THE FALLOUT FROM last Sunday’s battle between Dublin and Mayo continues.
It’s not just the players on the pitch who have come under fire.
Pundit Ciaran Whelan’s views on The Sunday Game drew criticism from some big names in the GAA as he was accused of being too sort on Dublin in comparison to his recent views on Tyrone.
Last night Whelan defended his views on Newstalk’s Off The Ball and pointed out there is a natural instinct amongst pundits to be loyal to their own counties.
“We don’t have ice flowing through us. We all have blood flowing through us.
“We’re all loyal to our own counties whether we like it or not, that is a natural instinctive thing within us all.
“Now, I was critical of Dublin the other night and I’ve come under fire from some Dublin supporters who felt I didn’t defend them enough and then we have the other end of the scale where people feel I went soft on them.”
The two-time Allstar winner again stated that it was not in Johnny Cooper’s nature to commit fouls like his one on Diarmuid O’Connor early against Mayo and explained his reasoning for urging Tiernan McCann to apologise for his infamous dive last month.
“I felt from him, as a young player, he would have been better off saying ‘you know what? It was wrong’. People would have moved on quicker.”
You can listen to the full interview with Ciaran Whelan here.
Do you think Ciaran Whelan was too soft on Dublin? Let us know in the comments section below.
Rory on fire at the moment – joy to watch.
The now mature Rory is handling The pressure very well. Fingers crossed.
Reed packing serious timber.
Reed has this wrapped up
@Carl Johnson: hopefully .got him at 33′s.a few early bogies from Rory will have me smiling
@Carl Johnson: haha. A 3 shot lead going into the final round is nothing. Just ask mcilroy or Greg norman. Mcilroy played some round with alot of scrambling. My money on him.
@Carl Johnson: there could be a 2 or 3 shot swing within the first 3/4 holes, and the back nine on a Sunday is a different beast altogether. Only a fool would write off Rory at this stage
@Ardmore02: got Rory at 6-1 this evening here’s hoping
@Carl Johnson: Come on John Rahm!!
@Paul Friday Shannon: fair play dude. Wish ya luck.
I have to declare that I have a vested interest in Paddy Reed winning as I have backed him @ 50/1 e/w but I am so looking forward to himself & Rory going head to head tomorrow. Their Ryder Cup battle in 2016 was one of the best singles duels of all time. Let’s hope they replicate that tomorrow at Augusta. Can’t see the winner coming from outside of these 2 but you never know. Fowler could be the only one but he’d need to a shoot sub 66 & that’s a big ask on Masters Sunday.
Reed not the fitted looking bloke… 4 tough rounds takes its toll…. could be what separates them at the end
Great stuff