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Meath Vs Offaly

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "Holy god Brian. Never mind were you at the match. Did you even watch it on TV if you think Rafferty was marking Mulroy..."
Accept your points Blackspot

Yes I was at the match, lower hogan

My question is.. where was Rafferty playing , or who was he marking? He had 3 on his back and in old money that's a full back to me. Mulroy went out the field and wasn't followed, had a field day on the ball.. so who was marking him if it wasn't Rafferty … there didn't seem to be anyone at all doing that job

If Rafferty did play at FB… then why did we concede 3 goals.. where was he when Lennon ran straight down the central corridor and scored a goal from the 21… would a mick Lyon's or Darren Fay have allowed that to happen?

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1994 - 14/05/2025 13:16:48    2609544

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Replying To brian:  "Accept your points Blackspot

Yes I was at the match, lower hogan

My question is.. where was Rafferty playing , or who was he marking? He had 3 on his back and in old money that's a full back to me. Mulroy went out the field and wasn't followed, had a field day on the ball.. so who was marking him if it wasn't Rafferty … there didn't seem to be anyone at all doing that job

If Rafferty did play at FB… then why did we concede 3 goals.. where was he when Lennon ran straight down the central corridor and scored a goal from the 21… would a mick Lyon's or Darren Fay have allowed that to happen?"
Ah ye your right, He shud of went in goals for the penalty, or mabye booted the ball away when mulroy stopped up to take it.
For lennon goal no one followed him, he shudnt of even got near the goals he jogged through from the top of the arc, two lads couldn't get a hand on him. You can't fault that on the full back when he's already marking someone inside? to blame a full back for runner coming through that weren't tracked. You seriously have to look back at ur posts everything you say is negative stuff and you're never on the forum to post when we're are going well. For a while i thought all of us wanted the same thing ,meath to do well, but i look back sometimes and think that not the case some lads on here are completely negative and it's hard to read.
Also seen a comment the other day from someone saying You'd think some lads on here are related to players that aren't getting a look in. 100% correct and you can tell what posters it might be

Points76 (Meath) - Posts: 44 - 14/05/2025 13:34:45    2609548

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Replying To brian:  "Accept your points Blackspot

Yes I was at the match, lower hogan

My question is.. where was Rafferty playing , or who was he marking? He had 3 on his back and in old money that's a full back to me. Mulroy went out the field and wasn't followed, had a field day on the ball.. so who was marking him if it wasn't Rafferty … there didn't seem to be anyone at all doing that job

If Rafferty did play at FB… then why did we concede 3 goals.. where was he when Lennon ran straight down the central corridor and scored a goal from the 21… would a mick Lyon's or Darren Fay have allowed that to happen?"
Well for Lennons goal the full back line would be last line I'd be blaming. He ran basically from midfield throug a few different lines through and past multiple players and them took shot a bit of a distance out when Rafferty was coming to meet him. Anyone who has played in the full back line will know he was stuck between a rock and a hard place there. He goes out to meet him early and lennon pops it over his head to his man for a handy goal. In my opinion he did the right thing. Held his ground and decided if he is gonna shoot let him shoot from there. Unfortunately for us it was an absolute unbelievable finish but for me it's probably a 3 in 10 shot that goes in so it's still the right decision by Rafferty .

He was playing full back . It was clear to see. Mulroy was playing Centre forward. It was clear to see.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1079 - 14/05/2025 13:59:41    2609556

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Replying To brian:  "Accept your points Blackspot

Yes I was at the match, lower hogan

My question is.. where was Rafferty playing , or who was he marking? He had 3 on his back and in old money that's a full back to me. Mulroy went out the field and wasn't followed, had a field day on the ball.. so who was marking him if it wasn't Rafferty … there didn't seem to be anyone at all doing that job

If Rafferty did play at FB… then why did we concede 3 goals.. where was he when Lennon ran straight down the central corridor and scored a goal from the 21… would a mick Lyon's or Darren Fay have allowed that to happen?"
Give it up Brian. You're digging yourself a bigger hole...maybe you should lay low for a while. Take a little time out to reflect on things...

Selwyn (Meath) - Posts: 412 - 14/05/2025 14:19:17    2609566

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Replying To brian:  "Accept your points Blackspot

Yes I was at the match, lower hogan

My question is.. where was Rafferty playing , or who was he marking? He had 3 on his back and in old money that's a full back to me. Mulroy went out the field and wasn't followed, had a field day on the ball.. so who was marking him if it wasn't Rafferty … there didn't seem to be anyone at all doing that job

If Rafferty did play at FB… then why did we concede 3 goals.. where was he when Lennon ran straight down the central corridor and scored a goal from the 21… would a mick Lyon's or Darren Fay have allowed that to happen?"
Please stop embarrassing yourself Brian. Rafferty along with Sean Coffey were our best players on Sunday.

contributingtoamelee (Meath) - Posts: 69 - 14/05/2025 14:34:08    2609573

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "Well for Lennons goal the full back line would be last line I'd be blaming. He ran basically from midfield throug a few different lines through and past multiple players and them took shot a bit of a distance out when Rafferty was coming to meet him. Anyone who has played in the full back line will know he was stuck between a rock and a hard place there. He goes out to meet him early and lennon pops it over his head to his man for a handy goal. In my opinion he did the right thing. Held his ground and decided if he is gonna shoot let him shoot from there. Unfortunately for us it was an absolute unbelievable finish but for me it's probably a 3 in 10 shot that goes in so it's still the right decision by Rafferty .

He was playing full back . It was clear to see. Mulroy was playing Centre forward. It was clear to see."
So I've rewatched the whole first half there and yeah, maybe I've been a bit harsh on him. Think he broke up two plays that ended up in Meath scores. And fully agree that full back line were last line to blame for Lennon goal, however I watched as Rafferty went to him as lennon went to take the shot (fair play he made a good call to go to him) but then he turned his body away from it… if you're going to go at the laces you go fully length (Lyon's and Fay were masters at that) and twisting your body isn't going to help which is what's happened. As you say plenty of blame and I'm not saying others don't have fault there too. Keogy and or Flynn should've hit Lennon before he got going and give up a free. Learnings a plenty from those few passages of play for everyone. Think he'd be better suited to a corner role, with O'Neill at 3 maybe. But Robbie doesn't seem interested in that.

As for someone saying family ties and commenting in defeat, I've no ties to anyone playing, could only wish my family had that kind of ability, I have fully commented on the game on the Meath v Louth thread. Tried to give some balanced points and solutions where I could. I'm not going to sugarcoat and give out gold stars when criticism is due too. I'm the same in victory , how do we improve on and get better, by being critical in victory and defeat.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1994 - 14/05/2025 14:37:05    2609577

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "Well for Lennons goal the full back line would be last line I'd be blaming. He ran basically from midfield throug a few different lines through and past multiple players and them took shot a bit of a distance out when Rafferty was coming to meet him. Anyone who has played in the full back line will know he was stuck between a rock and a hard place there. He goes out to meet him early and lennon pops it over his head to his man for a handy goal. In my opinion he did the right thing. Held his ground and decided if he is gonna shoot let him shoot from there. Unfortunately for us it was an absolute unbelievable finish but for me it's probably a 3 in 10 shot that goes in so it's still the right decision by Rafferty .

He was playing full back . It was clear to see. Mulroy was playing Centre forward. It was clear to see."
So I've rewatched the whole first half there and yeah, maybe I've been a bit harsh on him. Think he broke up two plays that ended up in Meath scores. And fully agree that full back line were last line to blame for Lennon goal, however I watched as Rafferty went to him as lennon went to take the shot (fair play he made a good call to go to him) but then he turned his body away from it… if you're going to go at the laces you go fully length (Lyon's and Fay were masters at that) and twisting your body isn't going to help which is what's happened. As you say plenty of blame and I'm not saying others don't have fault there too. Keogy and or Flynn should've hit Lennon before he got going and give up a free. Learnings a plenty from those few passages of play for everyone. Think he'd be better suited to a corner role, with O'Neill at 3 maybe. But Robbie doesn't seem interested in that.

As for someone saying family ties and commenting in defeat, I've no ties to anyone playing, could only wish my family had that kind of ability, I have fully commented on the game on the Meath v Louth thread. Tried to give some balanced points and solutions where I could. I'm not going to sugarcoat and give out gold stars when criticism is due too. I'm the same in victory , how do we improve on and get better, by being critical in victory and defeat.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1994 - 14/05/2025 14:37:13    2609578

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Replying To brian:  "So I've rewatched the whole first half there and yeah, maybe I've been a bit harsh on him. Think he broke up two plays that ended up in Meath scores. And fully agree that full back line were last line to blame for Lennon goal, however I watched as Rafferty went to him as lennon went to take the shot (fair play he made a good call to go to him) but then he turned his body away from it… if you're going to go at the laces you go fully length (Lyon's and Fay were masters at that) and twisting your body isn't going to help which is what's happened. As you say plenty of blame and I'm not saying others don't have fault there too. Keogy and or Flynn should've hit Lennon before he got going and give up a free. Learnings a plenty from those few passages of play for everyone. Think he'd be better suited to a corner role, with O'Neill at 3 maybe. But Robbie doesn't seem interested in that.

As for someone saying family ties and commenting in defeat, I've no ties to anyone playing, could only wish my family had that kind of ability, I have fully commented on the game on the Meath v Louth thread. Tried to give some balanced points and solutions where I could. I'm not going to sugarcoat and give out gold stars when criticism is due too. I'm the same in victory , how do we improve on and get better, by being critical in victory and defeat."
I think it's time to forget about putting Rafferty under the microscope for now. He has been our best back in the championship this year. No point in comparing anyone on this Meath team to some of the all time greats of the past yet. It is totally unfair.
There are other areas of much greater concern. Our two most experienced players happened to be two of our more disappointing performers at the weekend. I think the demands of the new rules and the scale of croke park plus the heat played their part here. Its a big ask for these guys to play full games in middle third positions at their age. Keoghan perhaps should be in back three for at least some of match while Menton probably a 40 min man at this stage.

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 655 - 14/05/2025 15:27:39    2609601

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Replying To winatallcost:  "I think it's time to forget about putting Rafferty under the microscope for now. He has been our best back in the championship this year. No point in comparing anyone on this Meath team to some of the all time greats of the past yet. It is totally unfair.
There are other areas of much greater concern. Our two most experienced players happened to be two of our more disappointing performers at the weekend. I think the demands of the new rules and the scale of croke park plus the heat played their part here. Its a big ask for these guys to play full games in middle third positions at their age. Keoghan perhaps should be in back three for at least some of match while Menton probably a 40 min man at this stage."
I get the point you make their re the greats.. but that's where we've gotta be aiming towards, otherwise what's the point of even taking part. I might be in the minority to have seen Lyon's and Fay in their primes but that's what you need to win Leinster and All Ireland's

You're right re Keogy and Menton and they won't be the first or last 30+ years olds who'll be caught out in Croker this year. Keogy at 4 and Rafferty at 5 maybe the next day?? Start Menton until he can't go, you could see after 40 he was done and Durnin just took over. Dunno if Flynn was fully fit either and that both played 70+ minutes just hampered us. O'Neill, Grey, McGowan were all options.

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1994 - 14/05/2025 18:49:55    2609666

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Replying To brian:  "I get the point you make their re the greats.. but that's where we've gotta be aiming towards, otherwise what's the point of even taking part. I might be in the minority to have seen Lyon's and Fay in their primes but that's what you need to win Leinster and All Ireland's

You're right re Keogy and Menton and they won't be the first or last 30+ years olds who'll be caught out in Croker this year. Keogy at 4 and Rafferty at 5 maybe the next day?? Start Menton until he can't go, you could see after 40 he was done and Durnin just took over. Dunno if Flynn was fully fit either and that both played 70+ minutes just hampered us. O'Neill, Grey, McGowan were all options."
Perhaps Keoghan in corner but leave Rafferty where he is. There is no replacement for him at full back really. Perhaps Ronan Ryan but Rafferty doing well at fullback. Agree the middle third needed legs for sure in second half and any one of those subs could give that. Hoping Grey can push on and start getting minutes. McGowan is very similar to Duke so he should be ready made when Duke tires. Hoping Morris improves on fitness and may be ready to start. Going back to Lyons or Fay. Who currently playing in the country at fullback has that quality this year or even in last five to ten years?

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 655 - 14/05/2025 21:43:46    2609706

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Replying To winatallcost:  "Perhaps Keoghan in corner but leave Rafferty where he is. There is no replacement for him at full back really. Perhaps Ronan Ryan but Rafferty doing well at fullback. Agree the middle third needed legs for sure in second half and any one of those subs could give that. Hoping Grey can push on and start getting minutes. McGowan is very similar to Duke so he should be ready made when Duke tires. Hoping Morris improves on fitness and may be ready to start. Going back to Lyons or Fay. Who currently playing in the country at fullback has that quality this year or even in last five to ten years?"
Yeah no arguments with what you'd say there Win.

Maybe a six of
Lavin Rafferty Keogy
Coffey O'Neill Caulfield

Maybe tough on O'Halloran and maybe some would start him over Lavin? O'Halloran has time on his side too.

Good comment re Duke for McGowan. Conor had a poor game Sunday but a first time in Croke park so hopefully he improves on it.

Re a Lyon's or Fay type, you're probably looking at the McGee's from Donegal, neither as good of course but more traditional. McKeigue from Derry, played full back a lot, but more of a great man marker in the mould of Sean marty Lockhart or Tony Scullion. Mad how certain counties produce great players at a position. Us with Full backs , Derry with Corner backs etc…

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1994 - 15/05/2025 13:05:47    2609806

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Replying To brian:  "Yeah no arguments with what you'd say there Win.

Maybe a six of
Lavin Rafferty Keogy
Coffey O'Neill Caulfield

Maybe tough on O'Halloran and maybe some would start him over Lavin? O'Halloran has time on his side too.

Good comment re Duke for McGowan. Conor had a poor game Sunday but a first time in Croke park so hopefully he improves on it.

Re a Lyon's or Fay type, you're probably looking at the McGee's from Donegal, neither as good of course but more traditional. McKeigue from Derry, played full back a lot, but more of a great man marker in the mould of Sean marty Lockhart or Tony Scullion. Mad how certain counties produce great players at a position. Us with Full backs , Derry with Corner backs etc…"
I like that back six Brian. I think Adam O Neill would be more solid at CB to prevent runners coming through the middle like Lennon did on Sunday. Coffey would be able to attack more from wing back which is his strength. Agree tough on O Halloran, but you need a quality replacement to come in if needed.

kingofclubs (Meath) - Posts: 350 - 15/05/2025 14:39:57    2609833

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