'We have devised new game plans and it's all positive'

LADIES NFL DIV 1 REACTION Manager watches Meath win on sad day for him

Sunday’s game should have been a happy occasion for Shane McCormack and it was in at least one respect. The Meath manager watched his team overcome the conditions and the challenge of the home team to get their NFL Div 1 campaign up and running in the way they would have wanted – by winning.

In another respect it was an afternoon filled with profound sadness for the manager. Shortly before the start of the game at a hurricane-swept Newtownstewart Shane received the news that his beloved aunt Maureen had passed away.

Often team managers have to deal with all sorts of issues concerning their players but it is doubtful many had to grapple with the kind of emotional roller-coaster Meath’s chief mentor had to deal with before Sunday’s match got underway. Essentially he had to try and put aside his own personal feelings for 60 minutes and focus on what was happening on the pitch. Somehow.

“It was about half-an-hour before the throw in when I got the call that my aunt Maureen McCormack had passed away. I know she would have wanted me to plough on and get a good result here today. She lived in Rathangan, my father’s sister, they were originally from Emyvale. We’ll dedicate that victory to her. She would have been a big influence on me growing up as was my father.”

In the run up to Sunday’s game Meath had prepared diligently for the test that awaited them and it was just as well considering the conditions. The wind and driving rain demanded that players had to be fit and ready for the battle.

Meath’s approach is also about movement with players interchanging constantly between defence and attack and vice versa. It’s a very fluid type of game and Tyrone, newcomers to the top flight, simply had to no answer to the power, craft and experience the Royals brought with them.

The manager didn’t want to leave anything to chance against a team who went close to winning the All-Ireland Intermediate title last year. If a team is in Div 1 they deserve to be there and have to be totally respected, is Shane McCormack’s approach – and clearly he and his colleagues in the management set up had everything in place to ensure this particular test was overcome.

The Meath players arrived at the ground at exactly 12.15pm so they had plenty of time to take in the scene and get ready for the battle that unfolded; a battle as much against the hurricane-like conditions as the opposition.

This is a year of transition for Meath with 12 new players involved in the panel but there are still so many familiar faces although two of the team’s most prominent figures of recent years, Emma Duggan and Vikki Wall, didn’t play even though they were at Newstownstewart.

Duggan is still on her way back to fitness and she watched the action from the bench while Wall was busily engaged in warm up routines with the other players but didn’t get involved in the game at any stage.

“Vikki is back training and going well. We are delighted to have her back in training, competition in the panel is healthy. We’ll see how training goes, she had a super year in the AFLW, winning the title (with North Melbourne) and we’re delighted to have her back. Emma is on her way back too, and with the 12 newcomers it creates plenty of competition. It’s all positive.”

This is Shane McCormack’s second year in charge. Not surprisingly he says the first campaign was a huge learning curve for him. There has been a lot to take onboard for this season too with so many new players in, different systems employed and new coaches added to the ticket including Wayne Freeman, the former Clare ladies manager, John O’Connor the goalkeeping coach and former Louth footballer Darren Clarke who is the forwards coach.

Reflecting back on last year the Meath manager says that some valuable and yes, harsh lessons were taken on board in the league and championship.

“We were probably a bit naïve playing Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final, we went away from our game plan in that encounter. We have devised new game plans, new structures, we have new coaches, it’s all positive.

“It’s about high fitness levels ensuring the players are up to the mark, staying on the ball, finishing your run, counterattacking, that’s what I asked them to do and that’s what they are doing, they are sticking by it and it’s all good. It’s all about positivity.”

Next up for Meath is Mayo at Pairc Tailteann on Monday next. The Meath manager recalled also meeting them in the league last year in a game played in the famous Connacht Dome that took a battering in recent weeks. That Mayo game also took place on a stormy day with Meath emerging with a victory. He would love the same outcome this time around.

“It’s a huge test and we have a big run in from then on with games against Waterford, Kildare, Armagh, Kerry and Dublin so this division is going to be very tough.”

Sunday’s comprehensive victory represented a very positive start for Shane McCormack’s Meath side. It was a day of some satisfaction for the manager with the team’s victory and display. It was also a day of profound sadness for him at a personal level with the news of the passing of his beloved aunt Maureen.