Strong team named with a good blend of youth and experience. Glad to see Aidan on the bench. I can see some serious competition for places come the summer with still some to return to the fold. A good place to be all said. Maigh Eo Abù!

Interesting team when was last time AOS didn't start when available. You have ROD and J coyne marked as captains WJ is presume its Coyne. Surprised to see Rory still at FB after our weakness there last week...

Thanks, Lahanman - you outed my cut-and-paste actions there from the last team sheet! I've corrected that now.

Good team. Great to see Donnacha McHugh back.
Glad to see James Carr get a start needs game time.
Jack Coyne back fully fit is a great boost to .
Still not underestinating the Dubs though .
Bit annoying it's not on tv or being streamed though will have to be midwest.

Rory Brickenden didn't play last week. Good team. Half back line improved by Durcan at 6. Strong bench.

Rory cried off sick last week.

Great Team Named Diarmuid O'Connor will play 20 minutes Sunday No Harm to see Aidan O'Shea on the bench Mayo to winy 2-3 points and were in for another epic classic

Durcan of old improves the half back line. This iteration hasn't been truly tested yet after the injury. I love the guy and hopefully he has another season or 2 in him but time will wait for no man. He has enough credit in the bank no matter what and has a few 2 pointers in him. A great asset from the start or off the bench

Another interesting selection including the subs, it is all about learning about different combinations, looking forward to the game.

There'll be a huge crowd at this I'd imagine seeing as it's not been televised. Over 15k maybe? It's been called 'Moran'ball now and a totally different approach it seems towards fanbase with a lot of media reports and inclusion. A Connaught title and a strong league would be a great year in fairness. Could be a great summer yet!!

It’s a strong team and I think the four changes make it a better team than the one that lined out against Galway. Good to see Coyne and Durcan starting, and along with Brickenden, should tighten up our defence. Carr gets his chance up front and I hope he goes well on Sunday. I think we might sneak it but the Dubs are never easy in Castlebar.

I’m glad to see the Sigersons lads given the wkend off. UL had a tough game on Wednesday with extra time, and out again next week

Great excitement with that team, if that fullforward line hits potential, they will be devastating.
Only concern is 3 and 4 .
I rate Hession so hope he comes good .
Brick is like everyone else, entitled to a clean slate but he will be up against it

Delighted to see Mchugh on bench, great see him back , I think Fenton Kelly will stake a claim for no4 , sooner than later .
Towey , Boland and Thornton will.know they have to make an impact as the Sigerson lads are on fire so all in great to have competition throughout

Distinctly average Dublin squad. Mind CO'C, Breathnach and Bugler when he comes on and we'll go a long way to getting the 2 points. Really have to get at that half back line

Great to see a few more of the panel getting game time and welcome back to our captain Jack (not Sparrow!) It will be another big test of Moran ball and interesting to see if some of the issues from last week have been corrected. Weather looks set to be perfect for another rip roaring contest. Dubs will not want to start with two losses so expect fireworks. Really looking forward to being there along with what should be a huge crowd. Going for a Mayo win at the death.

Stephen Coen has been a consistent pick for all our management teams.
Great leadership and the ability to be in the right place at the right time.
A steady influence in the backs.
Not all supporters agree but we will miss when not playing.

Mayo 26 has a strong championship look to it while Dublins screams transition.

Andy is definitely going for the 2 points here. Only one newcomer in Darragh, but a completely new full forward line from last year. I think he’s right. Get to 6 points asap and use the rest of the league to try other players. Great to see Coyne, McHugh and Diarmuid back and a few more to come. Hopefully Stephen stays at home as I expect Sam and Paddy will be inclined to attack.

Agree JR re Cohen. Nephin here we go again get to 6 points then try new players. Kerry won the League last year, didn't stop them winning Sam

Joeyo.
Indeed you’re correct. Kerry have a habit of doing the double under Jack and we have a habit of getting beaten in Connacht when we win it. Just my opinion.

It's not only losing in Connacht after we win it, Neiphin, it's losing to Roscommon in Connacht! 1970, 2001, 2019 and 2023 - every single time.

Exactly WJ, which is even worse and due to meet them again this year provided we get over London.

Well there’s only one way to beat that record, just do it.

Looking at the team Dublin have named we need to be winning this game by 6/8 points. Aido to Spring off the bench after 45 min and score 1-2. We are getting our ducks firmly in a row for the games ahead. The future of this team like the evenings are getting brighter with every passing day.

Interesting to see how Galway go against Armagh today. A good showing will reflect well on Mayo but a hiding and our victory over them won't look that great.

@Joe G

Yeah thay's a very good point . Though Armagh are really good and I expect them to bounce back in a big way this year.

I agree Clare. I think Armagh are a very good side. To my eye, they looked to have Kerry in all sorts of bother in that Quarter final. Then Kerry awoke & never looked back..would be interesting to hear any Kerry posters thoughts on that? Armagh gave them their biggest challenge. Kerry made light work of Tyrone & Donegal afterwards

Wishful thinking Samantha. Dublin will be using this game as an indicator to where they are at in their season. The will concentrate on exploiting weaknesses exposed in our Galway game.
Mayo panel is interesting. Andy will definitely be trying to halt our slide in the last quarter. The reason he has named a strong bench is to keep up high tempo for the full game. I expect we will do it with 2 or 3 points to spare

Big chance tomorrow for James Carr to lay down a marker for the year ahead. I think he needs to up his work rate and be more aggressive when going for the ball. If he can do that - he has all the skills

Looks very good forward line and midfield, think defence could be stronger, first home game under Andy be interesting to see how the performance is at home, want to see a flat out performance from start to finish and no panic stations in last quarter. Dublin always dangerous and hard to beat.

That armagh galway game could be another silly beggars game tbh, armagh like galway are missing loads of frontline players for the league (grugan, mccambridge, crealey etc) so won't give much of a read on that either.

In terms of personnel for the league it seems like just ourselves, Donegal and Kerry are going to be the only teams anywhere close to full health in terms of personnel.

It is encouraging to see such a clean bill of health for us so early in the year though, everyone should have plenty of league mins under their belt come championship. Arguably our 2 best man to man defenders in McHugh and Coyne back too so we will soon know if our defence is up to snuff. Minutes for Diarmuid too will bring him on.

Not to get too carried away or start any (mayo 4 sam) nonsense this early in the year but i am confident for the first time ever we will actually have legitimately strong bench filled with gamechangers for championship. Competition is massive in a squad, Everyone should be feeling under pressure for their spot if not performing. Whereas the past 2 years you'd be scratching your head wondering what some fellas had to do to be dropped

Hello Folks, taking my kids (7 &5) to their first game tomorrow. Any tips appreciated. What time to get there to get safe parking nearby? What part of the ground is good to aim for? They are both mad for getting on the pitch to get autographs, what part of the pitch is best for that? Thanks all (Simmo)

Good team out tomorrow fare play.
Carr has something to prove tomorrow or it's curtains.
As for stephen Coen what a player, all managers can't be wrong.
All you hear from the so called experts is he has no pace, he is as good as footballer as can be seen.
Fooking leader.

Any know what the Sigerson semi final draw is and when and where the games are on next week ? I can't find details online anywhere

Yeah stephen Coen seemed to be the perfect example of people not knowing what goes on in the camp.

Every year we all come in and pick our preferred lineups and coen is invariably excluded, and yet 4 managers in a row now all pick him every time when it comes to the crunch so he obviously has something about him. I imagine he is probably anongst the biggest leader in the group because everytime we go into battle every manager looks to him

Coen has captained 3 teams to All Ireland wins
We don’t have many players with that winning pedigree !

@Paddyjoejohntom: There's a disciplinary matter pending around UL (a coach raised his hand towards an opposition players - Luke Crowley - eye) that has a potential outcome of the team's dismissal from the competition.

Every thing delayed a bit pending the outcome of that it seems.

Thanks TsuDhoNim, I was wondering alright. That explains things. Cheers

The head of sport in Galway has 'confirmed' Thursday at 8 for UoG versus UCC (https://x.com/i/status/2017595149304389647) so just a question on if/when UL and Queens game happens.

Yes, Stephen Cohen is one of those stealth ninja type players. A lot of what he contributes positively to the team is delivered in stealth ninja mode. Football novices and the uninformed are simply incapable of appreciating his worth and can only point to his lack of pace and lack of game involvement as defining attributes.

@Simmo

I would say definetly try get into the stand with the kids. Get there early enough for best parking I would say it will be busy enough . You should be able to go into the clubhouse before hand.

Armagh look good .

I also agree I never understand the abuse Stephen Coen gets .

@tsu or anyone what the story with Galway making 6 subs this evening? Surely none of those were blood subs.

Wasn't Coen one of our highest scorers from play last year? Some keyboard critics seem to have a pre-done script which they stick to regardless.

@Simmo,

You probably don't want to be in too early with young kids i imagine, if you're there 15 mins before you'll be guaranteed seats in the stand.Might not be great seats but the weather is forecast to be lovely so that works in your favour too.

No issue with kids going on the pitch afterwards,just be aware they'll be a lot with the same idea,it'll be busy on the pitch at FT.

Parking depends on which road you are coming in and what time you expect to be there.

Im expecting a very big crowd tomorrow.

Galway brought on the big guns second half, Walsh, Tierney, McDaid, McGinley, all played well but Armagh's full back line was atrocious, 2 soft goals.
It will be a good tough game for Mayo tomorrow but they should win by 2 or 3 points!

@No doubt: My memory is shocking so very open to correction, but vague memories of Ó'Laoí going off for a HIA/technical sub (and not being overly pleased with it).

@tsuDhoNim.i missed end of 1st half and start of 2nd half so not sure about the reasons for changes but o laoi went off in the 52nd minute and his replacement finished out the game so that's not a temporary sub in my book and if it is then it's wide open to be abused.

Delighted to get the win in Armagh in what was an absorbing contest. The young players introduced did very well, and of course Rob Finnerty was man of the match. Interesting to hear Cora Staunton expressing an interest in managing Mayo in the future. She's a huge asset to Mayo. Best of luck against Dublin tomorrow.

@Charlie

Must be the first to hear of her expressing an interest considering it's only Andys first season .

@No Doubt

I never miss an opportunity to get Richie Feeney into a blog comment. Mayo "used" "eight" "substitutes" in the All Ireland Semi Final win against Dublin in 2012.

Courtesy of the Independent:

There was some confusion over Mayo's changes, which amounted to eight in the course of the game.
However, the GAA confirmed that the first three replacements (Richie Feeney for Lee Keegan in the 15th minute, Alan Freeman for Enda Varley in the 42nd minute and Colm Boyle for Kevin McLoughlin in the 54th minute) were all 'blood subs'.

Rusty Bridges - The Armagh game was Kerrys toughest last year.
But Armagh defensively can be got at as Dublin proved but Dublin couldn't convert those chances where as Kerry could.
Do I think Armagh are all Ireland contenders - No.

They are behind Donegal and Kerry as they lack marquee forwards especially with Rian stepping away.

As for tomorrow i expect defeat will be our lot,
We are behind Donegal in preparation but thats not unusual for January.

@Digits. I see from Willie Joes archive mayo used 7 subs that day with 21 players used as some players returned for a player who didn't replace them.. It would seem fine if the player re-entering the field replaces whoever came on for him meaning a total of 20 players getting gametime.if it's possible to get more than 20 players on the field during the course of the game i can't understand why it's not taken advantage of more often. Sorry for going on about it but I'm really taken in by the whole thing.

Cora Staunton was asked about managing mayo on the late late show and she replied that Andy Moran is the mayo manager and he is bringing great enthusiasm back to mayo football but she hoped that some time in the future that a female would be involved in the management of mayo.the key word being the future as Andy Moran is unlikely to be the manager forevermore

@No doubt: It certainly can or could be abused, but would require buy in from a medical professional and (if aiming to fail a HIA to make it permanent) coaching of the players. Which comes with all sorts of significant risks, that would outweigh rewards in my books.

(Vague memories of a podcast that went into detail on the HIA protocols in recent years if it's something you're interested in. I'd have thought it was Brendan Cawley chatting to someone shortly after his All Ireland Final appearance, but could be off there.

A small risk a player could force bleeding too... But I'd hope that's an even lower risk/likelihood.)

@No Doubt I have little doubt in my mind that it surely has happened at some point in GAA history that blood has been faked to gain an advantage, à la "2009 rugby bloodgate". I also have little doubt that no one would ever admit it!

Obviously it's in the future she was talking about but it's a bit silly to be talking about future mayo management when we are in our first season̈ of a new one .

Not interested in debating what Cora said but she was asked a question on a program where she was a guest and she answered the question in a polite and respectful manner

She did indeed 1985,

And as someone who is one of the games greatest players it was a perfectly reasonable question especially as its Saint Brigids weekend and could we eventually see a female coach of a male team.

Cora has fantastic knowledge and insights in the game.

Thanks folks

Fans are being discouraged from invading the pitch tomorrow post match due to the recent heavy rain which leaves the surface vulnerable to further damage.Simmo I would advise you to wait behind the stand after the match and the kids can meet the players there.

Stephen Coen has scored in League 0-8 (8) (1 two-pt) last year and 1-32 (35) (1 two-pt) in total.
He would have passed Colm Boyle and Keith Higgins in the scoring charts over the course of last year too, and has played less games.

Thanks Everyone... have a great day!

Yes, both sets of teams usually stop for kids heading out after and it's less manic than on the field. Simm there's usually sandwiches and soup at An Sportlann great spot prenatch at too of the car park in the stadium grounds.

@jp thanks for that. Exactly what we did, lovely food and treats for the kids. Nice atmosphere with the dubs in town too. Also the viewing area is great and safe for the kids. All in all they loved it. The one complaint they had is that the players were off the pitch and inside very quickly, fair play to Fergal Boland who spotted us