READY AND ABLE
McGraynor on the battle ahead
IN BALLINAKILL last weekend, as Wicklow were doing battle with Ballyboden St. Endas in a practice game, Harry Murphy sent Conor McGraynor into the action for the second half.
The Avondale man finished with five points and looked a danger throughout and on Sunday you can bet that if he doesn't do the scoring against Laois he'll play a major role in the process because this is a season where McGraynor is loving his football, from college all the way through to the county.
“At the moment I think I'm consistent in my performances,” said Conor when asked if this is the season where he's playing his best football ever. “I played well for the college in the O'Byrne Cup and then in the Sigerson, and throughout the league I did ok. In other years with Micko and for Harry's first and second years I wasn't getting that consistency, maybe I wasn't putting in the hard work, I couldn't really say. But this year is the first year I was starting on the Sigerson team in college and I carried that form through to the county,” he said.
The college factor is massive when you consider Conor McGraynor. The Avondale man hit the headlines earlier in the year with his performances for DCU in the O'Byrne Cup and the Sigerson and he credits a Laois man, Ross Munnelly, for his progression with Munnelly being manager of the freshers team that McGraynor started out on.
An elbow break last year put paid to his championship dreams and he spent the summer in America. He had made a miraculous recovery from that injury, getting back fit again after only six weeks but this year he's firing on all cylinders and part of the reason for his form he believes is the introduction of Dublin's Johnny McGee to the management team.
“He's a breath of fresh air,” said Conor, “He's a different voice and he has lots of experience with Dublin in fairness. He's very good with his words and while he shouts, Harry is quite quieter and more reserved. They have a huge effect on the camp, they get on very well, they seem to have a connection, there's no friction and there's a good bit of craic going on. We went away to Waterford recently and that has brought us together, we had a bonding session down there with a few training sessions,” he added.
Another positive from the Wicklow camp ahead of the championship battle this Sunday in Aughrim is the competition for places and the finding of form of plenty of the players.
“Daragh O'Sullivan is going well, Mark Kenny, John McGrath who has had a bit of a set back but you have six positions in the forwards and you have 12 or 14 lads pushing hard for them. You've Paul Cinningham who has found a bit of form and there's a huge effort going in at the moment and everyone seems to be peaking and in right form. There were over 30 lads used in the last two practice games and there's a real competition for places,” said Conor.
McGraynor says that Aughrim is obviously an advantage but that if they were asked to play in a phonebox it wouldn't worry them.
“Nobody is going to say they don't want to play in Aughrim but if the game was fixed for a phone kiosk we wouldn't be too worried. We're 100 per cent focused on this Laois game and hopefully we'll get a good crowd behind us because the cheering does spur you on, when you look up and see a few thousand people supporting you it does make a difference,” he added.
The Avondale man knows a few of the Laois players and he knows Wicklow are in for a right battle this Sunday.
“Well I'd know Ross Munnelly and Colm Begley, he was captain of the team in DCU and I'd get on quite well with him. Then they have O'Loughlin and Kingston, they've got strong forwards and they're strong all down the middle,” he said.
Speaking of strong, Conor McGraynor is strong, has a formidable frame, impressive accuracy, deceiving pace, good balance, and good awareness. He's hopefully be the anchorman in a full forward line of himself, Seanie Furlong and Leighton Glynn, and this year he'll bring a power and a punch that Wicklow forward lines have been missing in championship football for years.