When Killyon won their eighth senior hurling championship title in 2005 we expected that side to dominate Meath hurling for the following few years, but that has not been the case as the last two campaigns have ended in disappointment for Sean Ryan's charges. However, that could well be all about to change as the red and greens mammoth work at underage level has begun to pay off as the minor title was won in 2006, while this year's under-18's are on course to defend that title. Darren Ryan was the side's top scorer in this year's championship and he spoke to the Royal County Yearbook about the 2007 campaign and he explained why he thinks that the side will be much stronger for the coming championship. Since winning the title two years ago, Killyon have been hit with a succession of players not lining out for the side through various different reasons. Some have retired, while injuries and players travelling abroad have been the main reason for the mass exodus. This year alone, Killyon were without the spine of their team as Calvin and Paddy Ryan, Noel Davis and Johnny Mitchell were all out of the country, while Clayton Keegan and JJ Gilsenan were also absent for parts of the campaign. "To lose those sort of players was a huge blow to us. They are all strong players who play down the middle and it was hard for us to replace them for the championship," said Darren. "We have a good crop of players coming through form the minor ranks, but I think that this year was a bit soon for them and we will see the best of them over the next year or two." Following the draw for this year's senior hurling championship, Killyon were placed in the same group as Kilmessan, Kildalkey, Boardsmill, Drumree and Blackhall Gaels and the 2005 champions were quietly confident of progressing into the knockout stages. "Yeah, definitely when the draw was made, the club believed that we had a great chance of doing well, but you get out of it what you put in and this is where we had problems." Darren admitted that the interest levels have not been the same since winning the county title and that the last two years have latterly passed the club by. "The year was kind of disappointing as I think we're a lot better than we showed in most of our matches. We probably only played well in one championship game and that's just not good enough." As the side were minus a number of their more experienced players, the opportunity arose for more of last year's victorious minor side to come through and take their chance. "There were five minors on the side this year, which is good to see. The experience will do them well for next year and they will be that bit stronger." In the opening match of the campaign, Killyon met old rivals Kildalkey and the Village recorded a win by the narrowest of margins and Darren revealed that this match was to set a trend for their season. "Kildalkey were the better side on the day and we missed a few frees, although I don't think it was a match we should have won. We didn't look fit and that was down to the lads not turning out for training," he stressed. Drumree provided a stern test in the next outing as Killyon struggled to overcome the underdogs and were relieved to come away with a two-point win. "Drumree were very dogged and we just couldn't find time and space on the ball, which made it very difficult, so it was good to come away with the win." As Blackhall gave a walkover, Killyon had four points on the board after three rounds, but they knew a win over Boardsmill was of the utmost importance. In what was to be their best performance of the championship Ryan's men registered an impressive 19 points in response to their opponents' tally of nine. "That was definitely our best display in the whole championship. Everything seemed to go right and some of the scores got were class to say the least. We knew that we needed the win as Kilmessan had to be played in the last group match." A twelve-point defeat to the blue and whites meant that Killyon finished third in the group, but that was enough to see them through to the quarterfinals and a meeting with Rathmolyon. "The group matches hadn't gone as the club had planned, but a place in the quarterfinal was reached and that was the important part. It was hoped that a big effort would be put in at that stage, but it didn't really happen." Rathmolyon produced an excellent display to easily move into the last four and it was left to the Killyon players to wonder what might have been for another year. "We were way off the pace against Rathmolyon. They were a lot fitter and we just didn't perform at all on the day. It was disheartening to go out like that, especially as we knew we could do a lot better in most of the matches." So for Killyon and Darren it's to plan ahead for next year's championship and the wily forward is in no doubt that they can repeat the performance of 2005. "A few of the lads that were away will hopefully be back next year, while the injured players are also recovered. Throw in the fact that the minors will be a year older and we'd be confident enough of doing well. However, at the end of the day, it's up to everybody to put the commitment in, if their not willing to do that then we have no chance of winning the championship. "It has been obvious in the last few years that the team that wants to win the Meath championship the most will, just look at Kiltale this year; they were the hungrier side as was Rathmolyon the previous year and ourselves before that. We have to find that desire again and I reckon we will." Tweet

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