BACK IN ACTION…Colm Cooper and Kieran Donaghy could return against Down

WE’RE back in action this weekend and as I sit here penning this article, the sun is shining and there is an obvious stretch in the evenings, meaning that championship football is drawing nearer.

Teams will have used the two-week break to further enhance the fitness levels and to sharpen up on their ball-handling and kicking skills, bringing them up to the level expected for the lift in intensity that we are about to witness.

The break in the National League is like a switch for the older, more experienced heads that may have been missing from squads in the early part of the season to return to the fold.
Earlier today I was reading where Eamon Fitzmaurice was quoted as saying that he can call upon the likes of Marc O Se, Kieran Donaghy and ‘The Gooch’ Cooper at the weekend for their must-win clash with Down.

Players playing at this level know when and how they need to peak and you can be assured that all players want two or three strong performances under their belts in the National League before they head back under the radar for the fine-tuning for the Championship.

As a player my aim was always to put three very good personal performances back to back towards the end of the National League. I’m not sure if it was a habit or what, but I just knew I needed to do that to get my head right for the summer.

Early on teams must give youth a chance because every county, regardless of who they are, need to strengthen their squad every season. Those few games at the start offer the ideal situation to blood a few youngsters and see how they react in certain situations when the more established players may be missing.

Depending on how results have gone some managers might be tempted to stay with the young guns and make some of their established players bide their time before they sample some action.
This can at times become hard to manage because now after the break and with the summer creeping ever closer, your established players want game time and it becomes an important task for the manager to handle the situation and ensure he keeps a happy camp.

Now with all teams near full strength and climbing closer to their physical best, we should see things a lot clearer in the coming weeks. Teams will start to practice their systems of play which they intend to use in the Championship and players will be putting their best foot forward with one eye on the summer.

It starts to becomes more apparent which teams might make it through to the latter stages of the summer. After the first two games you could say that only Donegal and Dublin have raised their hands as possible candidates but now with panels around the country getting stronger with players returning I expect another five or six teams to join them in the coming weeks.

Looking at all tables we are in for a cracking few weeks of action, teams we might expect to see at the top end of the table at this stage are lingering around the basement and vice-versa, so we should see some real humdingers on pitches up and down the country as teams scrap for survival.
Another important event takes place this weekend with the annual GAA Congress happening down in Carlow. I would be fairly passionate about all things GAA but to be honest I have no real interest or belief in Congress.

For me looking in, any motion with a bit of sense seems to be ridiculed and thrown out whereas crazy off the wall motions that actually damage our game make it through.

We are the most political non-political organisation in the world and I’m not into all this I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine carry on.

The weekend will be spent talking nonsense to each other in the hotel corridors and bars trying to drum up support for each other’s motions. I have my doubts weather decisions delegates take are actually in the best interest of the genuine GAA man or women so it’s for that reason that I’ll focus more on the on pitch action this weekend.
comment@gaeliclife.com