Rock' beginning to roll
November 28, 2003
Rockcorry have never had more cause for optimism. A flood of exceptional young talent is emerging and there's a buzz rippling through the postcard village like never before. Dwayne Rooney is part of the new breed putting Rockcorry football on the Monaghan GAA map.
It's not often that a glut of silverware wings its way to Rockcorry, but that's exactly what happened in 2003. The club's juveniles ran riot, winning trophies for fun, while the intermediate team - already peppered with a healthy smattering of minors - defiantly held its ground despite the severe disciplinary backlash that crucified their championship prospects.
It was magnificent year, all things considered. Incredibly, the club's minors and U16s both recorded league and championship doubles, thereby achieving an unprecedented level of success. Meanwhile, the first team effortlessly preserved its intermediate status after the threat of demotion had momentarily loomed on the forest-encrusted horizon.
One thing Rockcorry have never lacked is fighting spirit. During 2003 they demonstrated this in abundance. When it mattered most, with the vague spectre of a return to junior ranks evident, the Green & Whites stepped up a gear and powered to safety.
Rock' had reached the IFC semi-final in 2002 and were decidedly unfortunate to lose therein (to Sean McDermotts after a replay). They were hoping for at least a similar showing in '03 but a suspensions epidemic effectively put paid to any such ambition.
With so many key men unavailable, Rock' slipped into a fight for Division Two survival but once they returned to something approaching full strength all such fears were allayed with the minimum of fuss.
There's certainly no shortage of quality in the club these days. With their full complement available, Rock' could have been a real force in the scramble for intermediate honours ... and that's without factoring all their emerging young talent into the equation!
Some of these young lads have already filtered through onto the first XV ... the feeling is that many more will follow sooner rather than later. And the over-riding hope is that Rockcorry GFC will presently become a genuine force to be reckoned with
In the 2003 IFC, Rock' were involved in a couple of titanic struggles before - under strength and drained of resources - bowing out at the hands of would-be finalists Doohamlet in a quarter-final replay.
In Division Two, their battling qualities were called into play in a more pressing predicament ... with the club's hard-earned intermediate status under threat. Three teams (Rock', Eire Og and Oram) finished level, second from bottom of the league table, with last-placed Corduff already relegated.
The relegation dogfight culminated in a three-way play-off. First, Rock' would face Smithboro, with the winners staying up. The losers would then take on Oram in a do-or-die encounter...
As it turned out, Rockcorry preserved their middle-ground standing at the first time of asking, comfortably seeing off Eire Og to guarantee themselves intermediate/Division Two status for at least another season.
That 2-12 to 1-5 victory on Sunday October 26th represented a fitting end to an excellent year.
Exciting forward Dwayne Rooney was in his second season with the intermediate team. He was one of the stars of Rockcorry's minor double-winning side and one of three Rock' men to feature with the Monaghan minors in 2003. He'll be under 18 again next year.
It would be somewhat unfair to refer to Dwayne as an awesome prospect, seeing as he's already made an impact on so many levels. Looking back on the events of 2003, the young attacker admits it was an exceptional season for the club ... without doubt one of the best ever:
"It was a great year and we're happy with how things went in general. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come. We'd never won a minor trophy before but this year we won the two U16 and the two minor titles and the intermediate team did well in the end to stay up. We had a lot of suspensions and had to fight hard but the lads showed their true mettle when it really counted."
Rockcorry faced Emyvale in a fiercely-contested IFC first-round tie at Scotstown on Saturday August 23rd. They won by a goal, 2-8 to 1-8. Dwayne Rooney contributed four points for the winners but it was a Pyrrhic victory as the game was marred by two flare-ups which resulted in both sides being reduced to twelve men. The suspensions subsequently handed out by the County Board would take their toll on Rock'...
Rooney helped himself to three more points as Rockcorry dug deep to snatch a draw in their quarter-final clash with Doohamlet, 1-13 apiece at Aughnamullen on Saturday September 6th. However, still short a number of regulars for the replay at the same venue a week later, Rockcorry were well beaten.
Dwayne Rooney (who formed a formidable full forward line with veteran Gerry O'Brien on the edge of the square and fellow minor Paul McKeown in the other corner) reflects: "The suspensions ruined our chances in the championship. We were missing half our team and, under those circumstances, did well to take Doohamlet to a replay.
"Our league form dipped a bit too but once we got all our players back we stayed up without any trouble. We had a good win over Eire Og in the play-off and were never in any danger of losing that game. Now we can look forward to intermediate football again next year and hopefully we'll get a better run at it this time. There's plenty of talent coming through from the minor and U16 teams, so we should be quite strong."
Winning the 2003 minor and U16 Division Three league and championship doubles was a remarkable feat. Dwayne was one of the key men on the all-conquering minor side, managed by the aforementioned Gerry O'Brien and Willie Hillis. They got the better of Corduff in the championship final and Latton in the league decider.
From that team, Paul McKenna, Paul Matthews and Dwayne Rooney were all on the county minor panel (as well as the Rockcorry intermediate side), while team captain and club first-teamer Stephen Lynch was unavailable for county action.
Eight of the minor team also featured on the U16 side and it all bodes very well for coming seasons. Says Dwayne: "With so many young players coming through, we're definitely looking forward to the next few years. Rock' had never won a minor cup before and we have big hopes now. Four of us were on the first team this year and more will come through next year. Barry McDermott and Noel Carroll will both be pushing for a place, even though they're under 16 this year. They're both good enough for the first team - Barry's as strong as a horse and Noel's as fit as a fiddle..."
Rockcorry believe this is the best crop of players they've ever had on their hands and signs are encouraging that the club could be headed for a brave new era. Dwayne puts the '03 success into perspective: "Our groundsman Seamus Tate was nearly crying the day we won the minor championship. He's been associated with the club for years and it was probably the biggest success he'd seen."
Despite all the progress made at juvenile level, Rock' were nonetheless disappointed not to make further headway in the intermediate championship. "The three sendings-off against Emyvale put a damper on our championship. From there on we were under strength and fighting an uphill battle. We got the draw against Doohamlet but couldn't lift it again for the replay.
"The fact that Doohamlet went on to reach the final shows that Rockcorry have a better team than a lot of people give us credit for. We matched them with half a team and a lot of young players. When we get a bit more experience and get our best team out, we'll be a match for anyone.
"We're hoping to do a lot better next year, with Mickey Conlon and Barry Patterson back in the team... It's important that we hold onto the older players, because they have a big part to play in helping the younger fellas through and getting them used to adult football.
"It would've been a disaster if we'd gone back to junior. We know we're better than that and we're hoping to push at the other end of the table in 2004. We're under-rated in the county but we know ourselves that we can push for a place in senior football over the next two or three years. We're there or thereabouts at the moment and we're only going to get stronger."
Sounds ominous!
"Rockcorry have underachieved for years now but there's no shortage of good footballers here and things are starting to take shape. When the underage teams start to win trophies, it gives everybody a lift and we fully intend to win a lot more silverware.
"We'll have a good minor team again next year and the year after. The U16s will come through and I think we'll be well able for the step-up to Division Two. We're delighted with the way 2003 went, but hopefully it's just the beginning..."
Dwayne's family is steeped in Rockcorry GAA. His younger brother Kyle was on the '03 U16 team, which was managed by their father Sean Rooney. Meanwhile, their mother Christina is club physio and sister Tracey was on the Rockcorry ladies team pipped in the Ulster junior club final after a replay.
Two-thousand-and-three was a good year for all associated with the club ... and there's always the promise of more good times to come!
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