Diverting attention to revenge

O'Byrne Cup final: Seán Moran talks to Laois forward Ross Munnelly, who is looking forward to playing in tomorrow's final under Mick O'Dwyer and is all for the sin bin.

Ross Munnelly has his reasons but he's thoroughly revved up for tomorrow's O'Byrne Cup final in Mullingar - not an occasion many would earmark for unbridled enthusiasm. But having just completed the first-semester exams of his finals at NUI Maynooth, Munnelly is glad of the diversion.

Despite taking a knock in last week's semi-final defeat of Kildare, he expects to line out for Laois in what will be a re-run of last season's Leinster final.

That replay defeat was the key event in a downbeat year for the then provincial champions. Deposed as title-holders by Westmeath, Laois within a week had tumbled to a thrashing at the hands of Tyrone.

"There was huge disappointment around the county," says Munnelly, "and particularly among the players in the weeks after. The supporters were very loyal last year and I think appreciated the effort the players put in. Even the week after we lost the Leinster final, there were a few hundred of them at training giving us a standing ovation. You wouldn't always have seen that before in Laois. It meant a lot."

Which must have made the Tyrone match all the more embarrassing. "It was a very harsh end to the season. We had the question of whether we should have been asked to play the game within a week and so many different injuries. I think we did our best but it wasn't good enough."

It was a precipitous decline for the side that Mick O'Dwyer had led to a first Leinster title in 57 years and that had started last season as a fashionable tip for the All-Ireland. O'Dwyer's response was ambiguous. Having let it be known that he wasn't convinced by the players' commitment to what would be needed to maintain progress, he allowed speculation linking him with Dublin to flourish before eventually re-committing to Laois.

Within the county it is rumoured that not all players appreciated being made the scapegoats for this particular ritual but with most of the work before Christmas being done with new trainer Johnny Doran, any lingering friction has eased.

Munnelly is simply pleased that O'Dwyer decided to stay and is at pains to distance himself from any disaffection. "It didn't have any negative impact on me. He's a perfectionist and we could do with him for another one or two years at least. It's up to each individual how they feel about it but I'm willing to look at myself and ask 'am I giving enough?' and I was delighted Micko decided to stay."

The county's plans have been a little disrupted by the progress of Portlaoise in the club championships. Leinster champions, the club are preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final against Crossmaglen next month.

That, together with injury and All Stars commitments, has left Laois fairly under-strength.

"We've been missing around 13 players," says Munnelly. "Last Sunday none of the defenders who started the 2003 Leinster final were there."

As the Portlaoise players may be out for most of the NFL, O'Dwyer now has a chance to give up-and-coming players from the recently successful minor sides a meaningful trial in the months ahead.

"It's given a lot of chances to younger players. People are inclined to knock the O'Byrne Cup but you have to start somewhere and it's an opportunity for a newcomer to get the feel of intercounty football. It's a gradual progression.

"Young players have an advantage at this of the year in that a good few of them will be training for the Sigerson and that edge in fitness gives them confidence to have a go, which prepares them for the step-up to National League."

This year's league was to have been a trial for more than emerging Laois players but there is now doubt over whether the GAA's experimental rules will be retained for the intended period of the National Leagues. On Monday association president Seán Kelly is expected to announce modifications to the sin-bin trial, which has caused a furore in recent weeks.

Munnelly has played with the sin bin provision. As a slightly built, skilful forward, he is one of the players meant to benefit from the crackdown on fouling and it's not surprising that he would regret any imminent decision to scrap the experiment.

"I was in favour of the rules in general. They were a good idea with good reasoning behind them. I noticed a big difference in teams' attitudes. Twenty minutes into the game against Kildare there was hardly a break in the play. The ball went from one end to the other and by that stage there had been only six fouls, which isn't a lot in an O'Byrne Cup game at this time of the year.

"I think the task force hoped that the sin bin would help speed up the game for players and that happened. I also think that the tackle was improved. Guys are that bit more cagey and not jumping in as much. So there's not as many scoreable frees being conceded.

"In our last couple of matches we've scored 2-10 but I don't think that more than four points on either day came from frees and that's very low for this time of the year.

"It might be similar to when the yellow and red cards were introduced and there was mayhem to start with. The sin bin might take a bit of work but if all parties could agree to give it a chance, I think it could work."

Whatever about the life-span of the experimental disciplinary rules, this weekend marks the end of this season's preliminaries. It's an exciting prospect for Laois, who are, on paper, the best side in the Leinster championship. If they do well, it's safe to say that Munnelly will be a central figure. Even at this early stage of his career, with a provincial medal and an All Star nomination to his credit, he feels he has learned a lot.

"I've learned not to take my eye off the ball. There's a big difference between being on top and being nearly there. I'm going into my third season with the seniors and in 10 years I want to be able to look back and say that I have no regrets about my time. That's something that has dawned on me over the past 12 months."