O'Mahonys can return to the top table

IFC PREVIEW Raft of other teams also in the hunt

Once more onto the breach. One of the most difficult assignments for any team in Meath football is to win the Intermediate Football Championship.

That's not a statement based on statistics but rather an assertion, a feeling, a sense created from years watching the race to the top of the pile in the second tier competition. Small margins can mean a lot in games in the IFC, particularly at the business end of the campaign.

So it takes a team fully-focused and well prepared to secure that coveted trophy - and a place in the senior ranks. A team that is well resourced and fiercely motivated - and lucky. A team with a lot going in its favour.

Rathkenny did the business last year and and took home the Mattie McDonnell Cup. This time Navan O'Mahonys may well do enough to get over the line and resume their place at the top table where they were to be found for so long.

They have, after all a rich tradition, an unparalleled story of success, like no other club in these parts. The winners of 20 SFC titles (next up is Skryne with 13). All that, of course, means little in the cut and thrust of the intermediate championship, a place where lofty reputations can be quickly tattered and torn. Instead it's an environment where every victory, every score, has to be dug out of rock.

And yet there are indications O'Mahonys, who were relegated in 2022, are on the right road. They reached last year's semi-final where they came up against a super-sharp Rathkenny side and lost out 0-6 to 1-12 but few would have lived with the Red and Blacks that day. Donal Curtis's side were unstoppable as events subsequently proved.

The Brews Hill side are managed by two men, Rory Maguire and Damien Moran, who are O'Mahonys to the core. The team is made up of a potent combination of youth and experience. Brian Dillon, Duggie Dillon, Aodhan Mallon and Jake Regan are the kind of players who don't need any instructions on what performing at this level demands.

In recent years the Hoops have also introduced a raft of newcomers and they are sure to benefit from the experience they have gained. On the downside O'Mahonys have struggled in the league this year although they were operating in Div 1, facing senior opposition week in, week out. That is sure to benefit them too. If they can build momentum, and get that proverbial slice of good good fortune, O'Mahonys can finally end their exile from the senior ranks.

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Another side who could feature prominently are Duleek/Bellewstown. They were defeated in last year's final by Rathkenny - and what a battle that was, full of adventurous play, arguably the game of the year and Duleek/Bellewstown went devilishly close to winning it. The contest went to extra-time with Duleek/Bellewstown in the end losing out, 2-14 to 1-18.

They haven't had the best of league campaigns and struggled to pick up the victories in Div 2 but can they have gone back that much? Surely the players will be driven by a hunger, to make up for last year. Could once more reach the final.

Sure, there has been changes at the top with Joe Sheridan stepping down as manager. He has been replaced by Cian Flanagan, who previously managed, sources inform us, Round Towers in Dublin and Kilcock. He had considerably success in that latter role too helping the team to a Kildare IFC crown a few years ago. He clearly knows what it takes.

Moynalvey will be strong. They will be smarting after dropping down from the senior ranks and won't want to dwell too long in the lower grade. Kilbride are an emerging young team, well coached and trained. They too could do well.

St Michael's too have had a decent run of form in the league this season while Castletown might be refocused after their heroics of winning the JFC and getting to an All-Ireland semi-final earlier last year. Can Castletown once more create some magic? Maybe but they are in difficult group and could easily be embroiled in a relegation battle. Ballivor are another team that could create waves. Reaching the quarter-finals last year was an indication they are on the rise with Brendan McKeon, Nicky Potterton, Brian O'Halloran and Stefan Kelly among those who make up a formidable outfit. St Patrick's and Oldcastle are part of a group of teams who could make a significant impact also. St Pat’s could make the last four, if not the final. Daithi Whyte and Ronan Kearns continue to manage a team with real potential. Bective too and Meath Hill could cause a few surprises. Walterstown have lost players such as Brian O'Connell and Ruairi O'Dowd but at IFC level few teams can be dismissed. That's the beauty of it all.

TEAMS WHO NEED TO BE WARY

There is, however, a cohort of teams that are likely to be more concerned about retaining their status than harbouring any realistic hopes of winning the championship with Nobber, Blackhall Gaels, Longwood (who defeated Dunderry in a relegation final last year), and Drumbaragh among those. One team will be relegated to the junior ranks. The ‘Wood could fall through the trapdoor.

Maybe, instead of battling against the drop some of those teams will put a string of impressive results together and surprise us all. Just about anything is possible in the IFC. History has shown that.