Tight as they come.
The one thing that struck Ross Munnelly about Monaghan after the Farney Army knocked Laois out of the championship last weekend was the intensity these boys brought to every tackle.
“They leave something on you,” said the Laois man on The GAA Hour Show.
These tackles aren’t token gestures. They’re tough, hard hits and the type that will have a forward thinking twice before they come back again.
This sets the tone in a game and as the Monaghan defenders lay down a marker, they take the upper hand and they won’t rest easy until the opposition’s spirit is broken too.
For years, Monaghan have built from this defensive solidity, this ferocity in the tackle, this savage work-ethic off-the-ball.
From Drew to Ryan Wylie to Fintan Kelly, these lads are hungry and they’re fired up. They’ll hit you and they’ll make sure to hit you hard.
Then you’ve Vinny Corey. One of the most underrated defenders in the game, some were questioning Monaghan’s credentials for the Super 8s this year by virtue of the fact that Corey is still in there and that they’ve nobody better than him.
They’ve nobody better than him because he’s one of the game’s very best defenders. The ageless Corey may be 35 now but he’s still as defiant as ever, he’s still leading the charge.
One of those unconditional team players who’d line out in goals for the good of the Monaghan cause, that’s not even a cliche when it comes to him because he’s played at full and centre forward as well during his 15 years as a permanent fixture.
For the last few of those, he’s been their go-to man-marker. Let’s not forget, this is a man who cleaned out Michael Murphy when Monaghan won Ulster in Clones in 2013.
He’s taken Matty Donnelly out of games before and on Sunday Kildare’s most in form attacker Paul Cribbin never got a smell of it.
“Vinny does that man-marking role nearly every game. Against Tyrone, he held Mattie Donnelly fairly well,” said Fermanagh footballer Tomás Corrigan on Monday’s GAA Hour Show.
“Not many lads get the better of him. He’s man-marked Michael Murphy as well and he didn’t get a kick off him,” added Wooly.
Corrigan knows these Monaghan lads better than most, and he singles out Corey as one of their very best.
“When you’re playing Monaghan, you know you’re getting nothing easy,” he said.
Monaghan have 5,000 men between ages 20 and 34 and created nine world class players https://t.co/DZxk1Jzfbk
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 15, 2018
“He’s been one of Monaghan’s best players for the last few years.”
Then when you’ve Karl O’Connell and Dessie Mone running free alongside them, you know that Monaghan pack a serious punch.
You can listen to Wooly, Tomás Corrigan and Conan Doherty on Monday’s GAA Hour Show right here.
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