ANALYSIS: Ryan O'Donoghue shines in new-look Mayo position

THERE has been plenty to digest about this new-look Mayo after only two outings in the 2026 National League.

Two wins from two. A fresh, more exciting and front-footed style of play. David McBrien, Sam Callinan and Bob Tuohy have impressed.

Rob Hennelly has settled back in smoothly and Darragh Beirne has hit the ground running, to name a few.

But arguably the most exciting piece on the board has been Ryan O'Donoghue at centre forward.

The move to number 11 has been touted about him for a long time.

His game suits it, and he played a lot of his football at under-20 level there for Mayo too.

What prevented it was the feeling he was too important inside. He was our main scorer, our free taker.

Taking him out of the full forward line felt like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Andy Moran has made the call and two games in, the evidence says he has got it right. Against Galway in Salthill, O'Donoghue hit 0-7, including a two-pointer from play and a two-point free.

Against Dublin in MacHale Park, he scored 0-5 with a two-pointer from play and a free, and was named man of the match. That's 0-12 across two games from centre forward.

NEW BEGINNING

The overall feeling around his move centres on Mayo's ability to get scores from the full forward line without him.

That if they struggle, he will have to be moved back inside to pick up the slack.

When you look at the numbers, that argument doesn't hold up the way people think it does.

O'Donoghue's scoring record in 2025 painted a picture of a man whose headline tallies were often inflated by placed balls. In the league, he had games of 0-3 (two frees), 0-3 (all frees), 0-2 (all frees).

Even his bigger hauls were heavily reliant on dead balls. His 0-9 against Kerry included a two-point free, a two-point line ball and three frees.

His 0-8 against Derry had a two- point free and two frees. In two league games he scored zero from play. In two more, he managed one.

In championship, it was a similar story. His 0-9 in the Connacht final against Galway came with a two-pointer and six frees. His 1-4 against Sligo included four frees.

In the All-Ireland series, his 0-6 against Donegal contained five frees. His 0-4 against Cavan included a two-point free and two frees.

And while his 1-6 against Tyrone looked impressive, there were five frees and a penalty in that tally.

Strip it all back and O'Donoghue averaged roughly two scores from play per game across 14 outings in 2025.

This isn't a criticism of him. He was doing everything asked of him and carrying the free-taking burden on top of it.

But the from-play scoring impact people assume they'd lose by moving him out of the full forward line was never as big as the headline tallies suggested.

The loss is not what people think it is.

FREEDOM

He's already surpassing those numbers from his first two games of the league. Ten scores from play in two outings. Five per game. And impacting play much, much more.

At number 11, he is dictating where he gets the ball, not waiting for someone to deliver it. He has space to run, space to shoot and the freedom to hurt defences on his own terms.

To borrow a term from soccer, his xG, his expected contribution to the team's scoring, goes through the roof at centre forward.

He links the half back line and the inside forwards. He drops deep to win ball. He pops passes. And when the space opens up, he drives down the middle and breaks lines.

Moran acknowledged as much after the Dublin game. When asked at the press conference if it was a concern to see O'Donoghue at corner back at one stage, he turned to Rory Brickenden, laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

As if to say, that's what he does and try to tell him otherwise.

One of his greatest assets is his workrate. He hunts ball. He hunts play. And he's explosive when he gets it.

Quick off the mark. Able to jink either side. And there is a lot in his armoury in terms of kick-passing range and accuracy.

WORKHORSE

What goes unnoticed about O'Donoghue, because it's not as glamorous as two-pointers and 40-yard spinners, is his ability to win dirty ball.

Around the middle, on breaks, chasing loose passes when you're desperate to keep a move alive, that is where he comes into his own.

He's like a terrier. You cannot shake him off. He will barrel through everything in his path to get to that ball.

As someone who played number six for the majority of my club career, I know what it's like to face a centre forward who operates the way O'Donoghue does.

It is a nightmare. The last thing you want as a centre back is to track your man deep, getting pulled out of position, leaving a hole right down the centre of your defence.

When the ball goes over your head into that channel, and the opposition are scoring from it, all eyes are on you. Because that's the space you are supposed to be protecting.

The number 11 position is a quarterback role when played well. O'Donoghue has all the attributes.

I have played against him numerous times and the combination of power, acceleration, footwork and kick-passing makes him ideal for it.

And it’s a whole lot easier to tie him down inside when he is being starved of good ball than trying to do it out the field.

So if the inside forwards struggle, do Mayo panic and move O'Donoghue back to the edge of the square?

The answer should be no.

BLESSING AND HEADACHE

There are plenty of options inside. Tommy Conroy is back in the mix. James Carr got good minutes against Dublin. Darragh Beirne has two goals in his first two games for Mayo.

Fergal Boland chips in on the scoreboard every time he plays. Paul Towey has been tipped for years as the solution to Mayo's scoring issues.

A prophecy that hasn't been fulfilled, but plenty of people are still optimistic. And then there's Aidan O'Shea to factor in, as well as Cillian O'Connor, whenever he returns.

Between them all, there should be enough inside to allow O'Donoghue to stay at centre forward.

The worst thing Mayo can do is react to one bad game from the full forward line by hauling him back in and upsetting the balance.

His form will not go unnoticed. Jim McGuinness will have a plan for him in Donegal next weekend.

If it continues, every team's number one game plan to stop Mayo will start with figuring out a way to stop O'Donoghue at number 11.

That is a blessing and a headache for Moran in equal measure.

The beauty of the modern game is that O'Donoghue doesn't have to play centre forward for the full 70 minutes.

There is no better trick card for Moran to play than starting him on the edge of the square for the first 10 or 15 minutes of a big championship game.

Every opposing management will have their defensive plan built around stopping him at centre forward. A designated man marker.

I have been in that situation on the other side of it, and it always causes huge confusion. Does the centre back who was supposed to mark him track him to the half forward line? Does the full back push up?

Who fills the gap? Those 60 seconds of uncertainty, when a well-drilled game plan is thrown out the window, are enough to cause serious damage.

The question a month ago was whether Mayo could afford to take O'Donoghue out of the full forward line.

The question now is whether they can afford to take him out of the half forward line.

Based on what we've seen, this columnist says they'd be crazy to move him.