Hi all, hope you are all keeping safe and well especially with lockdown restrictions in Melbourne recently. I’ve been paying attention to Melbourne’s trade activity these past few days and delighted to see so many players have signed on for another season or two and looking forward to seeing the new recruits in action too. That includes Sinead & Lauren coming back for season three and two respectively. No surprises with either of them, I had little doubt they’d be returning. 

 

This is slightly off the topic of AFLW and some of you may be interested, others less so. Lauren & Niamh have returned to playing with the Dublin Senior Ladies Team in the past three weeks. They’ve played three games so far with three wins. Their next game is a semi final to be played on Saturday June 12th. I’ve attached links for their previous three games if anyone is interested in watching them back. 

 

The second and third games are shown here on the TG4 channel which has Irish commentary only so you’ll have to make it up yourself. This competition is the league so it’s not the main championship, that comes in a few weeks. However the density of this season makes every game very important. 

 

I would highly recommend watching the second game vs Cork, it was a cracking match. 

 

Lauren & Niamh have featured in each game so far, Goldie still recovering from her hamstring injury. 
 

Round 1 vs Waterford: 

How to get Round 2 vs Cork and Round 3 vs Tipperary.

- Google TG4 Player. tg4.ie is the right one. 

- Click main menu in top right hand corner and make sure setting is on English. 

- Click the watch arrow in the main menu, then press sport. 

- Scroll down to find the tab “Peil na mBan Beo”. It means Live Ladies Football. The photo at the moment is of Niamh McEvoy kicking a ball so that’s a giveaway. 

- Round 3 is down as Tiobraid Arann v Ath Cliath. (Tipperary v Dublin) S 21 Ep 4.

- Round 2 is down as Corcaigh v Ath Cliath. S 21 Ep 3
 

 

Awesome @gaelicfootballfan- thank you!

Loving this!

But 'Ladies'? What's the story there, GFF?

On 6/10/2021 at 10:10 PM, gaelicfootballfan said:

 

Hi all, hope you are all keeping safe and well especially with lockdown restrictions in Melbourne recently. I’ve been paying attention to Melbourne’s trade activity these past few days and delighted to see so many players have signed on for another season or two and looking forward to seeing the new recruits in action too. That includes Sinead & Lauren coming back for season three and two respectively. No surprises with either of them, I had little doubt they’d be returning. 

 

This is slightly off the topic of AFLW and some of you may be interested, others less so. Lauren & Niamh have returned to playing with the Dublin Senior Ladies Team in the past three weeks. They’ve played three games so far with three wins. Their next game is a semi final to be played on Saturday June 12th. I’ve attached links for their previous three games if anyone is interested in watching them back. 

 

The second and third games are shown here on the TG4 channel which has Irish commentary only so you’ll have to make it up yourself. This competition is the league so it’s not the main championship, that comes in a few weeks. However the density of this season makes every game very important. 

 

I would highly recommend watching the second game vs Cork, it was a cracking match. 

 

Lauren & Niamh have featured in each game so far, Goldie still recovering from her hamstring injury. 
 

Round 1 vs Waterford: 

How to get Round 2 vs Cork and Round 3 vs Tipperary.

- Google TG4 Player. tg4.ie is the right one. 

- Click main menu in top right hand corner and make sure setting is on English. 

- Click the watch arrow in the main menu, then press sport. 

- Scroll down to find the tab “Peil na mBan Beo”. It means Live Ladies Football. The photo at the moment is of Niamh McEvoy kicking a ball so that’s a giveaway. 

- Round 3 is down as Tiobraid Arann v Ath Cliath. (Tipperary v Dublin) S 21 Ep 4.

- Round 2 is down as Corcaigh v Ath Cliath. S 21 Ep 3
 

 

Is Goldrick back training yet? Must have been a bad hamstring tear to keep her out this long. Do you mind keeping us up to date on her progress?

Niamh Hetherington looks a player. Her power and physicality would translate well to the AFLW

Edited June 11, 20213 yr by Better days ahead

7 hours ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Loving this!

But 'Ladies'? What's the story there, GFF?

The association that runs the game over there is the Ladies Gaelic football Association (LGFA). The association has been around for a while and I think the intention at the time it was set-up was for the game played by the “Ladies” to be more refined than the male equivalent. The players were expected to comport themselves in manner befitting a lady. An old fashioned idea to contemporary eyes I know, but the younger generation don’t seem too bothered. Perhaps @gaelicfootballfan has a more informed view but i don't believe the players care too much whether it's referred to as Ladies or Womens.

On 6/11/2021 at 2:32 PM, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Loving this!

But 'Ladies'? What's the story there, GFF?

Funny you mention it. I’ve never really thought about it I’m so used to calling it ladies football. 

Here soccer would be referred to as Women’s soccer or Women’s football. So if you say Ladies it’s clear you’re discussing Gaelic football and not soccer. You would never associate women’s with Gaelic football, it has always been Ladies. 
 

The organisation itself was founded in 1974 and the game has roots way further back, I suppose they used Ladies as that was more commonplace back then. 

Edited June 12, 20213 yr by gaelicfootballfan

On 6/11/2021 at 10:08 PM, Better days ahead said:

Is Goldrick back training yet? Must have been a bad hamstring tear to keep her out this long. Do you mind keeping us up to date on her progress?

Niamh Hetherington looks a player. Her power and physicality would translate well to the AFLW

Goldrick isn’t home long. Two weeks at most. She did get an op on her hamstring but I never heard a definite length of recovery time and I have no idea what sort of training if any she is doing at the moment. She is definitely involved with Dublin this year though as she was named in the extended panel this weekend. Although she will struggle to have a big impact if she isn’t fit in the next month but I’ll certainly post if and when I hear anything.
 

Hetherton would be suited to AFLW definitely. Tall and strong, good hands, decent in the air. Only 20/21 too. Hannah Tyrell would also be impressive, she recently retired from the Irish Women’s Rugby team but she’s in her 30s so can’t imagine she’ll ever go down. 

National League Semi Final 

Dublin v Mayo, played Saturday evening. 
Comprehensive win for the Dubs playing well within themselves. First time having crowds at games since early March 2020 with a whopping 200 allowed in to watch. 
National League final in two weeks time vs Cork. This is a trial government event for the return of spectators to sporting events so I’m hoping to get tickets. 

Lauren Magee started the game and Niamh McEvoy came on as a substitute. 

I checked out the game against Cork - thanks for sharing, very enjoyable and a bit of nail-biter! Dublin are clearly a well-drilled team that's able to find another gear when challenged. Was fun to watch 'our' girls in their natural element as well. McEvoy, when she came on, seemed to be a bit of an organiser of the play behind the ball, leading an (almost ill-fated!) attempt to suck some time out of the game. Interestingly, Magee's speed really stood out to me among what is obviously a speedy bunch of players. She has so much up-side for Aussie Rules with a bit more time getting used to the game. There was another player who stood out to me as having great potential, but her name escapes me right now - I'll try to pick her out next game I watch!

One question - where exactly is the line with a legal tackle? It seems like a player can be sort-of grabbed once but if they go in again it's a penalty? But then other times that's allowed.

7 hours ago, Dees_In_October said:

I checked out the game against Cork - thanks for sharing, very enjoyable and a bit of nail-biter! Dublin are clearly a well-drilled team that's able to find another gear when challenged. Was fun to watch 'our' girls in their natural element as well. McEvoy, when she came on, seemed to be a bit of an organiser of the play behind the ball, leading an (almost ill-fated!) attempt to suck some time out of the game. Interestingly, Magee's speed really stood out to me among what is obviously a speedy bunch of players. She has so much up-side for Aussie Rules with a bit more time getting used to the game. There was another player who stood out to me as having great potential, but her name escapes me right now - I'll try to pick her out next game I watch!

One question - where exactly is the line with a legal tackle? It seems like a player can be sort-of grabbed once but if they go in again it's a penalty? But then other times that's allowed.

The tackle is often a source of confusion and contention for players, managers and referees. The game is supposedly non contact by the letter of the law although it is far from it in practice. 

A player cannot drag the ball from the arms of an opponent, shoulder or impede the opposition from going forward with the ball amongst other fouls. If the player has the ball in arm or into their body they can’t be dispossessed.To dispossess an opponent it must be a clean tackle of the ball when the player is soloing the ball (the kick to self whilst running) or hopping the ball (the bounce to self whilst running). Dublin do this very well as it’s a difficult skill to cleanly tackle. Essentially you play the ball not the player. 

However the advances in S&C and physicality of players led by Dublin and other high quality teams means that a certain element of physicality is allowed in the tackle or else the whistle would be going non stop. Ultimately though it is at the discretion of the particular referee on the day and their interpretation of the rule which can be an issue and one in Men’s football too.  
 

We do have an advantage rule that lasts for five seconds. That might be what you mean when you mention being grabbed twice. If the player remains in possession of the ball after being fouled the ref will allow 5 seconds to see if the team in possession can create an advantage. If not the initial free is awarded. So player gets fouled but still has ball in hand, 3 seconds later gets fouled again so goes back to the position of the first free. Advantage is indicated by the arm of the referee pointed in the direction of the attacking team. 

I can imagine it’d be difficult to pick up on things whilst listening to commentary in a different language. Still it’s very interesting to read a different perspective of the game from people who are less familiar with it. 

On 6/21/2021 at 2:02 AM, gaelicfootballfan said:

The tackle is often a source of confusion and contention for players, managers and referees. The game is supposedly non contact by the letter of the law although it is far from it in practice. 

A player cannot drag the ball from the arms of an opponent, shoulder or impede the opposition from going forward with the ball amongst other fouls. If the player has the ball in arm or into their body they can’t be dispossessed.To dispossess an opponent it must be a clean tackle of the ball when the player is soloing the ball (the kick to self whilst running) or hopping the ball (the bounce to self whilst running). Dublin do this very well as it’s a difficult skill to cleanly tackle. Essentially you play the ball not the player. 

However the advances in S&C and physicality of players led by Dublin and other high quality teams means that a certain element of physicality is allowed in the tackle or else the whistle would be going non stop. Ultimately though it is at the discretion of the particular referee on the day and their interpretation of the rule which can be an issue and one in Men’s football too.  
 

We do have an advantage rule that lasts for five seconds. That might be what you mean when you mention being grabbed twice. If the player remains in possession of the ball after being fouled the ref will allow 5 seconds to see if the team in possession can create an advantage. If not the initial free is awarded. So player gets fouled but still has ball in hand, 3 seconds later gets fouled again so goes back to the position of the first free. Advantage is indicated by the arm of the referee pointed in the direction of the attacking team. 

I can imagine it’d be difficult to pick up on things whilst listening to commentary in a different language. Still it’s very interesting to read a different perspective of the game from people who are less familiar with it. 

Thanks for your detailed reply! That does clarify things for me, especially in terms of it being about not impeding the player going forward with contact. I can definitely see that now. I appreciate how they use their footwork to corral the opponent and restrict their movement - a useful but maybe somewhat under-developed skill in Aussie Rules.

I did get the sense that they are allowed to push the physicality to a certain extent, but it's very hard to see the line when you don't really know the original rules! And yes, I think the 5 second advantage was what I was picking up with the 'double tackles' and why that seemed to slow the play sometimes but not others. I watched the Tipperary game on the weekend and saw some great examples of Dublin dispossessing the opposition while they were soloing. It's all in the timing, I guess.

As for the language, I still keep it on because it's quite soothing to listen to and it helps with picking up players' names. Also funny to think that not too many generations back in my family they'd have been able to understand!

Will try to catch up with the rest of the games at some point. Hopefully more victories to come for Dublin.

On Saturday last Dublin won only their second ever National Football Division 1 League title. The league is the secondary competition but Covid means that it’s a lot closer to championship than it usually would be. 
 

Dublin beat old rivals Cork in the final. Played in our national stadium Croke Park and used as one of the trial events to introduce spectators back to sport. Lauren Magee started the game but didn’t finish it due to be yellow carded and sent to the sin bin. Niamh McEvoy was introduced as a substitute and instrumental in Dublins second goal. Sinead Goldrick did not feature or make it onto the match day panel but came onto the pitch for celebrations and can be seen in team photographs afterwards. 
 

To watch the game:  

- google tg4 player, tg4.ie

- press main menu, English setting 

- watch, sport

- peil na mban beo, S21 Ep8, Ath Cliath v Corcaigh. 
 

The Dublin panel. 

Magee singing the National Anthem pre game. 
Fans back in Croke Park

Edited June 29, 20213 yr by gaelicfootballfan

A return for Sinead Goldrick to a Dublin panel for the first time in 2021. Dublin start their championship campaign with a game against Tyrone. I would say it’s unlikely she’ll feature but still good to see her back on a panel. 

Up the Dubs!

Enjoyed the goal-fest against Waterford. They really flicked the switch in that game!

On 6/29/2021 at 7:16 PM, gaelicfootballfan said:

 

 Lauren Magee started the game but didn’t finish it due to be yellow carded and sent to the sin bin.

 

The Dublin panel. 

Magee singing the National Anthem pre game.
Fans back in Croke Park

Love it!  Hope to see you back soon Speccie!!

Up the Dubs,

originally from the Tallaght/Crumlin areas as a child

Two wins from two for the Dubs in their championship group games. Attached below are the links to the games and commentary is in English these times around ? might help keep up with some of the rules. McEvoy and Magee featured in both, Goldrick hasn’t played yet. A quarter final awaits. 
 

 

On 7/20/2021 at 5:39 AM, Pennant St Dee said:

Up the Dubs,

originally from the Tallaght/Crumlin areas as a child

Very interesting! Two Dubs from Tallaght (Thomas Davis is the club name), Siobhan McGrath and Olwen Carey are big players and both excellent. 

5 hours ago, gaelicfootballfan said:

Very interesting! Two Dubs from Tallaght (Thomas Davis is the club name), Siobhan McGrath and Olwen Carey are big players and both excellent. 

I played for Davis’s when I was back in Ireland for a stint in 90s. There’s a lot of GAA clubs in Tallaght Davis’s and St Anne’s probably the two big ones and just down the road in Knocklyon is Ballyboden St Endas where the great Jimmy Stynes started.

My wife was very good friends with a lad who grew up around the corner from her in Kilnamanagh. He is an ex Dublin Senior footballer from the early 2000s, Darren Homan who played for St Kevins 

8 hours ago, gaelicfootballfan said:

Two wins from two for the Dubs in their championship group games. Attached below are the links to the games and commentary is in English these times around ? might help keep up with some of the rules. McEvoy and Magee featured in both, Goldrick hasn’t played yet. A quarter final awaits. 
 

 

Thanks for posting! Will check it out at some stage.

Is it likely that Goldie will make an appearance if Dublin go deeper into the finals? She's had such a long layoff, is she an immediate inclusion or does it depend a bit on match-ups and circumstances?

On 7/22/2021 at 6:43 AM, Dees_In_October said:

Thanks for posting! Will check it out at some stage.

Is it likely that Goldie will make an appearance if Dublin go deeper into the finals? She's had such a long layoff, is she an immediate inclusion or does it depend a bit on match-ups and circumstances?

I believe the simple answer is no. She has been named on match day panels recently but never actually togged out and was never available for selection. I do not expect to see her this year even if she does tog out. A brilliant player but Dublin are in the position where they don’t have to take the risk of playing her and it wouldn’t be right to the other players. 

On 7/22/2021 at 3:39 AM, Pennant St Dee said:

I played for Davis’s when I was back in Ireland for a stint in 90s. There’s a lot of GAA clubs in Tallaght Davis’s and St Anne’s probably the two big ones and just down the road in Knocklyon is Ballyboden St Endas where the great Jimmy Stynes started.

My wife was very good friends with a lad who grew up around the corner from her in Kilnamanagh. He is an ex Dublin Senior footballer from the early 2000s, Darren Homan who played for St Kevins 

Homan would have played for Dublin alongside Johnny and Darren Magee, Lauren’s dad and uncle. 

9 hours ago, gaelicfootballfan said:

Homan would have played for Dublin alongside Johnny and Darren Magee, Lauren’s dad and uncle. 

Darren is a fireman now, last I heard

Slightly off topic, but I fondly recall landing in Dublin in 2003 en route to Wexford amid a serious hurling final, where a bloke by the name of Carey dominated. Fell in love with the game on the spot - and brought some hurls (the Wexford term) and a slither home - believing that hurling was somehow more closely related to AFL than Gaelic footy . . .