O'Rourke returns as O'Dowd names strongest team for league opener
The Meath team for Sunday’s NFL Div 2 clash with Galway shows eight changes from the team that lost last week’s O’Byrne Cup final to Kildare, but surprisingly includes Conor Gillespie who limped out of the game in Newbridge with suspected ankle ligament problems.
Manager Mick O’Dowd has opted to go for his strongest possible team for the opening round of the league and will give Kevin Reilly, Bryan Menton and Padraic Harnan their first starts of the season.
Harnan and Menton were college-tied for the O’Byrne Cup, while Reilly made his first appearance as a substitute in the O’Byrne Cup final defeat by Kildare.
The one surprise exclusion is Eoghan Harrington who had featured at centre-back in four of the five O’Byrne Cup games, but the Wolfe Tones man has to settle for a place on the bench with Menton returning to fill the number six shirt.
Shane O’Rourke will start his first league game for over two years when he partners Gillespie at midfield, while Cillian O’Sullivan will make his competitive debut after scoring 2-5 in his four O’Byrne Cup appearances, two of which were as a substitute.
Meath - Paddy O’Rourke; Donal Keogan, Kevin Reilly, Michael Burke; Padraic Harnan, Bryan Menton, Davy Dalton; Conor Gillespie, Shane O’Rourke; Cillian O’Sullivan, Damien Carroll, Graham Reilly; Eamonn Wallace, Stephen Bray, Michael Newman. Subs - Conor McHugh, Eoghan Harrington, Dalton McDonagh, Andy Tormey, David Bray, Caolan Young, David Larkin, Paddy Gilsenan, Seamus Kenny, Donal Lenihan, Conor Sheridan.
Fergal Lynch