Former Cork footballer Brid Stack is concerned that Meath’s stunning run to the All-Ireland Ladies Football Final has exposed the poor overall quality of competition from other teams in the sport.
Meath head to Croke Park on Sunday in a bid to prevent Dublin from winning their 5th successive title.
Stack believes Meath’s meteoric rise may be an indictment of the Senior football structures in other counties.
The 11-time All-Ireland winner joined Ger Gilroy and Mayo legend Cora Staunton on Friday’s Off The Ball, and expressed her worries around the level of competition:
“It’s probably been highlighted this year more than ever that Meath have come up from Intermediate and come all the way through to an All-Ireland final; that’s not to take away from Meath and their fantastic year.”
“Big questions must be asked around whether the Senior structures are fit for purpose, if the underage structures are fit for purpose, whether the best players in the county are making themselves available.”
“The fantastic story about Meath is that they parked all egos and agendas back in 2016, when there was clearly a downward spiral happening in their Senior football setup.”
“There was always a level of pride in Meath football and they always would’ve been a dogged outfit, but I suppose they came to the conclusion that it was time to start the rebuilding process.”
Meanwhile, Staunton believes that, although it is a very tall order, Meath may have a slim chance to overturn Dublin:
“If you look at this Dublin team against Donegal in the quarter-final or Mayo in the semi-final, they’ve gotten a bit looser at the back.”
“They conceded two goals against Donegal, and two against Mayo."
In particular, the goals against Mayo were very un-Dublin-like; a lot of their defence were caught up the field, and their full-backs were left isolated.”
“We heard Niamh Collins and Carla Rowe are starting - you wonder, with a few of these girls, if they’re fully fit.”
“Keep it tight, catch them on the counter, and maybe sneak a goal or two.”
Darragh Egan to become Wexford's new hurling manager
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
