GAA: Diarmuid Murtagh will lead Roscommon into battle against Mayo
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Saturday 5 August 2017 18:24, UK
It's time now for Diarmuid Murtagh to announce himself as the best forward in Connacht by shooting his team to a famous win over Mayo on Bank Holiday Monday.
Diarmuid has been showing us all year long what he is capable of but I think officially announcing it on the big stage next Monday would crown him.
Both Enda Smith and himself are quality players with massive potential but we only saw glimpses of that last weekend. The two of them must step up even more now and find a way to keep themselves centrally involved in the game.
I wrote at the start of the week that I feel Mayo have more to improve upon and I stand by that. I really rate this Roscommon side and backed them to beat Galway way back at the start of the season.
But Mayo have massive experience and, provided they are not leg weary, I think they should have the know-how to get through this game.
Roscommon are hungry, fresh and their physicality and conditioning is excellent. You couldn't rule them out winning this match. Coming down to Croke Park will hold no fears for them either. Most of them hadn't played there before but you wouldn't have thought that in the drawn game.
It was very exciting and great for the neutral supporter but I just feel Mayo are more battle-hardened and should see the game out this time.
As for Armagh and Tyrone? Well, I can tell you Tyrone will treat Kieran McGeeney's boys with the utmost respect. They will seek to cut down the space for the likes of Jamie Clarke to run into and they will look to upset the Armagh kick-out which Armagh absolutely bossed against Kildare.
I expect Tyrone to take the game to Armagh, to be more direct than Kildare were, but I expect the game to be very close. Armagh are on a fine run and they have momentum and that is a dangerous thing for any side who faces them to contend with.
A few months ago Armagh simply looked like they were going nowhere. They didn't get league promotion and were consigned to another season in Division Three. Then Down beat them in the Ulster Championship. That had come on the back of a couple of seasons that had ended with less than impressive displays in the qualifiers.
But Kieran was given the chance to evolve and develop and now that patience has been repaid. There is a lesson in that for county boards everywhere - be patient. They are currently brimming with confidence and they are changing their tactics every game which makes them hard to read.
Against Tipperary, Mark Shields pushed up on Robbie Kiely and cut off Tipp's main source of attack. Last weekend, Shields played more of a defensive role and wasn't seen booting forward half as much.
Kildare's Dan Flynn was cut out of the game by the Armagh midfielders who prevented any decent supply of ball from going into him and they will look to target Tyrone's best players and cut them off at source in similar fashion this weekend.
It's a huge chance for them but Tyrone know them inside out, they know what will be expected and they should be ready for battle.
To Monaghan and Dublin and the first thing I'll say is that Malachy O'Rourke is on record as saying this is the strongest Monaghan panel he has ever had.
I would agree with him and if that is the case I would feel that he has to go and have a cut off the Dubs. They played defensively last year and it didn't work. He has two choices this weekend - drop 14 men behind the ball, concede the short kick-out to Dublin and try to break them down.
If he does that I would still fancy Dublin to find a way through - they always do - and they should rack up enough points to win the game. And trying to get the ball off them, by the way, won't be simple either - it will tire the Monaghan boys.
The other option is to push up on Dublin, push up on their kick-out like they did against Down in the second half last weekend and really, really go for the game. That is the route I think they must take. Kildare showed weaknesses in the Dubs defence in the Leinster final and Monaghan do have the potency to go and do something similar now I feel. I am looking forward to seeing what tack they take!
Finally, it's been a fine championship and I think this weekend will only add to it. Teams are starting to evolve and break away from the out-and-out blanket defence approach and there are some fascinating tactics and sub-plots to look out for during games as managers see what way the game is faring and then decide to counteract.
I think we will see plenty more adapting and in-game adjustment over this weekend and I am looking forward to three fine games in what has been a pretty exciting season so far.
These will be the last All-Ireland quarter-finals with the Super Eight format coming in next year so there is a bit of history in the making this weekend too.
Sky Sports live GAA coverage continues on Saturday with the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals. Tyrone v Armagh, live on Sky Sports Arena from 3pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 3.15pm followed by Dublin v Monaghan, live on Sky Sports Arena from 6pm.
For those on the move you can get updates via our live blog at www.skysports.com/GAA or @SkySportsGAA
