Vision and awareness of space is another reason I would have liked to have seen him succeed at wing-forward; the idea of him drifting forward into space of a loose wing-back and scoring a goal… he’ll be marked tightly inside. Probably just doesn’t have the mobility to get around the pitch.
Running at this lot is the key, as has been said. If any man gets one-on-one with a defender whether it be half-forward or corner-forward, take him on.
And while work rate is a potential issue for Cian Lynch, think we have to play him midfield. When he came to life the last day, we looked good.
I’d pick Colin Ryan too but I don’t think that will happen.
That’s not his game though. That’s more Ronan Lynch’s game, and he’s become a forgotten man for us. Lynch is not fast but has plenty of running in him, he would be far more effective at getting back helping out a half back line. Even if you think Lynch is soft, which I don’t agree with at all, he will get on far more ball than say Dempsey, just by being in the right place to take the pass to relieve the defence. Again, massively underestimated attribute. When he gets the ball then he will either give a decent ball forward or put it over the bar.
Agree. I think he may end up at MF eventually, but him and Browne together is too lightweight. Problem is we have no outstanding candidate for MF to partner Browne.
The closer this gets the more convinced I am that Limerick will win. Colin Fennelly needs to be marked by a sticky timber merchant, same for TJ and niggle the fuck out of Hogan. Limerick should break even in the middle third and have forwards that can trouble a weak enough Kilkenny full back line. It will take a tremendous effort, but take the shackles off like Galway did in 2005 and they are there for the taking.
Dowling needs a touch of the John Allen treatment. He was used as an impact sub in 2013 and was seething at not starting. Was chomping at the bit everytime he came on
I don’t know if soft is how I’d describe Lynch but I don’t think he’s a forward at intercounty level. A back, maybe.
At this level, you can’t afford to let the opposition half-backs play and he doesn’t get close enough to them. Dowling, at his best, is actually very good for getting hooks and blocks in on clearances and turning the ball over. Probably relies on support from his midfield which he didn’t get the last day to stop them simply bursting out into space before clearing.