Queally vows no more Roanmore stagefright as daunting Gunners loom again

The 20-point difference at the county final whistle last year was a reflection of Roanmore’s greenness

Sat, 03 Sep, 2022 - 06:15

John Fogarty

A no-show. Stagefright. Rabbits in headlights. Call them or their performance what you will but Roanmore were a pale version of themselves in last year’s Waterford SHC final.

As formidable as it was facing the then eight-in-a-row chasing Ballygunner, the 20-point difference at the final whistle was more of a reflection of Roanmore’s greenness than their actual hurling ability.

Tomorrow’s semi-final against a Ballygunner side that has since added Munster and All-Ireland titles to their bounty of accolades is just as daunting, acknowledges Roanmore manager Peter Queally, but he likes to think they are better for the 2021 chastening experience.

“Look, coming up to the game we were keen to concentrate on the game but when it came to analysing it afterwards there was no doubt that occasion affected the lads. The live cameras. You try to brush off these things and make little of them but it definitely did affect our performance.

“Another big thing was it was our third weekend in a row and we had a huge battle in the quarter-final against Lismore and another one after that against Dungarvan. Expecting a bunch of young fellas to go to the well that often in that short stretch was a lot. As much as we tried to build them up, the mental fatigue kicked in and a combination of all those things led to an under-par performance.

“Now it’s all about concentrating on ourselves and a performance, which we didn’t get last year. It wasn’t hard to motivate these lads after that county final. To be honest, it was more difficult trying to hold them back because they were mad for road and we couldn’t afford to go back too early, especially with the split season structure. We had to time it right.

“They achieved their goals last year, getting to a semi-final and then to go an extra step to the final. Obviously, the final didn’t go the way we wanted but they took the positives out of it and we approached this year with a view to enjoying it.”

Being put on the undercard to De La Salle-Mount Sion in Walsh Park tomorrow suggests the fixture planners mightn’t think much of Roanmore’s hopes but Queally doesn’t mind it a bit. He actually prefers the lunchtime throw-in.

Besides, playing Ballygunner at any time is a challenge. “We can’t gloss over the fact that it’s daunting,” he says of Roanmore’s vaunted opposition. “There’s no point in being silly about it. We have to be realistic. How do we approach it? We have studied it, we have looked at their previous game and last year’s final where we, and I include management, made errors. Lads have a different approach this year and we have to be braver. That’s kind of the way we’re going into this game.”

Teams managed by Queally down through the years have been known for playing an expansive brand of hurling and it’s a tenet of his philosophy he won’t shift, not even for Ballygunner. “I was onto JJ Kavanaghs during the week and we have ordered two double-deckers,” he laughs. “No, the thing about this Ballygunner team is they’ve played teams with different styles and they were able to work around them.

“There is no secret formula. I do think that people often overlook that Ballygunner, while tactically and technically good, work harder than other teams. That’s their key thing and that's what we’ll be zoning in on, to beat that work-rate.”

Queally knows Roanmore are not a fleeting operation. On Wednesday evening, he arrived before training to find a combination of the U14s and U15s playing a game. “There were 40 fellas there and they had 10 subs. In the Tony Forristal the other week, there were Waterford teams and I think they had three Roanmore players on each team. The future is quite good.”

Not that it’s high on his list of priorities right now but he would like to think after back-to-back semi-final appearances there will be more of a Roanmore representation in the Waterford panel next season under new manager Davy Fitzgerald.

“There are some very ambitious young fellas there that would have been disappointed that in getting to the final last year they didn’t get enough recognition on that front.

“It’s an outside factor for us as a management team but you still take it into consideration and there are a few fellas who have played under-age for Waterford and the next step is senior for them. Sunday is another opportunity for them to put their hands up and say, ‘Look, we’re here, we can add to the set-up'.”