Carton urges Déise to build on run to All-Ireland final
CAMOGIE star Beth Carton has warned her Waterford teammates that they can’t afford to lean on last year’s success.
The Déise side stunned the sport by reaching their first O’Duffy Cup final in 78 years, making it a breakthrough season despite suffering an emphatic defeat in the final to Cork.
But Carton is adamant her team are starting from scratch again this season, dismissing a suggestion that they are now a ‘respected’ force in the game.
‘You have to go out and earn respect as well, and we still probably have to do that. I don’t know if you are ever looking to see if the other team respect you as such, you are just trying to compete as best you can with them,’ said Carton, who wants her team to push on in 2024.
‘At this level, if you have one bad year it can roll on and roll on. It’s massive that we build on last year. You’re not guaranteed anything.
‘We’re lucky that we’re in Division 1, getting to play against the top teams again. It’s massive for this year to get back on track, get momentum.
‘And I think young girls will follow that.’
Meanwhile, the Electric Ireland Camogie Third Level Rising Stars team was unveiled yesterday, and unsurprisingly it was dominated by champions UL, who have eight players on the selection. 2024 ELECTRIC IRELAND THIRD LEVEL RISING STARS: Sinead Farrell (UL, Kilkenny), Eimear Loughman, (UL, Tipperary), Claire Kingston (UL, Cork), Sharon Shanahan (UL, Offaly), Orla Sinnott (TUD, Wexford), Aine Keane (UL, Galway), Aoife Healy (UCC, Cork), Ciara O’Connor (DCU, Wexford), Eimear Heffernan (UCC, Tipperary), Kerrie Finnegan (TUD, Dublin), Roisin McCormack (TUD, Antrim), Mairead O’Brien (UL, Waterford), Casey Hennessy (UL, Tipperary), Eimear McGrath (UL, Tipperary), Aisling Gannon (DCU, Dublin).