Number 10’s to decide 2023

I remember having the same 30 second conversation with Donnchadh Walsh before every AvB, league and championship match. He must have rolled his eyes when he saw me trotting over every time, not this fella again. ‘Donnchadh, when you get it, turn, no play, onto your right leg, I’ll be 30 metres away, nice little dinky ball, one bounce, not too hard, not too soft’. He was probably thinking ‘you might slip one back to me then every so often’. No chance.

I loved playing with Donnchadh because he had it all as a wing forward. He got through so much defensive work that he was almost given the tag of work horse, which would be an incredible insult, he was so much more than that. You had to mark him, man on man, or he would kill you. He’d run the 40 yard line over and back, collecting and giving kick passes to the inside line. It was a dream, and it was so easy to build a relationship with him. He understood what you needed and delivered. Arguably his most important trait was that he affected the score board. Every day. And he had a brilliant knack of getting in for a goal. That meant his man could never cover in front of the full back line, which allowed enough space to do damage as an inside forward. That was key.

Over the last few years, wing forward has become a disrespected position. I feel like any player who isn’t quite dangerous enough to be a corner forward, isn’t as good in the air as a midfielder or can’t defend well enough to be at the back, gets thrown into 10 or 12. It’s an insult to the position.

Your half forward line runs the game. It is a specialised role. You need quality there, your very best need to be out there. It can’t be a case of ‘where will we put him? Era throw him in at wing forward and leave him belt away’. When Kerry were at their very best they had Donnchadh, Declan & Galvin on that line and they absolutely dominated, leaving space for Gooch to operate inside. When Dublin were at their best they had Kilkenny, Connolly & Flynn. No messing about there. Pick between those 2 selections. When Tyrone won in 05 they had Brian McGuigan & Dooher. In 2021 they had Meyler & player of the year McGeary. Kerry had Seanie Shea, Stephen O’Brien & Paidie Clifford doing the business last year. Half forward lines win All Irelands.

If your half forward line is strong, then your full forward line automatically becomes more dangerous. The opposition half back line are thinking about their direct opponents rather than dropping back and covering the inside line. If their men are dominating the ball and kicking scores, there’s no point in dropping off them and covering. They need to push up and mark them tightly, and then the magic really happens. That’s when the 1v1’s start popping up. That’s when forwards come alive and defenders get nervous. Suddenly defenders can’t think of bombing on in attack while having a handy day covering the full back line. Now they are in a dual. Now they are looking around thinking ‘Jesus this pitch is massive’, as they have a Gary Lineker moment in their shorts.

Last weekend really showed the importance of a quality 10 & 12. Tierney kicked 3 from play for Galway in their win over Tyrone, while also catching crucial kickouts and getting through the world of ball. Jordan Flynn kicked 4 from play against Kerry & took all the pressure off Ryan ODonoghue & James Carr. Derrys half forward line delivered 1-5 from play through Paul Cassidy and the outstanding Ethan Doherty, giving them the platform to take Meath apart. The examples are there. The days of half forward lines just defending are gone because it does more damage to the rest of the attack than ever before.

When the opposition think you are no threat to them, we say they ‘cheat off you’. That is without doubt the most heartbreaking thing a forward can ever hear. They dont rate you, is basically what you’re told in the pre match meeting. They don’t think you will do any damage whatsoever so your marker is going to cheat off you and sit back in front of a different player. Everyone else in the meeting is keeping their head down, not wanting to make eye contact during this humiliation. It is up to that man to prove the opposition wrong at that stage. The winning of the game is in his hands. He will be unmarked in the attack, go and win it for us early. If he can’t, then your best attacker will be double marked for 70 minutes and its advantage to the opponent. To stop this happening, you need to be a threat on the score board.

Show me the best half forward line this year and I’ll show you the All Ireland winners. It is that important. I’m hoping we see an end to half backs covering space and pointing here, there and everywhere. Let’s see them marking. Then we’ll see the magic.