Begley wary of ‘dangerous’ Royals

Leinster SFC Quarter-Final

Seán Dempsey’s men look to have put last year’s difficulties behind them and the availability of Begley is seen as having strengthened their cause significantly ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Meath.

Perhaps of more importance, though, is the availability of captain Pádraig McMahon.

The Ballyroan Abbey club man broke an arm in a tournament game against Offaly this time last year that ruled him out of the championship.

His importance to the set-up was highlighted by Dempsey’s decision to make him skipper this season, although his positioning at left corner-back surprised many, given his sharp attacking instincts from half-back.

He has flourished there and with Begley and another returned player, Cahir Healy, settling in well outside him, Laois have a more solid look.

That solidity will be tested at Croke Park tomorrow by the Meath attack, which is considered one of the most effective forward units around.

“They are very dangerous,” Begley admits. “The more confident they get they’ll just keep scoring. (Cian) Ward, (Joe) Sheridan and (Shane) O’Rourke are three very dangerous players while they have a couple of workhorse players that will track back.

“It’s a great challenge for us. We have a back line that is very confident and we trust each other a lot. I’d rate myself as inexperienced after coming back from Australia but Pádraig and Cahir coming back is a massive help. It’s a backline with a lot of talent and confidence after the last few games.”

McMahon reckons Laois might still be a little bit off reaching their peak but agrees they should have been much more competitive than last year, when they lost to Kildare and Down.

“(Last year) was a write-off. It was such a poor year. We were unlucky with injuries and a few lads away.

“I think this year we’ve been building around a good spine of a team.

“Everything’s going well and we just want to creep under the radar and see how it goes. It mightn’t happen this year but it’s all about building a team and that’s what we’re focusing on.

“Look at our underage record in the last five or six years it’s been pretty good but we haven’t brought it through to senior as much in the last two or three years. We have the players; it’s just about the work rate now and putting the shoulder to the wheel.

“We’re getting a little bit older. Last year there were some mistakes made and maybe they were down to inexperience but I think the team is maturing. It may take another year or two but we’re building a good team.”

Begley’s AFL experience has certainly proved beneficial.

“Colm is great, he’s really positive,” McMahon enthuses. “A lot of stuff that he brings to training is really positive. He brings that certain element of professionalism and it’s just great for us to see. It’s a good reflection on the team, his input, and we’d be happy enough the way things are going.”

So now, Laois are a serious outfit again, who while not looking beyond the Royals, can start dreaming big again.

“There’s an onus on us every year to produce,” McMahon insists. “We’d like to think we should be getting more out of ourselves. We should be getting to Leinster finals.

“The target this year for every Leinster team is to dethrone Dublin. They’re the standard-bearers. We just have to try and knock them off their pedestal. It’s going to be a tough day’s work but we’re going to try our best.

“The target is to be in Croke Park as many days in the summer as you can. We have to play 13, that’s obviously our immediate focus, but we all have the target of winning a Leinster final and dream of winning All-Irelands.”