Flynn hoping Royals can get precious victory against Lilywhites in crunch NFL showdown in Newbridge

PLAYERS' VIEW

How do grapple with a whirlwind; a hurricane? How do you hold back the tide? What do you do to contain a tsunami of energy and pace.

Meath players got a sense of what it's like to have to deal with a force of nature on Saturday when Dublin came to town. The intensity they brought, the sheer physical power and potency, the pace and vigour in their play. The poetry too at times.

It was like Pairc Tailteann had evolved it's very own micro climate. While the sun shone all around, Dublin whipped up a storm of their own, turning the field in Brews Hill into a cauldron, a whirl of movement whipping up gusts and squalls along the way.

Jack Flynn was part of a largely inexperienced Meath team that sought to manfully stand up to what Dublin brought with them down the M3. He, like the rest of the beleaguered Royals, worked ferociously hard to contain the tempest but it needed more, a lot more, to hold back the storm clouds.

For the Meath players like Flynn, who is relatively new to the inter-county scene, Dublin's intensity must have been a real revelation.

He was brave enough to step outside the comfort zone and talk to members of the media afterwards. It took some courage to face the cameras, the limelight, the inevitable probing questions, after what was the proverbial tanking.

He talked how it was "a seriously intense game" how it was "heavy on the legs" adding, with a certain note of understatement but one filled with respect. "Yeah, they are a good side," he added.

They certainly are that with Colm O'Rourke pointing out afterwards that the Dublin team contains players who are among the greatest to play the game. Ever. Flynn boldly sought to counter one of those players in midfield - Brian Fenton - but it must have been like trying to hold back the wind.

"We came up against a side that had the guts of their five-in-row team still playing so you could see in the second-half how they closed the game out. We did get a late rally going, it was a pity we couldn't get it going earlier," Flynn commented.

There was much for a young, talented, bright footballer like Flynn to take from the game. Much for him and other relative newcomers to the inter-county scene to absorb from the dressing down. Lessons to be learned for another day. One of the stand-out themes from the game was just how ruthlessly outfits like Dublin can strike once they are given the slightest encouragement.

"We did play in patches, we had a goal chance just before half-time. If we put that away who knows. Instead it flips on its head, they go down and score a goal. So we have to learn to be a bit more clinical in front of goal. They came down the pitch twice from turnovers and got their goals where as we just weren't clinical enough up-top."

The way Dublin worked their goals was certainly a lesson on how to stretch and expose a defence; a demonstration of how teams like Dublin put opponents to the sword.

Flynn highlighted other pointers for Meath to take on board. He talked about taking the ball into contact and holding onto the thing. Something that's easier said than done once the blue wave descends, yet a must if any success is to be achieved. "A lot of their scores came directly from our turnovers, it's a pity, but that's how it was."

The Ratoath man spoke of his injury woes towards the end of last year with his quality performances in recent games for Meath underlining just how well he has bounced back . That, at least, offered Flynn "is a bit of satisfaction" but victory, he pointed, out is always the ultimate goal when he goes out to play a game. Anything else is second-rate.

Next up is Kildare. Flynn knows the game is crucially important for Meath for all sorts of reasons. A victory will be required to give them a chance of finishing in the top four and avoiding one of the plague-like Tailteann Cup places. There is, as Flynn pointed out, another reason why a win is important.

"You want to finish the league on a high, it's a short enough turnaround going into the championship. It would be nice to get a win in Newbridge and push on into the Leinster," he added.

"It has been disappointing (the conclusion of the league campaign) we should have closed out the Louth game, the Limerick game we should have won, we're kind of playing against ourselves with a lot of the mistakes we are making."

Meath made mistakes against Dublin and plenty of them - but then they were facing a force of nature. A tempest tangled up in blue.