McGill delighted to be back on the big stage

PLAYER REACTION

Ratoath's Conor McGill looked a contented young man as he stood on the Pairc Tailteann pitch after Sunday's game - and why wouldn't he?

After all the 29-year-old has endured his own injury hell in recent times. An injury hell that sidelined him and forced him to watch club and inter-county games instead of taking part in them - and spectating is something he hates doing.

"A bit of a rollercoaster" is how he describes his journey. It's a journey that started last October when he broke his left arm when playing for Ratoath in the SFC against Summerhill. It was a real sickener in every way for the accomplished full-back.

He had to have surgery and a plate inserted into the arm but he endured the pain and did what he had to do to get back on track. He returned to training with the county team and was hoping to get back in contention for a place ASAP. Then, bang, in an accidental collision in training he broke the arm again.

"Watching the first five rounds of the National League wasn't easy. I wouldn't be the best spectator, the nerves get the better of me. I'm more nervous as a spectator that a supporter. A least I can do something when I'm out there on the pitch."

In the past McGill broke his collarbone and fractured a bone in his leg. He came back to re-established him as Meath's number one number three. He did it again this year, returning to the team for the closing stages of a generally forgettable National League campaign. It was no surprise that when McGill and Bryan Menton (who was also sidelined) returned to the fold Meath's performances improved considerably.

Both men have done something few Meath players have managed to do in recent years - they were nominated for All-Star Awards in 2019. McGill won the nomination for the way he added craft and skill to Meath's defensive battlements; qualities that were evident again against Wicklow.

McGill is hoping he and Meath have a long summer ahead of them on the country's playing fields as they go in search of championship success. Meath went into Sunday's game as red-hot favourites and that also made him very wary. Not so long ago he was at the foothills of his inter-county career now he's a seasoned campaigner, aware of what can happen to even the hottest of contenders.

"Going into the game we were strong favourites but in championship anything can happen. If a team goes ahead early they can sit back, make it difficult, so it's a case of getting out of the blocks early, get ahead - and we did that today. If you focus on that, and achieve it, it makes life that much easier for yourself."

McGill outlined how he goes into games with "background information" on players he will be marking. He also takes note of what an opponent tries to do in the opening minutes of a game. "You see what he does in the first couple of minutes, what way he likes to dink and move, and you base your approach on that also." No doubt he will be putting extra homework in ahead of the Dublin game.

A financial adviser based in Dunboyne McGill says his job is to focus on what he has to do, on getting his "own house in order" with the hope it will pay rich dividends. He's just delighted to be back playing, back to full fitness, back on the pitch having an influence, free from those pesky injuries that kept him away from the big stage; a place he knows and loves.