The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Derrick Lynch
2020 has not panned out the way that most people planned and for Chloe Morey, that also rings true.
The former All Star had been set for a year on the sidelines to resolve some longstanding injury issues, but that initial break led to a renewed hunger once action resumed.
She outlined that getting a taste of club action gave her that drive to work her way back to the county panel, something she was only glad to take the opportunity of doing.
“The plan was not go back at all because I was to have keyhole surgery on my knee in September so I was going to give myself the year to get myself right. Conor (Dolan) had helped out with Sixmilebridge camogie and I was chatting to him. I have always said that I would never be arrogant enough to wait for someone to ask me, and I felt that I had a good club campaign. I called Ger (O’Connell) and asked was there any way I could come in. I said I knew I would be starting from the bottom of the pile but I would be willing to work my hardest to see if I could be of some help to the group. I did that and I am lucky to be able to be on the panel because there is such talent available this year” she explained.
With a first quarter-final since 2014 now on the horizon, Morey said that this is where the panel want to be every year.
“It has been a while but there is such a buzz around the last few weeks knowing that we are there. People are saying it is bonus territory but every time we go out to play for Clare camogie we want to get as far as we can so we are really looking forward to it. Every time I am asked how far we expect to get each year, I always say I expect to get to the All Ireland final. We would not be playing if that wasn’t the case and there has been a huge amount of effort put in over the last few years. The professionalism that Ger O’Connell and the lads have brought in has been exemplary really and I think this is now the fruits of their labour and the fruits of the girl’s labour too. We work extremely hard and we should really be expecting more of ourselves every year” she stated.
The St Caimin’s teacher, who first joined the Clare panel over a decade ago, explained that the new wave of talent in Clare camogie is rising all boats in its path, and explained that everyone involved knows what is expected of them.
“Everyone is fighting for their places and even the younger ones are starting to show us up in training every week now. It means now that the more established players are having to prove themselves to those girls at training and they don’t miss a beat. It is a big confidence boost for the whole panel to know that whoever comes on is going to take up that role with no problems at all. That is something that the management have brought in. We have a definite way that we play and while some people might not like it, it has gotten us to where we are. No matter where you are on the pitch, you have to know your role and everyone involved is comfortable with that now which is great” she noted.
With another tough test awaiting, Morey is confident that no one is taking anything for granted, but says there will be no need to worry about their mindset ahead of the weekend.
“There is always room for improvement and with the likes of Barry O’Connell keeping the stats there is never a fear of any of us getting too big headed. You might have won a game but when you go into training the next night, everything is laid out as to how we could have done things better. Dublin was a great win but there are 100 things we could have done much better that day, just as there were 100 things we could have done much better against Tipperary. We are going to be ready for Cork and we going to be up for it. I love playing against Cork because it is so easy to psyche yourself up for it. It will be a tough game but who else would you want to be playing only Cork? If you cannot get yourself psyched up this week for taking on Cork down in Pairc ui Chaoimh, then you have no business playing at all” she concluded.
