2016 Leinster Football Championship

[Dinny Breen]

I said I would like to see the circumstances leading up to Martin's verbals, I haven't portioned blame to anyone, I also said I don't condone. Suspensions is reactionary and pointless and unless the referee clearly hears it, how can you enforce, if you want to eliminate gamesmanship you start at grassroots and build up a culture of respect for officials and opposition players. The culture of Irish sport not just GAA is very much leaning towards the winning at all costs, does today's incident surprise anyone?

[Lone Shark]

I said I would like to see the circumstances leading up to Martin's verbals, I haven't portioned blame to anyone, I also said I don't condone. Suspensions is reactionary and pointless and unless the referee clearly hears it, how can you enforce, if you want to eliminate gamesmanship you start at grassroots and build up a culture of respect for officials and opposition players. The culture of Irish sport not just GAA is very much leaning towards the winning at all costs, does today's incident surprise anyone?

That's a shitty politician's answer. The fact is that there is video evidence of goading, so we know it happened. Saying that you can't punish him unless you can see and hear everything that happened in the lead up to it is nonsense - if you go on that basis you'd never punish any infringement at all. And a suspension is certainly not pointless. Most intercounty games are recorded now and if there is a trend where such instances are punished, players will be careful - that's the best thing you could do to reduce it.

Dealing with the culture from underage level upwards is all very well, but that doesn't mean you just accept that the adult game is gone to pot and that there's nothing to be done about it. You say you don't condone, but you might as well if you say that anyone caught red-handed is just going to get away with it on the basis that we don't have a full transcript of everything that was said between the two protagonists up to that point. 

As I've said - it is utterly impossible to fully police all this sledging, though I fully expect that in the next few years we'll see teams taking to the field with voice recorders in order to counteract it. My only coaching right now is with underage teams but if I was involved with adults and a player told me that he was being subjected to it, I'd have no qualms in getting a recorder taped to him and to make sure that every comment made to him was highlighted and reviewed by the County CCC - at the very least.

[Iarmhí Abú]

The whole issue with "verbals" is an unpleasant reality in the modern game.  There are numerous incidents (clearly visible but not audible) in every game.  Today was no different.  Martin had a few words to say after the whistle and there were three or four players on each side mouthing at each other throughout the game.  Border skirmishes between poor teams only serve to up the ante.  This match was very tight at the end and there were a few hairy challenges.  Regular championship fare really!!

[Dinny Breen]

So we now suspend players on conjecture?

You need clear evidence, sound for verbals, video for acts of aggression or an independent report from a referee, who is the sole arbitrator.

The GAA have recognised sledging as an issue, you can get a black card for verbal abuse, it's not working but at least they are trying to address it but the only way to eradicate it is a cultural shift.

Maybe the sledging should be seen as the bigger issue but bottom line Kieran Martin ended up with a broken nose and it could have been a lot worse.

[Croí na hÉireann]

I half agree/disagree but imagine the Offaly lad had a nice few verbals aimed at Martin during the game, and it was more off a release from Martin at the end. I blame Tyrone and their introduction of sledging..

Ummm...why?

Is this what we're reduced to - we now presume bad behaviour on the part of players even when there's no evidence of it? I didn't see any of what happened at the end and in an ideal world whoever hit KM would be punished - a long ban if it's a player (at a minimum) and an assault charge if it's anyone else. However if justice was done, there would be a (shorter) suspension for KM for bringing the game into disrepute as well. And yes, I know that this stuff is commonplace - but that's no excuse not to punish it when you have clear evidence of it. We don't let drink drivers off the hook because we know that on any given night there are hundreds of them who make their way home across back roads all across Ireland. Punish those that are caught, and you'll go a long way to stamping it out.

Again to be clear however, none of this excuses a punch (if that's what happened). That needs to be punished in its own right, with no mitigation for provocation either.

Why would there be a distinction between who hit him? The whistle had gone, the match was over, surely the law of the land applies in equal measure?

Didn't see the incident, from the Sunday Game highlights your man had plenty of time to catch himself on, it wasn't a quick reflex reaction. Kieran should know better as well, much more satisfying to walk over, shake the hand firmly, look him directly in the eye and let him know you bested him.

On the game itself, thought Westmeath were decent at times but had a big wobble in the second half. Was delighted to see Kevin Maguire following McNamee around the Park and kept him out of the game. We did well at turning over the ball inside our 45 in the first half and delivered some decent ball inside at times to Heslin. Our kick passing other times let us down though. John Connellan was MOTM for me, hope his cheese string isn't gone again. Killian Daly had a good game out the field and his future is clearly in the half back line. Our bench is very light though after all the departures, at least Ray Connellan will be back for the next day.

We will need to up it a couple of levels for the Kildare game, hopefully we got some dirty diesel out of the tank yesterday. I remarked during the warm ups that the Offaly one lacked intensity and sure enough they were off the pace in the first half. We should have gone in more than 6 points up and if we were accurate with our point shooting we would have killed the game off after half time. We never created a decent goal chance although Mulhall nearly gifted us one.

[Dinny Breen]

Live on rte one. @2pm Croke park

Kildare 2/7. Draw. 9/1. Westmeath 10/3

Derek o Mahoney is ref

Hill €20
Davin ,hogan and cusack stands €30

With prices gone up from the last round expect a Kildare crowd of Cork football proportions. Missing my first championship game in yonks as ironically I am running Hell & Back in Wicklow which is what the trip to CP probably will be.

[AZOffaly]

Thurles is €30 for the stand on Sunday. Mental. Mind you u16s are a €5 which is good value.

[thejuice]

That should be a good contest between Kildare and Westmeath. Reasonably well matched and with both varying in consistency of late though I have a slight inkling that Westmeath might be that bit hungrier for another scalp.

[Rossfan]

Will either if them really deep down want to win it??
Could be like a slow bicycle race.

[Jinxy]

I agree unfortunately.
The pick of the two counties wouldn't trouble us in the final.

[Rossfan]

I agree unfortunately.
The pick of the two counties wouldn't trouble us in the final.

Are you the Meath version if Syfín?

[Muck Savage]

I agree unfortunately.
The pick of the two counties wouldn't trouble us in the final.

Good man Jinxy, I wouldn't put it past Meath. I've always felt the only two counties in Leinster that were capable of standing up to Dublin over the years were Meath and Offaly. Rest of them don't have the belly 

[Jinxy]

I've always thought of Offaly as the 2nd manliest county in the province.

[Ohtoohtobe]

I would put it a long way past Meath.

Anyway time for an unmanly whinge. Charging Kildare and Westmeath supporters €30 is criminal. They'll be lucky to have 10,000 in for it, lending it that surreal, nothing atmosphere and about half will leave because it's no fun watching Meath get destroyed.

Could have been a packed house in Tullamore. This milking of the ever-dwindling hardcore of supporters is so short-sighted. Minor financial gain now and turning swathes of people off going to inter-county football in the long run.

When I was a kid we could go and watch the best teams in the country for five pound or less. We would go to a game at least a dozen times in summer regardless of whether Kildare were playing. I was at all four of the Dublin-Meath 91 games. Incredible atmosphere and those sort of games leave a lifelong impression and get you hooked on going to games. And it cost the same to go to all four as it will cost to go to one game where Kildare and Westmeath stink the place out with a couple of thousand men and their dogs looking on in near silence.

It's getting to the point where I'd still go to every league game but think twice about going to a Leinster semi-final. People are sick of being fleeced.

[From the Bunker]

Talk amongst  the in-laws is that there will be no one at the first game. To far away and to expensive. Time to take the Leinster championship on tour out of Croker.