outfield. In his third game, against Monaghan in Newry, he was switched to the corner to mark Freeman with Brendan Grant at full back. By the stage of our fourth and final championship game that summer, at home to Meath in the qualifiers, Ross obviously did not fancy either Rooney or Grant at full back and very surprisingly put John Clarke there instead. It is possible that Rooney could be tried at no 3 again when he regains fitness, but he looks much more suited to the half back line. The truth is that we are lacking in natural defenders across a range of positions, and the full back dilemma is probably a symptom rather than the cause of our wider problems.

Id like to see Garvey at no.3, even tho his best position is in the half back line, we would have reasonable options there with mc kernan, doyle, hanna, quinn, mc parland, g mc cartan, d turley..