Clough-Ballacolla's Willie Dunphy on the lookout for an eighth Laois GAA SHC medal this Sunday

Clough-Ballacolla’s Willie Dunphy needs no introduction when it comes to the Laois Senior Hurling Championship. A stalwart of the club, he was part of their first-ever Senior Championship win back in 2009, and 16 years later, he’s looking to claim his eighth medal from 11 County Finals, including replays.

Reflecting on his club’s semi-final victory over Ballinakill, a match that needed extra-time to separate the sides, Dunphy admits that while semi-finals are there to be won, his team didn’t make life easy for themselves with the number of wides they hit.

"No, we didn't. We certainly didn't think it was going to be easy either. Having looked at Ballinakill all year, they were very impressive in most of their games, so it wasn't a team that we were going to take for granted anyway. There were probably a few circumstances; the five-week lead-in didn't help us, and Ballinakill were coming in off a big win in the quarter-finals. Semi-finals are for winning, and we eventually got over the line, thank God," he said.

The game itself was nip and tuck throughout normal time, with both sides having chances to win before extra-time was needed.

"The last 15 minutes are nearly blank. It was crazy at times; we just couldn't seem to get the ball over the bar for whatever reason. Whether it was down to the wind, or we probably lacked a bit of confidence, as well as in our shooting, but we left a lot behind us. We left a few goals behind us in the first-half, and one or two in the second-half as well. We left ourselves with too much work to do, and it could have gone either way in the last three or four minutes. Ballinakill had some great chances, and we were running in on goal as well at one stage. It could have went either way," Dunphy said.

One man who truly stood up in extra-time was corner-forward Cillian Dunne, who scored 1-6 in the extra 20 minutes, including three frees after taking over from Stephen Bergin, who was replaced.

"Absolutely delighted with Cillian. He's had to work hard to get where he is, and we were delighted to see him come to the fore for us at the weekend. He was dropped earlier on in the year, I think it was the first round of the championship, and he's had to earn his place on the team. I think we're finally starting to see the Cillian that we know, and the Cillian that we see every night in training, so no better man to pull us out of the fire," he commented.

With seven county medals already in his collection, Dunphy reflected on his remarkable career and whether any of them stand out more than the rest. While he fondly recalls that historic 2009 triumph, he says each one carries its own story.

"They all tell their own stories to be honest. It's been a long time since 2009, and that was a special day for the parish. This year, we probably have our own motivation within the camp as well, and it'll write its own story. There's none of them sweeter than the next one, but you're always chasing to get up those steps of O’Moore Park, and it's no different than any of the Camross lads; they'll feel the same way. You're always chasing that one more medal," Dunphy added.

This year’s Laois Senior Hurling Championship introduced a new 10-team format, bringing with it extra games and new challenges. Dunphy says the team identified early on where they wanted to be and planned accordingly.

"We looked at it at the start of the year, and obviously, there’s a big difference. In other years, you could win a County Final in five games; this year, it was going to take a minimum of seven, maybe eight games if you played a quarter-final. We had a chat about it, and we kind of set out our stall for the group stages. We put a target on what we needed, and we just about got through in the last game against The Harps on the Friday evening. We wanted the break between the last round and the semi-final. We normally look at getting a good bank of work done within those few weeks, and it put us in good stead for a tough semi-final. It worked out for us, and thankfully, we got to the final," Dunphy ended.