Alan Brogan just turned 30 so I think he's a fair few miles left in him but if that's a worry for you Daith perhaps you should be worrying about two of kildares best players Doyle and Early as they actually are knocking on a bit!

Jackeen (Dublin) - Posts: 4097 - 02/05/2012 10:15:30    1164412

That's a fair point Jackeen, but I'm not counting ourselves in with a realistic chance of an all Ireland. Hopefully we will knock over one of the big guns and get a Leinster.

Daith (Kildare) - Posts: 1171 - 02/05/2012 11:15:27    1164444

Good luck with that!:) Ah no in all honesty much as I would hate to lose Leinster I know how much it would mean to another team especially Kildare or Wexford having been close over the past few years.

Jackeen (Dublin) - Posts: 4097 - 02/05/2012 11:23:18    1164449

MDMA is a very good middielder I think a lot of people underrate him which I think is wrong. Kev mac did not dive he fell over the Kerry fellas leg but it wasn't a free, but if you were in croker watching it live it did look a free and I'm being honest I think all Kerry supporters thought it was as well. Alan Brogan is 30 and very slim so I wouldn't be to worried there. Ok we got a soft free against Kildare but even if we didn't what difference did it make, it wasn't a knock out game so i don't get why people keep going on about it. if we got the draw Kildare got after we still would have got to an all ireland final. Daith your probably right , it's very hard to do back to back.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 02/05/2012 11:32:28    1164462

They thread title has most likely been made stronger lately. It seems every other county is playing at a lower level than the 3 mentioned. I thought tyrone may have been the ones to step up but now not so sure , mayo also have claims by right but the question is can they win 3 games running in croke park? Galway are dark horses , kildare will make qf but beyond that its hard to see as they are at least 2 forwards short. My outsider for qf is longford apart from cork they were the most capable of stepping up at weekend and a qf appearance would be fantastic for them. But the semis will involve cork, kerry dublin and one of mayo tyrone or kildare with cork most likely to go on and win it.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 02/05/2012 13:17:16    1164565

If we get a Dublin vs Kildare final in Leinster it'll make for a very interesting match-up. Dublin's backs came up big in the Leinster semi last year but Kildare have shown some progress on the scoring front this year.

emmetryan (Dublin) - Posts: 154 - 02/05/2012 13:39:11    1164587

emmetryan, I agree with that. Dublin's backs were impeccable last year. Gilroy put Conroy in at the last minute as a second full back in the semi final and he was immense. Rory O Carroll benefitted from Geezers bad day of the office, and was only tested when OConnor was put on late on. Its a great defensive system Gilroy has. Ger Brennan mixes footballing ability with grit (and a bit of badness) to make a great centre half back.

Who ever does beat them will find it very difficult to break them down, its just that I cant see them doing it 2 years in a row.

Daith (Kildare) - Posts: 1171 - 02/05/2012 14:38:59    1164677

Daith
County: Kildare
Posts: 702

1164387

I was glad to see Dublin win last year because it gave hope to other somewhat lesser talented squads (like ourselves), that an All Ireland was possible. But I cant see the Dubs getting the same level of luck as last year. Some of the refereeing decisions they got were incredible (the "foul" on Bernard Brogan and Mcmenamans dive that Cluxton converted in the final.) I just cant see lightening striking twice.

I think its between Cork and Kerry, with Galway and Tyrone dark horses.

Dublin hardly fit the bill of a County with a lesser squad, like they are in the top 3 or 4 squads in the entire country. I think Dublin have underachieved at All Ireland level for a long time until last september, but they always had strong squads and were always in the mix around late summer. Hardly suprising, as they do have better resources when compared to most other counties.

I'm not so sure about Galway either as dark horses, and Tyrone may be lacking after the major loss of Coney and O'Neill before the league final defeat against Kildare. I'd say if Donegal beat Cavan and Derry, Tyrone will struggle to stop them in the Ulster semi final. Kildare are propbably considered joint 4th in the country at present with Mayo, but i definitely think Donegal are on par, if not better than Kildare. So Donegal are my dark horse for the championship,

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 10/05/2012 08:27:44    1169061