VALLEY Rovers GAA Club recently held a very successful Munster hurling championship preview night at the Innishannon House Hotel.

A large crowd turned out to hear the expert opinion of seven well-known hurlers Anthony Daly, Tommy Dunne, TJ Ryan, Dan Shanahan, Mark Landers, Shane Dowling, and Cork icon Jimmy Barry Murphy. The preview night also raised funds for the Dunmanway Suite CUH.

Noel O’Donovan who is a selector with the Valley Rovers premier intermediate hurlers said the seven guests were very ‘funny’. 

“It was a very good night. There was a lot of effort put into organising it by people such as Mick O’Brien, Colm Butler, and a few more. All the experts spoke very well. They are good characters. They were very funny. The craic was good. They answered questions, made predictions for the year ahead, and told stories from their careers. It also raised money for a great cause,” he said.

Valley Rovers who are playing in Division 4 of the county league have started the season strongly. They have won their first three league games. Noel is pleased with their campaign to date. 

“The league is what it is. We are doing okay. We are tipping away. We have played Cloyne, Aghabullogue and Lisgoold so far. We beat Cloyne who were down a good few players. We then narrowly defeated both Aghabullogue and Lisgoold. They were very tight games. They could have gone the other way just as quickly. Lisgoold and Aghabullogue both missed a lot of frees in the second half of both games.” 

Valley Rovers have lost big players in recent years such as Chris O’Leary, Willie Burke, and Gary Farrell. Noel admits they are huge losses and hard to replace. 

“We have lost a few big players in the last few years such as Chris O’Leary, Willie Burke and Gary Farrell. They are huge losses and hard to replace. It is fierce hard to replace a player like Chris O’Leary. Willie Burke played in goal for us for twenty years. Gary Farrell went travelling at the start of last year. At club level, you would always have lads coming and going on a J1. Hopefully, now other players will step up and replace them.” 

Noel who enjoyed a very successful career with his beloved Valley Rovers said they are targeting promotion out of Division 4 this year. 

“We are going for the league because we are currently playing in Division 4. We are targeting getting out of that league if we can."

"We are after winning the first league games which is a good start. We want to get out of this league and get up to Division 3. Winning games is a good habit for players to get. We want to get out of Division 4 because normally the successful teams are operating in the higher leagues more often than not.

“Our next league game is against St Catherine’s in Brinny this Sunday morning. It will be another tight game. We would be hopeful that we will put in a strong performance and get another two points. 

"It is important the footballers also enjoy a good league campaign. Usually when one code is going well, the other is also doing well. Winning always helps with confidence,” he added.

“There is a crossover of around 10 to 12 players who play both codes for Valley Rovers,” said Noel. 

“Communication is good. We are all the same club. The players who play both codes have busy schedules. We also have junior football and junior hurling for some players who are not on the senior teams in either code."

"We did a good bit of physical work earlier this year to get it done. We focused on the physical work during the month of January."

"We tried to manage it as best we could. It can be hard to balance both the hurling and the football. We are aware that players are busy in their own lives as well whether it is playing other sports, doing the Leaving Cert, or studying at third level up the country.” 

Noel wasn’t involved as a selector with the Valley Rovers premier intermediate hurling team last year, having last been involved in the backroom team during the 2021 playing season. He is happy to be back helping out again this season. 

“I was a selector two years ago. I wasn’t involved last year, but I came back on board again this year. I have also been a selector with the U21 and minor teams in recent years. It is good to help out. Richie Butler, Tadhg Fitz, and Ciaran O’Riordan are also involved. We all do our own thing and it seems to work. There are good people involved in both football and hurling in the club.” 

This year’s premier intermediate team contains a lot of talented young players who have consistently competed at the highest underage levels in recent years. Noel admits there is a big difference however between playing underage and adult hurling. 

“We have a lot of young players. There is a heap of them doing the Leaving Cert so it is hard to know where we are with them. Underage hurling and adult hurling are two totally different ball games. 

"Underage hurling is very different to adult hurling so until you see it on the pitch you can’t count your chickens until they are hatched.”