O’Rourke sticks to looking after Number One as Royals turn focus to Kildare

Three years ago, Meath opened their Leinster championship campaign against Kildare at Croke Park, and Paddy O’Rourke was thrown the number 14 jersey. Fear and self-doubt consumed him.

Naturally enough, he kept his emotions to himself, but he felt out of his depth pulling on the same jersey that his uncle, Colm, and cousin, Shane, had both worn to such good effect at different stages before him.

Thankfully, that sojourn on the edge of the opposition’s square was brief.

O’Rourke’s good form at wing-forward in Skryne’s county title-winning team had earned him the slot, two years after keeping goals in the 2009 All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry.

But when he pulls on the number one jersey at Croke Park tomorrow against familiar opposition, Kildare again, it will feel altogether more natural.

Gone is the nervousness and hollow feeling in the stomach, replaced by what O’Rourke himself describes as a ‘cockiness’, derived from that little streak of madness every true keeper possesses.

They’re whispering it quietly in Meath but given his progression, O’Rourke is well on his way to earning the same sort of status as Royals icons Brendan Murphy and Mickey McQuillan.

“I’ll never play for Meath outfield again,” said O’Rourke. “I think that was just a season of madness.”

Depending on how things pan out in the coming weeks, a season of majesty may just await. Meath remain 50/1 long shots for All-Ireland success, though two more wins in Leinster would change all of that.

With O’Rourke now shaping up as one of the more experienced players, their young side demolished Carlow in the quarter-finals.

The real stuff begins now, as a win over Kildare tomorrow would ensure a likely third straight Leinster final tie against Dublin.

“Kildare seem to have trimmed down an awful lot since Jason Ryan took over,” said O’Rourke. “The bulk they used to have doesn’t seem to be there now.

“They seem a lot more mobile yet they still have the big physical lads out around the middle of the field and that.

“They just seem to be a side more capable of moving the ball at speed so that’s definitely one of the things we’ve looked at.”

Meath yesterday named a side without Mickey Newman, a hamstring injury accounting for the All Star nominee who shot 3-2 against Carlow. Bryan Menton effectively replaces him at midfield, though it necessitates a positional shake-up. O’Rourke’s cousin, Shane, is named in the forwards though he may revert to midfield where he featured against Carlow.

The big problem with assessing where Meath stand, as keeper O’Rourke accepts, is that they beat Carlow so easily.

“In the back of your mind, you did have one eye on the next game,” admitted O’Rourke. “People were expecting us to win there and we were expecting to win.

“It is tough on Carlow. Like, Brendan Murphy, Carlow’s stand-out best player they have produced in the last few years, was standing behind my goals watching them. He should have been out there inspiring them, playing for them. That kind of summed it up.”

O’Rourke can’t have too much sympathy. Given how Kildare performed against Louth in their quarter-final, winning by 15 points, the Royals could be on the receiving end of a punishing beating themselves, if they are not entirely clued in. All that the powerful Dundalk IT student union official can do is to have his own house in order and to hit the field with his typical self- confidence. He feels he’s fully prepared for the challenge of a Kildare side containing tricky young forwards like Niall Kelly and Padraig Fogarty.

“I went to the Kildare/Louth game and they trounced Louth,” he said. “It got ragged towards the end, it wasn’t real Championship fare at all. But we’ve plenty of video analysis done from right through their league games. We’ve had a look at the best bits from the Louth game and taken what we can. Personally, I’ve been watching out for the forwards, what’s their preference when shooting? Do they shoot for goal? If a lad takes a penalty, where does he normally put it? That sort of stuff.”

All of the stuff he privately wished he was doing the last time he played against Kildare at Croke Park.