Waterford are ready for a step up

Today is the day that the wheel could turn full circle for Camogie in Waterford.

The wheel began to turn on the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday in 2003 when the County Under 16 team (then a minor grade in Camogie), won the All-Ireland ‘B’ Final beating Armagh at O’Moore Park in Port Laoise.

Success at underage level does not mean success at adult level over night. To have success at adult level after having success at underage level means you have to work even harder.

For Waterford after the success in 2003 success at adult level did not come over night but what did happen was the players from the team were quickly added to the then county junior team to gain experience.

In 2009 when they reached the All-Ireland Junior Final against a strong Offaly side they were an experience team with a nice mix of youth and experience.

Even though defeat was their lot at Croke Park when the side returned to Croke Park twelve months later they were that little bit more experienced. Again defeat was their lot against Antrim but in 2011 when they were again in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, the experience picked up in the previous two years and the hunger to win after the two previous championship deciders meant that Waterford were not going to miss out against Down.

Over the following three yeas further progress was made playing in the intermediate grade, reaching the semi final stages of the championship in the last three years, winning the division two league final and winning in 2011 but not getting promotion after the league was reorganised and winning the Munster Intermediate Final in 2013.

Should Waterford win today’s league final against Laois and get promoted for the 2016 league, it will stand to the players and make them better players in the years to come.

Limerick are an example of this.

They were promoted in 2013 from Division two. Last year as a result of playing against the countries strongest sides in the league Waterford proved to be a very strong side in the Intermediate grade of the championship which they won.

Should Waterford win today, but do not win the All-Ireland come September, then Waterford could be the team to look out for in next years Intermediate grade just as Limerick were last year.

In fact the same could well be said of Laois this year.

They have appeared in the last two Junior Finals loosing to Kildare and Down. Playing in Division two of the league this year will have stood to them for the championship and just like Waterford in 2011, I for one would be expecting them to make it third time lucky in Croke Park this September.

Laois are a side that Waterford will not be under estimating today. They may be a Junior Championship side but they are a strong Junior side.

Sarah Ann Fitzgerald will be there most famous player. Niamh Dollard is also a quality player. The pair between them has six Soaring Stars. Sarah Ann Fitzgerald also is the holder of four Ashbourne Cup medals.

They are by no means a two player team however. Sarah Creagh, Olga Parkinson, Elaine Mahony, Laura Marie Maher, Noreen Kirwan, Michelle Homes and Rosemary Bermingham are players Waterford will have to keep an eye on.

While Louse Mahony was their scorer in chief in the semi final win over Kilkenny two weeks ago, Aoife Burke was their hero hitting a late goal in extra time to record a 1-10 to 0-9 win.

Waterford this year under Sean Fleming have proven to be magnificent.

The Saint Molleran’s club man has brought some of the players that helped Waterford to under 16 and minor successes in the last year into the set up and they have not let him down settling in very quickly.

Just like in the years leading up to the 2011 All-Ireland success, there is a nice mix of youth and experience in this years panel.

Players like Beth Carton, Brianna O’Regan, Saoirse Bonner, Molly Curran, Dawn Power etc. are providing the youth. The experience is provided by the likes of Jenny Simpson, Trish Jackman, Emma Hannon, Niamh Rockett and Deirdre Brennan.

Players like Vikki Falconer and Valerie O’Brien were part of the WIT team to win the Ashbourne Cup this year. Along with Deirdre Brennan, Becky Kavanagh was part of the DIT team that were beaten in the Purcell Cup Final after a replay. Jenny McCarthy was part of the DIT panel that day.

In Catriona McGlone, Waterford have a real match winner. The Laois backs will have to keep an lot of eyes on her. The Lismore player over the past year have proven herself to be a goal scoring machine. Who will ever forget her three goals in last years intermediate Club final replay against Ballyhale Shamrocks at Clonmel, and she has hit many important goals since then as well. If the Laois backs were to keep too many eyes on her, then it could well be the chance for someone else to make the headlines. Beth Carton is a proven score getter despite her young years. Could she me the hero for Waterford, or maybe another experienced player Nicola Morrissey another player who has done it all.

This is a game that could well go to the wire. Statistics show this could well be the case.

Waterford has on paper the greater experience. Both sides will take to the field in Carlow hungry. But I expect Waterford to come through on the day and Waterford will be playing Division one Camogie next year and go into the championship in a few weeks time on a high.

And remember, if Waterford were to win today, the last time the league was won, an All-Ireland Championship followed. Could history repeat itself this year? Could history also be repeated in the fact the Under 16 win in 2003 was on the Saturday of a Bank Holiday weekend and today is the Saturday of a Bank Holiday weekend.