Meath captain looking forward to Antrim game on Saturday - team announced

To suggest that Meath captain James Kelly is looking forward to leading the team out for the opening game in the Joe McDonagh Cup would be an understatement.

The young Kiltale man just can't wait to get the sliotar rolling when Antrim come calling to Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon and is named in the half-forward line for the big game. (see team below)

Already a seasoned campaigner at club and county levels, James Kelly hails from a family steeped in the GAA.

His father (Paddy) and grandfather (Paddy senior) are both well-known for their hurling achievements and James also has his brother Padraig on the current Meath panel.

James Kelly is fairly straight-talking also and behind the smile there is a steely determination to do well for himself, for his family, for his club and for his county.

"My dad and my grandad were all heavily involved in Meath hurling and when you add in the club hurling as well it means that there is a great tradition of hurling in the family," he told the Meath Chronicle.

"Regarding this new competition, the Joe McDonagh Cup, we are all looking forward to the challenge, it's like a fresh start in one sense and hopefully we can give it a good run.

"Everything is going well in training, it was a bit disjointed over the last few weeks due to the club football championships, but now we are concentrating and totally focused on what we have to do in the game against Antrim on Saturday.

"The opening game against Antrim will be tough, but we know that we can beat them, we just have to go out and prove our worth.

"We know that we will have to perform at our best and to improve the speed at which we do things if we hope to make an impact in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

"Antrim will be aiming to make a winning start and they will be aware that we will not be easy opposition so we should get a good spectacle," he added.

There was also a touch of realism from the Meath captain when it was suggested that the Antrim players had the benefit of playing better quality teams in the league that Meath this year.

"What will help Antrim, and we are aware of this, they have been playing the likes of Gaway, Limerick and Dublin and will have benefited from that," he said.

"We know that when we played Dublin in the Walsh Cup, I scored three points in the game, but it was the speed at which they were doing things that caught us out a little.

"That's something we will have to deal with against all the teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup, but I'm confident we can do that 

"We have already played Westmeath, Kerry and Carlow in the league this year.

"We played Laois last year and we defeated Antrim in the Walsh Cup at the end of December.

"We are going into this with our eyes wide open and we know what we need to do to win games.

"In one sense both Meath and Antrim possibly should not be in this competition.

"We were technically relegated last year on score difference and Antrim didn't actually win the Christy Ring Cup despite those two attempts in 2016 and again last year, so that puts a bit of extra pressure on both of us.

"The other teams may view Meath as the weak link, but we don't merit that type of a description and we don't see ourselves as the weak link.

"We have lots of experienced players and the games will be coming up quick and fast, if we can win our first game it will be an ideal start.

"Everyone is looking forward to a new challenge and some exciting times for Meath hurling," he concluded.

TEAM

The Meath team for tomorrow's game is: Shane McGann; Niall Weir, Sean Geraghty, Stephen Morris; Joe Keena, Damien Healy, Shane Brennan; Keith Keoghan, Adam Gannon; James Kelly, Cathal McCabe, Eamonn O Donnchadha; Alan Douglas, Gavin McGowan, Jack Regan.