Ross O’Callaghan says new fixtures calendar is good for club players

TEN years on from when they last contested a County Final, Kerins O’Rahillys seem to be a better place in 2018 compared to more recent times when relegation issues in both League and Championship dogged them in challenging for major honours.

Last year was a particularly crazy one as they were guaranteed to be involved on County Final day either in the decider itself or in a relegation playoff with Kilcummin when they made the semi-finals. Defeat to South Kerry put them in a battle with the East Kerry side they eventually pulled through. However, it was strange that a loss to Kenmare Shamrocks on home turf in the Club Championship that April put them on the back-foot so much that the County Championship appeared more a campaign for survival than success.

Ross O’Callaghan was glad when 2017 was all put to bed as he finds the fixture changes for the present year positive in the main.

“As a club team you are practically playing every week which is good for developing players, especially when we had our inter-county players away and the second side in Division Five of the County League allowed us to find replacements for players who were away over the summer. We had a lot of players last year who hadn’t experienced Championship and have a much better idea of what to expect this time,” the Strand Road defender said.

When asked what’s very different in 2018, O’Callaghan compared the fixtures to being like a ‘blitz’.

“We’ve found it good, but the main thing is that you have to stay injury free as a club side if you want to go further. In the Club Championship we only had David (Moran) for our last game against An Ghaeltacht which we needed to win to avoid finishing bottom, and while we were happy with how we played against Crokes at home, we know it will be far tougher now that teams will be more advanced at this stage,” he feels.

Tommy Walsh has shown good form for O’Rahillys this year in a campaign that sees them contending for a County League Final appearance for the first time in five years as O’Callaghan welcomes these down weeks in getting their inter-county contingent back within the club ranks.

“It’s great just to have those few weeks after the All-Ireland is over to get them back into what we are doing especially when we’ve been doing our own development as well. We know Feale Rangers will be a tough and physical test, they beat us in Strand Road in 2014 so we know what they are capable of on their day,” he believes.

Overall O’Callaghan sees divisional sides in general being much more formidable in this new style of Championship.

“Not having to worry about Intermediate or Junior Championship games with their clubs makes it a lot easier for them to concentrate on their districts and you can only really take it onega meat a time when it will be harder for club sides in this format.”