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1 Galway are looking very good and obviously want to beat Galway to go through the front door. I get the feeling that it might not be the same for Mayo as they would be looking for their tip top form for july and august, basically to be good for the super 8s. Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 28/03/2018 20:16:27 2089149 Link 0 |
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Can't speak for the rest but Roscommon haven't done much. OhtobeARossie (Roscommon) - Posts: 1764 - 28/03/2018 23:03:41 2089210 Link 0 |
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Donegal were flying in December I seen them in a challenge, ur hoping they haven't but past couple of years tells a different story to when ye have peaked. OhtobeARossie (Roscommon) - Posts: 1764 - 28/03/2018 23:07:08 2089211 Link 0 |
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We didn't peak this year yet. Still undecided whether we are good enough and that would point to consistency/inconsistency. We defo will be trying to be ready for Cavan in order to get a run in ulster. So we should be there or thereabouts already. If we looked good in December it was probably down to the opposition being fairly bad. Time will tell.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 28/03/2018 23:16:50 2089215 Link 0 |
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Love this thread. Great comfort for counties who had a poor league. Dublin are proof of consistency. In other words you can't just turn form on or off. All I can say about us is our panel much stronger with greater depth than last two seasons. And our Corofin contingent have yet to kick a ball in the maroon jersey. Not there yet of course but a coming force.
kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1947 - 29/03/2018 08:46:59 2089246 Link 1 |
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but how can you tell when a team is peaking?if a team is training since november or december,what have they been doing if not trying to be ready for what could be 5-7 of their 9 matches in the whole year? perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 29/03/2018 10:42:54 2089271 Link 0 |
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In hurling you could probably add the likes of Wexford and Limerick to the teams that appear to be peaking quite early, Clare and Tipp are just plodding along while it's very hard to say where Cork are at? Kilkenny seem to be improving all of the time, although this Sunday will tell us a lot. For Galway, Waterford and Dublin the league was very poor, Galway would most definitely have been relegated had they been in 1a, and Waterford had a very poor league. If either of them get off to a bad start in the Leinster or Munster championships, it could easily be over for both of them by June. gilly0512 (Galway) - Posts: 1176 - 29/03/2018 10:52:10 2089275 Link 0 |
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Dublin never seem to have any problems with "peaking". Nearly always good during the league and even better in the Summer. Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2217 - 29/03/2018 13:39:04 2089326 Link 0 |
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You absolutely can tell if a team is nearing their best. Peaking might be too absolute a term, but I strongly believe that different teams are working off different timelines. It is not the only variable in terms of how well a team are in form, but you can see the bigger players such as monaghan, tyrone and galway are showing a lot of promise as well as strong form. For instance, a team like ourselves can go down and give Dublin a game of it, you would have to be blind or in total denial to say that Monaghan are not further down the road than we are on the back of their result v Dublin. Same with Galway. You cant get a result or beat Dublin on potential and promise alone. You have to back it up with a stage of training. Couple this with a series of results around these fixtures. Look at Tyrone too. A bad start to the league and now they are in very good shape. Further perspective on this would be to look at the big 2. Kerry and Dublin, as per usual, are not fielding their full hand as they have panels that are getting them through the winter and preserving division one status or competing for a final as is the case with Dublin. Are they trying? only when they need to. The field have to try a lot harder. I would argue that Mayo are in this category too. They may have been short a few players, but they seemed to gamble a bit on getting through the league. This was very evident in their Castlebar performances, which you would have considered to have been bankers in the past. So if you consider that with the exception of Dublin and Kerry, the field all were trying equally hard, I think it is a fair reflection on what timeline of preparation the teams are at in terms of their league form, particularly their last 3 games. Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 29/03/2018 14:02:32 2089330 Link 0 |
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Here in Kildare we are being very careful not to peak too early. I mean REALLY careful! kildare73 (Kildare) - Posts: 854 - 29/03/2018 14:42:45 2089336 Link 7 |
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I understand from a well informed source Galway had there first training session last week ahead of the league final. WunderBar (Galway) - Posts: 290 - 29/03/2018 15:01:48 2089342 Link 0 |
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I think Galway will have aspirations beyond the league final. They want to beat Mayo in Castlebar rather than go through the back door. It would be very difficult to do this without having your house in order earlier in the year. While I have big sympathy for Kildare, they were most likely like ourselves, not good enough despite honest enough effort. Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 29/03/2018 15:49:24 2089363 Link 0 |
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Galway hurlers were told they peaked way to early when they blitzed Tipperary in a league final last year. Worked out o.k. for them. Easy to put a label on things to suit ones narrative.
SamandLiamSoon (Galway) - Posts: 597 - 29/03/2018 20:33:06 2089416 Link 1 |
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It worked out very well for Galway last year, as they had no 1st round threat from a relegated Dublin side. End of july is plenty of time to prepare between last game of the league and a leinster final. Galway wanted to win something and they went all out for the league. Yes it did work out, but would we have seen this were Galway going to play Kilkenny in may? Probably not the same intensity. You might well be correct, that some years, a team are talented enough to win the all Ireland despite a tough long road to it. But as the years pass, it seems more likely that teams are being prepared like racehorses in stables. If you go off the bridle for the entire year, then you will most likely not last the distance.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 30/03/2018 01:22:48 2089461 Link 0 |
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Cavan have definitely not peaked. A lot of players only came in a week before league and Gaels lads during. That's big reason why 13 debuts in first league game. The likes of Mackey, Johnson and Gearoid only getting fully fit now. doratheexplorer (Cavan) - Posts: 1467 - 30/03/2018 09:41:07 2089485 Link 0 |
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That is a fair point although I still feel you cannot turn form on or off like a switch. Our hurlers had no season changer early in the campaign and were well primed by the time they ran into Wexford in the provincial final. May 13th is our date with destiny no more than Monaghan having to go to Omagh early or Cavan having to go to Ballybofey. Mayo staying in Div 1 may help keep expectancy for us at bay as they are likely to be favs even if by any stretch we win on Sun. Still maintain we are a coming force unless the wheels completely fall off this season.
kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1947 - 30/03/2018 11:59:45 2089514 Link 0 |
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I would say Cavan are aiming to peak for first round game in Ballybofey as well as division 2 crown. Not that big a gap between both matches compared to aiming for beginning of july. If you work backwards from this aim, they have staggered their players in perfectly and have strong form going into sunday. They wouldn't have achieved this if they were not at full kilter. Cavan have had great form in the league, bar an away game that they lost to Roscommon by 2 points, who also are aiming at early summer form. I am not familiar with fringe and core players on the cavan team, but would be very surprised if they were not back to core squad by March. Correct me if I'm wrong here. Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 30/03/2018 17:15:15 2089568 Link 0 |
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I would agree with all of this.
Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 30/03/2018 20:07:17 2089587 Link 0 |
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The mournemen are being very careful also...
downtothecore (Down) - Posts: 349 - 30/03/2018 20:17:43 2089589 Link 0 |
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Galway, Donegal and Monaghan and Cavan have been doing serious training since last November, cant see them getting any fitter or stronger for here on, so don't expect a long stay in Championship for them . culmore (None) - Posts: 1398 - 30/03/2018 20:28:27 2089590 Link 2 |