Seán Rice
HIS league objective accomplished, mandatory culling is about to begin, which is no less demanding on the social and communication skills of manager Stephen Rochford than steering his injury-hit team has been through the minefield of league phobia.
The shaving has already begun, but many will be reminded that they remain on call to step in whenever injury creates vacancies in the main bunch as preparation begins in earnest for the critical championship campaign.
Less than six weeks from their opener in Ruislip, Stephen Rochford will have begun working on the frailties thrown up by the league. Many absentees have returned to pursue an unprecedented sixth consecutive Connacht title with all the apprehension that possibility is creating among other contenders for the title.
Pressure of defeat in their opening three games of the league did not deter experimentation. Even when fear of relegation began to bite, assessment of new blood was not discontinued. All got a fair chance to exhibit their stuff, and some are now making it difficult for the returned regulars to win back their places.
In a bid to strengthen certain areas, some players were assigned new positions, not all with the desired result. Against Cork in the opening game, regular defender Donal Vaughan lined out at full-forward. It was an experiment worth pursuing, the Ballinrobe man having successfully made the transition on a couple of occasions for his club.
Cork – ironically demoted last week – administered a chastening drubbing of nine points, and while Vaughan’s new role was not a success, injury and the need for his services in defence denied him a further chance to shape a new niche for himself up front.
Two men who availed fully of league opportunities were Brendan Harrison and Shane Nally. Harrison, on the periphery for a while, has settled well into the right corner back position, which in the continued absence of Tom Cunniffe he may well hold down.
Up to this, Nally was given little chance to unveil his county capabilities, but his repeated selection in the first 15 reflected Rochford’s faith in the Garrymore man as a tough, competent wing back. His club-mate Caolan Crowe was less fortunate, in that having given good account of his ability in the early rounds, he was forced out by injury.
Nowhere in the campaign has improvement been more eagerly sought than in the forward line, and on one newcomer eyes have been mostly focused those past couple of months. A knee injury sustained in the first round of last season’s league against Kerry in Killarney denied Evan Regan any part in the ensuing championship.
In the absence of Cillian O’Connor, he has been Mayo’s most dependent free-taker throughout the league just finished. His was a critically conspicuous loss against Kerry when we watched in despair so many good free opportunities squandered by enigmatic Mayo forwards.
More than that, though, the Ballina Stephenites man has developed a host of elegant skills, including a shimmy that leaves opponents wrong-footed and which he so self-assuredly demonstrated in scoring that goal against Roscommon. A little more aggression might prove an invaluable complement to this natural ability.
Conor, the third of the O’Sheas, is also challenging for a permanent place in the attack. Physical strength is his main attribute, and the experience he has picked up in all seven games of the league will have prepared him well for what lies ahead.
Rochford also provided notable opportunities to evergreens Andy Moran (who still possesses the ability to grab vital, redeeming scores) and Alan Dillon (back from injury and clearly eager as ever to challenge the thinking of those who feel the career of the Ballintubber man had taken a dip).
Thus the skimpy forward line fielded against Cork at the beginning of the league could become the most competitive for places in any of the past five years, and perhaps the strongest Mayo has fielded in years.
If Keith Higgins makes the conversion as promised before getting hurt against Donegal, the Mayo selectors will have the likes of Diarmuid O’Connor, Aidan O’Shea, Kevin McLoughlin, Evan Regan, Jason Doherty, Cillian O’Connor, Conor O’Shea, Andy Moran, Alan Dillon, Alan Freeman and Cathal Carolan, from which to choose their championship side. So competition will be hotting up in training in the next few weeks as the scramble intensifies.
Mental flaws – so disconcerting in a side competing at the top flight over the past five years – need attention too. Leadership, which sprouts now and again but never seems to fully ripen, was crucially missing against Kerry and Down.
Not sure what management can do about that, but there is urgency for leadership on the field to deal with emergencies as they crop up, to inspire those around them to figure their own way out of difficulties. A couple of All-Irelands have been lost for want of coping skills of that nature.
Lots of potential in Mayo U-21s again this year
IF the yield to the county’s senior side is as prolific as that of the last Mayo U-21 team to reach the All-Ireland semi-final, the future of the game in this county is secure.
In 2009 Mayo, contesting their fourth All-Ireland semi-final in a row, fielded 12 players who are prominent members of the current senior panel.
They include Robert Hennelly, Kevin Keane, Donal Vaughan, Lee Keegan, Kevin McLoughlin, Tom Parsons, Aidan O’Shea, Cathal Carolan, Mikie Sweeney, Jason Doherty, Jason Gibbons and Alan Freeman. They lost by three points to Down that day in Longford, but have matured into top-class performers competing at senior level over the past five years.
Similar potential was on view in Mayo’s unexpected win over Roscommon in the Connacht final. Battling performances from Diarmuid O’Connor, Fionán Duffy, Brian Reape, Matthew Ruane, Stephen Coen, Michael Hall and Seamus Cunniffe turned the tide in the second half and sprang an uplifting victory.
If Mayo bring with them to the semi-final hearts as big as those we saw against the odds in the second half in Markievicz Park, that outsiders’ tag against them in Tullamore on Saturday may once again prove to be mistaken.
Dublin football is now reaping the rewards of the millions of euro supporting development squads in all aspects of Gaelic sport in the capital. And their underage footballers reflect that upsurge.
Truth is, though, we don’t know much about the genuine capability of this Dublin side. Reports indicate that in Con O’Callaghan, they have a player of immense potential. Against Kildare in the Leinster final, the full-forward amassed a personal tally of 1-7, 0-5 from frees, and was the main plank of Dublin’s victory.
They have, too, among their forwards Colm Basquel, who almost single-handedly destroyed Castlebar Mitchels in the All-Ireland club final.
Having had to deal with the wiles of Roscommon’s Diarmuid Murtagh, the Mayo defence will surely have learned from that experience, but the likes of Andrew Foley, Brian Howard, and Martin Cahilan are no slouches either.
What Dublin bring to their games in general is self-belief, an air of invincibility, a brashness that against teams like Mayo they have the edge before the game even commences. Mayo can remind them on Saturday that the west has not fallen under their spell.
Mayo count down to Ruislip
