GAA: Laois forward Conor Meredith braced for Aughrim battle with Wicklow on Sunday

Conor Meredith says Laois are focused on avoiding an unwanted treble when they face Wicklow in Aughrim on Sunday.

I’ve never played in Aughrim before but I’ve heard second-hand that it’s an intimidating place to go to. Wicklow ran Meath very close there last year. We’re prepared for a battle

The O’Moore County have crashed out of the Leinster Championship at the preliminary round stage in the past two seasons, losing in Longford in 2012 and at home to Louth last year.

On both occasions Laois responded positively, embarking on decent runs through the qualifiers, but Meredith told Sky Sports that the panel are keen to make an impact in Leinster this summer.

“You don’t want to be going out in the first round and straight into the qualifiers,” he said.

“We’ve had a couple of good runs through the qualifiers but ideally you want to be involved in the Leinster Championship.

“Hopefully we can make amends for the last couple of years by getting the win down in Aughrim. We’re looking to atone for those losses, big time.

“Wicklow will be tough down in Aughrim. They’re going to come prepared and will have a couple of lads back from injury. Home advantage is a big plus for them; there’ll be a big crowd behind them, but we’re hopeful of going down there and getting the win.”

Intimidating

Laois’ last championship trip to Aughrim came back in 1986, when Wicklow shocked the high-flying visitors in a bad-tempered affair. Three Laois players were sent off and another was carried off with a broken nose as the Garden County ran out four-point winners in a game dubbed ‘The Battle of Aughrim’.

“I’ve never played there before but I’ve heard second-hand that it’s an intimidating place to go to,” said Meredith.

“Wicklow ran Meath very close in Aughrim last year, and although they missed out on promotion in the National League, they had a good couple of wins. We’re prepared for a battle.”

Now under the stewardship of Tomas O Flatharta, Laois struggled for consistency during the National League. Eye-catching victories over Louth and Galway were negated by heavy defeats to Donegal and Armagh, but a final-day win over Down preserved their Division Two status and ensured they finished the campaign on a positive note.

Meredith says the players have been impressed by the approach of O Flatharta and his backroom team.

“Tomas has come in with some good ideas, tweaked a couple of things, and helped us improve in areas that needed improvement,” he said.

“It’s all going pretty well at the moment. The lads have really got on board with what he’s brought to the table.”

Force

Meredith shot onto the inter-county scene in 2007 when he scored a hat-trick in Laois’ Leinster minor final win over Carlow, but it wasn’t until last year that he made his senior debut after spending four years overseas, which included a stint with Aussie Rules side North Melbourne.

While Meredith has been Down Under, Laois has fallen down the pecking order in Leinster but he is hopeful they can once again become a serious force in the province.

“There are a couple of lads on the panel – Ross Munnelly and Padraig McMahon – who have been here a long time,” said the O’Dempsey’s clubman. 

“Ross won a Leinster title in 2003. They’ve passed down their experience to us of what it’s like to be in Leinster semi-finals and finals and the latter stages of the All-Ireland, year after year. That’s where we want to be at.

“I know people sit down at the start of the year and say that they want to win Leinsters and All-Irelands, but we cannot afford to look past Wicklow. If you do you can get carried away, and maybe that’s where we slipped us in the last couple of years.

“Wicklow is the only thing on our minds at the moment.”