They say that no man is an island. But when Aaron Hoey pulls on the Louth Number 3 shirt, he is emperor of his own patch of territory on the edge of the square, writes Gerry Robinson. Speaking to Yours Truly shortly after the maroons' narrow victory over Louth in the 2001 All-Ireland Qualifying Series, the Editor of the Westmeath Yearbook declared that he rated the Wee County's full back line as the best his countymen came up against all year. The one man he singled out for particular praise was St Brides clubman Aaron Hoey, whose marshalling of Martin Flanagan on the night remained highly impressive. The Westmeath full forward may have plundered a goal and a point but Hoey wasn't at fault for either score and actually produced a pretty close to faultless display. So, while Louth's championship dreams were burning on the funeral pyre for yet another year, Aaron Hoey's reputation was very much intact. There is no doubting the potential inherent in the son of former Wee County stalwart Anthony, but unfortunately his intercounty career thus far has been disrupted by a series of injuries and stints abroad. But now the Mountjoy-based Garda is settling into the full back role (a recent problem spot for Louth) and is finally threatening to become a regular fixture in the county jersey. Quite frankly, if he remains committed and injury-free, he could go on to establish himself as one of Louth's greats of the modern era. As I pointed out earlier, he's already held in high esteem by some observers on the national stage. At club level, Hoey and his St Brides colleagues enjoyed a satisfactory 2001. They recorded championship victories over the mighty Stabannon and new boys Glyde Rangers and rattled Newtown Blues' cage twice before finally capitulating to the sheer physicality of Stabannon in a play-off. Throw in a magnificent showing in Division 1B of the league which culminated in them winning the McShane Cup and earning promotion to Division 1A - the Wee County's top table - and it's apparent that the Brides had plenty of reason for contentment with their '01 lot. "It was quite a good year for the Brides," Aaron accepts. "We felt we showed good consistency in the league. In the championship, we got a hiding off Stabannon in the second play-off which was a bit unfortunate but apart from that game we were happy enough with how we played. "We actually thought we were in with a good chance against Stabannon - especially having already beaten them in the group stage - but it just didn't go well for us in Castlebellingham. When we played them the second time they just simply overpowered us. Perhaps we were a little too complacent going into that game. If that was the case, we certainly paid the price." Since stepping up into the top grade, the Brides have certainly proved that they can match the best of what's on show in the Wee County at present. In that context, their elimination from the 2001 Joe Ward race came as a disappointment, especially bearing in mind that they played the defending champions who, of course, went on to retain their crown twice and gave them a right run for their money: "We definitely put it up to the Blues and we could easily have beaten them in the play-off. We stayed with them most of the way and were in contention until Colin Kelly finished us off with a few late points." Still, the new system was good to St Brides, affording them five championship outings, four of these against top quality oppositions . . . games which are sure to bring this progressive young side along in leaps and bounds. Expect the Brides to be an even more polished proposition in the 2002 championship season. In no time at all, they have climbed from the depths of junior fare to the dizzy heights of senior championship pretenders. But just how far can this team go? Have they reached their zenith already or is there room for even further improvement? "I certainly think that once we get into the top division of the league and start to play against the better teams on a more regular basis, then we can improve more. "This was a very young team when we started out at junior a few years back and we are learning all the time . . . growing older, progressing and getting gradually better. We're trying to improve our performance in the championship each year and I think we're achieving that. At the moment, we would certainly have aspirations to maybe win the senior championship one day. If we continue to progress, I see no reason why we can't. "The new structure is a big help. I think it benefits the so-called weaker teams such as ourselves because it gives you a second chance if you lose a game. After losing to the Blues first time around we still got two more games in the championship this year and that brought us along no end." Interestingly, Hoey admits that he wasn't too happy with his own form for the club in '01: "I felt I was blowing hot and cold and never really managed to find any consistency." With the Brides, he usually lines out full forward, corner forward of centre half forward - a big change from the full back berth he commands with Louth. Does he find this juggling of positions a problem? "No. You have to play the same game the whole time, regardless of where you're chosen to play. It's just a matter of kicking the ball over at one end and then trying to stop guys from kicking it over at the other end!" Was Aaron happy with how Louth did in 2001? "I was very disappointed with the Westmeath game and felt we should have done better. We were also disappointed to be caught on the hop by Longford in the first round. When we got ourselves together it went well and the performance against Offaly showed what we can do - it was just a pity we didn't play to our full potential against Westmeath. "Martin Flanagan got a sneaky goal near the end and that was the difference between us. We always seem to be missing that little bit of luck at crucial times but we'll have another go next year and maybe things will change. They say you make your own luck, so we'll have to keep working on it. "It's frustrating because we feel we're as good as Westmeath if not better. They ended up having a really good run while we were left to wonder how we'd have done against Mayo and Meath." Afflicted by so many setbacks, is there a danger that psychologically some of the Louth players will resign themselves to inevitable failure? "No, I don't think so. Each year, we come at it with a fresh approach and the new management team should freshen things up even more. Competition for places is fierce and there's a good spirit in the camp. Everybody wants to wear that jersey." Tweet

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