IT was a year when Darragh Canavan announced himself as a serious force to be reckoned with on the inter-county stage – yet the Tyrone ace insists he has plenty of ground to make up on the top sharp-shooters in Ireland.
After a frustrating few years with injury, Canavan was a leading light for the Red Hands, with former Tyrone coach and Irish News columnist Kevin Madden suggesting he was the main challenger to Shane McGuigan for the title of Ulster’s top forward.
Derry’s McGuigan, alongside Kerry superstar David Clifford, both turned it up a notch in the scoring stakes during recent weeks. And while Canavan enjoyed this year, despite a topsy-turvy Tyrone campaign, he feels there is still some catching up to do.
“I think I’ve another bit to go before I’m even spoke about in the same breath as them boys - they’re two of the top dogs at the minute, so I’ve a bit to go in that sense,” smiled the Errigal Ciaran man.
“But getting a run of games makes a world of difference. It’s just nice… it’s far more enjoyable whenever you’re playing games instead of constantly having to rehab and all that rubbish.”
Among the highlights of this year’s Championship was watching Canavan combine with younger brother Ruairi, the pair taking their club form onto the county stage – though the older sibling admits they aren’t always on exactly the same page.
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“Ah, I dunno - he gave me plenty of sh*t about not giving the ball against Donegal when he was straight through, so I don’t know about telepathy.
“I suppose when you’re playing in the back garden and stuff, you pick up on each other’s movements and where he’s going to be.
“It’s very enjoyable playing with him and Darren [McCurry]. We complement each other very well, it’s enjoyable, it takes a lot of pressure off everybody else on the pitch when them boys are playing well.
“To be fair to him [Ruairi], he’s well filled out for his age, and the year he had with Errigal last year, he was able to slot straight in and he was flying. Ruairi’s confident enough, he backs himself enough that it wouldn’t be an issue for him to step in to whatever team he’s part of.
“I wasn’t really surprised, to be honest.”
