Meath Forum

Cian Ward

(Oldest Posts First)

Lads what do people think of him starting these days? I know he is always worth a few scores from frees. Would a fit Brian farrell or shane o'rourke not be better target men and a greater threat in the full forward line?

jetser (Meath) - Posts: 85 - 21/02/2009 11:11:56    214204

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he has been average for the 2 league games .. his frees too we need a consisiant free taker !!

john1980 (Meath) - Posts: 262 - 21/02/2009 17:04:01    214340

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I would be a big fan of Cian. However in my opinon, he has at best been poor over the last two games. However he is at least always available and that's something you can rarely say about either O'Rourke or Farrell. They always seem to be injured. Not only that but currently we have Mark Ward (groin) and Kevin Reilly (back) injured and probably a few more as well. A point I made last week is that too many players are getting injured of the playing pitch. Can someone tell me what sort of training these lads are doing? I know that a few years back Gerry McEntee, speaking as a doctor, was very critical of training methods which led to a lot of injured players. Without knowing much about either training or medicine I would hazard a guess that over strenuous training is being done before the players have reached that point in their training regime. Would someone who is currently doing heavy training with either the club or county like to comment on training methods?

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 23/02/2009 09:38:17    215196

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The real Árd Rí

If Shane O'Rourke, Alan Nestor and Kevin Reilly are all injured at this time of year I think it'd be more interesting to know what type of training DCU are doing not Meath!

BeanPhaidin (Dublin) - Posts: 84 - 23/02/2009 12:19:32    215403

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Good Point Bean. However Brian Farrell dosn't play with DCU and he has been injuried for months. Back last week but still showing signs of not being fully fit.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 23/02/2009 12:53:49    215457

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I think if you look at all teams / counties, each one has a few injuries at each time and certainly players are retiring earlier when their bodies start to show signs of wear and tear. I remember a couple of years ago, Tom Kelly and Joe Higgins retiring from Laois and both were a few years off 30 at that stage.

I know some people think otherwise, but playing the game nowadays is quite physical, every fella is doing weights and there are some big hits going in, as well as that you are expected to do more running than ever. I don't know where it will end but every year teams are getting physically stronger / faster and upping the ante for training methods.

I know Gerry McEntee did some work on this but the only thing I have noticed is the "no training" rule for county teams in November / December but you can be guaranteed that all of the players are just training on their own during this time.

Why is it that every time Meath ( senior or minor ) play bad, the old excuse is trotted out " sure I heard they were doing heavy training the day before the match ".

matrixroyal (Meath) - Posts: 96 - 23/02/2009 13:02:04    215471

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He has an incredible scoring record for the Tones but unfortunately he has never reached the same heights for Meath apart from his debut against Dublin. I still think though that he is worth a place on the team but at corner forward and not half forward.

men_of_49 (Meath) - Posts: 2022 - 23/02/2009 15:00:11    215624

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Don't forget lads that he's only young. Sure didn't O'Rourke play for Simonstown last weekend, no sign of him in the team yesterday though, any reasons for this?

updaroyal (Meath) - Posts: 1132 - 23/02/2009 16:10:56    215705

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i heard rumours a while ago that a few of the cavan dcu lads were told not to play for them until after sig. ive no idea if this is true but maybe would o'rourke be in a similar situation? in fairness it doesn't sound too likely tho

jaffacake (Meath) - Posts: 720 - 23/02/2009 16:41:52    215751

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Cian Wards pedigree is unquestionable, his performances this year have so far been been poor but he is in good company as in general Meath's performances have been dire. I would have no doubt that ward on form is worthy of his place alongside o Rourke, Bray (maybe X2) P Byrne. Big Joe will not do come summer and Farrell plays way too much as an individual for my liking. Priority for Meath now in holding our Div 2 status and once all these injuries clear up we will be in a better state to achieve that.

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1508 - 23/02/2009 19:36:49    215982

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Maybe if he lost the white boots?

bennyblanco (Meath) - Posts: 579 - 23/02/2009 20:55:30    216061

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Gerry mcEntee wanted to end shuttle runs because of the stress they were putting on the groin area... and causing various problems including hernias!

maco (Meath) - Posts: 357 - 24/02/2009 09:23:25    216428

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Maco

What exactly is a shuttle run. I don't want some smart ass telling me its a bus journey.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 24/02/2009 12:01:41    216664

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I've done millions of them. Very tough training method. They are short, sharp sprint and turn bursts. They can vary from 5 yards to 20 yards. There could be various distances within 1 shuttle.

ie. sprint out 5 yards, turn sprint back, then sprint out 10 yards, turn, come back etc

Alias (Tipperary) - Posts: 463 - 24/02/2009 12:57:53    216733

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Well generally shuttle runs involve running to a line and back..McEntee stated that constantly sprinting to a line and back was putting severe pressure on the groin muscles and as a result causing injury which necessitated an operation to repair... i know guys who have had it done.. and they tell me the strength in the area is never the same..and lets face it.. the body can handle only so much training..these days amateurs are expected to train and play 5 days a week.. something has got to give..body been under that much stress will eventually break down, players retiring before 30, simply because alot of milage on the clock and severe burnout..plain and simple!

maco (Meath) - Posts: 357 - 24/02/2009 13:14:08    216756

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shuttle run is when ya put out a line of cones, sprint to the first, back to the start, then to the second, and back, then to the third... its designed to get your speed and turning speed up i would imagine. in fairness id say most of us have been doing these for years with no problems so i wouldn't blame them for players injuries. altho gerry mc would know considerably more than me in fairness

jaffacake (Meath) - Posts: 720 - 24/02/2009 13:17:39    216762

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They are known as suicides in the us

Fabio Capello (Meath) - Posts: 174 - 24/02/2009 13:33:06    216787

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Thanks lads. I had a notion they were something as described but they were not called that in my day. Not that I did a lot of them anyway. Just a couple of rounds of the field, some pressups, some stretching exercise and then the backs play the forwarsd with a young fellow out the field to keep the ball kicked or pucked back in and another at the back of the goals to get the ball for a kickout/puckout. Simple and it worked. No such thing as burnout then. Maybe lads were not as fit but they were generally all available come Sunday for the match and they really enjoyed their football and hurling.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 24/02/2009 15:00:23    216950

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I know what you mean there, Ard Ri. My club has a new manager this year and he uses a lot of the older and simpler training methods whereas last year most of the drills were modern and only lead to confusion. This year everyone seems to be enjoying the training sessions and they are still as effective regarding fitness and there have not been any injuries (though it is only February).

men_of_49 (Meath) - Posts: 2022 - 24/02/2009 15:58:59    217028

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