Camógs beginning to reap the benefits of underage talent
Sarah Dooley and her Roscommon team-mates will be hoping to get their Championship campaign off to a winning start against Limerick this weekend.
There are few, if any, teams that have endured such a gap between league and championship as the Roscommon camogie team.
Still, Eoin Hardiman and Cian Ryan’s side will try and build on an encouraging Premier Junior Championship campaign last year where they reached the semi-finals.
But Roscommon have been dealt a blow ahead of this afternoon's trip to Limerick as top scorer, Shauna Fallon, has been ruled out with a long-term injury. There are also doubts about the availability of Siafra Finneran who is awaiting the results of a scan for a knee complaint.
The women in Primrose and Blue were set to play in a six-team group until Louth withdrew from the championship. This meant Roscommon, who were set to play the Leinster side in the opening round, have been forced to wait an extra week while every other team lined out last weekend.
As a result, Roscommon have been waiting nine weeks between the end of the league and the start of the championship. However, Hardiman feels that his side have managed the period well, praising the influx of minor players who have bolstered numbers and competition within the squad after competing at A level earlier this year.
“When we reached at out at the start of the year we had Hazel Kelly, Anna Hussey, Andrea Fallon and Shauna McDermott. They decided they would join us once the minor was over. Once that finished, we reached out and said any of the eligible girls could join. We got Ciara Killeen, Alannah Sutton, Grace Geraghty, Kaitlin Egan and Deborah Finneran.
"The work that is going on at underage is something that we are seeing come to fruition now. These girls are pushing very hard. It is a great standard. They are hurling at ‘A’ level, so it’s massive,” Hardiman explained.
After Louth pulled out of the competition, two groups of five teams remain. Last year’s All-Ireland finalists Tipperary and Armagh, who lost to champions Clare at the semi-final stage by a point, are in the opposite group to Roscommon.
However, Roscommon face a highly competitive series of games. Laois beat Roscommon by eight points earlier this year while Limerick will be gunning for revenge after being downed by Roscommon at the quarter-final stage.
A Connacht derby with Mayo should be intriguing while Cavan have the potential to produce a run.
“Everyone fancies a crack at each other. We have Limerick up first and, truth be told, they were probably better than us in last year’s quarter-final, but we managed to outwork them and dig in. They will be baying for blood.
“We are at a bit of a disadvantage not having a game under our belts. I know Tipperary and Armagh are on the other side, but it is so competitive in our group. That’s the way you want it.
“We were only 60 minutes away last year, so our goal is to get to Croke Park on the first weekend in August.” he concluded.
