Hurlers face three games that will define the season

The Curragh camp was the latest stop-off point for the Meath hurlers last Saturday as they continued their preparations for three successive games in the NHL Div 2B. Meath manager Cillian Farrell brought his troops to the training camp to tackle the army assault course which has been used by other GAA teams in the past. Farrell's team open their NHL campaign with a game against Kildare at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday and they follow that with a trip to London in what is a re-arranged fixture the following Saturday 3rd March. Then, on Sunday 11th March Farrell takes his team to Castlebar to face the challenge of Mayo. Meath were originally due to play London on Sunday 17th March however with Ireland taking on England in a Six Nations game in Twickenham the same weekend it was felt the best course of action was to change the hurling game to Saturday 3rd March after difficulties were encountered in booking flights to the English capital. The Meath travelling party will fly to London on the morning of the game and return home the same evening. "Ireland play England that weekend and it suited both teams to have the tie brought forward," stated Farrell. "It's irrelevant to us when we play the game, you would imagine that Kildare and London are two of the toughest teams in our group, we're now playing them together and we will really know where we are going after both those games. At the minute we're not looking any further than the Kildare game." Farrell felt that the trip to the Curragh was a very worthwhile exercise in terms of improving the standard of fitness of his players and the morale within the squad. "We went on the army assault course which you may have seen on Operation Transformation. It was just a change for the players, something different. It was a bonding day out with some hard work as well," he said. Meath go into their spring offensive on the back of a disappointing four-goal defeat by St Patrick's, Drumcondra in the Kehoe Cup which left them with a three-week gap with no competitive action before the start of the league. The Kildare clash is sure to present a considerable challenge for Meath who have had their share of problems with the Lilywhites in the recent past although in the corresponding fixture last year at Newbridge it was the visitors who prevailed 2-19 to 3-13. Farrell is eager to point out that Meath have put in "a huge, huge effort" since that lacklustre performance against St Patrick's and the manager will be looking for an improvement in the quality of play produced by his men. "We'll be looking closely at the performance if the lads can get up the intensity and if we can get the performance we're looking for on Sunday we can beat Kildare," he added defiantly. While the Kehoe Cup was about experimentation and giving young players an opportunity to impress the league is an unforgiving environment where inexperience will be punished and with a raft of new players involved this year Farrell is well aware he's taking a calculated risk. "We conceded a lot of goals against St Pat's no doubt about it, but we scored 1-16 and while we were well beaten on the scoreboard there wasn't that much between the teams in general play." Meath will feel the loss of players such as Dave Kirby and Joey Keena who have emigrated while last year's 'hurler-of-the-year' Derek Doran remains sidelined with a shoulder injury. Otherwise Farrell says that he has a clean bill of health and if players such as Nicky Horan, Peter Durnin and Keith Keoghan receive a steady supply of possession they can cause the Kildare defence real problems. Kildare can call on former Tipperary players David Kennedy and Eddie Enright who have proven records at the highest level. Between the posts for Meath will be Shane McGann, the county's sole representative on the Christy Ring Champion 15. He is sure to have a busy afternoon. Meath panel - Shane McGann (Kiltale), Cormac Reilly (Navan O'Mahonys), Enda Fitzgerald (Roscrea), Daniel Gleeson (Na Fianna), Enda Keogh (Kildalkey), Paul Fagan (Dunboyne), Stephen Morris (Blackhall Gaels), Stephen Clynch (Kilmessan), Ciaran Fitzsimons (Clann na nGael), Eoin Marsh (Kilmessan), Damien Healy (Longwood), Keith Keoghan (Killyon), James Kelly (Kiltale), Nicky Horan (Kilmessan), David Raleigh (Killyon), Conor Murray (Gaeil Colmcille), Anthony Donnelly (Kiltale), Eoin Potterton (Kildalkey), Stephen Donoghue (Kiltale), Mike Cole (Rathmolyon), Sean Heavey (Kildalkey), Cathal Flaherty (Boardsmill), Shane Brennan (Kilmessan), Noel Kirby (Kildalkey), Willie Mahady (Kiltale), Peter Durnin (Kiltale).