MONAGHAN have snapped up former Tyrone strength and conditioning coach Jonny Davis – just a month after Peter Donnelly went the other way.
Davis came on board with the Red Hands in October 2019, replacing Donnelly after the former Tyrone player took up a post with Ulster Rugby.
Alongside his role at Ravenhill, Donnelly was named as part of Seamus McEnaney’s management ticket when the Corduff man returned to the Monaghan job last year, taking over from Malachy O’Rourke.
However, that lasted little more than 12 months as the Coalisland native was lured back to his native county when Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher took on the Tyrone job last month, following the end of Mickey Harte’s 18 year reign. He is joined by Joe McMahon and Collie Holmes in the new-look Tyrone backroom team.
As a player, Donnelly captained Tyrone to an All-Ireland minor title and won two senior All-Ireland SFC titles and three Ulster medals in county colours. He joined Cavan as strength and conditioning coach during their golden era of underage success, helping the Breffnimen to Ulster U21 titles in 2013 and 2014 before returning to Tyrone.
Losing Donnelly left McEnaney searching for a new strength and conditioning coach ahead of the 2021 campaign, and Davis has been brought on board.
The Jordanstown man - who proved a popular figure with the Tyrone players - previously spent 12 years working with Ulster Rugby, nine as head of athletic performance.
Davis joins a Monaghan set-up that is also on the look-out for a new coach following Conor Laverty’s recent appointment as Down U20 boss.
And McEnaney will be keen to bounce back bigger and better after a disappointing climax to their season, the Farneymen losing out to neighbours and eventual Ulster champions Cavan in the preliminary round of the provincial Championship.
After a mixed National League, Monaghan avoided the drop to Division Two on the final day – a draw with already-relegated Meath enough to keep them above Mayo.
Focus soon switched the to the Championship and, leading Cavan by seven at half-time, they looked on course for a quarter-final meeting with Antrim – only for the Breffnimen to battle back and force extra-time, goalkeeper Raymond Galligan’s long-range free completing a memorable comeback.
