Ladies Gaelic Football

6 // Ladies Gaelic Football Association THE BIG INTERVIEW PEIL Spring | Issue No 1 | Volume 14 flawless one to date, leading to serious conversation about what lies further down the line. "Outstandingly hard," she said of the height of the task to retain the title. "We're very aware that it's not something that comes around easily. As much as we really appreciated what we achieved last year, we're still very hungry to succeed again. "There's a lot of work, to do. We haven't by any means picked up where we left off." Grounded as can be, she adds: "We've been lucky now with a couple of results. "I don't think we've actually performed strengthen our panel.That's only going to benefit us in the long run that he's so good at providing players with opportunities." McEvoy adds, when questioned on the standards Dublin set last year as they rocketed to the forefront of the ladies' game: "Mick's done phenomenal work, with his skills coaching. You can have very candid conversations with him about the standards that he expects. They weren't good enough at the start of last year when he came in. "Mick has really high standards and when he first came in, he gave us some home truths. The skills weren't good enough. "We really worked on that all of last year and thankfully it stood to us, but we certainly have a lot more work to do." She dismisses the notion that they've set a bar of sorts. She won't get too carried away by what's happened, or by what's to come. At the time of our conversation, McEvoy was thoroughly enjoying her time in Thailand and relishing the exhibition match. "I consider myself very lucky to have been invited on the tour," she concludes. "I'm having a great time, it's lovely to get to know the girls from other counties. It's great, I consider myself very lucky and the standard out here is very very good. "You can tell that the girls here are some of the best in the country." That's all done and dusted now though. Eyes firmly back on the prize and the months ahead. In McEvoy's time, they've only reached one Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 decider and that came in 2014, where they fell just short to Cork. "We'd be hoping we could add that to the belt," she smiles but doesn't let her mind wander too far. "It'd be great. We have a lot of work to do yet." One thing we've seen again this year from the reigning All-Ireland senior champions is opportunities for younger players to make a name for themselves. There's been some slight transition, or more experimentation, as players line out in di"erent positions and earn valuable " We still have a lot of work to do. We've learned new things from matches that we're working on." for a whole match at any stage but we have had 20-minute spells of good performances which have been able to pull us over the line. "We still have a lot of work to do. We've learned new things from matches that we're working on. What we're doing at the minute isn't going to be enough to win a National League title." Mick Bohan's charges have never won the Division 1 title and they've made no secret of their goals for the weeks ahead. minutes to their name. "Mick's approach is brilliant," she nods. "Anyone who's up in the panel, trying to make a mark, they're getting ample opportunity to stake a claim and get themselves on the panel for the summer. "He'd be, I don't know if you'd call it generous in that sense, where everyone is getting a chance. There are girls who are just up this year, or just up from minor and they're getting plenty of game time. "He is good like that and it'll only Dublin v Monaghan in 2010 After the 2015 All Ireland Final

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