Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the GAA fixtures calendar, official or unofficial.
The Dr McKenna Cup may have gone but St Mary’s manager Gavin McGilly says he’s still uncertain about which players will be available to him to face city rivals Queen’s due to challenge games and potential injuries arising from county training.
When the absence of McKenna Cup is posited as a positive for third level bosses like himself, the Annaghmore man replies: “Aye…you would think that. But with the McKenna Cup away that void has to be filled.
“At least with the McKenna Cup you knew the fixtures were set. I’m sure there are counties playing challenge games over the next few days and you don’t really know then who’s going to be available to you.
“It’s still a bit disjointed. Sigerson is running in parallel with preparations for the [Allianz Football] League.
“You just hope to have as many players as possible available to you on the day, that’s the way it’s got.”
Young Footballer of the Year Oisin Conaty is one of 13 players from Armagh on the Ranch panel and would be a potent threat in attack, as would Seanie O’Donnell of Trillick and Tyrone, while Kilcoo’s Macdarragh Hynes is another top talent.
Yet McGilly insisted: “I can’t be 100 per cent sure who’s going to be released or available, if somebody picks up a knock… You really are at the mercy of seeing who’s match-fit on the day and who’s even going to be there on the day.
“There are good lads like Sean Rock and Finn Murdock who have given good service to the Ranch over recent years, so you’re hoping those lads are fit and well.”
Silverbridge man Rock is joint-captain along with Michael McCallan from Carrickmore and McGilly hails their leadership: “They’ve been in St Mary’s four years and they really set the tone for what it means to play for ‘the Ranch’; you couldn’t ask for two better lads to lead the team.”
McGilly will also hope to include Armagh’s Shea Magill, Niall Burns of Antrim, and Monaghan’s Darragh Treanor – but Donal Gallagher of Donegal is out injured.
Queen’s boss Conor Deegan also knows the value of players who aren’t inter-county seniors, with Luke Donnelly of Eglish having been a scoring star for several seasons. However, he will still be keen to call on the likes of Fermanagh’s Conor Love, Armagh defender Peter McGrane, and Anton Tohill, recently recalled to the Derry panel.
McGilly expects “formidable” opposition from Queen’s: “They’ve big Anton Tohill, Lorcan McBride, and Ronan Cassidy is in with Tyrone. They have a few county players.”
Another aspect about the forthcoming Allianz Football League is that those players involved with their counties will have been training under the new rules.
“The fact that the Sigerson and the League are being played under different rules throws a different dynamic into it,” points out McGilly.
“It’s due to when the competition falls. With the Christmas break for universities players aren’t about from early December, so the lead-in time to embed those rules with the panel would have been tight. I can see why they went that way.”
The weather conditions are another concern again - the scheduled game against TU Dublin last year was frozen off - but at least there’s only a short travelling distance for opponents Queen’s and supporters. That could mean referee Paul Faloon allowing more time for the pitch to be deemed playable.
With teaching practice not until next month, McGilly is hoping for another bonus of a home draw and a derby game - good backing for his team:
“Everyone is back this week and Sigerson is just the conversation around the college. The fact that the game is at home here, Davitt’s is just off the back of the college, withing walking distance, hopefully the students will go up in good numbers… There’s a healthy rivalry between us
“We’ve had a few battles against various teams in the Sigerson up there in the last few seasons; it’s good to have a base.”