Mullaney’s passion for Camogie as strong as ever

By Joe Scully

Tipperary junior camogie manager Bill Mullaney is relishing the opportunity his side face ahead of their All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship final against Laois in Croke Park on Sunday.

Speaking at the media night ahead of the final, the former senior boss knows his side are in for a tough game against their Leinster neighbours.

“It’s a final and Laois are going to be a tough ask just like Armagh were in the semi-final,” he said.

“They are a very strong physical side, a fast-running team, good forwards and we will have to show up on the day, if we want to get the result we want.”

Mullaney assumed the manager role at the start of the year after David Sullivan, who managed the team to the All-Ireland final last year, took on the Offaly senior job, and the Newport/Ballinahinch clubman who managed Tipp to an All-Ireland minor success in 2016 was the ideal person to take on the role.

As well as the change in management, there has also been a massive overhaul from last year’s squad, with just two players who started the final defeat to Clare, starting in the semi-final win over Armagh. Mullaney admitted he wasn’t expecting it to be this way when he took over late last year.

“I didn’t think it would be like this but it’s turned out to be a relativity new team and panel,” he admitted.

“I’m delighted for the players, that they have got to another final. Last year’s panel set it up for us, and paved the way and we got to go out and finish the job that they started last year.”

The Newport/Ballinahinch clubman is delighted with how the year has gone so far reaching a National League Division 2B final where they fell to Cork before winning the Munster Intermediate title, beating Kerry in the final.

“You can’t get anywhere without the commitment from the management team linking with the players, and getting the panel involved,” Mullaney added.

“Everybody is invested in it, wanting it to happen giving 100% to it all the time. The girls are training four times a week, making it from work, giving up their nights, their days off, their weekends like any good team would like any good panel would.

“There is a great bond within the unit and that’s what has got us here. They’re pushing each other in training, there is no giving out, and believe me the selection headaches are huge and that’s the sign of a good strong panel and that’s exactly what you want.”

Reflecting on sides semi-final victory over Armagh, Mullaney knows they weren’t at their best, but they can and must improve for the final.

“We didn’t play brilliantly, but we played well enough, and there’s always the cliché about semi-finals, there just there just there to be won and get over,” he said.

“I thought we were the better team, but over the sixty minutes we only played in phases, but that’s also down to Armagh too, they were very hard to beat, but our girls came through and saw it out, and I thought we were good value for the win overall.”

Bill would have preferred a shorter build-up than the three weeks but said training in the build up to the final is of the highest intensity, and that it will need to be if they are to be properly prepared for the challenge Laois will bring.

“I don’t think they realise how tough it’s going to be tonight,” Mullaney said of their training sessions ten days out from the final.

“We are going to figure out on the day against Laois what intensity is going to be, and we will have to bring that into training, but in fairness they do that every night and we just have to pick it up again and drive on.”