Roscommon Herald Team of the Week returns with a bang
Kevin Finn caught the eye as Strokestown marked their return to the senior ranks with an important win over Western Gaels.
After the opening weekend of the Hodson Bay Group Senior Football Championship and the McNulty Furniture Intermediate Campionship, the first Roscommon Herald Team of the Week has returned.
In total, 10 clubs are included with competition for places as strong as ever. St. Brigid’s, Pádraig Pearses, Boyle, Oran and Fuerty are rewarded with the joint most representation after eye-catching opening round wins. Here we take you through the 15 players that stood out most across the 12 games.
Possessing a weapon such as Keith Doyle in midfield will make any team in the intermediate championship respect the long kickout but Miley’s short and medium range restarts were superb throughout as he picked apart Tulsk’s press time and again.
Mayo may have stumped the notion that modern gaelic football is a game of kickouts but Miley’s restarts and all round display was the cornerstone of St. Dominic’s’ eye catching win. Just beat out Conor Carroll for this spot.
McAndrew was firmly in contention for the Player of the Match in Fuerty’s eye-catching victory over Éire Óg.
The corner-back was faultless all evening long as he formed the fulcrum of a Fuerty defence that restricted their foes to just five scores from play throughout the hour mark. McAndrew was pivotal in curbing an admittedly starved of possession Conor Cox while his decision making never faltered. A highly impressive showing.
We have made an allowance here with Featherston lining out at centre back but his assured display against an admittedly disappointing Elphin side meant he is worthy of inclusion.
He and the Oran defence will face greater tests in the future, but Featherston brings a touch of calm to proceedings while he mans the centre of the defence with diligence. A player who Oran will look to for inspiration across this campaign.
With Enda Smith and Daire Cregg absent, Boyle’s defence needed to step up to the plate in their crucial opening round game against Clann.
They did just that with Luke Glennon typifying Boyle’s willingess to do whatever was necessary to escape with an opening round win. His performance may slip under the radar for some but his man-marking job on Ciarán Lennon, keeping the intercounty forward scoreless, was a cornerstone of Boyle’s triumph.
It says a lot about Walsh’s display that he was an easy choice for Player of the Match as Oran romped past a disappointing Elphin outfit.
From the opening whistle, he won breaking ball around the middle third, drove his team forward and ended up as his side’s joint top scorer with 2-1. Walsh helped Oran gain complete control in midfield while everything he did on Friday last came with a touch of class.
Boyle’s win over Clann na nGael in the Group of Death caught the eye in numerous ways but the performance of Daniel Casey could be flagged as critical down the road.
The talismanic Seán Purcell has proudly commanded the centre back spot in the Boyle defence for years but Casey produced a display filled with composure to indicate that he can take on the sizeable mantle going forward.
A trademark Declan Kenny display. Pearses’ second-half revival against Roscommon Gaels came about mainly through a collective rise in performance levels across the board.
Yet, Declan Kenny stood out as he kicked two points. But it was his work in stitching together team moves and directly assisting scores that gave Pearses the platform to put Roscommon Gaels to the sword and show they are firmly in the hunt for the Fahey Cup.
Nearly a year after his brother Ronan registered 1-10 against the same opposition, Shane Dowd decided to inflict further punishment on Shannon Gaels.
He did the heavy lifting in the opening half, kicking four two-pointers, including three from play. Although he only added a free in the second half to end up with a personal tally of 0-11 over the hour, he was central to much of the control Creggs exuded.
Fallon picked up right where he left off with St. Brigid’s last January as he produced a masterful display to help the reigning county champions produce an eyecatching win over Michael Glaveys.
Fallon so often produces a highlight reel worthy moment or two in a game but his exceptional execution of the basics stood out on Friday last. He was unstoppable with two majestic two-pointers and an insatiable work rate on both sides of the ball.
Lavin typified Fuerty’s attitude during their rousing opening round win against Éire Óg.
He kicked three points from play, but when Fuerty were reduced to 14 players, he was ready and willing to drop back to defence and help his side see out the contest with the minimum of fuss. Lavin brought a touch of class to everything he put his hands to in Mulhern Park in a display brimming with quality.
It says a lot about Paul Carey’s quality that he can kick 1-6, and it feels as if that fact has gone under the radar.
The Pádraig Pearses sharpshooter was instrumental to his side, pulling away from Roscommon Gaels while his movement off the ball for his goal, which came from a sumptuous ball by Jack Nevin, who is unlucky not to be included on this team, is something aspiring footballers would be wise to watch on repeat. A strong opening act from Casey.
The Murtaghs understandably grabbed much of the headlines upon St. Faithleach’s run to the county semi-final last year. But it was the performance of their supporting cast that was every bit as instrumental in taking the Ballyleague side to the final four.
As their 2026 campaign opened with a banana skin tie against Castlerea, Mikey Dunne stepped up to the plate as he bagged 1-4 but it was his ability to sneak in behind the Castlerea defence, most notably for David Rooney’s goal that caught the eye most.
Oates helped sow the seeds for what was in the end a very comfortable victory for St. Michael’s over Pádraig Pearses B on Saturday last.
Pearses proved stubborn foe but Oates was the person who stood up anytime the Woodmount-based side threatened to truly test the nerve of St. Michael’s. His six points were expertly taken, but it was the timing of his scores and more so the excitement that the St. Michael’s faithful possessed when he had possession in tow that made him stand out.
A tally of 1-8 was certainly an early indication that Ben O’Carroll will once more be a key jewel in the St. Brigid’s crown this year.
A tally of 1-6 from play added to with one score from a dead ball chance outside the arc was another example of a top-quality display of marksmanship from O’Carroll and even though Glaveys continued to fall for his trademark dummy solo, the St. Brigid’s dynamo showed why he’s one of the best around.
Strokestown marked their return to senior football with an important win over Western Gaels, one that was given the nourishment needed by Kevin Finn’s early goal and point.
From then on out, he summed up Strokestown on the evening as it was his energy around the field that caught the eye, with a string of successful tackles and clever link plays helping Strokestown build a sufficient buffer to withstand a Western Gaels fightback.
