Indo GAA
Roscommon have no fear | Don’t forget about Kerry’s backs | Ulster final preview
13 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey there, we are Indosport with me, John Molloy. We cover sport and we have things like this.
If you ask Arsenal's defenders, Gabriel and Saliba, to play in that PSG team or that Bayern team, they would be exposed as much as those centre-backs were last night. Because effectively, the attackers were on top. Then you ask the question, how many defenders were actually on the pitch last night?
Chapter 2: What did Roscommon's victory in the provincial finals signify?
Because none of the full-backs have no interest in defending. They're like wingers. And I've seen Saliba and Gabriel in an open game in that League Cup semi-final doubleheader against Newcastle last season get torn apart by Izak. I won't have anyone convince me that they can defend in that space.
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Hello and welcome to the IndoGA podcast after what was an unbelievable weekend of provincial final action. The Rossies rejoiced in the Hyde and Kerry are still the kings, you could say the kings of the kingdom, the kings of Munster anyway. Pat, it kind of, Sunday kind of...
reaffirmed the beauty of provincial finals isn't it a packed crowd down in Fitzgerald Stadium a packed hide as well and unbelievable scenes particularly after the Connacht final what was probably one of the great Connacht finals as well I've been for many many years and sometimes I've been alone Vice I've always been a
a supporter of the provincial championships and the need for the provincial championships to be always retained, to be part of the pathway to all Ireland's glory. And why? Because I see the provincial championships offering something which the open draw, the Sam McGuire format doesn't give. And that is...
the clash, the local rivalry, the clash of neighbouring counties, which the provincial championships offer. And this year, we've seen the joy and the euphoria of supporters getting one over their neighbouring county. And I was in Markievicz Park when Leitrim beat Sligo for a rare championship victory in Connacht.
And just the scenes of jubilation and joy and emotion on the field in Markievicz that day was absolutely brilliant. I saw... like Westmead getting a rare victory over, over meat. We talked about it last week with Diggs County, Monon, just the sheer joy and the euphoria and the happiness of the Monon supporters with their players on, in the athletic grounds that Saturday evening. And just like,
Nothing could match the thousands of Roscommon supporters on the field, in the high glass on this, celebrating the emotion, the happiness. Like it was just absolutely brilliant. And the provincial champs of this year, have delivered. And you just rightly pointed out, 32,000 in Killarney. It was like the old times. Do you know, the good old days of Kerry Cash's 32,000. The town was rocking.
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Chapter 3: How did Kerry's performance impact their championship outlook?
a full house in the high 22,000 people, another full house in Clonis next Sunday, probably 50,000 in Croke Park with Westmead supporters heading to Croke Park looking for that second victory. If there is... A damper I have to put in it.
I just felt... I don't think we talked about it last week, but the timing of the draw for the Sam Maguire before the provincial finals had taken place was just... I think it distracted from the provincial finals. It certainly devalued, I think, in a way, some of the provincial finals, certainly from a point of view of Kerry. I would have seen Kerry...
knowing that Donegal are coming down the road in two weeks' time, it's certainly... They would have taken their eyes slightly off the ball because I know a little Dickie Burke told me that some of the star players who were out injured, if that was Donegal last Sunday, they were available. So he held them in reserve. But like... I just think two things about it. OK, so I took from it.
Let's make the draw for the Sam McGuire after the provincial finals have been decided. But there's two things about the provincial finals. I just feel that the winners of a provincial title should be rewarded more than the losers. But at the moment, the six, the eight teams in the provincial final are going to get home advantage for. And that is it. That's number one.
The second thing I see a problem with is that the provincial finalists are at a disadvantage because the losers, the team coming in from the losing round, have extra weeks to prepare and focus on their opposition. So you take Jim McGuinness. Jim McGuinness must be laughing all the way to the whatever because he's had three weeks exclusively to focus in on a game plan to beat Kerry.
It'll be tomorrow night. It'll be Wednesday night when Jack will get around to thinking about Donegal. So, look, the provincial champs was absolutely brilliant. And you're right. And just finally, that comic final, the best match of the year today. Really brilliant.
Just on the provincial draws, we actually briefly discussed them last week and then Dick jumped in and we didn't get back to discussing this. Typical, you know, Monaghan man there jumping in, causing trouble. But I do agree. And I agree from the point of view of, I think the character, like,
I think the Kerry lads in particular should have been able to go, have their few pints and wake up on Monday morning and find out who they're playing. And I just don't... And you are actually offering the vanquished an advantage in that Jim McGuinness and the boys, if there was one of...
you know one of how many ever teams they could have played they wouldn't have been down in Kerry looking at Kerry they would have been having eyes in different places and watching games on TV or whatever but they're actually able to get one up on Kerry as in they've seen Kerry in the flesh and they're obviously going to be fresher and probably better prepared for Kerry than Kerry are going to be for them but just on the provincial finals Dick in particular up in the Hyde like just unbridled joy afterwards and like what a finale what a final few minutes from Roscommon as well
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of the new Sam Maguire draw timing?
And the space that you have to go into in the modern game as well.
Oh my God, and they're backing themselves. We talked here about Galway, one of their strengths is their defence and their ability for their man markers to sort of tag the threats that are coming. conceded 321. Like, you know, we're breaking records here, left, right and centred.
I'd be surprised if that Galway group with Porrick Joyce has conceded that in Championship football in his five years or anywhere close to it. But such was the, I suppose, the positivity. Now, I've said it here several times, the bloody wind in the hay, like how many games do we watch?
Like it is, you can't underestimate it, having been there several times, how big an impact it plays on the dynamic of the game. Like you've seen where Scummon chose to play against it in the first half. And that's sort of, I always sort of find it a wee bit bizarre as well, like that a toss doesn't be taken a wee bit sooner before the throw in. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
It's a massive decision for a management team to make or a captain to make.
Yeah.
In terms of the positioning of players, who do you play? Because I'd be touching on Pat a few times, especially in the winter games. Like, you know, the game, when there's a heavy wind, it shouldn't almost be broken up into quarters because it just sets the whole tone for the game and the strategy.
But like, you literally have to, you've got a couple of minutes, if even, to do anything with that decision. And it's, you could see Roscoe or Galway in the first half, they were almost playing a two-pointer game. Yes, they hit one ball long and they got a goal. But after that, it was like, we're going to, we're going to,
go for two pointers and they got some not enough but did that compromise their overall attacking play because they looked a bit one dimensional albeit this got enough it was felt going into the half time they hadn't scored more whereas Roscommon sort of Well, maybe they had to say they looked like they had a plan because they won the toss, obviously, and they decided to go with it.
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Chapter 5: How are Galway's chances perceived after the Connacht final?
We're going to talk about Kerry's panel in a minute. Like, look at Roscommon's panel. Like, they have everything that they need. They have boys on form and fit and just loving their football. Like, look at Roscommon with their own three provincial titles.
Yeah.
There's a wind in their sails that there'll be a damn good team to stop it at this stage.
You have to admire Russ Common because I was just looking at the stats. I mean, they're a county who most definitely punch above their weight. They have a population of just over 70,000. There's only six counties with a smaller population in Ireland. That's remarkable in itself. And they're just after putting three provincial titles together, under 17, under 20 and senior.
They're a county that has only 28 football clubs. Think about it, 28 football clubs. And I read somewhere this week that outside of three of those, 25 of the 28 clubs have provided a player... Colin Keyes had that. ...a player to senior under 20 and under 17, which is absolutely remarkable. But the other great thing about it is they implied...
a local manager, Mark Dowd, a guy who was very, very, very familiar with the club scene. And it was very interesting. I read an article, an interview with him last week, and he was talking about the type of player he went around the county looking for and what was the attribute he needed.
And he said, in particular, talking about the forwards of Roscommon, he said the Roscommon forward play in the past was a shoot and sight policy. That was the key. Whereas he was looking for what Dick mentioned a couple of minutes ago, pace. And this is what he has introduced, the pace of that Roscommon team, the Heenan's and Neary and all of them.
Their direct running, their support play in numbers, their quick hands. That was the key. So they didn't have, like, that was number one, the pace. But you also, a lot of these, this is a young team, a lot of the older fellas are gone. But with a young team comes innocence. But with innocence, sometimes young lads have belief. Young lads have no fear.
This Roscommon team had no fear playing Galway in the Hyde last week. And they showed it from the very start by being brave, by opting to play against the wind in the first half because they knew with their pace and their direct running that they were going to reap rewards. And they did. They got the three goals.
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Chapter 6: What tactical changes did Roscommon implement against Galway?
I probably think they are. Can Galway win and all that? I'm not ruling them out. You know, I think... getting Shane Walsh back to form, getting Damien Comer back to form. The best 15, I think they're close to knowing who their best 15 is. Right, McDade went off injured and Rob Finnerty, but they had 13 of their top 15 on at the end of the game.
I thought the one, I thought their selection at the start was strange. And I thought one player in particular, his absence, I said, hmm, I'm not too sure it is. They'll replace John Daly with Kieran Molloy. And John Daly is the rock that keeps the centre of defence. And what happens? That centre of defence was opened up by Roscommon running through.
And it was only until the 50th minute that John Daly was introduced. But look, credit to Roscommon. Absolutely, absolutely brilliant, brilliant, brilliant performance. And, you know, at the end of the game, we talked about the wind and you mentioned the wind, but at the same time, with eight minutes to go, despite playing against the wind in the second half, Galway were six points up.
Now, you have to admire the game management, the composure, the belief. And I thought in the latter stages, obviously, the subs that they introduced had a huge impact. That was number one. But secondly, their leaders, who were only anonymous for times during the game, Dermot Murtaugh and Inder Smith. I thought in the latter, those last couple of minutes, they showed leadership.
But to come from six points down,
to score eight points without reply and win a correct title ah Jesus it was absolutely it was absolutely brilliant Dick just on Mark Dowd like talk about understated as well like I'd say if you show this picture to you know a neutral GA fan they might probably not even Because he doesn't really want to be front and centre. He doesn't crave that attention.
But he has knitted the whole thing together beautifully. And we all... I don't think it's a lazy narrative because it has happened over the years where they've had a good Division 1 campaign and they've fallen off a cliff a bit. Now, it remains to be seen whether they can keep to the level they're at and find another gear. But he's so understated and...
Like what he's delivered already within, you know, six, seven months of taking over. And he's a native, obviously. They haven't really, you know, it's usually been outsiders, be it Anthony Cunningham, Davey Burke, John Evans, even thinking probably going back to Fergie O'Donnell is one of the last kind of natives that they had. But he's knitted the thing together beautifully.
And maybe that innate knowledge of the club scene, he was managing on the club scene only last year. He was managing against all these lads. A lot of them, he knows them inside out. Like, He's done it, he's done it beautifully in an understated type of a way.
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Chapter 7: What challenges do Kerry face with their player injuries?
Yeah, and listen, there's an awful lot of parallels. We'll talk about the Ulster final in a minute and like... We're not mentioning that today at all. You know, but no, we're not going to cover that. But like, for Scotland, like Monaghan and other counties that make the best out of what they have, you know, they don't go cribbing and crying, they don't sort of pay the poor mouth and blame...
you know look at the big cities and the populations they just get on with it they coach right they get the best out of the clubs that they have and they pull resources where they can they're not precious about you have to be from a senior club which does happen in some counties and you know that pat not too far from from yourself if you're a cork junior footballer you may give up any chance of probably playing a senior inter-county football where you go into counties like roscommon doesn't matter if you're good enough you get your opportunity
And you'd be pulled in. And that's why they've been able to build that success that they have right across the board. And I suppose as well, there's an element of the new rules you feel has definitely suited them. Like other counties that have sort of come up that struggled. Mead would be an example, albeit bar their recent sort of mishap. Like players like Enda Smith, Jermud Morta.
If you were to ask me two or three years ago, would Jermert Morta still even be playing for a scum and never mind at the level? He's one of the top five, ten forwards in the country now. He's got a second win with the rules. He's really enjoying his football as is Enda Smith. And now they're nipping these young lads like Dara Heenehan into him. I was watching young Heenehan.
If you look at that, when you talk about that sort of naivety or just sort of carefree attitude, Pat, like that first goal, the guy's coaching the young lads under 12s and be sort of trying to say, make sure the first thing you do when you get the ball, it's two-touch football, obviously, don't waste your touch. You know, take your four or five or I'd say five or six steps and gain ground.
He got the ball in the 45. He took one touch. He must have ran about seven or eight steps, took a bounce and shot him back. That's just any underage coach or any young fellow should be watching him. That's how you gain ground with the best use of your touches.
The beauty of his two goals was the finish because the finish was so, it was passed into the goal. It wasn't blasting it. There was no power.
It was Gooch Lake in passing into the ball, yeah. huge Peter Caravan that passing the ball into the goal and as well as a counter like how many times have we seen it and we'll talk about Armand in a minute if you're in that situation, boys fisting it over the bar. That's why a bloody fisted point should be nearly banned because we're depriving ourselves of goals like that. Yeah, you're right.
I mean, I was actually thinking about that when David Clifford got the ball on the inline and I was saying, nine players out of ten coming in from the angle there would be. Narrow angle, player in front, goalie marking. Ah, we'd punch it over the back.
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Chapter 8: How does the Ulster final preview reflect on team dynamics?
If you get a chance to see the full... Sorry, you wouldn't see it. It's off the board. Prior to the goal, he made three runs. Three runs. But it was only the third run that Tony Brosnan had a lovely weight at best. But it was the brilliance about it. Coming in along the line, taking the bounce.
Just on that pass. I forget who had it on line now, but they made the point and it was 100% right. He actually took the pass on the second bounce when he was at top speed. He could have taken on the first bounce, but he took on the second bounce at top speed.
But like he had nothing. And this is the point we're saying about the fellas who are going for the easy option. and saying, well, you keep the scoreboard ticking. But, like, little Fowers, we said it before, they're looking, they're going for the juggler. If they spot half an opportunity, they're going for a goal.
And, like, he took the goalie out with a lovely dummy, sort of, and he scored a brilliant goal. And, like, there was nothing in his head from the time he got the ball but that he was going for a goal.
Yeah, just... Dick on Galway so you kind of both have said that they both come out of the game with credit and Pádraig Joyce has said it and even Ciarán McGeaney has said it he said it to me and a few of the other journalists after the semi-final the provincial is big
the bigger trophy is bigger and Padraig Joyce essentially said that their eyes are on the bigger prize and with Walsh coming back more game time with Comer coming back more game time you'd imagine he has it pretty much where he wants it going into the All-Ireland stages
He does. I don't know if we're going to spend any time or have enough time about the new structure and how All-Ireland is now compromising the provincials. But yet, on the other hand, we're talking about the importance of provincials because it's all a bit mixed up at the minute. So Pádraig Joyce probably has to take the good out of it in a post-match interview.
He'd have obviously loved to have won that game because they're games that you sort of remember as the event in itself and it's a marker in your CV and all the rest. So he'd be disappointed he lost the game. He'd be looking at...
you know 321 albeit with the positives that he got what nine points of Shane Walsh and one two of Comer plus a few threes so that's a good return of two boys who wasn't that long ago Mike and Pat we're sitting here for all intents and purposes sort of these boys aren't going to be featuring so there's two massive assets back in his challenge will be now sort of knowing when to play these boys is Comer going to be an impact sub as opposed to as a 70 minutes guy probably and that's the sort of yeah that's that's the strategy that that's
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