Well done Ryan, great performance. I really hope Ryan’s shoulder is ok.

why wouldn't it be?

Did Thomas o se just compliment brickeden on a great job marking Clifford ? Perhaps I misheard

Correct Sean Burke

He did Sean & just sums up how they view us. Also pathetic from RTE.

Ryan got late enough shoulder at very end and fell awkwardly on his other shoulder when he hit the ground and he was holding it rigid when he walked off…fingers crossed it’s nothing

He did Sean , he sure did aswell as saying kerry be only thinking about championship, despite the nice words, them missing players etc.... they are poor enough of a side with a middling GK, no attacking flair in halfbacks, midfield that's OK at best, forwards are their best lines but if you can't feed them then they be in bother.

RTE a joke. Commentary muck. Footage not showing a true reflection on scores. Also everytime I see Whelans head , all I see is that clothesline tackle on McGarrity. Embarrassed that I don't understand half of what's said on TG4 but it's far superior coverage

Richie Duck.......we got them back nicely for that clothesline I recall.......A magnificent day girl tte green n red in Croker...

Same game I think D.Brady came in and put Whelo on his arse straight away,fair play to him.

Richie Duck. If my memory serves me right, David Brady dished out a bit of justice for that dirty trick.

Whelan famously punched Nigel Crawford before the ball was thrown in in a Leinster final.
Here in Meath they regarded it as a lost opportunity for Crawford to do what ever he liked afterwards.
Whelan played on the edge and probably one of the best midfielders I have seen.

That was the game 2Hops.....the 2006 AISF against the Dubs......'Hillgate' incident

Brady not only put him on his arse but also cut open his eye. Don’t think it was a punch as he’d have seen red, may have been a sleeve but definitely a very robust challenge.
However this giving out about certain players or pundits is getting tiring. They’re just doing a job, better some days, worse others but analysis definitely miles better than the Spillane days when it was all emotion and sound bites. Generally it’s decent. Some on here just hate any critical points made about our team. Others love to run the team down. Support the team with enthusiasm no excuses blaming management or refs or pundits is the way to go.

They also showed a point by cormac Costello that was disallowed which the smirking Joanne cantwell then has to explain wasn’t actually a point.very amateurish production really.they clearly don’t watch all these games and come out with random stuff like the Brickenden comment

In fairness Rte have to cover football and hurling in 2 hours so they can’t show too much highlights from any individual game. I think Whelan isn’t the worst, not as good as the 2 Tyrone guys but way better than O Shea. Really poor on his part not to be aware that McHugh was marking Clifford. And Joanne who usually knows everything didn’t correct him.

Well done Ryan.

I actually voted for Aidan; some of his play yesterday was outrageous. His fielding? Move over Willie Joe. His link play? Outstanding. Making his physicality tell? You bet.

Enjoyed the atmosphere hugely yesterday. Only in retrospect have I appreciated that our savage work rate on turnovers is back. RTE did a very good job illustrating this. I know Kevin maintains we had great spells against Dublin, and we had, but I felt we were physically not matching them, or Galway. Different story now. O’Shea, Flynn, and Carney make a big difference, but it’s noticeable that McBrien is putting himself about too, which is bonus territory.

Of course it was'nt Rory Brickenton who was marking David Clifford, it was Donnacha McHugh ..in fairness to Tomas O'Sullivan Rae, O'Shea he normally gets names right and is fair enough in his analysis..in fact I think he's one of the best normally ..Joanne cant well pull him up because she never noticed.

Congrats Ryan and well deserved and back to something like his best. I would have Aido run him close-his leadership, passing, quarter-back impression and his brilliant fielding around the middle, when we were floundering there, turned the game in our favour. Boy will we miss him, when he's gone. I have been saying that teams were becoming obsessed with trying to set up 2 pointers and missing other scoring opportunities. It was telling that we came from 2 behind to win by 2,by scoring 4 singles, I thought the atmosphere was very good and it just go to show that if we play with fire, spirit and a positive attacking attitude, the crowd will engage and get behind the team.

Derry look condemned but not sure if that's correct. Tyrone will up the ante now, I'm positive, and will beat Dublin in Omagh in the final round. It's very tricky calling this since the condensed season came in. Would Armagh want to be in the final?.. doubtful any Ulster team would with that province being so competitive.
McGuiness could well tog out six or seven new faces into the mix with O'Rourke possibly being forced to keep Tyrone safe in their last two games. Donegal and Galway are the only two looking safe to me. Great games ahead.

Next game will be tricky enough for a few reasons, management will have a few decisions to make.
May need to get something from it but he would need to be thinking about alternating goalkeeper,is this the game to do it and give Vahey experience of that cauldron. I think he needs to sit Jordan out,he looks to me like he needs a rest. In fairness he changed our league trajectory when he returned but we need him fresh for championship now.
If Cian McHale is ready I'd like to see him get a start too, Tuohy getting more minutes and hopefully we see some more returnees making the bench .

Well done Ryan a class act as always.

Hope the shoulder is OK.

Given up on listening to RTE commentary a while ago it's pathetic as others have said.. Midwest much better maybe it's a little biased but can't stand listening to them & Cantwell to be honest.

Well done, Ryan well deserved and some great performances all round AOS fielding was a sight to behold.
@Catcol totally agree on your comment about Mayo's tackle and work intensity rate in terms of stopping Kerry in their own half. That was the stand out for me from Saturday.
It was a lovely to be at McHale Pk. and great to see a crowd of almost 9.5k there.
Team still moving in the right but definitely not the finished article yet.

I don't get why Mayo supporters are soooo sensitive when it comes to pundits. It's almost like we desire to be liked! Whether it's Brolly, Whelan, Spillane or whoever, I don't understand why are so many supporters get so vexed about what they say or write. Mayo sells and they're only doing their jobs. Off screen they are probably laughing about it all.
Get over it, they have ZERO influence on what we are trying to do so I take it . Whelan is actually sound, I met him in Rosie O'Gradys in 2014 when we were out there for the Mayo New York game. He's mighty crack and, like most Dubs, well able to give it and take it.

As for Ryan, he was unmarkable v Kerry and, his 9 points aside, he won tackles, tracked back and was a constant target for our midfielders/half backs coming out with the ball. Interesting point too that he plays his best when AOS is around him. Makes sense really as AOS will take at least one man marker out of the way, freeing up Ryan a bit more.

What a pro!!

I bet clifford knows who was marking him... Having said that he didn't have a bad day at the office either

Only caught the highlights from the Sunday Game now, seems like the intensity can be there when we need it. O’Shea is going to be massive for us this season, if teams push up on us we will need him to drop out as an option for midfield.

The goal aside I thought Stephen Coen had a really good game on Saturday.
Put out fires, hoovered up a load of ball and at the end was involved heavily in the turnover that got us over the line.

Great to see Hession and Mcbrien getting a run of games and heartening to see Mattie on the up again.

If that’s directed at me pebbles I wasn’t offended by Tomas not knowing Donnacha Mchugh I just thought it was a surprising lack of knowledge . Anyway I hope it’s a sign he’s under the radar all the better for us cause it’s not his first time looking as able as Leroy n his day for man marking .

Moving on but staying with Mchugh , if we were to play Galway who do ye think would be best suited for Walsh and who for comer ?

Couldn't agree more Pebblesmeller about some Mayo supporters sensitivities about criticism.They come on here and slate Mayo players and management and if a pundit makes a valid criticism they go ballistic, particularly if its on RTE. I think RTEs sports coverage on radio and TV is excellent and we have more than our fair share of Mayo pundits covering GAA for them.Now I hear people complaining about TG4 .If they can't follow the commentary as Gaeilge its not TG4 s fault and don't forget its RTE that subsidizes the station so that we can watch for free.Thank God we don't have to subscribe to Sky sports anymore and listen to an English accent commenting on our national game.So keep up the good work Joanne.

Pebblesmeller - well said. I knew with Ryan class is permanent but form is temporary. Can't say the same about Stephen Coen unfortunately I think it was him who was rounded for the Kerry goal. He tries hard etc and has good stamina but he lacks pace over a short distance. If they persist in playing him it has to be as a sweeper.

It could be that under the new rules some go all day diesels with a big frame are needed.
Hence the likes of Stephen Coen in favour. They do the box to box grunt and they're big enough to hit and take hits.

Just looking at the upcoming fixtures. With all genuine respect for sligo and Leitrim, would it not be useful for Mayo to end up in a league final??....its on the last weekend of march, sligo 6th April, then 2 week break to Leitrim on 19/20th Apr and then another 2 week break to connought final...neither sligo or Leitrim are going great in the league and as I said, with respect for both counties, Mayo should be winning both with comfort. Nothing readies a team better than playing games and a good reasonable hard test in league final could be good for us. Injuries can also be as easily picked up in training as in games. Although a big question, would we want to be playing galway for example in a league final???

Yes JP if you drive slow the diesel will last longer.

@Sticks for the Reeks did some serious range on a diesel not pushing :)
The go all day diesel isn't a critique btw. They're simply a different type of athlete. The sparky fast players can tend to burnout after 60 mins.

Audacious side-line 2 pointer. Ciaran Mac would be proud of that one.

@Moyside: "Injuries can also be as easily picked up in training as in games."

Statistically, no. It wouldn't be close.

"Match injury rates have been as high as 12.9 times higher than training injury rates in male Gaelic football (Roe et al., 2018)"

"A systematic review and meta-analysis on male Gaelic football injuries found that the pooled match injury rate was 55.9 injuries per 1000 hours, and the training injury rate was 4.57 injuries per 1000 hours (Dekkers et al., 2022).."

https://doras.dcu.ie/28972/1/15512847_28_08.pdf (first relevant research project on a quick google, dozens of others with similar findings including the couple referenced in the quotes)

Sean Burke, no dig at you at all, just a general comment. I play the ball, never the man :)

Are you gone up to the game in Derry Willie Joe? Any chance of a lift up?

I live on the northside like yourself in Dublin.

we really should not be fearing a League Final fair enough if it was Galway or Roscommon the week after, what I would do is play a 2nd string in the Final, and it would give the 2 fingers to the GAA about the current structure. Nobody could blame Kevin for playing a 2nd string after what happened in 2023 and still hasnt been changed. They have made a mockery of the best Inter County competition in the GAA. Hope we see the end of the 12 v 11 Goalkeeper tactic and the 2 point arc.I love long distance scores but there has become an obsession with the arc and I absolutely hate 2 point frees, Shane Walsh getting 2 points for hitting basically a dead straight 45 yesterday is a joke. I still Dont understand why there hasnt been a limit on the handpass or backpasses.I would love to see the 3 up rule changed to 4 .

@moyside.the problem I could see with making a league final is it would be 4 games in 3 weeks(derry, Donegal, league final and championship) and possibly a defeat in a league final to bounce back from. It's a shame to say it and make you wonder what the suits are thinking but we probably be better to secure division 1 status and train on final day

I haven't decided if I'm going up yet, Mayoman51, still less what the arrangements would be if I am. In any event, I'm not in the business of organising lifts, to be honest, match days are complicated enough for me without adding that to the list!

Hats off to Mayo for a very determined effort and a deserved win, I wasn’t at the game and I could only listen to it on radio Kerry. It sounded like a great game and while we have slipped into the relegation zone I would say that jack would be happy enough with the second half performance. Not being able to see the game it’s hard to give an opinion on the Kerry performance in that first half but the radio Kerry commentators said mayo were well worth every inch of their lead and acknowledged their strength across the middle of the field.
Kerry are left with Armagh at home and away to Galway so we will have to try to get two points out of those two games, the home game should provide the best opportunity with home advantage and given the long journey Armagh have to make coupled with the urgency of division one survival we should scrape over the line. With Sean O Shea and Tom O Sullivan nursing injuries we are missing two great playmakers and indeed finishers so hopefully they will be back in the fold before too long as they are usually worth four or five points a game between them. Anyway I’m happy to see mayo improve their position in division one and best of luck for the few days out.

Mayoman51 , I’ve been saying it years , we need to organise in Dublin , I get the train most games (sometimes lift with the brother ) , there are the same (15-20 ) guys last 25 years travelling alone from Heuston , we could easily mobilise and organise a coach to games on occasion

Agree in general Pebbles re pundits, but Brolly is a nasty type; the personal bile directed at Aidan O'Shea is atrocious.

Given that there was no formal live coverage either on RTE or TG4, I thought what RTE showed wasn't bad and the punditry was pretty good - the Brickenden gaffe aside. Interesting the way they show a certain amount of footage. and then in discussion add some more - for instance the O'Shea fetches. On days like yesterday they have a hell of a lot - too much - to get through, and there's no doubt the lower divisions get a raw deal. However the likes of Mayo are box office.

No doubt I know what you mean re amount of games, but say hypothetically we were to be secure in div 1 by donegal game, we could play second string against a more than likely second string donegal, resting all our big guns....that way it would practically be a game every 2 weeks for the players....I'm sure players would prefer a game every 2 weeks to training for 3/4 weeks without a game...nothing brings u on better than playing competitive games...

Sam og, I know it may not be what u mean, but I would not be afraid of playing galway or ros at any time at all, but in the immediate future, only time I want to beat either team is in connought final on the may Bank hol....especially galway, we do owe them a beating cos I cannot accept that we are as bad as we looked against galway in the league and I'm certain they aren't as good as we made them look. I'd hope physically we'd not take a step back against them or let them push us around again like they did. To let it happen again would be totally unacceptable

@ Mayoman51 and Sean Burke. Mayo Gaa Blog bus is a great shout. I am based in Drogheda, so its a nice spin to Castlebar for me. Bus would be a bit of craic

a bit of car pool Karaoke Willie Joe - it would be great craic - Mayo songs only
.
Whats your favorite Mayo song Willie Joe?

Agreed Sean Burke a minibus or set up a Mayo supporters club in Dublin if there's not one ? Are you aware of
anyone ?

Some on here talking about the ifs and buts of making a League final, while still not having League 1 status secured for next season.
After the weekend Derry after a slow start look like they have discovered some form and will be fighting to keep division 1 status and of course you never know what Donegals thinking might be. So a lot to play for over the next few games for all the team!

Derry fighting for their 1st division lives and unlucky at the weekend away to Donegal. Mayo coming off the wknd with plaudits against a weakened Kerry side. Sounds the the recipe for a home win in Celtic Park. I can see a lot going down to the final day. I think after the next round there’s a strong possibility that ourselves, Armagh and Tyrone will all be on 5 points with Derry on 3.

If two teams finish level on points am I right that it goes on head to head but if more than two teams are level on points that it goes on score difference? If that’s the case we could regret not going for a goal in the final play last Sat.

@John+McHale: Armagh, Mayo & Kerry can all still finish 1st or 8th yet. It would be just as shortsighted to ignore one of those possibilities as it would to ignore the other.

@Mayonaze: Yup. Spot on with the tie-breakers there.

Though it's clear as mud on it with no clear regulations released for the competition and the old guidance we used to lean on (6.21 in the ol' Rules Part 1) now removed from the updated versions of that document.

@Mayonaze I think your analysis is sound. I think a lot will rest on the Donegal game however and it depends what Donegal team shows up. Its hard to see Donegal wanting to be in a league final with a one week turnaround for Derry in round 1 of Ulster. If they beat us they may just find themselves there. Regardless they may still want to rest key players before that Derry game so that might be the opportunity for us to pick up some insurance points at home.

Good win yesterday. With the right management there is no doubt that we have a team capable of winning the All-Ireland. Forget about the pundits - they are paid for having a point of view not for providing a nuanced insight. All that matters is what Mayo thinks about Mayo. Everything else is just empty noise.

Derry will be fighting for their league lives, they have a chance of staying up if they beat us so this will be no gimme. This will be very close to championship intensity I'd expect. A great test for Mayo. Derry are beatable if the matchups for their 4/5 key men is done right.

I am also getting a vison in our last game against Donegal where both teams want to lose it. Farcical scenario that could happen.

From a mayo point of view, the great thing is there is a lot at stake. It will give the game an almost championship edge.
The big positive from last Saturday was that we won a tight game, compare to v Dubllin and Armagh. Kerry did miss a lot of easy chances they won't be missing come championship, let's not get carried away.

The uncertainty regarding the full back continues I’m afraid. With DavidMcB having performed solidly past few seasons, McHugh has proved to be a solid option. Will be interesting to see come championship.

That's an uncertainty we can live with @Westernfan. The more options we have for critical positions, the better,in my book.

Brickenden hasn't made the panel in a few games is he injured ? also how long is Cian McHale out for potentially with the finger operation

Derry have been very unlucky in a few of their games. It will be a very difficult game for Mayo.

I agree with those that do not get fixated on what pundits say, in general they have some interesting insights which can add to our knowledge.

Derry will be a great test, we will be hard pushed to win as this is Derrys final chance, fail to win and they are down. Agree that we should rest some players like Flynn, maybe Coen and Ruane, ready to come on to finish the game strongly.

The more I see, the more I like the new rules, I know that many have different opinions but I think that there is more excitement in games and big leads are no guarantee of success. I would agree with tweaks to technical frees like 20 seconds for kick out and the penalty for breaking the 3 v 3 but would keep the arc, 3 v 3, dissent, 12 v 11, 1 for throw in etc.

- That was a good football match for a March day.
- ROD another deserved MOM, his point from the sideline was just superb.
- Aside from RODs mega influence the 3 clean fetches by Aido in Mid-field and Reape saving three at the crossbar were key turning points.
- Others that stood out were Hession, Ruane, Mc Brien, McHale and McHugh.
- Our level of aggression in the tackling was way up, good day for players, mgmt and supporters.
- Hopefully the FRC will ditch the goalkeeper up the field, maintain 3 up no matter how many black/red cards a team has and get rid of the 50 metre penalty if a ball is not handed to opponent, give a yellow card instead.
- We should not be relying on Donegal putting out a second team which I think they will do based on McGuinness comments. We should go all out to beat Derry and control our own destiny.

Impossible to know where we’re going to finish in the table but after the Galway debacle, 5pts and unbeaten in the next 3 is most satisfying. I genuinely believe we have a strong panel now. Backs that didn’t start v Kerry. O’Donoghue, Durkin, Morahan, McLaughlin, Brickenden, Loftus.
Midfielders. Reid, Thornton and Diarmuid.
Forwards. Boland, Towey, McHale, Conroy, Neary.

Boyler writing in the Star today was discussing the 20 second kickout. Said he doesn’t agree with it unless they have a clock to time it. At first I thought it was a good thing after watching the carry on of Gleeson in the Galway game but after this weekend, where a few keepers were penalised well inside the time allowed, I’ve changed my mind. As he pointed out, we all know when a lad is time wasting and every ref should too. Simple solution is warn him first time and book him for the second. If it’s enforced there won’t be a third. As for moving the free up 50m for not handing the ball back, it’s a stupid rule. Ok for deliberately preventing the free being taken or dissent. Just place the ball on the ground and move away. I also don’t think frees from outside the arc should be a two pointer.

Donnacha and Ryan named on the team of the week.
Well done lads.
I thought Enda Hession did a decent enough job on Paudie as well.

Rory must be fuming that Donnacha took his spot Mind the House!

I think Donnacha is our best man marker not necessarily our best full back.
It would be a fatal mistake to mix up the two.

I would expect Derry will go all out for a win on Sunday. They were very unlucky yesterday and even more unlucky v Kerry in first game. They must win their last two games to stay up. That would put them on 5 points and beating us on the head to head. I expect Kerry will beat Armagh to go to 6 points. That leaves Tyrone v Donegal as a critical game. They don’t particularly like one another and normally Donegal would enjoy kicking Tyrone into Div 2 but Jim is talking about being disinterested in the rest of the league so a Tyrone win is highly possible. After all they were desperately unlucky yesterday v Galway. So that would put them on 5 also. So it may all go to the last game and hopefully Jim will be equally disinterested against us., if we lose our last 2 we are probably back in serious bother. Galway’s hammering of us means we probably won’t escape through score difference so one or preferably two points from our remaining games is needed.

Pebblesmeller says:
March 3, 2025 at 9:34 am
I don’t get why Mayo supporters are soooo sensitive when it comes to pundits. It’s almost like we desire to be liked! Whether it’s Brolly, Whelan, Spillane or whoever, I don’t understand why are so many supporters get so vexed about what they say or write. Mayo sells and they’re only doing their jobs. Off screen they are probably laughing about it all.
Get over it, they have ZERO influence on what we are trying to do so I take it . Whelan is actually sound, I met him in Rosie O’Gradys in 2014 when we were out there for the Mayo New York game. He’s mighty crack and, like most Dubs, well able to give it and take it.

As for Ryan, he was unmarkable v Kerry and, his 9 points aside, he won tackles, tracked back and was a constant target for our midfielders/half backs coming out with the ball. Interesting point too that he plays his best when AOS is around him. Makes sense really as AOS will take at least one man marker out of the way, freeing up Ryan a bit more.

I have met Ciaran Whelan a bunch of times, very sound guy.
I know for a fact he was asked to appear at a club fundraiser in Dublin for a Mayo club and he did.
They tried to give him a few quid for showing up, he was having none of it, would not take a penny.
As for Tomas O Se, incredible footballer, crappy analyst, Cliche city.
Whelan far better IMO

Agree pebble, but Whelan doesn't have the same kudos or cred with some folks as he played on a very mediocre Dublin team. He would be the first to admit it.
Different era now for both players and pundits across all sports.

Analysis of Mayo is simple
They play best with pace at half back and a licence to attack. Terrible at slow build up play

Don't have a goal scorer of long range scoring option

They have good man marker generally

Totally unable to control a game when in front but great when chasing down a lead

Copy and paste that every week and add a few names to it

The u20’s took a bit of a tanking against Derry at the weekend I heard?? Anyone know what the score was?

It will be a donegal b team we play in the final round for sure, Jimmy pretty much confirmed he is throwing his arse at the rest of the league from here on out. Ulster championship still a huge deal and they have derry in a few weeks time...

Tbh if we ended up in a league final it wudnt be the quandary it was in previous years, with galway and rossies on other side of the draw. We should have a few weeks so might be glad of a good challenge game

@willie Joe - will you mention it on the pod about setting up a Mayo supports club for us fans based in the east?

You could be our founding member.

I think you'll need to set it up first, Mayoman51! Once you do I'm happy to give it airtime both here and on the pod.

New pod up on Patreon: Rob and Mike with Nigel Reape and Ger Flanagan reflecting on the Kerry game, the ever-changing playing rules and more.

Am I right in saying that the next fortnight is the only window to make any changes to the rules? And that's it for 5 years? The FRC were supposed to be offering a text based answer option to their surveys but I see that's been put off! Has anyone heard any info on the ground as to what changes will be made? It won't be radical at this stage, you would imagine

ok perfect Willie Joe -wonder are there many posters on the page here interested in joining ? - drop a message here if you are!

Initiation to the club is singing a verse of a Mayo song.haha

@Rusty Bridges: "... the next fortnight is the only window to make any changes to the rules?"
No. The 'new' rules can be tweaked at any time (under the enabling motion, Motion 1), they're just aiming to restrict the proposals to this break window and implementing them between the end of the league and start of the Championship to retain integrity for both competitions.

Technically, a change can be made today and come into effect tomorrow at any point between now and the end of the year.

We'll also have a significant Special Congress planned for October where a review of the rules will make a call on removing them again following their 1 year trial inclusion or adding them as permanent changes to the rule-book.

"And that’s it for 5 years?"
Surprisingly, no.

I had thought this would be the case, especially with Motion 7 failing at the recent Annual Congress, but that doesn't appear to be the case. John Fogarty clarified (https://x.com/JohnFogartyIrl/status/1896665614556733934) that the Playing Rules Committee can propose further changes to CC annually.

This raises all sorts of questions on how or why we ended up pulling so many levers at once without any ability to isolate their impact (some go hand in hand, but stuff like the tweaks to discipline could have been tackled last year, seperating them from significant adjustments to playing mechanics like 3/3). At least it does mean if any obvious issues pop up between '26 and '29 we'll have the means of addressing it.

Thanks for that @Tsudhonim
Hour wealth of knowledge on the technicalities of the GAA is most welcome at a time of such change!
Fair play, don't know how you keep on top of it!

Thanks TsuDhoNim

Thanks Tsu, for that clarity-you should be seconded onto the FRC. It is a great relief that we are not necessarily going to stuck with all the new rule changes until 2030,if some are not working out. As you say it makes one wonder why the need to bring in such a raft of changes all at once. It may have been better to introduce the 3v3,which I like, the kick-out, which I love and, possibly, the Solo & Go, which needs to be tidied up to avoid confusion. I am not convinced by the 2 pointers, altho' I may warm to it over time, but I will never be comfortable with 2 points for a free. Some of the technical punishments are too harsh and the handing the ball back and 20 second kick-out are plain daft.

GlasagusDearg. Agree totally with you, the 2 points for a free is a joke.

What date are Mayo playing Sligo