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Westmeath Football thread

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Replying To Blackandamber25:  "Any players stand out in the r1 fixtures so far???"
My top five players from the weekend that aren't on county panels would be Morgan Gavigan (Malachy's), Seán Leech and Sami Clarke (Killucan), Dan Leech (Kinnegad) and Jordan McDonnell (Streamstown). They're all forwards but I thought they were the standout lads over the weekend.

On the other side of it, I have to say I was disappointed with Multy. I expected a lot more from McGivney, Wallace and Thornton, and their backs really struggled as well. Even a few of the Malachy's lads on the podcasts were saying themselves they weren't great, which says a lot.

For me, Milltown, Shandonagh and Milltownpass (I think we will see Monday) are a good bit ahead of everyone else in intermediate. I honestly can't see any of the other teams getting near them or making a final unless something mad happens.

The Bridge v Rosemount was another poor enough game. There were a few very soft goals and The Bridge will be sick looking back at them.

Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 204 - 25/07/2026 23:14:45    2687128

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Great win for Loughnavalley.

Jack_Sparrow (Westmeath) - Posts: 1087 - 26/07/2026 09:52:01    2687145

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The groups having 3 come out of each group, even though one is weaker makes no sense but I wouldn't bring league tables into it. Finea and Killucan are two examples over the years of being notoriously bad in the league due to lads on county panels. Tang used to be the other way and were in D1 while being intermediate.
Saying it's a mini junior group is very disrespectful to the teams in it. They are all above junior standard. They might not be at the level of the top few in group A but that's the same in the senior championship too. Tubberclare just won their first game aswell which shows the strength of the competition they won.

Gaawestmeath (Westmeath) - Posts: 138 - 26/07/2026 11:27:50    2687153

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Replying To Gaawestmeath:  "The groups having 3 come out of each group, even though one is weaker makes no sense but I wouldn't bring league tables into it. Finea and Killucan are two examples over the years of being notoriously bad in the league due to lads on county panels. Tang used to be the other way and were in D1 while being intermediate.
Saying it's a mini junior group is very disrespectful to the teams in it. They are all above junior standard. They might not be at the level of the top few in group A but that's the same in the senior championship too. Tubberclare just won their first game aswell which shows the strength of the competition they won."
I think at senior level the gap isn't as big, Garrycastle, Caulry and Shamrocks could all be in the B section and they'd be competitive games. However I think there's a huge gap developing at intermediate level. Finea, Ballinagore, Maryland and Ballinagore wouldn't be within 10 points of Shandonagh, Miltown, Malachys, or Milltownpass. I'm not even sure Rochfortbridge would be either. So the fact there are three coming out is a mishap the county board need to fix and revert back to the original structure next year. Or even have a preliminary QF between Section A team 4 vs Section B team 3.

DelaneyCup2026 (Westmeath) - Posts: 8 - 26/07/2026 13:17:22    2687164

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In relation to three teams from each section qualifying which has been discussed at length here is that one noticeable feature of the games I attended over the weekend was that there was far more intensity and urgency as a first day defeat means sides are almost into knockout matches. Loman's vs The Downs last year in the group stages was like a challenge match, there was zero euphoria or disappointment among supporters afterwards as both knew they'd qualify, that wasn't the case this weekend, Caulry against Garrycastle in next round is basically a must win match for both sides, that makes for very interesting matches.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2713 - 26/07/2026 14:55:17    2687177

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Replying To Claretandblue:  "In relation to three teams from each section qualifying which has been discussed at length here is that one noticeable feature of the games I attended over the weekend was that there was far more intensity and urgency as a first day defeat means sides are almost into knockout matches. Loman's vs The Downs last year in the group stages was like a challenge match, there was zero euphoria or disappointment among supporters afterwards as both knew they'd qualify, that wasn't the case this weekend, Caulry against Garrycastle in next round is basically a must win match for both sides, that makes for very interesting matches."
I think most people would agree with that but the solution should not be supporting mediocrity. Three teams should qualify from section A and 1 from section B to semi finals. Throw in a relegation final between the bottom two in B and the intensity would be even higher and quality maintained

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1990 - 26/07/2026 19:46:28    2687284

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Replying To Claretandblue:  "In relation to three teams from each section qualifying which has been discussed at length here is that one noticeable feature of the games I attended over the weekend was that there was far more intensity and urgency as a first day defeat means sides are almost into knockout matches. Loman's vs The Downs last year in the group stages was like a challenge match, there was zero euphoria or disappointment among supporters afterwards as both knew they'd qualify, that wasn't the case this weekend, Caulry against Garrycastle in next round is basically a must win match for both sides, that makes for very interesting matches."
Any system where the 4th ranked team is knocked out yet the 9th ranked team qualifies is not fair.

Wmeath2 (Westmeath) - Posts: 213 - 26/07/2026 20:01:22    2687294

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