In fairness OāFarrell was outstanding in the club championship and fully merited a call up. Was putting up big scores from play for Broadford last year but as an out and out full forward.
The glut of injuries in defence gave him an opportunity at wing back and he had made it his own.
Very depressing fare yesterday, but thereās a 4 week block here where we can hopefully evolve somewhat. Iām pretty sure itās something we havenāt had at all during Lohanās time in charge.
There was a fair whiff of the Limerick game yesterday. Missed goal chances early, our hurling way below par and getting shredded on both puckouts were key themes of both games. Our goal conversion rate has been shocking so far; Nolan made 3 or 4 saves, Quaid MOTM, no goal vs Tipp and the misses yesterday. Itās normally something Iād say is a result of a small smaple size and itāll even out in time, but that sample size is getting bigger each week.
We must have been blocked or hooked 10+ times yesterday, obviously credit is due to Cork for that, but at the same time we made it so easy for them. So many fumbled rises/touches or drops and then standing to strike and being turned over. Being pressured like that from behind is a tell tale sign that your hurling isnāt crisp. Even in the rondos they do in the warmup, our two wing forwards kept losing the ball from bad touch or slow strikes. If you canāt hold onto the ball in a 3 v 1, itās going to be very hard to do so in the middle 8 in a Munster Championship match. The internal games must be awful sloppy affairs, iron sharpens iron but unfortunately for us, there doesnāt seem to be much iron at the bottom of our panel. Once the 20s are done, youād imagine the 5-8 of them brought in will lift it a bit. The older lads hopefully might feed off of it aswell, things seem a bit stale at the moment.
Our puckouts were abysmal, which was probably to be expected when none of your starting half forward line are good puckout options. Rynne and Fitzgerald were standing 15 yards in from the sideline and in between the 2 65s for most every puckout. Iād imagine the idea is to try and hide their inability to win a contested ball, and then be there to support once the ball breaks, but itās a ridiculous idea imo. Stritch got very little separation from Rob Downey either and when he did, Quilligan hit shitty balls that allowed Downey to make up the ground. Duggan canāt play a full 70 there anymore, so there needs to be another puckout option in the 6 forwards. Malone is the obvious candidate and Iād certainly be looking at Ronan Kilroy aswell. Just to mention too, that we are still completely lacking the structure and enthusiasm necessary to run short puckouts out, and weāre instead happy to lamp the ball in from 20 yards short of the delivery zone.
We reverted to providing no protection for our half back line at puckout time. At one stage in the first half after Tony tapped over a free on the 21, it was 6 v 6 in our half, our other 8 lads were all inside the Cork 65. Iād question why Tony even needed to hit that free, but that set up is nonsensical. A Cork full back line with Cahalane and O Donoghue in it and we let them go long every time they wanted. Our wing forwards offering zero cover or tackling from behind, compared to Walsh and Healy on the other side, who even covered R Downey at one stage when he followed Stritch into our own half. Just crazy stuff. Kudos to Niall O Farrell for managing to hold his own in that situation.
Going forwards, we clearly need more legs and effort from 8-13. Tony was nowhere to be seen for any of the nitty gritty midfield play, Iād definitely be looking at him primarily as an inside forward at this stage. Iād love to know whatās happening with Jack O Neill. He really should be nailing down a position this year, but even Jack Kirwan has passed him out, let alone Stritch and Rynne. He was starting for an absolutely stacked UL team at midfield, obviously different hurling played then, but we could definitely use his running power. Heās makes some baffling decisions on the ball, but Iāve always thought the good outweighs the bad with him. Fitzgerald got on more ball than Rynne, but he looks cooked mentally. Thereās no reason for his striking to be so bad bar it being a mental issue. Rynne will do alright when Clare are going well since he can take a score that someone else creates for him, but heās incapable of winning his own ball unfortunately. I wonder if Diarmuid Ryan could do similar to Malone at wing forward, if you wanted to revert to a Malone-Taylor midfield. Moloney and OāConnor used him there early in his career and it could be an option. Kilroy as mentioned above is another option for here, heād give serious energy to the older lads youād imagine. Or maybe Cleary shows a bit of form there, heād give us some heft and another option at puckout time.
We wonāt win another All Ireland with Conlon at 6, but weāre more likely to win the 1/4 final with him there than with OāFarrell/McInerney there. Weāll probably revert to the same set up we had vs Tipp and neither Dublin or Galway have the same combination of pace + hurling to kill us that Cork/Limerick have. James Hegarty would be a good man to have on the bench too, itād be a big risk to throw a 20 year old for his debut in at 6, but itās not a million miles from what they did with NOF. Hopefully Lohan isnāt too badly hurt, I wouldnāt be confident with any of our options to replace him. Hayes is too loose, Leen is a disaster and I think Conneally is too upright to be an inside defender. Plenty options in the 20s for there, maybe 1 of them has a good AI Final and carries it through training to earn a jersey.
It wonāt happen this season but I think medium term Diarmuid Ryan may well end up pushed up to midfield or half forward. Would play to his strengths and be a puckout option.
Iād say half forward over midfield, midfield might be a bit crowded for him. Weāve plenty backs coming through by the looks of it, hopefully gives us the freedom to push him up the field. I wouldnāt write it off happening this year either, though it depends on if Lohan is reading TFK in the same way Liam Cahill was listening to Mullane in his podcast
āMental skillsā
Fuck off
Surely heād get stick from others for being down as āMental Skillsā
What else would he be titled?
Heās not allowed be down as Psychologist as heās not qualified in it
Fucking hilarious.
Great day yesterday to say the least, any day that we win an AI is one we must treasure. Huge credit due to everybody involved both this year and to those in clubs, schools and development squads too. Teams like this yearās U20s arenāt plucked from thin air, itās important to acknowledge all the hours that volunteers have put into each player on the panel.
The actual game yesterday was a bit dull, not really our fault obviously. Our backs held the Galway forwards really well, only for Rabbitte in the 2nd half they offered no threat. Our midfield were on top too, Ball in particular was fantastic. OāConnor and Cleary got 3-2 between them but they couldnāt make it stick often enough and it came out a bit too soft in the first half. But at the end of the day, theyāre there to score and they ended up doing so for the last 4 games so kudos to them. Rodgers was my MOTM, scored 4 himself, teed up another 2-2 and made 8 or 9 tackles. His touch and his intelligence are way beyond his years. Fred had 5 different moments of utter genius, what a talent. He did blatantly lie in his interview after with TG4, for his sideline point he said he took a look out the field for someone to pass to, when in actuality as soon as he got the ball he decided he was shooting. Needs to lean into his maverick nature imo.
Weāve a ton of positives to take from the campaign as a whole. Sheedy showed why heās probably our next goalie and Iād guess that 2 or 3 of our 6 backs will become starters for the Seniors over the next couple years. Loftus in particular had an unbelievable campaign, especially for his first real sustained run at full back. We look to have two prototype midfielders now and have found an absolute diamond in Tom OāConnor. That goes along with Collins, Fred and Rodgers continuing to show their class and Ronan Kilroy who is just an absolute warrior, something our senior team could do with at wing forward in 2026, let alone down the line. Even asides from the individual players, the character they showed in nearly every game they played was heartwarming. Every interview they give, they always mention the pride they have wearing the Clare jersey and how they want to do the people of Clare justice. By God did they do so this year. I said it in another thread but huge credit to Terence Fahy for helping instill that attitude in the players. He came across so well after the game in his interactions with media, supporters and parents and Iām absolutely delighted to admit I was wrong in saying he should have been thanked for his services after last year. Happy to eat some humble pie after that call!
Who are the 2 or 3?
I wouldnāt single out 2 or 3 lads and say that they are absolutely nailed on and the other 3 are longshots. Iād give all of Sundayās 2-6 and Joe Casey a fair shot of being IC starters, but none of them are absolutely nailed on like Adam Hogan was.
Iād imagine of our current back 6, weāll have lost 2 of them at a minimum by 2029, maybe even more. Iād expect the gaps to be filled by the lads named above, but that said I could definitely see a Daithi Lohan, Sean McNamara or Dara Kennedy filling them too.
Iād be most confident in Hegarty and Loftus if he can get a bit stronger. Hegarty was back to his best after the break he got and looked far less leggy. Loftus has all the tools and intangibles if he can get strong enough to handle a Shane O Brien or even a Rabbitte. OāHalloran and Casey would be serious options if they speed up their hurling a la Cathal Malone, but thatās a bit unlikely unfortunately. Malone is such an outlier, if youāve been training at a hugh level for years, its hard to improve a lot at this stage. Moylan has a lot to work on skill wise and mentally, but heās such an unreal athlete heāll get plenty of chances to improve them. Gunning may be too small, but I hope he gets the chance to prove that school of thought wrong.
You would hope he can become something akin to Mikey Butler at intercounty level. I wouldnāt write him off but he has a bit to go. He has a lot of the attributes needed but has a very small frame.
Pretty much all will get opportunities - just a matter of who takes them. Joe Casey is the kind of unheralded lad who could just get a chance and take it and be a stater for many years. He has the size and defensive nous.
OāHalloran at worse would be a great lad to have on a panel. His speed of hurling and footwork may hinder him though.
I donāt think it would take much for Sheedy, Loftus, James Hegarty and Kilroy all to be in the main 20 come the 2028 championship. Moylan, Gunning and OāHalloran all have something to offer in the medium term but a bit to go.
Costelloe, Fred and Collins probably need a couple of years to compete physically at senior. Bomb, Ball, Rodgers, Doherty are 2029/2030 options
