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Have you any more info on this challenge match like players, scorers etc? All I've heard is that we were beaten and the spirit doesn't seem to be great in the camp

On paper we should have enough but Meath haven't won a qualifier since 2011. Should be a good game

If we can get over this game first and then get a favourable third round draw, Oisín may be right. The loser of Tyrone/Cavan game is on our side of the draw lest we forget.

I'd expect the loser of the Meath vs Laois game on the last day to go down, possibly joining Armagh. That could look a whole lot different after this weekend though as always seems to be the case with this division!

If that was the reason Juice, then I hope that the CB will back any plan or ideas that he may want to put in place. We need to support him financially too because we seem to be spending alot less than other counties.

I'm not going to write anything about this game.

I just want Andy McEntee to be our manager.

Would he want the job though?

Certainly a massive achievement by McEntee to guide a team that seemed to be underdogs in every game they played to an All Ireland. But wasn't he pushed out by the CB at the end of 2013? Would he want to come back? Personally, I'd love to see it happen. O'Dowd has done some good work for Meath football but I think when a better alternative is available, then we need to take action. There's going to be a lot of pressure from all circles to get this man back on board especially if we're relegated to division 3.

Agreed, and with a bit of luck, this young group of players can achieve big things. Injuries to Gillespie, Flanagan and O'Rourke have been well documented but we should move on without them (for now) and get behind what's there at the minute.

Two changes to the Meath team. Graham Reilly is fit to play and he starts while Seán Tobin comes in for Bryan McMahon. Darragh Smyth is the other player to be dropped to the bench. I counted eleven changes from the last Meath team to play Fermanagh in 2013 which is by all accounts a seriously high rate of player turnover. The confidence among the group is clearly quite high at the minute so we need to keep our good run of form going. On paper we should win, but in the past we've been poor away from home and like you said FermGael, it will be difficult for any team to travel to Brewster Park and come away with a victory.

I thought Meath had more left in the tank but they just lack a cutting edge when it comes to seeing out games. This could become a problem against the likes of Tyrone, Derry, Galway etc. In saying that, there is also a grittiness now in existence whereby they don't lose games easily. It's something that has been missing for the last number of years so it is certainly a welcome addition. The Westmeath game is probably still fesh in the memory and they want to learn from that. Think we are a little lightweight in the half back line but Donnacha Tobin and Bryan Menton should both improve this area when they return. Although Fermanagh were well-beaten in then end, I believe the final score didn't do their performance justice so I hope we are fully focused on that game alone. It would be great to head into the break with 4 points in the bag.

On the basis of that question about Clarke,I expect Tara's next question to be "When did Sean Boylan step down? I never heard!"😂

My next question was going to be "Who's this Seán Boylan lad that's taking over the Meath footballers? Seems to only have a background in hurling, some chancer!"  Thanks guys, the WiFi must be running slow in my part of the country these days!

Has Jamie Clarke dropped himself off the Armagh panel this year? He gave Keogan a bit of a roasting the last time he was in Navan. No sign of a team sheet from ourselves which is a bit frustrating!

The 7 stars were first put on the Meath jersey in 2006 and have stayed there ever since. It offers us something to cling onto especially during these barren years!! But I feel we missed a trick by not adding another star for our O'Byrne Cup win last Sunday..

Serious question. As it is a county jersey, as opposed to a 'code' jersey, do they put the stars on the hurling jersey as well? What about underage jerseys, do they have the star, or do they have the stars for that grade?

Would/should Offaly have a 3 star football one, and a 4 star hurling one, or just put 7 on them all?

Interesting question and I've never actually thought about it like that before, so I had to do a bit of research! It appears that all jerseys, including the hurlers and underage teams in Meath carry the 7 stars. So, if Offaly were to follow this example, then they would put 7 stars on all their jerseys. Our hurling jersey has a different sponsor, the design itself is the same, but I've never seen it available to buy online or in shops. Hurling definitely plays second fiddle to football in the county so I'd imagine O'Neills didn't really consider the hurlers when they included the 7 stars. If there was more of a 50/50 split between football and hurling in the county, then maybe it would be reconsidered. But like you said, it's a county jersey as opposed to a code jersey..

Laois v Galway Galway by 2

Tyrone v Cavan: Tyrone by 8

Meath v Armagh: Meath by 5

Derry v Fermanagh: Derry by 4

The 7 stars were first put on the Meath jersey in 2006 and have stayed there ever since. It offers us something to cling onto especially during these barren years!! But I feel we missed a trick by not adding another star for our O'Byrne Cup win last Sunday..

Interesting choice from McGeeney to put Aidan Forker at half back then if that's the case. My guess would be that he'll pick up Graham Reilly and try to expose him defensively. Reilly kicked six points from play in the O'Byrne Cup final but if he's on Aidan Forker, then he'll have to do a lot more tracking back which would put him off his own game. Graham can be quite ineffective offensively in these scenarios so on the face of it, it looks like a really smart move from McGeeney