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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Of course its part of the problem. Mark Curran probably our best man marking corner back.was never used. Bonner was criticised for playing half forwards in defence yet jim played mogan and mc hugh as defenders plus ciaran moore. We all agree that our cship this year was a nightmare losing 3 out of four matches."
Yeah losing three championship matches was a bit of a nightmare but it's really no the defence. We scored 1.13 in a home match against cork. The worst score of any home team in the all ireland series. That is not a defensive issue.

Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 1033 - 30/06/2026 21:26:25    2683304

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When we have to take one of our best forwards back to man mark theres obviously a problem with our defence.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2697 - 30/06/2026 21:28:52    2683305

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Replying To eunans4ever:  "Pretty sure it would be when he works in Cork"
Oh right. Wasn't aware of his working situation.
There's a danger at times of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Since Jim's return, we've had two hectic Ulster triumphs, an AI semi final & final appearance. Ok this year was obviously disappointing, but even at that we landed a piece of national silverware.

A good long break from the grind of county training & games might do the group a world of good. Learn lessons about work load & timing, rotate the squad during the league, tweak the tactics. We still have a lot of damn good players. I think we can still be a formidable force in 2027

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 10408 - 30/06/2026 22:01:04    2683312

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Replying To greenfan:  "Not Mcmenamin anyway, hes miles off. One problem i see is we are losing the attacking threat from players like Moore by playing them as defenders. At one stage in Croke park Moore was man marking Con because McCole wasnt able to handle him."
One of the biggest problems we have in defence is Ciaran Moore. Although a wing forward in name, he is one of the players who is left defending the 2 point arc when we get out defence set. But if you watch nearly any match over the last couple of years and you will see what the problem is. Opposition teams isolate him, and then line him up. For all his speed, his footwork in one on one defending is terrible, and players breeze past him for handy scores. Along with that he doesn't seem to get any contact on. Maybe its because he is too light. And he certainly didn't sparkle going forward this year like he did in previous years. Its a position that will have to be looked at.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 942 - 30/06/2026 23:01:18    2683321

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Replying To rorysboys:  "When we have to take one of our best forwards back to man mark theres obviously a problem with our defence."
Who?

eddieSize5Balls (Donegal) - Posts: 453 - 01/07/2026 03:43:06    2683336

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Of course its part of the problem. Mark Curran probably our best man marking corner back.was never used. Bonner was criticised for playing half forwards in defence yet jim played mogan and mc hugh as defenders plus ciaran moore. We all agree that our cship this year was a nightmare losing 3 out of four matches."
Will you please give it a rest. Curran isn't good enough.

eddieSize5Balls (Donegal) - Posts: 453 - 01/07/2026 03:43:57    2683337

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Replying To Scenicparish:  "Exactly, the problem this year is we played practially a full team for all league matches, giving very few squad players a chance.
The players looked tired after they returned from Portugal. No energy, burnt out?"
On the topic of tiredness, can anyone who knows a bit about s&c explain to me why the warm up is always so high intensity in comparison to most other teams. I'm sure there's a reason but we seem to do it even in the hottest days when you think it would be better to preserve a bit for the actual game.

WeGoAgain (Donegal) - Posts: 218 - 01/07/2026 06:47:22    2683342

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Replying To eunans4ever:  "100% - it as our kickouts and attacking play that ultimately ended our championship."
Dublin players glided past, with just the hint of a sidestep, around the arc. That was a massive issue.

Expertinall (UK) - Posts: 173 - 01/07/2026 10:47:26    2683381

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Replying To gunman:  "When Bonner brought in the high profile Rochford I don't think it helped us ."
No, I think Declan was advised to bring Stephen in for new ideas in 2019, as at that point Stephen had come closest to dethroning the great Dublin side.

In hindsight, he might have been better keeping John McElholm, who is now at Monaghan.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1904 - 01/07/2026 11:47:10    2683412

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