2007 marked the renaissance of the Meath senior football side and with that came Meath's first All Star for six years in the form of Navan O'Mahonys attacker Stephen Bray. By Mark Brennan. Not many outside the Leinster county would have known much about the pacy attacker before this year's championship but tormenting Dublin, Tyrone and Galway defences over the past few months has left admirers raving about the exploits of the 25 year-old. His annihilation of the Galway full back line when he scored 2-2 in an All-Ireland qualifier live on RTE and his wonderful scores off both feet throughout the championship highlighted the terrific season the Meath ace had. Bray was selected as a wing-forward on the All-Star side even though he played most of his football in the corner and the forward admits he's just delighted to be named anywhere. "It's hard to believe it, it's a nice achievement. The full forward line was fairly set with the Gooch in one corner and Tommy Freeman in the other so it was probably just as well I was nominated as a half-forward. I'm delighted to receive one," said the ever humble Bray. His arrival as one of the stars of the summer might come as a surprise to some, as he hasn't featured prominently on Meath sides mainly because of injury. The Navan O'Mahony's clubman was forced to miss most of the previous year's action under Eamonn Barry and admits an injury free preseason has been a massive benefit. "Injuries have had a big bearing on things, 2005 was the year when I started playing championship football for Meath and even that year I missed the whole league campaign apart from the first match. This year I got a full league campaign and went into the championship in good shape and full of confidence knowing myself that I've given it everything on the training fields. It's good going in knowing you are in good shape with no doubts. So getting a clean bill of health, getting training week in, week out this year, has been a massive boost," explained Bray. Colm Coyle's arrival as manager has seen a return to winning ways, but also a throwback to the traditional style of football. Meath were praised in all quarters of the media for their use of the quick ball into the full-forward line. The trio of Bray, Brian Farrell and Shane O'Rourke form an attacking group that is as good as any in the country. While he does acknowledge it suited them to use the direct ball, the corner-forward believes their game was based more on a foundation of supporting and working hard for each other. "Especially in Croke Park our style of play worked, you've big spaces to exploit. Years ago I was always told the ball travels quicker than the man and I think we tried to bring that into our game. We always tried to move the ball quickly, but I think our game was based more on work ethic than anything else. A lot of people talked about our kicking game and how it was great to watch but the basic thing that we always tried to do was to work really hard for each other. "Everybody knows about it by this stage but the Wexford game was probably the turning point. It made us focus on how bad we could be, one thing we identified was we had to work really hard for each other. The first thing we decided to do was to work really hard when we don't have the ball," noted Bray. After bringing Leinster champions Dublin to a replay in the first round of the championship, Meath went on an amazing journey through the backdoor system to the semi-finals, defeating Galway and Tyrone on the way. Impressed by the team's progression, the County Board went against the grain in handing Coyle a two year term before the Cork match. Traditionally managers of the county senior team work on one-year contracts. Coyle's instant impact according to Bray is down to the professional standards he brings to the job. "The set-up has been very professional from day one. You just knew things were going to be done to the maximum. Whatever we needed to help us was normally there. Colm and the two lads were very approachable which is comfortable for players; they'll always come tell you what they are thinking first. "We did programmes during the winter to prevent injury, CSM in Simonstown was a great help to us as they catered for all our needs through weights and physio. The trip to Portugal really helped before the Kildare match; it was great for team bonding as we got to know more about each other. But it was very professional as well, the training matches had great intensity and really set us up for the year," stressed Bray. After hitting an amazing 2-21 from play in the '07 championship, Bray will no doubt be a marked man come the New Year. As expectations rise, so do the challenges that meet the current crop of Meath players. Many within the county anticipate a serious tilt at the Leinster championship in2008 and the Navan man admits he's looking forward to facing these new demands. "I suppose like every team in the country, the more exposure you get, the more people know about you so it's going to be a big challenge for me. That's good in a way, because at least I know I have to work even harder because people will be putting in a bigger effort to stop me. But that's the same for the whole Meath team in general - we have to work harder as the expectation levels are higher now. "Teams are really going to go out and try and beat Meath now because we are back in the top eight of Ireland, so that's the big challenge for us. We can't be happy with what we done in 2007, we must build on that. Hopefully we can move away from the second-year syndrome, as the media call it, and progress from last year," claimed Bray. With Meath playing in an ultra competitive division in the National League and drawn on the opposite side to champions Dublin in Leinster, it promises to be an exciting year for both county and player. The 25 year old lays out his own personal aims for the year. "Hopefully I can build on what I've achieved, be stronger and even better again next year and not let the team or myself down. It's happened to other players that they struggle in the second year and I know it will be harder as people might target me, I've basically got to try and be as good, if not better than last year," concluded the corner-forward. Those statements send out a clear warning to corner backs all over the country, there's more to come from Stephen Bray. . Tweet

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