“He will pick a pass within two or three inches of where you want it to go”

Niall McIntyre

Roscommon have a bit of swagger about them.

With Armagh on top of the Rossies in the first half of their qualifier clash in Portlaoise last weekend, the commentators on RTÉ questioned why Kevin McStay didn’t pull a sweeper back to stem the tide.

That’s not Roscommon’s style. The men of Connacht trust their ability to outscore the opposition in every single game and they’ll attack, attack and attack.

They may be porous at the back as a result, but no team can tick all the boxes and despite conceding 1-19 against the Ulster men, their tactic of backing the likes of Diarmuid and Ciaran Murtagh, Enda and Donie Smith to do enough damage down the other end ultimately paid off.

It seems to pay off a lot of the time for them and though the upcoming Super 8s will be a different test entirely, they’ll still be going gung-ho, all guns blazing in every game.

The main feature of the Roscommon system is that they always have men up in support of their fellow attackers. Cathal Cregg and Diarmuid Murtagh are their inside men, while Donie Smith plays on the top of the D. Ciaran Murtagh and captain Conor Devaney will always be bombing forward off these lads’ shoulders.

Ross Munnelly made his GAA Hour Show debut on Monday afternoon, and having worked with a number of these players during their time in DCU, the Laois forward is well aware of the threat these ‘silky’ attackers pose.

“I know a lot of these Roscommon lads, I would have coached some of them in DCU. These guys are silky, silky forwards that have brilliant attitudes.

“You look at the likes of the Cathal Cregg, the two Smiths, the Murtaghs, Niall Daly, Tadhg O’Rourke. They’ll kick points from any angle if you give them the chance.”

The system helps their individuals prosper. Rarely isolated, each forward always has options and they’re less likely then to make a mistake.

Crucially, they’re sharp and skilful enough to use these options. Munnelly spoke very highly of Donie Smith’s ability to kick a pin-point pass.

“People like Donie Smith – people think he’s a scoring forward, but we used to play this guy at centre forward on a freshers team simply because if he got that ball in any kind of space across the half forward line, he will pick a pass within two or three inches of where you want it to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdmpEaU-XfA&t=701s

“You’ve a couple of sets of brothers playing in the forwards as well, so that has to give you something in terms of guys thinking the same way.

Then you’ve Enda Smith bombing forward.

“They also have a phenomenal strength in Enda Smith’s ability to run at defences.”

“Roscommon could have a bit to say when it comes to Croke Park,” he concluded.