Game time a priority for Mayo ahead of national league

 

MAYO senior team manager Stephen Rochford is expected to start a much stronger side fortheir final group game against Roscommon in the Connaught FBD league which will be played in Kiltoon next Sunday at 2 p.m.

Although Mayo will need a huge victory over their arch rivals to qualify for the final, Rochford will be viewing this encounter as a possiable last competitive outing before their first national league game which is against Monaghan on Saturday night, February 4, in Elverys MacHale Park.

With this possibility in mind he will want to give as many of the team whom he thinks could be starting against Monaghan some game time.

As a result of this we could see a big number of the side that played against Dublin in the All-Ireland final lining out against Roscommon.

However, one player who will be missing is the 2016 Gaelic footballer of the year Lee Keegan. Keegan along with Kevin Keane, who was also a member of the Mayo 2016 squad, will not be asked to play as they are presently training with their club ahead of the All-Ireland intermediate semi-final which will be played on Sunday week.

However, what will be most interesting to see in Rochford's starting 15 against Roscommon is the number of new players, whom he has been given a chance to prove themselves in the opening two rounds of the league, getting another opportunity to show their worth.

Certainly the likes of Donie Newcombe, Michael Plunkett, Danny Kirby, Fergal Boland and Liam Irwin will be hoping to get another run out.

It will also be interesting to see if the two Claremorris players, James Shaunghnessy, was very much to the fore with Sligo IT in the Connaught FBD league, and Stephen Brennan who played very well for NUIG against Mayo in round one of the league, get called up for this clash.