Official Cavan GAA Thread

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Great to be back in Clones this time of year for a big championship game albeit very nervous about our prospects.
 I was fairly confident last time we met Donegal that we could upset the apple cart but have no idea what to expect this time. Donegal are a serious outfit and made handy work of a very good Armagh side. Nullified their go to men without much ceremony and have some brilliant ball winners, driving runners, size and physicality throughout their squad and score getters from many quarters. They'll be out for revenge from last time and will be laying down a marker very early. I think their weak link is their manager but he will have them very motivated for this one and will be looking to go to town on us.
 Hard to know where we're at. We've been very flat since winning Ulster and instead of building on it have gone very much backwards. Saw some glimmers of light in last couple of performances but plenty of problems too. Difficult to know what stage some of the lads coming back from injury are at but we'll need every man fully fit and able for this one and will have to be on our A game from the off. First 15 minutes will be telling. If we're flat and let Donegal into their rhythm then it will make for a very uncomfortable 70 mins viewing. Hoping we can avoid that and at least make them work hard for an hour but in the end difficult to see past a Donegal win.

 

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Hard luck to the lads on Sunday. Very disappointed with the result but hard not but be impressed with the effort. Gave Donegal their fill of it for most of the game but ran out of steam in the end. I thought when we got it to 14 each we were going to the wire but 1 point in the final 20 mins (not counting last consolation score) was telling. Donegal did have a bit of luck and the goals killed us so who knows but we needed something from the bench for the final heave.
 Obviously a week too early for some of the lads returning and maybe a lack of confidence in the rest of the squad so plenty to work on and build for the future. Strange Ciaran Brady was on the bench but never made an appearance. It was actually a situation made for a player like him to drive us on and give us some momentum and put the opposition on the back foot.
 So onto the Tailteann Cup. Would be good to see us give it a go but I also think it's a great opportunity to give more lads a run, maybe some of the U20s. It's fairly obvious we need to develop more options off the bench for next year and beyond and that's not even factoring in possible retirements. So all in all a great improvement from where we were start of year but massive work to be done next few years if we are to have a 20 man team to call on in the white heat of championship.

[Look-Up!]

Down game in Breffni Saturday week. Should be a decent test for us and interesting to see what team takes the field and who makes the panel.
 If Donegal match showed us one thing it's that our squad needs improvement, and going forward for championship we need to be able to call on more players from the bench when we're foundering.
 This is an ideal tournament for us to use 21 players every match and still be in contention to win every game. Would be great to win it out and blood some of the cubs but Down, despite all the doom and gloom about them, need to be taken seriously.

[Westside]

Will be interesting to see how Mickey handles his panel for this. Can he bring in U20s? Apart from Cian Reilly there isn't any player who clearly stands out so dropping a fringe player at their expense wouldn't do much for morale.

Down are absolutely a danger here. Cavan people seem to be taking far too much comfort from a moral victory over Donegal. We can't forget that we were almost turned over on several occasions by division 4 sides this year and have been caught by motivated lower tier opposition on a few occasions.

[Look-Up!]

Will be interesting to see how Mickey handles his panel for this. Can he bring in U20s? Apart from Cian Reilly there isn't any player who clearly stands out so dropping a fringe player at their expense wouldn't do much for morale.

Down are absolutely a danger here. Cavan people seem to be taking far too much comfort from a moral victory over Donegal. We can't forget that we were almost turned over on several occasions by division 4 sides this year and have been caught by motivated lower tier opposition on a few occasions.

Would fully agree with that Westside. Some likely lads on the U20 panel but then again it can take a few seasons for some to get the work into the legs and be able to handle senior football. Others can hit the ground running.
 There's plenty of fringe players need to be given a run if they're worth their place on the panel and persisting with. Did I read somewhere that we used over 30 players in the league? We've used 20 so far in the championship and only made 3 subs the last day. So either way we need to mix it up a bit but at the same time look to be winning every game.

[Westside]

I don't think Mickey has done too badly in that respect. Most fringe lads have got a bit of a run. Stephen Smith got 2 games. Ben Kelly got 2 games, Evan Finnegan got 3 games (maybe more) Caoimhin Reilly got 2 games and a few decent sub appearances. None of them really forced their way into the starting lineup. I suppose it's really about identifying someone who will has the ability to push on and be a top intercounty player and put them in with lots of experience around them.
Cian Reilly for me fits that bill and of course has experience already. Oisin Brady is another.

I think as we saw in the past 2 league seasons, coming into a competition as heavy favourites with big expectation in the county is a terrible place for this Cavan team to be. But if they have the desire to be a top team, dealing with the favourites tag and beating sides you're expected to beat is part of it.

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Understand what you're saying and that's why this Cup is a great opportunity to get more milage into the fringe players. But at some stage, if we want to be a regular contender against the big boys we need at least 21 lads we would be happy to throw into any situation. And part of that process might be throwing them into the deep end and not knowing if they'll sink or swim in a go for it move, as opposed to leaving on lads that have already emptied the tank.

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Few injury problems being reported for us, we'll see what the lineup looks like and how much of it is true. Down with plenty of problems of their own.
 All the neutrals seem to be heavily tipping Cavan. I think and hope we'll win but might not be as easy as expected. A refocused Down with an injection of fresh blood and a point to prove are capable of giving us a land. Add in a few key injuries to us and it severely weakens us.

[Dreadnought]

An extremely strong team named for tomorrow. Looks like we're going at this...

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Good workout yesterday. Down were poor enough but that's their problem. We set to the task at hand and went through the gears, created plenty, got 20 lads a run out and came through relatively unscathed. Hopefully no major injuries picked up. Little bit wasteful at times as can happen when it's one way traffic but sets us up nicely for QF.
 I'd like to see us get Fermanagh. We owe them one from last year and look a much stiffer test than the one we got yesterday. Be good to see how we approach the attacking side of the game and how we breakdown a well setup team. A game in Brewster or Breffni between us should attract a good crowd too if the weather holds and playing conditions good.
   

[marty34]

Good workout yesterday. Down were poor enough but that's their problem. We set to the task at hand and went through the gears, created plenty, got 20 lads a run out and came through relatively unscathed. Hopefully no major injuries picked up. Little bit wasteful at times as can happen when it's one way traffic but sets us up nicely for QF.
 I'd like to see us get Fermanagh. We owe them one from last year and look a much stiffer test than the one we got yesterday. Be good to see how we approach the attacking side of the game and how we breakdown a well setup team. A game in Brewster or Breffni between us should attract a good crowd too if the weather holds and playing conditions good.
   

Is it still a north/south draw or open draw now?

[Itchy]

Good workout yesterday. Down were poor enough but that's their problem. We set to the task at hand and went through the gears, created plenty, got 20 lads a run out and came through relatively unscathed. Hopefully no major injuries picked up. Little bit wasteful at times as can happen when it's one way traffic but sets us up nicely for QF.
 I'd like to see us get Fermanagh. We owe them one from last year and look a much stiffer test than the one we got yesterday. Be good to see how we approach the attacking side of the game and how we breakdown a well setup team. A game in Brewster or Breffni between us should attract a good crowd too if the weather holds and playing conditions good.
   

Is it still a north/south draw or open draw now?

Still North/South

[Dreadnought]

Good workout yesterday. Down were poor enough but that's their problem. We set to the task at hand and went through the gears, created plenty, got 20 lads a run out and came through relatively unscathed. Hopefully no major injuries picked up. Little bit wasteful at times as can happen when it's one way traffic but sets us up nicely for QF.
 I'd like to see us get Fermanagh. We owe them one from last year and look a much stiffer test than the one we got yesterday. Be good to see how we approach the attacking side of the game and how we breakdown a well setup team. A game in Brewster or Breffni between us should attract a good crowd too if the weather holds and playing conditions good.
   

Is it still a north/south draw or open draw now?

Yeah still North/South. Draw is in an hours time. We'll be playing one of Fermanagh, Leitrim, or Sligo.

[Look-Up!]

So Fermanagh in Brewster it is. More than likely a tight suffocating physical game beckons- no harm in that and one to develop on our attacking play and finishing. Chances should be at a premium so we will need to be ruthless with what falls our way. Also defensively can't afford lapses- a goal in a game like this is huge. Looking forward to it already.

[Westside]

Should be a good one. If its a decent day we could see a big crowd from Cavan.
The Letrim v Sligo and Offaly v NY games both being streamed. Both Offaly and Leitrim have had a televised game already so hard to see how they justify not showing this game. Especially when it's against 2 of the tournament favourites.