Good mix of youth and experience key for Portlaoise in Junior final against Killeshin

The Portlaoise Junior footballers are gearing up for a major encounter as they take on Killeshin in this year’s LOETB Laois LGFA County Final. 

Ahead of Saturday’s decisive clash, Emma Dunne, Amy Byrne, and manager Mark Brophy spoke to the media at the LOETB Portlaoise Institute on Friday evening.

Emma Dunne says the squad is brimming with excitement after months of preparation and training.

“I suppose we're really looking forward to it. We've been training all year, we're improving all year, so we're really looking forward to it and hope we get the win out of it.”

Reflecting on their semi-final success against The Heath, Dunne praised the team’s resilience.

“The Heath, it was a great battle, it could have went either way, but I think in the end we really fought, we worked hard together, so we're delighted with the win.”

Amy Byrne highlighted the positive impact of blending youth and experience within the squad.

“We have a good few players now that are coming up from minor and they're fantastic footballers and I suppose the bit of experience from playing in games like this can be filtered down now through them. There are a few other players that are in the same boat as me, so it's nice to have that filtered down into the other players.”

The presence of young county players has also strengthened Portlaoise this season, Byrne added.

“They had a good year last year and I’m sure they'll have a good year again this year. They're good players, we've a couple of them that were in with the county team that did well this year, they won a Leinster final and they're fantastic footballers and they'll be ones to watch now for the future.”

Byrne also spoke about the challenges of balancing dual commitments, after Portlaoise were forced to concede a camogie game due to a fixture clash with their Junior football semi-final.

“It's disappointing to say the least, when you're putting so much into both codes and you're not getting the same respect back, it is tough and it's hard to take. Nobody wants to have to concede games because of fixture clashes that could be avoided, so it's disappointing.”

Manager Mark Brophy believes his team have the quality to compete at the next level, though he stresses that it must be earned on the pitch.

“They would be, yes, without doubt, but you have to earn your step up. You have to go and win the final next week. We're not thinking about that far; we're just thinking about the match, 60 minutes against Killeshin. We need to improve, as Emma said, we've been improving all year, we just have to make that next step up and hopefully we'll have enough, but we will see on the day.”

On where the game could be decided, Brophy pointed to fundamentals.

“Well, like every game, it's who has the ball most and who makes the right decisions with the ball, and that won't change next Saturday. Killeshin are a fine side, they're unbeaten all year. We're the same, we're unbeaten in the Championship and we had a good league run as well, where we won Division 2. We've lost players, of course, to senior level, but I think we're growing and improving as a team week by week.”

Finally, he stressed the morale boost from winning Division 2 earlier this season.

“It was huge. It gave the girls the belief that they're good enough and that there's nothing like winning, every team wants to win things. If we can keep that habit and culture going, we'll be fine.”

READ NEXT: Triple delight as Laois Camogie stars shine in 2025 PwC Camogie Soaring Stars