Well good readers..... just wondering what underage talented we had over the last 10 years do ye think that never fullfilled their full potential, players that had the ability to be a senior county player that never did make the mark?

piledriver (Offaly) - Posts: 35 - 19/08/2008 14:57:33    79335

Offaly 1-14 this year

DABLACKSPOT (Westmeath) - Posts: 551 - 19/08/2008 16:17:08    79477

Shane Cunningham of shamrocks, savage under age player, still very good player but never made it at county level. Think he spent a few years abroad, maybe if he had didnt go away he'd be on senior panel long ago

Pat_Mustard (Offaly) - Posts: 49 - 19/08/2008 18:44:46    79699

shane cunningham,pat daly,frank weir.mickey hoey from tullamore.Suppose pj fay from daingain looked promiseing for a while.speedy toohey,eddie dunne,MoC from edenderry(Mark O' something?),mark cole.There used to be a lad from raheen or bracknagh,played midfield for offaly u21s with deehan,coughlan and niall,what was his name?

Rhodejim (Offaly) - Posts: 2888 - 20/08/2008 10:36:43    80098

was it padraig bracken

theman (Offaly) - Posts: 56 - 20/08/2008 17:50:54    80874

Dont call you theman for nothing. i think your right.

Rhodejim (Offaly) - Posts: 2888 - 21/08/2008 08:45:58    81173

Mark Keane - Limerick!

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 21/08/2008 11:52:47    81432

sorry about that thought i was on the main page.... Hangover and HS don't mix

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 21/08/2008 11:54:23    81437

Theres a hickey lad from rhode i think.he was good underage,but i think he peaked too early!

burgandy1 (Offaly) - Posts: 213 - 21/08/2008 16:03:57    81835

Gareth???

full2forward (Offaly) - Posts: 28 - 21/08/2008 21:50:38    82096

theres a lot of them around. spollan and masterson from rhode were good but injuries hampered them.niall spain from ballyfore always looked decent but he's with london. two fitzpatricks in gracefield are beginning to show potential.

Rhodejim (Offaly) - Posts: 2888 - 22/08/2008 08:48:32    82172

Not sure, it could be.Cant recall

burgandy1 (Offaly) - Posts: 213 - 22/08/2008 09:57:36    82206

Eoin Hickey was better than garrett but a couple of bad injuries meant he never fulfilled his potential was class underage. Jack Kilmurry never really fulfilled his underage potential either. There was a number of lads from Rhode though. Jimmy Foy from Clonmore Harps played for Rhode underage.

PJ Fay, Eddie Green, John Green from daingean none of them fulfilled their potential.

The nutterfields from Edenderry/Ballyfore never fulfilled their underage potential. Ciaran Murphy, Mark O'Connor, Robbie Glennon from Edenderry. Among many more ..

Rocky Daly from Ferbane, Alan Mulhall from Walshisland, Cahill Daly from Ballinagar, Marius Stones from Clara.

A few lads from Tullamore in fairness Mickey Hoey, Breen Reilly, ah there is a heap of them! We could go on about this all day. I remember seeing an U21 match with Rhode and Tullamore about 6 years ago and thinking that at least 4 of the rhode forwards looked top class with great potential I dont think any of them played championship for the county except Niall Mcnamee. Sometimes thats just the way things go.

The Anchorman (Offaly) - Posts: 122 - 22/08/2008 17:07:08    82840

PJ Ward

Matthew (None) - Posts: 1084 - 26/08/2008 21:51:00    85772

Thanks for the input matthew but that opion is for the westmeath page not the offaly one thanks. Beside hes a decent player why do you think he never fullfilled his potential?

piledriver (Offaly) - Posts: 35 - 27/08/2008 15:13:30    86495

So tried to make my team
1 Eoin brennan- was a great shot stopper think he serves tullamore still

2 Diarmaid donoghue- pure class and a tigerish defender, great ballycumber character
3 Kieran kiely - had a lovely easy going style I still think he will be involved at some stage in the future
4 Mark Cassidy - Always been part of rhodes success
5 Niall Spain - went through rhode underage structure and could always fight his corner
6 Marius Stones- Incredible reader of the game injuries deprived us of this guy
7 bobby fitzpatrick You could have him in half forward as well hes a nice player still
8 eddie dunne (tullamore) work committments drew him away but this guy was a serious player incredible engine reminds me of a scoring midfielder in the sean cavanagh mould
9 Sean Casey - work as well pulls him away I expect him to get involved again.we talk about needing high fielding midfielders or at least someone to break the ball he is as good in the air as anyone in the county.even a half forward operating like early did for kildare would be an option.
10 Bobby macdonell (ballyfore) did his knee in and never got back but was a flyer in his day
11 David egan serious football brain and had massive ability lost a yard of pace but he was one that was worth the entrance fee alone
12 Gearoid o grady Rugby won out maybe we will see him back some day nice footballer with heart
!3 Morgan maree (gracefield) kicks with both feet can score and is extremely underrated i think he just went to college and time commitments were too much
14 ciaran reilly Edenderry had such high hopes
15 Adrian kelly extremely under rated but is quite elusive maybe a dowling for him this year

opinions welcome all players in and around 23 - 24 where our drought seems to be

everHOPEFUL1 (Offaly) - Posts: 3 - 03/09/2008 13:16:36    91682

a very good team there everhopeful1. i remember seeing lots of those lads playin in the ballinabrackey tournament.you could add mark cole and greg quinn to that team. what ever happened donoghue?why is he not playing with ballycumber? niall spain is playing with London and davy is playing with offaly.i think bobby mac is finished,bad knee.marius stones was playing with clara juniors i think at the weekend and adrian kelly played very well against tubber. maybe one of these guys will step up and be senior player of the year this year.

Rhodejim (Offaly) - Posts: 2888 - 04/09/2008 08:53:36    92327

i would difinitely agree with a lot of the players metioned above.for me marius stones would be the pick of the bunch metioned above, he was an outstanding player at underage,pity for offaly he didnt deliver for whatever reason.greg quinn would also stand out as one that slipped through, think injury may have troubled him??he's still young though.i was one of the very few in o'connor park this year when offaly played london and niall spain more than held his own against some of our so called superstars, not sure if he's still over there or not but if he came back he'd definitely be worth a look.of the rest or the backs mentioned kieran kiely, mark casssidy and sean casey strike me as the most likely to contribute something in the future.of the forwards shane cunningham might be a big strong target man, robbie glennon,mickey hoey and adrian kelly have/had great pace and could take a score and ken casey shouldn't be let slip through the net either.i think a lot of the problem in offaly is these players are being let drift fom minor and u-21 on, just my opinion?

tubbertom (Offaly) - Posts: 2 - 04/09/2008 15:38:44    92981

Greg quinn is still goin strong from clobullogue. Did his cruciate in twice thus missing nearly all of u21 grade. Still is county standard.

theman (Offaly) - Posts: 56 - 04/09/2008 17:43:55    93173

Tubbertom, good post i agree with you about cunningham and stones, the latter being one of the best man markers underage class act he was. I think though its not just that they are let drift , there are two or three exceptions but taking the players who suffered bad injuries out. Class players on their day but didnt want it as much as lets say a Karol Slattery, Ciaran McManus, Alan Mc Namee. These players bust a gut playing for the county and gave it everything to get there. But hey its a pity for Offaly football. I think the new manager whoever he is will bring back in Casey and all those who left last year Ward, O Hara etc .. and so he should

The Anchorman (Offaly) - Posts: 122 - 05/09/2008 10:49:40    93532