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INTERVIEW 14 | WINTER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie S arah Dillon put a painful couple of years on and off the field behind her to score 1-6 for Westmeath in this year's TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate final. At one point it got to a stage where her shoulder would dislocate in her sleep but she fought through the pain barrier, put the hard work in in the gym, and braved going under the knife to get herself back on track. Now she has seen the full reward for it and being crowned the TG4 Intermediate Players' Player of the Year was a brilliant bonus after a ground-breaking year for both her and Westmeath. But that has all come to an end now, despite Dillon's best efforts her club Milltown were knocked out of the Leinster SFC at the quarter-final phase by a Vikki Wall and Emma Duggan inspired Dunboyne. And she can turn her attentions to her college work and Christmas before Westmeath make plans for their assault on 2022, looking to follow in the footsteps of their Meath neighbours. The 20-year-old is in the second year of her four-year Exercise and Health Science course at Athlone IT. "Most of our exams were continuous assessment. We wouldn't be doing all of them together," said Dillon. "But I have only got one end of year exam. They were unsure if we were going to do that. I was talking to my friend recently, she is in UL and all of her exams are moved online. It's nice to be on campus for labs and stuff. My course is quite practical." The recent upsurge in Covid-19 figures and the restrictions that resulted have put her college life on hold again. And it's something Dillon has become accustomed to in the past 18 months. "We missed out on a whole year of socialising," said Dillon. "College is where you make friends but now you are meeting people on Zoom and not even getting to meet up in person. "With everything closing again, it's not great. It's better seeing people face-to-face. Me and my friends would meet up and play a few games over Zoom but not really with college." Nevertheless, Dillon has plenty to be thankful for as she reflects on 2021, with Westmeath putting their 2020 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate final defeat to Meath firmly out of sight and out of mind. Hard Work Pays Off The TG4 Intermediate Players' Player of the year Sarah Dillon speaks to Daragh Small about getting herself back in action for Westmeath. Sarah Dillon of Westmeath with her TG4 Intermediate Players' Player of the Year award Sarah Dillon of Westmeath during the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Semi-Final match between Kildare and Westmeath