Ray Boyne

Data & Performance Analyst, Dublin (2003-18) Tipperary (2019) 12 All Ireland Football Finals . All Ireland Hurling Final 2019. Kilkenny Senior Hurling 2025

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

“Above all, I always wanted to be remembered as a good teammate.”

Those words from Eoin Murphy’s retirement statement say so much.

Wishing Eoin and his family every happiness in the next chapter. 🖤💛

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

Enjoy the retirement, Aussie.

What a hurler. 💙🤍

You can coach many things. That bit of magic was his own.

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

This is a difficult watch
A point in leadership when you have given everything you have to give.

You can still be at the top. Still have good people around you. Still have the support of those who matter

But human nature means we often hear the criticism louder than the support

[Seán Sheehan @SeanSheehanBA]

This goal wouldn't be allowed under the proposed rules

[Keepitonthedeck @Keepitonthedeck]

Credit: Footage thanks to Stick to Football.

Seamus Coleman recently spoke about Ireland’s 2 all draw away to Serbia ten years ago and an argument he had with Roy Keane at half time.

Keane was demanding that Coleman got out to the ball quicker every time Serbia switched play diagonally.

Coleman’s response was that he could not simply jump out to press because the underlap was available inside him.

From a coaching perspective, Coleman was absolutely spot on.

This is also a great example of why coaches must value the information coming from players. They are the ones on the pitch constantly scanning, solving problems and making decisions based on pictures that can look very different from the touchline.

The important coaching question is not simply, “Why are you not getting out quicker?”

The question is, “What is creating the hesitation?”

So we went back to the actual game and included the exact sequence they were discussing.

And John O’Shea is getting away with murder by not being mentioned here.

Throughout the game, O’Shea and Richard Keogh were far too laboured when shifting across as Serbia circulated the ball from side to side with those switches of play.

When the ball travels across the pitch, the movement of the defensive line has to happen while the ball is travelling!

That distinction is huge.

If the centre backs shift early enough, Coleman can travel with the pass, arrive closer to his opponent and apply pressure with far more aggression if he can effect the wingers first touch.

But if the centre back is slow to slide across, the distance between full back and centre back becomes too large and hesitation in that wide area duel is then created.

Now Coleman has two problems.

If he jumps aggressively to the wide player, Serbia can attack the space inside him with the underlap.

If he protects the inside space, he arrives late to the player receiving wide.

That is not simply a full back pressing problem.

It is a collective back four problem.

The defensive line needed much more intensity and synchronisation when sliding across the pitch. The nearest centre back had to move earlier and reduce the horizontal distance to Coleman, while the rest of the line continued to travel across and protect the spaces inside.

That then allows the full back to press forward knowing the inside channel is protected.

Serbia recognised those distances were far to open and repeatedly attacked the half spaces with underlapping runs.

So while the instruction to Coleman to get out quicker sounds correct in isolation, the bigger tactical picture explains why he was hesitant.

Before demanding more intensity from an individual player, coaches have to understand whether the structure behind that player actually gives him permission to be aggressive.

Sometimes the player who looks late is actually compensating for a problem somewhere else in the defensive unit.

That is why listening to the player matters!

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

We may never fully appreciate what she did.
Thank you, Katie. 🇮🇪🥊

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

Troy Parrott | Follow It.

You don’t know the goalkeeper is going to save it.
You don’t know where the rebound is going to fall.
You follow it anyway. Then react quicker than everyone else.
Most times you get nothing. This time, you get the winner against Real Madrid.

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

Not a spare seat in the house. Sunday evening Mass in the Old Town. 🙏 🇪🇸

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

A look at Ryan O'Donoghue's first half
using only the moments captured by
👏👏 @TheSundayGame @RTEsport
inevitably it's an incomplete picture of his work away from the ball
But what a great insight
Doesn’t come off. Go again
don’t play your way into a game
work your way into it

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

When asked at St Kilda what his favourite song is, he said The Swell by Amble.

When I listened to it, these few lines stayed with me. They somehow seem to reflect the humble, thoughtful and grateful young athlete he comes across as,
beginning a remarkable journey in Melbourne.

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

Every season crowns champions. Some seasons reveal patterns.
Looking across the All-Ireland & Provincial Men's Championships from Senior, U20 and Minor, some fascinating themes emerge. Counties sustaining success across grades, provincial dominance & emerging development pathways

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

Pat Gilroy (2011)
Liam Sheedy (2019)
Mayo (2026)

Different teams. Different codes. Different generations.
Same message.
Building a team that tackles together takes a culture that is reinforced every day.
If not, teams naturally drift towards the visible:
scores, skills & tactics

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

The league told us Mayo kicked more two-pointers than anyone else.

The championship suggested that wasn’t a coincidence. It was the product of a style of play developed from the beginning of the 2026 season.
The innovation was the process.

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

Last week, six of the eight teams in Division 1 occupied the same position in both the league table and the 2-point scoring table.

After Round 6, that relationship remains broadly similar, with most teams still sitting close to their two-point ranking.

The teams currently occupying the top four places in the league table Donegal, Kerry, Mayo and Roscommon are also the four highest producers of two-point scores, although the order varies slightly.

At this stage, the data does not establish causation, but it does continue to suggest that two-point scoring is emerging as a meaningful indicator of attacking output in Division 1.

It may simply be coincidence at this point, but it does raise the question of whether long-range scoring is beginning to shape how games are decided.

With @Microsoft copilot

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

“The three boys inside… it wasn’t about scores. It was about how hard we could tackle and how hard we could make it for the boys coming out.”

Ryan O’Donoghue
There it is

The philosophy of the championship, summed up in one sentence by the player who lived it.

🎥 @officialgaa

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

@HLTCO

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

We spent the week talking about kickouts.
The final reminded us that football has always belonged to the team prepared to work hardest after the kickout.

[Ray Boyne @AnalysisGaa]

The score tells you who won.
The numbers tell you why.

Looking back at the All-Ireland Final, one statistic stands above the rest.

Not shooting accuracy.
Not kickouts.
Not even the four two-pointers.

Effort.