Conor aims to lead Annaduff by example
County players often get singled out for extra attention when it comes to club games but for Annaduff’s Conor Reynolds, he is no different from the rest of his teammates ahead of next Sunday’s Smith Monumentals Intermediate Final against Aughnasheelin.
Asked if his status as a Leitrim inter-county footballer puts any extra pressure on his shoulders, Conor shrugs and says he is no different to his teammates “I don’t think it comes into it at all. When I’m playing for Annaduff, I’m the same as everyone else. I probably try to lead by example a small bit off the field”.
So what exactly does that entail: “Doing things when it comes to recovery, getting to training early and things like that. Joe (Cox) harps on to me a good bit about that - lads who want to make a county panel might be looking at you, taking a couple of ideas off you so I try to do my bit off the field as well.”
Conor is also among the oldest on a young, emerging Annaduff side: “That’s a good sign so it is - I’m 27, I’ve been playing senior since I was 16 and I have been around a while but it is a young team that is a really positive thing as well. I think the average age is probably 23-24. So I’m among the oldest but I’m not that old - I've got a good bit left in me yet.”
Annaduff’s emerging young players have also seen the club’s second string reach the Junior Championship semi-finals, prompting a tough battle to get on the team:
Reaching a third final in five campaigns is special for Conor particularly as he missed the delayed 2020 Final due to injury: “I missed the last one against Gortletteragh due to injury so absolutely thrilled. I think the semi-final was probably the best half of football we played since we came down to the intermediate grade so delighted to be back in the County Final.”
Reaching a third final in five seasons won’t diminish the excitement in the parish either: “There wasn’t that much hype the last time due to Covid but I remember the final we were in before that against Fenagh, it was great. Just seeing flags, seeing all the young ones in Annaduff jerseys and everyone just being excited for the final, it is brilliant. There will be a big buzz around the parish so I can’t wait.”
The path to the final has been a tough one but Annaduff have stuck to the task: “It is a tough competition and we had a tough League as well. We were in Division 1 League and we got a few hockeyings. Coming into the Intermediate campaign, we came in fresh, we wiped that off and got off to a good start against Drumreilly, bit of a set-back against Allen Gaels and obviously played very well against Mohill’s second string.”
Form has definitely improved during the championship but Conor believes Annaduff still have further scope to improve: “We’ve worked on that over the last few weeks, on our structure and everyone having a job to do in the back, everyone being clued in and what we need to do.
“The semi-final wasn’t a complete performance either - we had a lot of wides, we have a lot to work on but defensively we were sound. I think the only time we switched off was for the goal and that last goal, it was probably a bad kickout, it was the very end of the game and lads being tired.”
Aughnasheelin pose a serious test but Conor says Annaduff will focus on themselves first and foremost: “It’ll definitely be different, probably a couple of lads we might have to target - Aaron Hoare is a massive player, Ciaran Cullen is a massive player, Fintan Fitzpatrick - we’d probably have to do a job on him.
“But Joe tries to get us to focus on what we do, be good structurally in defence and focus on how we attack so he probably won’t worry too much about Aughnasheelin but obviously they have big players,” concluded Conor.