Month: September 2021

Colm Cooper lining out for Crokes in 2018.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

KERRY GAA LEGEND Colm Cooper will be part of the Dr Crokes senior football management team for 2021, the club has confirmed.

“Dr Crokes are pleased to announce that Colm Cooper will be joining our senior management team for 2021,” the Killarney outfit wrote on social media this evening.

“Wishing manager Edmund, Eoin, Jamie and Colm every success.”

Dr. Crokes are pleased to announce that Colm Cooper will be joining our senior management team for 2021. Wishing manager Edmund Eoin Jamie and Colm every success.

— Dr. Crokes GAA (@DrCrokesGAA) March 10, 2021

Gooch will work under the watchful eye of Edmund O’Sullivan, 2021 the manager’s third year in charge.

The Irish Examiner reported earlier that the former Kingdom ace will “serve as a selector for the season ahead and is likely to assist with the coaching duties”.

38-year-old Cooper finished up playing senior football for Crokes after their 2019 All-Ireland club final defeat to Corofin — he retired from inter-county duty in 2017, with four All-Ireland senior medals and eight All-Stars to his name.

Crokes completed the Kerry SFC three-in-a-row in 2018, but lost out to East Kerry in the 2019 final and Mid Kerry in their 2020 semi-final.

Click Here: adelaide crows guernsey

FORMER DUBLIN GOALKEEPER Cliodhna O’Connor has joined Mick Bohan’s backroom team as the county chase a fifth successive All-Ireland Ladies football crown this year.

O’Connor has worked with Cuala and Dublin hurlers under Mattie Kenny as athletic performance coach in recent years.

She operated in the same capacity with the Ireland women’s hockey U23 and U21 sides, while also working as head of athletic development with her club Naomh Mearnóg.

O’Connor’s playing career with Dublin, where she served as number one between 2002 and 2014, saw her win two All-Stars and one All-Ireland title, while she played in a further four All-Ireland finals.

The former Sky Blues captain is credited by many in the LGFA as revolutionising how goalkeepers trained. She has worked with the LGFA in Croke Park on a number of coaching initiatives.

In addition to her practical experience, O’Connor has a Masters in Strength and Conditioning from St Mary’s University in Twickenham. She is currently undertaking a PhD in elite performance sport at Dublin City University.

Click Here: France Rugby Jersey

O’Connor recently appeared on How To Win At Dominoes with Shane Keegan, The42‘s coaching podcast.

Updated Mar 11th 2021, 3:11 PM

DUBLIN CAMOGIE STAR Ali Twomey has spoken about the ongoing challenges she and her team-mates face to play for their county.

Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE

Twomey, who is heading into her 11th season with the Dubs, says there are still issues regarding travel expenses and reveals that she spends up to €100 per month on tolls to attend training.

She also says that food isn’t always available after training, while training gear is not provided to players every year.

“I can’t say it’s great, to be honest,” Twomey says when asked if she has noticed any improvements for players in recent years. She was speaking as part of a wider conversation about the recent merger between the WGPA and the GPA and her hopes of seeing a level playing field in the future that is comparable to what the GAA provides for its players.

“Still we don’t get any expenses for going to training. We don’t always get food after training. We got gear last year but before that, but the year before I don’t think we got much. What you see the lads getting and what we get, there is still a huge difference.

“Girls are starting to put their foot down. In terms of expenses, I’ve been paying €90 – €100 a month in tolls just to go training, before Covid. That’s without petrol or buying food for meal prep or all the other expenses that go with it.

” It is a very expensive hobby, and when you compare it to the lads, it is very disheartening.”

After more than a decade of service to the Dublin jersey, Twomey admits that it’s difficult to remain committed to the cause when the sport is still lacking in these essential areas.

The challenge is heightened all the more for Dublin, given the management upheavals that have occurred in recent times.

Current boss Adrian O’Sullivan is the fourth manager to take charge of the side since David Herity’s departure in 2018. Former Mayo Ladies manager Frank Browne was at the helm for a year before being replaced by John Treacy and Willie Braine in 2019.

The pair stepped down last October after a reported dispute with county board officials over positive Covid-19 cases in the squad. Dublin intermediate boss David Dunning stepped in to replace the duo before O’Sullivan’s appointment was announced back in January.

Adrian O’Sullivan [file photo].

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

“To be honest, as time goes on, it is tough to stay motivated,” says Twomey whose Dublin side bowed out of the All-Ireland senior championship at the group stage last year.

“Obviously you do get times where you’re low on motivation, or you get years where you say, ‘Oh, I can’t go back, it’s too much commitment.’ But, at the end of the day, you just love the sport; you want to play; and that’s what always brings me back, that I just absolutely love playing and it’s all I want to do.

“It is hard to keep motivated, to keep really upbeat about the situation when you do see what the lads are getting compared to what we’re getting. But that’s kind of out of our hands, as such. It’s something that … higher up something needs to be done, there needs to be more respect for what we do as players and as people.

“I think that’s something that is up to higher up to sort out – it’s not really in our hands.”

Click Here: soccer jerseys

The team have yet to meet O’Sullivan and his management team in person due to the restrictions. It’s certainly unusual to be communicating exclusively on video calls, with Twomey also pointing out that this is how everyone is meeting the new members of the panel.

But she insists that having a consistent management unit in place is key for Dublin heading into the 2021 season.

“That’s something we have brought up as a team. We do need settled management in terms of being able to gel as a team and to grow. The last time we had management for longer than two years, we got to a semi-final, so it shows that there is potential there when there is structure in place and we do have time to grow. So it is really hard to grow as a team when there is chopping and changing.

“Not only does the management change, but the panel and the team and the set-up and the game-plans, everything changes with it. It’s like starting from scratch all over again.”

Ali Twomey was speaking at the launch of the new virtual AIG Health Plus portal which offers free membership at www.aig.ie/dubgym for all Dublin GAA club players and members to a unique physiotherapy-led fitness and health online resource that includes virtual gym membership.

PHYSIO AND FORMER Dublin hurler Joey Boland says he noticed an increase in the number of injuries at inter-county level last year, due to the condensed nature of the GAA season.

Former Dublin hurler Joey Boland.

Source: Harry Murphy/SPORTSFILE

The Covid-19 pandemic caused huge disruption to the hurling and football campaigns in 2020, forcing a shutdown that resulted in a major fixture revamp.

Club competitions were played off first when the season restarted and was followed by inter-county games between October and December.

Boland, whose company Sports Physio Ireland is based in Dublin, says that the tight timeframe of last season caused a spike in injury cases.

“Yeah, especially the inter-county season last year, there were a lot of players taking painkillers and playing through because it was such a short period,” he says as the GAA faces into another season of interruptions in 2021.

“You really couldn’t afford to be sitting out with a sore hip or a sore groin or anything like that, especially in the mini pre-seasons.

“With the club as well, there was just no time to periodise your training at all or look after yourself so there was a big increase in injuries. But they mightn’t have been reported.”

Inter-county GAA is permitted to proceed when restrictions are lessened to Level 4 with a four-week pre-season expected before games take place. Boland accepts that the pandemic will dictate the GAA’s fixture planning, but feels that a month of preparation is “too short.”

He believes that an eight-week period is more preferable to give players a proper chance to match-fit and avoid injuries.

Remarking on the kind of injuries that he saw most frequently in players last year, Boland added:

“Hamstrings would definitely be number one because that’s all to do with exposure to that tough sprinting when if you’re a corner back and the corner forward has made four or five runs and then maybe a fresh man comes onto you and you have to go again and again and again.

“You can only replicate that in real match situations. So, hamstring and then the second one would be ankles. If you’re used to just jogging in straight lines and you’re just training by yourself, and then suddenly there’s so much more to be thinking about when you’re in an actual match.

“You need your ankles to have had that exposure to that unconscious balance of landing, twisting and turning.”

The sin-bin rule will be introduced in hurling on a trial basis, after a motion proposing new penalties for aggressive and cynical fouls was passed at Congress.

There has been some resistance towards implementing this rule in the past, but Boland welcomes its arrival in the small ball game.

“Only time will tell but whatever they picked, there would always be an argument for another option. I’d be happy enough and am looking forward to seeing how it goes.

“In order to better the game, you have to discourage defenders from hauling players down. So I think it’s a good thing.”

Dublin manager Mattie Kenny.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Boland was part of the Dublin team that captured the 2013 Leinster SHC. Under the guidance of then-manager Anthony Daly, much was expected of the Dubs going forward.

However they failed to capitalise on that potential with periods of progression and regression following in the interim. 

Their 2020 championship consisted of a over Laois before bowing out of the campaign after losing the Leinster semi-final to Kilkenny and a qualifier defeat to Cork.

Boland suggests that Dublin need to unearth more match-winning forwards in order to evolve.

“You need to get a situation where if you’re clearing three or four balls up the pitch, that you do have the forwards, without anybody even knowing it, they’ve got 1-3 or 1-4 and you’re still in the game and then you’re taking the pressure off the defence.

“The best form of defence as far as I can always see was when a forward does something out of the ordinary and catches a ball over two of their defenders and sticks it over and it just gives all our defence a lift so I think that we need possibly one or two more of them.” 

Joey Boland was speaking at the launch the new virtual AIG Health Plus portal which offers free membership at www.aig.ie/dubgym for all Dublin GAA club players and members to a unique physiotherapy-led fitness and health online resource that includes virtual gym membership.

Click Here: cheap adidas women shoes

ON BEHIND THE LINES, we’re lucky enough to chat to some of our favourite sports journalists about their careers and the writing that inspired them.

The podcast series, hosted by Gavin Cooney, is heading for 70 episodes and is shaped by our member-only sportswriting WhatsApp group. 

Involvement is worth it alone for the huge recommended reading list, which Gavin has amassed from his back catalogue of interviews. 

Guests include David Walsh, Jonathan Liew, Diane K Shah, Paul Howard, Rick Reilly, Anna Krien and Jeff Pearlman. You get the idea. 

And the award-winning Wright Thompson of ESPN The Magazine will join us on Tuesday, 16 March for a special locked-down night-before-Patrick’s Day live event.

We’ll chat to The Cost Of These Dreams author about his pieces on Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Leo Messi and Conor McGregor as well as his recent podcast work, books and the writing he loves.

Click Here: Corinthians soccer tracksuit

Source: The42 Podcasts/SoundCloud

Guests will, of course, drive the conversation and we’ll have some nice craft beer to go with it. 

The42 members get access to Behind The Lines as well as Rugby Weekly Extra, How To Win At Dominoes, loads of Insider newsletters, WhatsApp groups, discounts and events.

If you’re already a member, we’ll let you know how you can sign up for the event, otherwise join here: 

CORA STAUNTON STARRED in today’s AFLW action as she scored three goals to help GWS Giants claim success in their Round 7 clash.

Cora Staunton celebrates scoring a goal.

Source: AAP/PA Images

In torrential rain GWS Giants ran out 45-25 winners over St Kilda for a result that is only their third victory of the season.

It was Staunton and her forward colleague Rebecca Privitelli who played crucial roles in scoring three goals apiece for GWS Giants.

Their team scored four goals in the opening quarter alone to lay the foundations for their eventual success while Staunton would score the only goal of the final quarter as GWS Giants maintained their hopes of reaching the finals.

They are now ranked ninth after this win with two rounds to go in the regular season.

Three goals each to Cora Staunton and Bec Privitelli as the Giants kept their finals hopes alive 🟠#AFLWSaintsGiants match report: https://t.co/WK0iywt8Yt pic.twitter.com/T08SqeZQVY

— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) March 13, 2021

Elsewhere there was another successful outing for Melbourne Demons and their Dublin All-Ireland winning crew as they defeated Adelaide Crows 43-15.

Sinead Goldrick and Lauren Magee both featured, contributing six disposals apiece, in a 28-point win for the Demons.

First win together for @Goldieface + @Lauren_MageeR. 😁 #FiredUp pic.twitter.com/IzLOoVRWkV

— Melbourne AFLW (@MelbourneAFLW) March 13, 2021

The win leaves Melbourne in sixth place, tied with a group of sides on 20 points that includes the Crows, as Collingwood lead the way on 24 points.

Today’s other AFLW clash saw North Melbourne run out 37-26 victors against the Western Bulldogs with Mayo’s Aileen Gilroy part of that triumph.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: cheap parramatta eels jersey

TWO-TIME ALL-STAR DEFENDER Sinéad Burke has confirmed that her glittering 14-year inter-county career with Galway has come to an end.

End of an era: Sinéad Burke.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

Having made her senior debut in 2007, the Oughterard native went on to enjoy a glittering individual career with the Tribe, which ultimately culminated in All-Star awards in 2018 and 2019.

@GalwayLgfa& @LadiesFootball thank you for all the memories but more importantly thank you for all the amazing people I’ve met,played with/against along the way. To my family,friends&fiancé who have travelled every corner of the country to support. It was fun while it lasted🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/1sR40G3m3G

— Sinead Burke (@sineady_5) March 13, 2021

Burke was captain of the side in ’13 and ’14, steering them to successive Connacht titles and Division 2 league finals, seeing off Westmeath in the latter decider to seal their return to Division 1.

Galway have dined at the top table in recent years, with Burke central to their success.

Her first All-Star arrived in ’18 after the county won the Connacht title and reached the All-Ireland semi-finals. In ’19, they went one better, reaching the All-Ireland final for the first time since 2005, while that famous semi-final win over Mayo was Burke’s first outing in Croke Park.

Burke with Louise Ward after that win.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Beaten by Dublin in the showpiece, they also reached the Division 1 league final that year.

In 2020, Galway had been frontrunners for the league crown before the Covid-19 pandemic shut Gaelic games down. Upon their return to championship action in the autumn, they beat Tipperary and Monaghan by one point each to seal their progression to the semi-final.

That one is remembered for all the wrong reasons after the late venue change and off-field controversy but it ultimately ended in a Cork victory, unfortunately, and came as Burke’s final appearance in maroon.

Click Here: wests tigers jersey

“She deserved better and for her career to finish like that was terrible,” former manager Tim Rabbitt told The Connacht Tribune recently.

“It was a bad experience for all involved with Galway ladies football.”

Burke and Mairead Seoighe following that deflating All-Ireland semi-final exit.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

Burke, who plays her club football with Armagh Harps and helped the Orchard side to county senior glory last season, now finishes up with nine Connacht SFC medals.

A teacher by trade, she previously lined out with with Dublin outfit Ballyboden St Enda’s, when she lived and worked in the capital.

Her native Oughterard are among those paying tribute to the retiring defender.

“Oughterard GAA/LGFA would like to congratulate Sinead Burke on the fantastic career she has had with the Galway Ladies,” the club wrote on Facebook.

“Sinead has been a wonderful ambassador for Oughterard, Galway and ladies gaelic football.

“Her achievements are many, including captaining Galway to two consecutive Connacht SFC titles. She herself has won nine Connacht SFC titles.

“She is the recipient of two All-Star awards from 2018 & 2019.

“Best wishes to Sinead in her retirement from inter-county football.”

• ‘I wasn’t myself… I look back and say, ‘God, what would have happened if I didn’t go back?”

CAVAN’S AISLING SHERIDAN scored two goals but it wasn’t enough to prevent Collingwood losing their first AFLW game of the season today.

Collingwood’s Aisling Sheridan and Brisbane’s Orla O’Dwyer.

Instead the Brisbane Lions and Tipperary’s Orla O’Dwyer were left celebrating after the Round 7 clash as they claimed a 35-32 win at Whitten Oval.

The result leaves Collingwood, Brisbane and Fremantle all with 6-1 win-loss records at the top of the table with just two rounds of the regular season left to play.

Right place, right time 👊🏼@AishlingSherdo pic.twitter.com/wWKiG0r3PK

— Collingwood AFLW (@CollingwoodAFLW) March 14, 2021

O’Dwyer had 11 disposals and scored one behind during the game for Brisbane.

Sheridan had got Collingwood off to a great start with the opening goal of the game and was on the mark again in the final quarter as they chased down the Lions.

Q4 | Just what we needed to kick off the final term!

Aish Sheridan kicks a beauty!

Pies 22 – Lions 34. #gopies #AFLWLionsPies pic.twitter.com/A2Miz2gk0R

— Collingwood AFLW (@CollingwoodAFLW) March 14, 2021

 

But Brisbane, who were ahead 26-16 at half-time and 34-16 after the third quarter, and preserved their advantage to ultimately win. Today’s other game saw Fremantle defeat Carlton 45-41.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: custom injection molding

ONE MORE WEEK of level 5 done and dusted and there was even a hint, however brief, of spring in the air.

It would do you good. It’s nice to have something to look forward to, and here at The42 we’ve got another great week of membership content lined up to keep you entertained and, hopefully, informed.

All of our stories are available for free through our platforms, but joining The42’s membership scheme – you can sign up for a €5 a month, or a discounted €42 a year – opens the door to another world of exclusive podcasts, newsletters, prizes and insights along with supporting our free and independent journalism. 

Your continued support of our work is, as always, greatly appreciated, and we hope you enjoy what we’ve got lined up across another busy week in the sporting world.

This evening you can jump straight into some instant reaction to Ireland’s Six Nations win over Scotland with Murray Kinsella and Garry Doyle on the Rugby Weekly Extra post-match pod.

Tomorrow, you can wrap your ears around the usual Monday Rugby Weekly Extra pod as regular analyst Eoin Toolan joins Murray to get nerdy about all of the action from Week 4 of the Six Nations.

Members also get access to our members’ WhatsApp group, which is populated by engaged and informed rugby fans from all over the country. Entry, which is part of the membership package, allows members to help shape the show. 

On Tuesday, we have a Behind The Lines special live event with Wright Thompson joining Gavin Cooney and The42 members to discuss his career, his favourite sportswriting, his advice and much more.

On Saturday we’ll have another post-match episode of Rugby Weekly Extra, with immediate reaction to Ireland’s Six Nations meeting with England.

Our latest Bylines Essay is also published this week, and comes courtesy of IFTA-winning director [Heartbreak, 2017], and director of Dublin Oldschool, Dave Tynan.

This week will also feature another round of our Insiders newsletters, covering GAA, rugby and soccer, with plenty to dig into and discuss both on and off the field.

Click Here: qld maroons jersey

HENRY SHEFFLIN HAS long been tipped as a potential successor to Brian Cody once the legendary figure steps aside as Kilkenny boss. 

After leading Ballyhale Shamrocks to back-to-back All-Ireland club titles, Shefflin has taken charge of Kilkenny intermediate side Thomastown for 2021. It did little to quieten the talk that he’s waiting in the wings to replace his former manager.

Shefflin, along with former Laois boss Eddie Brennan, are among the former Cats who would be frontrunners if a vacancy did open up.

But, for the moment, Shefflin says he has no interest in getting involved in inter-county management.

“At this moment in time, no. At the time I wasn’t even sure I wanted to get involved with Ballyhale.

“I just felt we needed something different than someone to stand in there and obviously I became involved. Little did I think that we’d go on the run we did for two years and I really needed a break then to spend time with my family.

“Obviously I’ve spent a lot of time with my family over the past year – [my wife] Deirdre’s nearly sending me back out the door again – and I’ve really embraced that. It was something different for me. That was one of the major benefits for me of Covid. We got to spend quality time with our family and then ones we love most.

 ”Now I’m getting involved with Thomastown, a local club and it’s really broadened my experience. I knew the dressing room and knew the lads in Ballyhale. In one sense that can be difficult but there were a lot of positives for me.

“I’m going into an entirely different environment in Thomastown where I don’t know many of the players or many of the people around the club etc. I don’t know the culture in there so it’s a learning experience.

“In tandem with that, my family life has become more independent in the sense that the children are getting that bit older. So that’s the journey I’m on and where it takes me, I’m just not quite sure.”

The manner of Kilkenny’s second-half collapse against Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final, plus reports of a “joyless” set-up set tongues wagging over Cody’s future.

Shefflin praised the longest serving inter-county manager for remaining in charge through the pandemic which has put the GAA season on ice.

“I think it’s more a testament of the character of Brian that that kind of conversation has happened and yet in the midst of a pandemic where it must be very, very difficult for inter-county managers and inter-county teams that Brian hasn’t said, ‘Look, I’ve done so much, I can’t do any more.’

“I think it’s a testament to the character of the man that he hasn’t done that. And he’s said, Kilkenny.

“[If] a manager steps away in this current climate, it’s going to leave it in a very vulnerable position for a new manager coming in and I think Brian would never do that because everything he does is always about Kilkenny hurling.

Henry Shefflin was speaking at the launch of the new Gaelic Games Player Pathway.

Source: Matt Browne/SPORTSFILE

“So I’m he’s still there and when we think back, obviously there was major disappointment after the Waterford match but we were still, what was it, eight or nine points up just before half-time in an All-Ireland semi-final. If we’d have managed that second half a bit better we’d have been in an All-Ireland final.

“We were in the All-Ireland final the previous year so they’ve been very, very close to it so I think on those two fronts I’m delighted that Brian is still staying and hopefully that bit of improvement will come on.

“I think some of the younger players definitely improved last year and obviously Adrian Mullen will be coming back into the mix, coming back from his cruciate as well.

“For those couple of things I’m delighted and, as I said, I think it’s a testament to the character of the man that he has stayed there and is going to keep Kilkenny going in another pandemic year.” 

Click Here: sharks rugby jersey