Wall set to travel that extra mile to answer club's call

Meath's Vikki Wall set to travel thousands of miles as she goes in search of a Meath Ladies SFC title with her club Dunboyne.

It is understood that Wall will return to Ireland from Australia on Saturday just 24 hours ahead of the Meath Ladies SFC final between Dunboyne and Simonstown.

 Wall was invited to take part in a 'combine' in Melbourne with the chance of gaining a coveted AFLW contract. 

She was invited to Australia along with Galway and Cork stars Olivia Divilly and Saoirse Noonan, players who have impressed with their consistency this year. 

Wall was a major driving force in helping Meath reach the All-Ireland Ladies IFC final for the second successive year where they lost out to Tipperary. She scored 1-2 against Roscommon in the semi-final and four points in the final but she couldn't prevent the Premier county from claiming the title. 

Fergal Lynch's preview of Sunday's Ladies SFC final: 

It is hard to believe, considering their dominance at All-Ireland level for a couple of years and their phenomenal wealth of individual talent, that Dunboyne are appearing in their first SFC final next Sunday where they will bid to dethrone defending champions Simonstown in Ashbourne, 3pm.

In 2015 Dunboyne won the Meath JFC and went on to be crowned All-Ireland Club champions. Two years later they were the Meath IFC winners and proved their class by beating Cork side Kinsale to win the All-Ireland IFC club title.

Off the back of such glory Dunboyne were expected to be major players in the Meath SFC last year, but the journey during those two hugely successful years took its toll and they weren’t seriously in the reckoning.

It was a true tale of just how tough senior football can be. Just ask Simonstown. They too have a vast pool of superb talent, but they have had to wait a long time for their breakthrough at senior level, finally winning the Holy Grail last year with victory over Seneschalstown.

Their arrival on the grandest stage of them all exposed their excellence to everyone in Meath and now they have to perform the hardest trick of them all - retain the title.

When the sides met earlier in the championship there was only a point between the sides with Dunboyne emerging victorious, but next Sunday that result will mean nothing as both sides fielded shadow teams in an effort to lure the other into a false sense of bravado.

Simonstown have strength and power all over the field. Kelsey Nesbitt is their go-to attacking force, while veteran Jackie Shiels continues to be as effective as she ever has been.
Throw in an air-tight defence superbly marshalled by Niamh Sheridan, Katie Bellew and Regina Hand and a strong, bustling hard working midfield and it is easy to see why they are so formidable.

However, Dunboyne have been building and if their recent two-year cycle of success is to be followed then this could be their time.

The JFC in 2015, the IFC in 2017, can they make it the SFC in 2019? With players such as Emma Duggan, Sarah Wall, Vikki Wall, Shelly Melia, Annie Moffatt, Fiona O’Neill and goalkeeper Ali O’Sullivan all part of the county set up and other well regarded stalwarts as Sinead Hackett, Elaine Doyle and Dee Blaney Dunboyne have the power, pace and precision all over the field to claim the crown and complete their cycle of success.