National League Division 2

Good to have Flats back. Break will have done him good. He's been at it a while now. Along with Robin, has been best forward in Kildare Championship over past 5 years. Expect a reaction from Derry. They've been slated for past 2 displays.

lilysavage wrote:

Good to have Flats back. Break will have done him good. He's been at it a while now. Along with Robin,  has been best forward in Kildare Championship over past 5 years. Expect a reaction from Derry. They've been slated for past 2 displays.

Redbreast?
Gibb?
Batman's mate?

My bets on Hood.

If Flats comes back in, that half forward line gets stronger allowing Conway to be used somewhere else. Or else it would be a lovely sub to bring on when the game opens up.

Derry is a massive game in my view. A win and we are really pushing for promotion, a loss and into the pack we go. Pity the two week break.

Cian O'Neill was interviewed on Game On on 2fm earlier. It'll be on RTÉ.ie tomorrow I'd say.

Someone text in looking for the whereabouts of Darroch Mulhall. Suffice to say, O'Neill wasn't impressed.

Not sure if Flats gets back into the team to be honest. good sub to have though as our strength in depth is questionable. Darroch would be another good sub to have

Darroch in Big Apple again I think

Darroch was at a wedding there, back now I believe. Apologies for paywall but stuff from him in here. I'll paste some of his quotes below, piece about the make or break nature of pre-season GAA when no one else cares - http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-january-is-make-or-break-for-so-many-players-2sd0h659k

“It could be the first time but you know well it could be the last time you pull on a county jersey,” Mulhall explains. “I've seen guys there that I would have played underage with, full sure they'd get the call back, but they might get 10 minutes because of a blood sub, and that's it. They aren't seen again until next year's trials. There's so much at stake. Most people couldn't care less about it but if you get your shot it has to be the biggest game you play. There's such a range of emotions...

“Going back to the 2014 season, I got a text saying are you available for a trial against Laois in Athy. Laois in Athy? Damn right I am. Jason [Ryan] called me then and said I'd done great so far. 'I'm impressed, now do you want to go and take the rest of the chance?' I remember going up to Longford on a Wednesday night, leaving work at four, getting there at half six absolutely bollocksed and you've 10 minutes to get right as this might be the last time you get a chance...

“I left the panel, I wasn't in the right space. Sitting in the car park for an hour and a half in Newbridge waiting for lads to show up to training because there was no point driving back to Athy after work to come right back. You've no life. I'd be talking differently if I'd been getting on the pitch but it's a strange one. Like the O'Byrne Cup gave me my chance but if it gets hopes up, it can get them right back down.”

I did not fancy us to beat Cork. Thought it would be tight but would get beaten so was delighted with the win. Great start to the year. And puts us in a positive frame of mind for the next game. It will be tough in Derry but I expect it to be very close to be honest. And hopefully with our good start lads may play with confidence and pip the win.

Interesting excerpts from Darroch. As we all know it really isn't for everyone and you cant begrudge a lad not commiting if he heart isn't in it..

It must be tough being a player who is the star of the show being just a bit part player yet having to put in the savage commitment and effort required. Not for everyone

TK,  can you please post full article?

Interesting from Mulhall. He done enough in my opinion to be given a starting place when fit and healthy imo.

At least he wasn't happy warming a bench. Always felt he never got a serious run, but he doesn't seem to be pointing fingers in that excerpt.

Like to hear rumblings of Flats coming back. Good option if we need to mix things up in terms of moving Kelly inside or bringing a bit of experience off the bench.

Hes an exciting player to watch. Can destroy his man when in the mood. Wouldn't be great at winning his own ball and sometimes could take too much out of it but as an impact sub when game stretched, he'd have been a good option. A fairly good free taker too.

Dont know if Eoghan o Flah will be back the last i heard was he was taking a year out and see's what happens after that.

Sean hurley had step away from panel to recover from his hip injuries

Sounds like he picked up some ancillary injuries while trying to get back after his hip surgery. Seems sensible to step away and recover. Shame though we aren't blessed with forward options.

I believe he has had trouble with his hip even before he went to Australia. They're right to draw stumps and try and give it the time to heal properly. From reading some of O'Neill's comments recently he seems to place a big emphasis on sorting out "legacy injuries" which is probably a result of his sports science background. If you look back at last year we were missing key players like Doyle, Kelly, Flynn, Feely and the Cribbins for large chunks of the season. It's no coincidence that we are beginning to show signs of improvement now that all these players are fit and healthy. Lets hope it stays that way.

The form of the opening two rounds of the league is often untrustworthy (we won this division in 2012 after losing the first two games) so I would be expecting a big test of Kildare's progress on Sunday. Derry will be stung after their defeat in Navan and they won't roll over easily in their own back yard. The longer Kildare can extend this run of results the better because we need to rid ourselves of the brittleness of the last few years. The reaction against Cork in the second half when things were going against us was heartening because we haven't seen this team display that sort of resilience before.

Niall Flynn has slight hamstring injury

Fuck, hope Neil is alright, did we have a challenge match against Louth at the weekend and if so how did it go?

What way will play Ben McCormack this weekend with Kildare U21in Leinster championship match on three days later

A chance for Chris Healy to get a run?

Surely Hartley will also be minded with the u21 match upcoming. Leper and Slattery the other options.

A good oppurtunity to see how much strength in depth we have when injuries and U21 commitments kick in.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me but just because a player is eligible for the U/21 championships that should not dictate that he can't play senior instead if he is the best player available for a particular position on the day the seniors play.

Right now I feel keeping the good run going and hopefully getting back to the N.F.L. Div 1 is more important that winning the U/21 championship in the big picture for Kildare Gaa going forward.

Would disagree there, personally I would always prefer to see the U21s focus on the U21 championship first. I think winning another U21 championship would be brilliant and give all those younger players a boost going forward. Plus all the U21 players who aren't on the senior panel could miss a chance of maybe winning a Leinster championship if the best players on the panel were taken for the seniors. The NFL is important too of course, but championship will always come first for me.

The Louth challenge match at the weekend was cancelled according to KFM.