Time for players to mature

Laois and Westmeath resume their summer waltz in Tullamore on Monday. The two counties have, in recent years, experienced parallel fortunes at senior level.

An impressive under-age policy initiated in each county at the beginning of the last decade brought juvenile success which was widely acknowledged as hugely positive for the sport. Stuck in the rough for too long at senior level - Laois last played in a Leinster final in 1985, Westmeath have never claimed senior honours - the local fans of both counties were understandably flushed at the realisation of championship winning sides.

Stars for the future, bright days up the road. But with the accolades and the celebration of a fluid stream of talented young hopes has come escalating expectations.

"It certainly has led to a lot of anticipation but I think that people are now starting to realise that it isn't as straightforward as channelling young players through to senior level," said Laois selector Denis Lalor.

"Two or three exceptionally talented kids can win an All-Ireland minor title. At older level, the requirements are different."

Westmeath manager Brendan Lowry feels the same. "Of course the under-age success has been hugely positive for football in the county. But there are factors which become significant as lads get older.

"At the age of 21 or 22, many begin to work and then training becomes a whole different prospect. Some don't want to walk in from work and pick up the gear bag straight away. Some lads just don't come through.

"But of our minor team from 1995, seven of eight lads are with us now. And that's a phenomenal return, as good as you could hope for."

For the management, the most striking aspect of the upsurge in young players has been the effect on the dressing-room.

While players such as Brian McDonald (Laois) and Des Dolan (Westmeath), who had extremely high-profile under-age careers were bit by reality a little at senior level, faced as they were with consistently stern opposition, they retain a breadth of vision which has been infectious.

"Lads that were around for a while, yeah, they can get a bit discouraged, find it hard to imagine making the breakthrough," said Lalor. "But these younger guys are very confident, they are used to success and it has had a very positive impact on the older lads.

"Equally, the more experienced players have brought the new guys through a lot on the field."

Laois went agonisingly close to scalping a major force in Leinster last summer, somehow squandering a four-point lead in the last minute against Dublin and are generally seen as a senior squad on the verge of something significant.

While a Leinster championship is their stated aim, Westmeath are currently on marshier ground, having endured a fairly mediocre league.

There is, however, a solid bedrock of belief in the current Westmeath side, as was apparent in January's O'Byrne Cup final against Longford. Played in a good old-fashioned tempest, the game drew over 10,000 people, an unprecedented number.

"Things went badly for us and I suppose in hindsight we might have done without it. But right then we had a chance to win something early in the year and people did get behind us," commented Lowry.

Having been close enough to touch a major victory last year, the Laois squad are itching for another shot at the big time. But history has thought them to temper their enthusiasm.

"Yes, our goal is to win Leinster. I mean, to qualify for a final would be all very well but in two years time, who'd remember that. "We had Dublin on the rack last year and didn't finish it. Now we are starting again and Westmeath are going to be hungry to make up for the past two summers against us," admits Lalor.

"And we know we are still learning. Look, Offaly won a minor title in 1988 and it was another seven years before that translated to senior success.

Perhaps the most immediate effect of the under-age revolution in both counties is that it altered the perception of both counties as football forces.

Once, the bigger guns would have been gleeful of the prospect of a summer run against either Laois or Westmeath.

But now, their meeting is seen as a significant event in itself, not just an afterthought on the GAA's weighty summer calendar.

"It's a great thing that it is on in Tullamore," reckons Brendan Lowry. "Croke Park is fine but this way, it'll be more of a family day for both sets of fans.

"I think both teams will be looking forward to this and naturally, we both want to get a bit more out of the summer."