Replying To GDL:  "He is absolutely lethal in open play. His strike rate in my opinion would probably be the better than Rob Finnerty. He has kept Mountbellew-Moylough competitive in recent years, considering they have lost Michael Daly, Patrick Kelly and Eoin Finnerty for prolonged periods of time."

Replying To systematic:  "What's competitive, losing in a preliminary quarter final??? No way is he intercounty standard from play"

Replying To systematic:  "What's competitive, losing in a preliminary quarter final??? No way is he intercounty standard from play"

Replying To Drax_the_destroyer:  "Kildare it is after the rossies, if Joyce could handle pick the draw he wouldn't have done better. No disrespect to Kildare"

Replying To WanPintWin:  "Intercounty standard at scoring from play, he absolutely is. He's a very natural forward. Whether he can make make the space for himself at that level, remains to be seen, but I'd like to find out."

Replying To eoinog:  "He won't be floated on to the panel at this stage of the year. He definitely would not be at the pace of the game if he hasn't been involved all year. As I said in my first post I don't know anything about the lad but he seems to be mentioned a lot"

Replying To eoinog:  "He won't be floated on to the panel at this stage of the year. He definitely would not be at the pace of the game if he hasn't been involved all year. As I said in my first post I don't know anything about the lad but he seems to be mentioned a lot"

Replying To backtooldwall:  "We've been on this road for some time now, it's been widely accepted that McHugh and Dessie Connelly are the two best score takers in club football in the county for some time but neither have made it past the peripheries of the county team for reasons we are not privy to, I don't think those reasons are going to be forth coming so I think it"s best let slip."

Replying To galwayman2:  "There's a world of difference between club and county.
Dessie is a quality player at club level but was found wanting at the top level. No shame in that.
There's any amount of forwards all
over the country that shoot the lights out at club level but aren't able to translate that to the county scene. The jump
is massive"

Replying To WonTon5:  "I do think the player pathway has a lot of influence on this...look at Galway and Mayo at an academy level, Galway U16s 2026 are a good example of how a large player pool can become a hindrance. They still have 70/80 lads training and trialling, which makes it very difficult to build unity and cohesion, especially when the group will eventually be split into two panels. Nobody no where they stand.

Speaking to a Roscommon academy coach recently, by contrast they one panel that has been together since early this year. Im hearing only 60/70 lads trialled as apposed to the 140 in the first few Galway sessions. They know each other, play against each other regularly at club level, and are not divided by North/West regional structures. You would imagine Roscommon coaches spend more time on smaller groups of players, building them up, that Roscommon U16 group will likely transition almost directly into U17s in September/October, maybe with a few additions. Sligo and Leitrim will be similar.

At development level, selecting from a smaller group is usually more effective than filtering through a huge pool. Galways selection process is too prolonged. Lads dont know where they stand, less certainty, lower confidence. Fewer players = clearer messaging, more reps per player, stronger learning.

There's no doubt that Roscommon's underage setup looks very strong right now. Their biggest advantage isn't just coaching in isolation, it's the clarity, continuity, and cohesion in how everything is run. A settled panel, a clear pathway, and players who know each other well creates an environment where coaching can actually land and stick.

Galway, on the other hand, have the numbers and depth most counties would love, but that brings its own challenges. If the group stays too big for too long, it can dilute identity and slow development, even if the raw talent is there. I'm not saying "less is better" it's that timing and structure matter most. Cast the net wide early, then narrow with purpose and commit to a group. Right now, Roscommon seem to be getting that balance right, and it's giving them an edge in terms of team development."