In the past twenty five years, Waterford
hurling supporters have experienced some great days.
From, the days we travelled to Croke Park and
Nowlan Park for the Minor and Under 21 All-Ireland Finals in 1992, to
travelling to Semple Stadium for the Under 21 All-Ireland Final in 2016 there
has been many highlights, with some great performances served up by some great
players.
W.L.R.fm recently ran a team of the past
twenty-five years when it came to Waterford hurling. An expert selection
committee as well listeners to the radio station were asked to pick Waterford’s
best XV of the past twenty five years and in truth it is hard to argue to the
team that was picked as Waterford’s best XV.
Sometimes sometime Waterford supporters for
what ever reason forget that we have more Waterford teams that the Waterford
senior hurlers.
These often forgotten teams by great
Waterford supports are sides that are putting in the same effort as the
Waterford senior hurling team, or the Minor or Under 21 teams when they are
going well and sometimes the effort is put in is even greater.
In the past fifteen years or so, some great
work is taking place in Camogie.
It all began with winning the Under 16 ‘B’
All-Ireland Final in 2003 against Armagh at Port Laoise.
That win inspired many on the team to go a
step further and encourage a new group of young players to take up the game and
try and repeat what teams mates within their clubs and their heroines had done
before them.
Waterford contested three All-Ireland Junior
Camogie Finals in a row between 2009 and 2011 before eventually winning the
latter.
After this in the Intermediate grade
Waterford contested three All-Ireland Semi Finals in a row before beating Meath
at the fourth attempt and then going on to beat Kildare in the 2015 All-Ireland
Final at Croke Park.
This year Waterford played in Division One of
the National League and the Senior Camogie Championship. Waterford won just the
one game in both competitions, but in both competitions it must be said that
Waterford competed well and will have learned a lot from playing against the
strongest inter county sides in the land going forward.
In the past ten years or so, Waterford has
had some very good players on the Junior, then Intermediate and now senior
teams.
I for one am not aware of any competition
like what W.L.R.fm ran to pick Waterford’s best XV over the past twenty five
years when it comes to Camogie, but as someone that have followed the fortunes
of the Waterford Camogie team with some time now, I have picked my best XV of
the past ten years.
To pick such a team is no easy task. So many
players could feel that they could be included but only fifteen can be
selected. So along the way, some tough calls will have to be made and some
players will have to be left out that some will feel should have been included.
So who is in my best Waterford XV from the last
ten years.
Since 2009 when Waterford first appeared in
the Junior All-Ireland Final, eleven different players have won Soaring Stars.
Soaring Stars for those not in the know are in effect Camogie All-Stars for
those playing in the Intermediate and Junior grades.
On four different occasions Waterford have
had players picked out. Two players were picked in 2009, three were picked in
2010, a year later when Waterford won the Junior All-Ireland Final seven
Waterford players won Soaring Stars and last year following Waterford had three
players picked out to be the winner of a soaring stars.
Yes I know, add these numbers up and you get
more than 11 as your answer, but what might not be known is that Jennie
Simpson, Trish Jackman, Karen Kelly and Áine Lyng have each won a soaring star
twice, hence the 11 won by different players.
It would be hard and nearly impossible to
overlook these eleven players and not to include them in Waterford’s best XV.
Because some of these players are so
versatile where to fill them in on the overall team could well prove to be a
difficult place.
Aisling O’Brien won a Soaring Star as a
goalkeeper in 2011 so is selected as Waterford’s best goalkeeper of the past
ten years on my team which of course is an unofficial team. Aisling is a player
that I have seen play from a very young age and is always a player I was hugely
impressed with.
Emma Hannon was selected as a soaring star
winner in 2011 as well and is fitted in the team as the right corner back. The Gailltir
player played right up to 2015 and was part of the Waterford panel that won the
league, but missed out on a championship medal after she had left the country.
Jennie Simpson is one of the most versatile
players to wear the white and blue in the last number of years and is as
comfortable playing in defence as in attack and has also played in the centre
of the field. The Saint Anne’s player is picked at Full Back on the team.
Kate Marie Hearne has not won any Soaring
Stars, but the Butlerstown Club player for a long number of years was part and
parcel of different Waterford teams and played at left corner back on three
All-Ireland Finals between 2009 and 2011 and was played in the same position
the following year when Waterford played in the Intermediate Championship.
Another Lismore player to make the best XV is
Grainne Kennelly. Grainne is a very versatile player who can play any place and
is an equally as good a footballer as she is at Camogie. She won a soaring star
in 2011, and three years later she helped her club win the All-Ireland
Intermediate championship. She is fitted into the team at right half back.
The player selected at centre back is another
player that can play anywhere on the team and would not be out of place. Trish
Jackman is regarded as one of the best in the modern game. If she was with Cork
or Kilkenny she would have senior All-Ireland medals in her collection, but
hopefully that will happen yet in a white a blue shirt. The Gailltir player has
won two Soaring Stars in 2011 and 2015 and is also well know for her exploits
in the All-Ireland Puc Fada in the Cooley Mountains over the past decade.
Another versatile player on the Waterford
panel over the years is Charlotte Raher. The Saint Anne’s Club Player is
someone that always gives it her all and has helped the sides she has played on
be it at club or county level to win a number of honours. She was chosen to
Captain the Waterford senior team this year and makes this team at in the left
half back position.
In the middle of the field is a combination
of two players, one who gave great service to Waterford over many years, the
other who is still young, but who even at this stage has achieved so much.
Mairead Murphy captained the Waterford team
in 2010 when Waterford lost to Antrim after a replay. Twelve months later the
Saint Anne’s player was a sub on the team that won the All-Ireland Final. Lorraine
Bray from Cappoquin first came to my attention a few years back when she lined
out for Waterford in the league against Wexford at Fraher Field and have been
very impressed with her since. In the White and Blue of Waterford she has
already won a string of honours including a Munster Minor ‘B’ title in 2012, a
Munster Intermediate Medal in 2013, a Minor ‘B’ All-Ireland in 2014 and a
Division Two league final medal and All-Ireland Medal in 2015. 2015 also saw
her win a Soaring Star. With Cappoquin
she also has won a string of honours including Intermediate and Junior League
and Championship medals as well as honours at Minor and Under 16 at A and B
Level. She was selected on the Munster panel this year for the Inter
provincials and also win a Munster Colleges Junior Medal in 2012.
Nicola Morrissey captained Waterford to win
the All-Ireland Junior Camogie Final in 2011. She was also part of the
Waterford team that won the 2015 All-Ireland Intermediate team that won the
All-Ireland and in between she was part of the Lismore team that won the
All-Ireland Club Championship in 2014 and part of the same club side that
reached the final twelve months later but were beaten on the day. Another
versatile player, she is picked at right half forward. Nicola won a Soaring
Star award in 2011.
Gailltir are back in the County Senior
Camogie Final this year and part of the team is Áine Lyng. She was a key member
of the Waterford junior side that contested the 2009 and 2010 Junior
All-Ireland’s, winning a Soaring Star in both years. She has played for Munster at Junior and
Senior levels and won inter provincial medals in both levels. She is also the
owner of medals won with Mercy Secondary School in Waterford and with U.L and
also has won national league and under 16 medals with Waterford as well as
Munster medals playing for Waterford. At Club level she has won Under 14, Under
16, Minor and Senior County Final medals with Gailltir and also is the older of
an All-Ireland 7’s medal. She is selected at Centre forward on this team.
There can be no disputing the left half
forward on the team. Beth Carton is a player that has the brightest of bright
future ahead of her. Only 18 years of age, she has won so much in her career to
date. She recently won her second County Final medal playing in adult
competitions with her club De La Salle, and has also won many honours with the
side that wears white and red shirts. On the inter county scene she has also
won so much. A Munster Under 16 Medal, Under 16 and Minor All-Ireland medals, a
National League medal and an All-Ireland Intermediate All-Ireland medal are all
in her collection and surly its only a matter of time before the brilliant De
La Salle player adds to that collection.
Another hugely versatile player is Shona
Curran. The Lismore club player is someone that can play in any number of
positions and is also a very accomplished footballer. She won a soaring star in
2010. She has served both club and county well over the years. She was not long
on the field in the 2015 All-Ireland against Kildare when she was making an
impact setting up Aisling Power for Waterford’s first goal just before the
break. In 2014 she captained Lismore to win the All-Ireland Intermediate Club
Championship, which surly will have to be the highlight or one of the
highlights of her career to date.
At Full forward is Karen Kelly. The Saint
Annes player was for a long number of years a key member for both club and
county. She won Soaring Stars in 2009 and 2010 and played a part in Waterford’s
three All-Ireland finals between 2009 and 2011. She remained a key part of the
Waterford set up until 2014 when she retired from the inter county game after
giving the county a number of years of fantastic service.
Niamh Rockett from the Saint Anne’s Club is
another very experienced member of the panel winning a Junior All-Ireland medal
there in 2011 when Waterford beat Down and a Intermediate All-Ireland in 2015.
She is the holder of three league medals with Waterford as well and a Munster
Intermediate medal won in 2013. With Saint Annes she has won Munster a Munster
Intermediate Medal with Waterford and won county senior medal in 2009 and 2011.
She also has in her collection a County Senior League medal and also has medals
from the under 16 and minor grades. She also has in her collection Munster and
All-Ireland colleges medals from 2012.
As pointed out already, some will argue for
other names to be included in this team. Players like Vicky Gaffney, Deirdre
Brennan, Sally O’Grady, Shauna Kiernan, Pauline Cunningham, Claire Whyte,
Caithriona McGlone and Fiona Morrissey amongst others could very well be
included on another team.
In another few years time, it would be interesting
to look back and see how many of the current young players like Brianna O’Regan,
Iona Heffernan, Sibeal Harney, Kate McMahon, Anne Corcoran, Courtney Healy, Kaeisha
Tobin, Molly Curran, Saoirse Bonner, Aisling Power, Niamh Murphy, Ellen Curran
amongst others could well find themselves included in Waterford’s best XV in
the past fifteen or twenty years. I have no doubt some will.
