Waterford Begin 2019 National League with South East Derby Clash

With no other big games on locally this coming weekend, it is hoped that a good attendance from the Déise County will make their way to Saint Patrick’s Park in Enniscorthy for a 2pm throw in when Donal O’Rourke’s Waterford side will take on Wexford in the first round of this year’s National Camogie League.

Now in his second season in charge of the Waterford senior team, the Cappoquin Club man last year had a first season to remember in charge of the team narrowly missing out on a place in the National League semi finals, putting up a very creditable performance against would be All-Ireland Champions Cork in the Munster Championship and reaching the All-Ireland quarter finals where the Déise county lost out to a more experienced Tipperary side in Cork.

It is often felt that the second season in charge of a team can be much more difficult than the first, but while most sides that Waterford will come up against will want to bring them down from the high’s of last year, there will be a hunger in this Waterford side to better what they achieved last year, but it must be pointed out that the experience picked up last year by this very talented group of players will stand to the side, and to replicate and even better what was achieved 12 months ago is a very realistic hope for Waterford this year.

The panel put together by Donal O’Rourke and his management team very much resembles the one which they had together in 2018. There is some absentees from last year’s panel for different reason’s but into the panel in their place comes some very experienced players plus some players which helped Waterford win last year’s Munster Minor ‘A’ Final who will have with them some players that were also involved in that famous night last August that the Cappoquin Club man used at different stages last year.

It is worth remembering that for this game the Waterford management team will have to plan without the services of the Gailltir players in the panel, as the Sky Blues are involved in a massive All-Ireland Intermediate Club title against Offaly side Saint Ryanagh’s.

            Amongst the Gailltir players in the panel that therefore would be expected to be excused from playing this weekend will be Ciara Jackman who along with Brianna O’Regan had some quality performances between the sticks last year, Annie Fitzgerald who is one of the rising starts of the game, the experienced pair of Áine Lyng and Emma Hannon as well as young players like Shauna Fitzgerald, Clodagh Carroll and Kate Lynch.

            Even without these players Waterford should still have a very strong side out on Sunday afternoon for the start of the league.

            Brianna O’Regan who missed a number of games last year after she was handed down a very harsh suspension after she was sent off against Kilkenny in the championship will be between the posts, and reports from training suggest that the talented De La Salle Club player is in the form of her life which says a great deal as she has already produced some top quality performances since she first came to prominence playing under 12 and 14 some years ago.

In defence we could expect to see the likes of Sibeal Harney, Mairead Power, Iona Heffernan, Claire Whyte, Aoife Landers, Áine Power and Orla Hickey would be expected to fight it out for the defensive positions.

In the middle of the field Lorraine Bray was outstanding last year and she is expected to be their again this year but who will partner her there. Donal O’Rourke and his management team have a number of options including the likes of Clara Griffin and maybe Shona Curran and Caoimhe McGrath who are some of the experienced players added to the panel this year.

In attack barring any injuries Niamh Rockett and Beth Carton would be expected to start. Shona Curran’s strength could well be a huge plus if placed at centre forward, while the likes of Deirdre Fahy and Kaiesha Tobin would also be expected to start.

Any remaining spots to be filled in the starting fifteen should be fought out between Aisling Power, Niamh Ahearne, Niamh Murphy, Sally Kelly as well as Sarah Lacey and Keely Corbett-Barry two members of last year’s Minor panel promoted to the seniors this year.

Playing on home soil Wexford will be tough opposition for Waterford, but it is worth remembering that the Model County are no longer the force they were a few years back when between 2007 and 2012 they won four senior and one Intermediate All-Ireland finals and they won three National League Finals in this time.

Last year Waterford fared better than Wexford over the course of the year. Like Waterford they narrowly missed out on a place in the National League semi finals, but in the championship they finished some way off the mark needed to reach the All-Ireland knockout stages of the competition playing in an opposite group to Waterford.

What panel Wexford are operating with remains to be seen, but it is expected that there will not be wholesome changes to last year meaning that the likes of Laura Brennan, Ciara Storey, Áine Lacey, Shelley Kehoe, Chloe Fox, Linda Bolger, Joanne Dillon and Stacey Kehoe will fill vital positions on the starting team.

Playing without the players from one club is something familiar to Donal O’Rourke at this stage as this time last year he was without the services of the Lismore players as like Gailltir they had an All-Ireland semi final to be thinking about.

Donal and all involved in the panel both on and off the field will not need telling that the old Irish saying Tús maith, leath na hoibre is often very true and if they were to get off to a good start this year it could well mean the difference between qualifying for the semi finals and missing out, as it means that they are not playing catch-up from the off, something that half the sides playing this weekend will be doing so from about 3-30pm on Sunday.

Will Waterford get this year league off to a good start on Sunday? Well it won’t be easy for Waterford in Enniscorthy, but there will be a hunger in this group this year to better what was achieved last year. A share of the spoils would be welcomed this weekend, but to collect all three points would be even better, something that I believe is very much achievable.