NFL Division 3 2012

[Shamrock Shore]

think you bring that league final game up way too much - we had a much more essential championship game a continent away the next weekend and every player was tense and playing within themselves - we took Kilbride off after about ten minutes - apart from Cregg. Previous to that our record against Longford has been ridiculously good so although I think Longford are a better team now than they have been for many years that game last year tells you next to nothing about our quality relative to them, let alone Offaly.

I agree 100% with Syferus. Rossies were awful that day but not because they are awful in general. A very bad day at the office and, yes, thoughts may have been on the trip to Amerikay.

Sadly I cannot read anything in the massacre of Offaly (and for Longford to beat Offaly by so much, given our history of meetings, it was a massacre). Maybe Sat in Breffni will give me some light. Can't go as I am at a 50th birthday party but I expect the odd text or two with updates.

I still would be happy with mid table at the end of it all.

[Rossfan]

Good win for our boys on Sunday against a never say die Tipp team.
Some good performances , esp Seanie , Niall Daly and Darren Mc.
We also had some of "dirty diesel " on display  - some of our passing to Tipp men was particularly annoying.
The kind of thing we'll hopefully have eradicated as the evenings start to stretch.
Devaney could have had a hat trick but could hardly miss the one he scored.
I'm getting a biteen confident now ,which is dangerous  , but will await our trip to Tullamore before I start dreaming of good times.

[AZOffaly]

think you bring that league final game up way too much - we had a much more essential championship game a continent away the next weekend and every player was tense and playing within themselves - we took Kilbride off after about ten minutes - apart from Cregg. Previous to that our record against Longford has been ridiculously good so although I think Longford are a better team now than they have been for many years that game last year tells you next to nothing about our quality relative to them, let alone Offaly.

I agree 100% with Syferus. Rossies were awful that day but not because they are awful in general. A very bad day at the office and, yes, thoughts may have been on the trip to Amerikay.

Sadly I cannot read anything in the massacre of Offaly (and for Longford to beat Offaly by so much, given our history of meetings, it was a massacre). Maybe Sat in Breffni will give me some light. Can't go as I am at a 50th birthday party but I expect the odd text or two with updates.

I still would be happy with mid table at the end of it all.

Definitely a bad beating for our bucks, but I'm not without hope just yet. Obviously McNamee coming back will be important when it happens, but it's more important long term that the young lads learn from these beatings and improve from them. Longford should never be beating Offaly by 14 points, but it is a hard place to go and win, especially for a young Offaly team. I hope it will help focus the mind, and Roscommon might have a tougher task this weekend.

[Billys Boots]

Longford should never be beating Offaly by 14 points

What do you mean by that - if you mean that no-one should be beating Offaly, fair enough (but you're deluded), but if, for some reason best known to yourself, you're saying that Biffos should always be superior to Larries then we're going to have to step outside.

[AZOffaly]

Longford should never be beating Offaly by 14 points

What do you mean by that - if you mean that no-one should be beating Offaly, fair enough (but you're deluded), but if, for some reason best known to yourself, you're saying that Biffos should always be superior to Larries then we're going to have to step outside.

No. I said Longford should never be beating Offaly by 14 points. Neither should Laois, Westmeath, Carlow, Roscommon, or most other teams. I'd stomach someone like Tyrone, Kerry or Dublin doing it ocassionally, if we were very weak, but not counties around the same standard as us.

I said Longford are tough to beat, especially up there, but a 14 point beating is not acceptable.

[ross4life]

Longford should never be beating Offaly by 14 points

What do you mean by that - if you mean that no-one should be beating Offaly, fair enough (but you're deluded), but if, for some reason best known to yourself, you're saying that Biffos should always be superior to Larries then we're going to have to step outside.

No. I said Longford should never be beating Offaly by 14 points. Neither should Laois, Westmeath, Carlow, Roscommon, or most other teams. I'd stomach someone like Tyrone, Kerry or Dublin doing it ocassionally, if we were very weak, but not counties around the same standard as us.

I said Longford are tough to beat, especially up there, but a 14 point beating is not acceptable.

Agree with most of that AZ only 3/4 years ago we were getting beaten by 16/20/24pts by teams that weren't All Ireland contenders, something is seriously wrong within when your shipping defeats like that.

Have a lot of time for Offaly a proud GAA county with a fine tradition but if things are not sorted out it's only going to get a lot worse.

[panc56]

I think Offalys preparation started a lot later than ours. The winter training ban didn't include Longford who started in mid Oct & didn't stop since. I think Offaly only found their new manager in Nov, so that may explain the 13 point thrashing. Cavan have also been training since Oct1. It will be interesting to see if the Breffni men are as fit this early in the year.
Can't make Breffini this weekend , off to Paris for a first rugby game. I hope that result foes our way too!

[Shamrock Shore]

Billy. Bit harsh there on AZ. AZ is right - but he's also wrong. Nobody should beat Offaly by 13-14 points. Offaly should be a mid Div 2 side - now they are whipping boys it seems. An O'Byrne Cup hammering and then a rogering from Longford - a county that Offaly usually beat and beat well. Who recalls 1997 in Leinster? I do. 5-17 to 0-13 to Offaly. That was my lowest day as a Longford supporter ever having shipped huge defeats in previous years in Leinster to Dublin, Wicklow, Laois, Meath, North Pole and Uranus. Probably a low day as well for one of the Boots clan.

Panc56 can you clarify the comments on winter training ban. Why wouldn't it apply to Longford. Good luck in Paris.

[Billys Boots]

Billy. Bit harsh there on AZ. AZ is right - but he's also wrong. Nobody should beat Offaly by 13-14 points.

That's what I was thinking he should be focussing on too, rather than worrying about losing to us.

[AZOffaly]

Billy. Bit harsh there on AZ. AZ is right - but he's also wrong. Nobody should beat Offaly by 13-14 points.

That's what I was thinking he should be focussing on too, rather than worrying about losing to us.

That's what I was focussing on. Jaysus ye're very touchy altogether.

[Syferus]

Billy. Bit harsh there on AZ. AZ is right - but he's also wrong. Nobody should beat Offaly by 13-14 points.

That's what I was thinking he should be focussing on too, rather than worrying about losing to us.

That's what I was focussing on. Jaysus ye're very touchy altogether.

All the oppenent is is a name on a jersey. Teams like Roscmmon, Wexford and Longfford have fluctuated wildly over the years (much like Offaly) so they are exactly the teams most likely to beat Offaly by a surprising amount.

[Onlooker]

Tipperary team to play Antrim on Sunday -:
1.  Paul Fitzgerald
2.  Andrew Morrissey
3.  Paddy Codd
4.  Ciaran McDonald
5.  Robbie Costigan
6.  Tommy Ryan
7.  Robbie Kiely
8.  Brian Jones
9.  Eoin Ryan
10 Conor Sweeney
11 Shane Ryan
12 Peter Acheson
13 Michael Quinlivan
14 Philip Austin
15 Barry Grogan
Four changes from the team that lost to Roscommon.  This is a must win game for Tipp and the other counties that lost their opening games last Sunday.  The home teams won all four games last week.  Could that happen again this week in the tightest division of the NFL.

[LaurelEye]

Two changes to the Longford team for tomorrow night - Dermot Brady replaces Peter Foy at corner-back, and Niall Mulligan replaces Paul Kelly, who is still injured.

Damian Sheridan; Dermot Brady, Barry Gilleran, Declan Reilly; Shane Mulligan, Michael Quinn, Colm P Smyth; Bernard McElvaney, John Keegan; David Barden, Paul Barden, Niall Mulligan; Robbie Smyth, Seán McCormack, JJ Matthews.

[ross4life]

Two changes for ourselves Dineen,Darren McDermott added to the long injury list G Claffey; S McDermott, N Collins, S Ormsby; S Purcell, N Daly, C Cafferky; M Finneran, K Higgins; D Keenan, D Shine, J Rogers; C Devanney, G Heneghan, D O'Gara. Good to see Cafferky given his senior chance has been doing well at U-21 level & O'Gara is unlikey to play at 15 maybe will swap with Shine. Best of luck to Des & the team.

[ross4life]

Tipperary team to play Antrim on Sunday -:
1.  Paul Fitzgerald
2.  Andrew Morrissey
3.  Paddy Codd
4.  Ciaran McDonald
5.  Robbie Costigan
6.  Tommy Ryan
7.  Robbie Kiely
8.  Brian Jones
9.  Eoin Ryan
10 Conor Sweeney
11 Shane Ryan
12 Peter Acheson
13 Michael Quinlivan
14 Philip Austin
15 Barry Grogan
Four changes from the team that lost to Roscommon.  This is a must win game for Tipp and the other counties that lost their opening games last Sunday.  The home teams won all four games last week.  Could that happen again this week in the tightest division of the NFL.

Quinlivan impressed me when he came on last Sunday top minor player he should make the break through at senior level.