Derry Club Football & Hurling original

[Ryan O]

I watch an unhealthy amount of Derry club football and whats very obvious is the premonitions about some clubs and without doubt certain players within the Derry referring circle.
There are some players who play the game on the edge, most clubs have at least one, which I think is a good thing but they then struggle to start games on a blank slate.
There are a core group of players that seem to see cards either very early or get sent off by same ref on more than one occasion.
Compared to Tyrone at the weekend were there were some dubious tackles but refs seemed more reluctant to hard out cards.

I'm not having a ref pile on and I'm fully aware how thankless a task it is but perhaps it might help our football flow slightly better.

[Mario]

Cahair isn't far off the mark with his latest article, a quarter full owenbeg does nothing for the atmosphere. There shouldn't be a game played there before the SF stage.

[Brendan]

Pitch getting some tramping to, 4 matches at the weekend, 4 hurling this weekend coming, 4 football quarter finals the week after that and so on

[Derry Man]

I don't understand it especially considering we have some great club grounds, definitely adds to the Tyrone championship

[theticklemister]

Likely to do with weather. For years we have complained (rightly so), about poor facilities at games. Owenbeg has excellent facilities but souless.

[theticklemister]

Forbes and Bourke set for AFL Combine
Gaelic Games

Derry's Ruairi Forbes and Offaly's Cillian Bourke are being given the opportunity to make pitches to Australian rules clubs with an invitation to the AFL Combine early next month, writes Colm Keys.
Forbes and Bourke (below) have been selected from a panel of players that had been gathering under the AFL Ireland talent development banner in Dublin in recent weeks for practice sessions and testing.
They will travel to Australia next week and be guests of honour of the AFL at the Grand Final which takes place on the following weekend.
That Grand Final is guaranteed to have Irish interest in it with Geelong, for whom Kerry's Mark O'Connor and Mayo's Oisín Mullin have been regulars all season, playing Hawthorn, who have Meath's Conor Nash, contesting one of the preliminary finals this weekend.
In the other preliminary final, Collingwood play reigning champions Brisbane Lions who still have former Tyrone All-Ireland winner Conor McKenna and Kilkenny's Darragh Joyce on the books but neither were part of the squad for last week's semi-final.
Forbes and Bourke will also visit a number of clubs in the days after the Grand Final and then take part in the Combine to further platform their capacity to potentially adapt to AFL. Both did well in the 20-metre sprint and 2km run at recent trials that are among the indicators scouts and clubs tend to look at intensely when assessing prospective recruits.
Forbes is a three-year Derry U-20 who was part of the Ballinderry intermediate team that lost an All-Ireland final in January to Crossmolina Deel Rovers.
He joined the Derry senior squad and started against Armagh in the round-robin game before coming off the bench against Galway and Dublin. He is seen as one of Derry's brightest prospects.
Bourke is just 19 but graduated to the Offaly attack this summer and played against Kildare as they lost a Tailteann Cup quarter-final by a point against the eventual winners.

[Uncle Phil]

Every club has the same issue, that's crap, I seen Kilrea Reserve game one nite with 25+ players. Drumsurn a small place, they were never strong enough to play senior football. Derry football only strong enough for a top 12 club system but teams at the lower end of the league wouldnt go for that. What's Ballinascreen excuse for bottom of the league/championship more times than enough. Takes in 3 places, massive townland and always near the bottom.

The old "huge parish/massive townland" argument doesn't stack up in my book. I would contend the opposite is true. Look at the likes of Kilcoo, Slaughtneil, Trillick, Errigal in recent years and historically Ballinderry. All relatively small parishes (I haven't researched the square mileage) and have been hugely successful. These are places where the GAA club is the absolute heart of the community. Most children's past times are GAA. Larger towns/townlands have other activities like soccer, rallying, bars etc which definitely impacts interest in GAA. There is hurling too, but that's a whole different argument.....

[Onthe40]

Errigal is not a small parish.....massive catchment area

[Uncle Phil]

Errigal is not a small parish.....massive catchment area

I stand corrected. Been through it once in my life and didn't even see a shop. 123 acres according to google, seems small but I'm not a farmer or Ordnance Survey Man!

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Bit of a "debate" on errigal currently in the Trone thread, I dare you to go on there and say it's a small area 😆😆

[Wildweasel74]

Ballinderry Derry small, dont buy that either. I remember having to play 3 u12 games in a row, mid 1980's cause they had 50 cubs looking a game, and Big Adrian had sorted with our manager to give all a game! brutal

[Ryan O]

Every club has the same issue, that's crap, I seen Kilrea Reserve game one nite with 25+ players. Drumsurn a small place, they were never strong enough to play senior football. Derry football only strong enough for a top 12 club system but teams at the lower end of the league wouldnt go for that. What's Ballinascreen excuse for bottom of the league/championship more times than enough. Takes in 3 places, massive townland and always near the bottom.

The old "huge parish/massive townland" argument doesn't stack up in my book. I would contend the opposite is true. Look at the likes of Kilcoo, Slaughtneil, Trillick, Errigal in recent years and historically Ballinderry. All relatively small parishes (I haven't researched the square mileage) and have been hugely successful. These are places where the GAA club is the absolute heart of the community. Most children's past times are GAA. Larger towns/townlands have other activities like soccer, rallying, bars etc which definitely impacts interest in GAA. There is hurling too, but that's a whole different argument.....

Slaughtneil aren't small at all. from up the Five Mile straight, to near Dungiven out to Garvagh and right into the top of Maghera is not a small catchment area.
Added into the equation that some have left the area are happy to take their children back to play.
TBH thats why I happy to see Newbridge winning a championship, now theres a club with a tight catchment area.

[ardtole]

Kilcoo genuinely is a small parish. The football club is surrounded by Bryansford, Clonduff, Castlewellan, Laitroim and Drumgath, it's remarkable what they achieve.

[Squareball71]

Kilcoo genuinely is a small parish. The football club is surrounded by Bryansford, Clonduff, Castlewellan, Laitroim and Drumgath, it's remarkable what they achieve.

It sure is remarkable. To be so small and disliked by so many is some achievement.

[Squareball71]

Every club has the same issue, that's crap, I seen Kilrea Reserve game one nite with 25+ players. Drumsurn a small place, they were never strong enough to play senior football. Derry football only strong enough for a top 12 club system but teams at the lower end of the league wouldnt go for that. What's Ballinascreen excuse for bottom of the league/championship more times than enough. Takes in 3 places, massive townland and always near the bottom.

The old "huge parish/massive townland" argument doesn't stack up in my book. I would contend the opposite is true. Look at the likes of Kilcoo, Slaughtneil, Trillick, Errigal in recent years and historically Ballinderry. All relatively small parishes (I haven't researched the square mileage) and have been hugely successful. These are places where the GAA club is the absolute heart of the community. Most children's past times are GAA. Larger towns/townlands have other activities like soccer, rallying, bars etc which definitely impacts interest in GAA. There is hurling too, but that's a whole different argument.....

Slaughtneil aren't small at all. from up the Five Mile straight, to near Dungiven out to Garvagh and right into the top of Maghera is not a small catchment area.
Added into the equation that some have left the area are happy to take their children back to play.
TBH thats why I happy to see Newbridge winning a championship, now theres a club with a tight catchment area.

Surely Ryan out to Garvagh would be Swatragh territory would it not?