So now we know. At least we hope we know.
Aidan O’Shea needs to be playing up front. But it would also be handy if he played half forward so he could contest kick-outs and win possession off the half backs.
It wouldn’t be bad if he could play midfield too so he could disrupt the Dubs from reaching their potential and feed the ball to his team’s bevvy of attackers.
So, midfield with a bit of half forward and peg it up to full forward too.
Can someone in Mayo get word to Stephen Rochford?
In all seriousness, how in God’s name do Mayo settle on a position for the Breaffy man?
Folks have been calling for him to play further up the pitch but Mayo have been wary of sticking him in there ever since Dublin restricted him to two points in two games last summer.
Rochford is helped little by the summer’s statistics. Collated figures by Sure’s Season of Statistics show just how effective O’Shea is EVERYWHERE on the pitch. The lad even gets back to help out in defence.
- In 180 possessions this summer, O’Shea has found his man [by foot and hand] 170 times.
- He has won 10 turnovers for his team in the tackle. That is three times more – according to the stats – than the best Dublin have to offer [Kevin McManamon and Johnny Cooper on three each]
- He has won seven kick-outs and made five interceptions that led to counter-attacks or scores
The only area O’Shea is falling down is in the scoring stakes. He has four scores [1-3] from 13 attempts. That is a less than amazing 38% return.
On SportJOE’s GAA Hour podcast, after beating Tyrone, O’Shea told us:
“I haven’t been playing my best – I’m okay admitting that.
“I’ve been adequate but not at the levels I set for myself. I’m not saying the last day I had a massive game or anything but I suppose I knew the importance of the game.”
He certainly did.
The stats do not prove exactly where O’Shea should start against Dublin.
They do prove how selfless his is for his team, and teammates, and how Mayo would not be in the final without him.
Listen to The GAA Hour live in Castlebar with Brendan Devenney, James Horan, and Pillar Caffrey. Subscribe here on iTunes.
