LIAM WATSON will make his first appearance for Antrim since 2012 in Saturday’s Walsh Cup against Laois in Heywood CS.
The Loughgiel Shamrocks star - an All-Ireland winner in 2012 and an Allstar nominee in 2010 - has been named at full-forward in new manager PJ O’Mullan’s first squad.
O’Mullan’s select also features Watson’s club colleague Eddie McCloskey, who opted out last season, and former footballer CJ McGourty, who will make his return to the camán code after five years on the sidelines. McGourty, a dual player for his club St Gall’s, played in the Antrim senior club hurling championship final against Cushendall in 2014.
He says he is working hard on getting his game back up to county standard: “I’m trying to get the touch back and I suppose that’s what these competitions are there for."
“You have to be hurling every day and I’ve found, over the last couple of months, that there’s boys who are a step ahead of me with their touch. I try to get out every day - even up against the back wall at the house - for half-an-hour or 40 minutes because, if you’re not doing that, you’re going to find yourself way off the pace. I’m trying to get up to standard and it’s a challenge, but one I’m looking forward to.”
McGourty says O’Mullan’s set-up is the best he has been involved in during his time as an inter-county player: “It’s like a business and that’s what you need at county level,” he added.
“He has six or seven men under him all doing different jobs and his sole job is to manage, which is brilliant. He has support and backing there and he has brought back boys from his own club, like Dan and Eddie McCloskey and ‘Winker’ (Watson) who are all top class hurlers and weren’t there over the last couple of years.”
McGourty has set his targets high for 2016 - he wants to win Division 2A, the Christy Ring Cup and the Ulster Championship: “If we don’t win all three of them, it probably will be an unsuccessful year,” he said.
“You have to set big goals if you want to reach them. It’s up to us and the only team that’s going to stop us is ourselves.”
TEAM NEWS
Antrim: G McTaggart; O McFadden, C McKinley, B McFall: CJ McGourty, N McAuley, S McCrory; K McKernan, C Johnston; S McAfee, M Dudley, E McCloskey; C Johnston, L Watson, C Clarke; Subs: C O’Connell, T Coyle, D Nugent, B Graham, G Walsh, J Black, D McCloskey, D McKernan, D Hamill
