Royal woes and Man of the Match sagas

Needless to say, it's been a tense few days in the west since Man of the Match gate.

I must admit I hadn't known the MOTM award was taken quite so seriously, so it's been an eye-opener in that respect!

Either way, I would like to give full marks to my co-analyst Sean Cavanagh who showed all his punditry experience by throwing me under the bus so soon after the game.

We had - jointly, I might add - made the call with five minutes or so remaining, when Ciarain Murtagh and Damien Comer - both of whom had excellent games - had scored 1-03 apiece, with Murtagh getting 32 possessions and clipping on another three points from frees. We said we'd give the nod to the Roscommon man.

Of course, Comer then made a great block when it was still a one-score game and fisted the insurance point after working a clever one-two with Rob Finnerty.

I asked the producers if there was any chance we could change the call. They said no. Then we went live and Sean was straight in there with the claim "well, I was overruled anyway." The shrewd operator.

Suffice to say, I hadn't known people bought into the Man of the Match business as much as they did. I'll know for again.

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Elsewhere, last weekend was a grim one for Meath football. The latest in a long line of grim ones. The fall from grace for a county with such a strong tradition is shocking, really.

None of this is to take anything away from Offaly, who've done the late Liam Kearns proud in the way they've conducted themselves and gone about