OLD FOES, FIERCE rivals and two of the top few.<\/p>\n
Dublin and Cork go at it again in the familiar setting of Croke Park this evening [throw-in 5.15pm, live on TG4], with another mouth-watering battle in store.<\/p>\n
As always, these two counties start the season as leading contenders for the big prizes on offer. But there\u2019s another element to the ladies football landscape in 2022 after Meath\u2019s magical win last year \u2014 and an extra kick to this clash, given Division 1B pits Dublin, Cork, Meath and Waterford together, with only two teams progressing to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
Not only did the Royals\u2019 historic win end Dublin\u2019s bid for the perfect five-in-a-row, it also broke the Dublin-Cork duopoly which stretches back to 2005. That\u2019s 16 years of the Brendan Martin Cup wintering in the capital or on Leeside; the Rebels enjoying a remarkable reign of terror from \u201905 to \u201916, only interrupted by the Sky Blues in 2010, before they added four consecutive crowns under the guidance of Mick Bohan thereafter.<\/p>\n
Bohan is still in situ as Dublin look to bounce back from their 2021 championship disappointment, while they also have the league title to defend. Last year\u2019s decider win over \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 Cork was just their second Division 1 title, having first gotten their hands on the silverware in 2018.<\/p>\n
Cork, meanwhile, have lifted the title 12 times \u2013 first in 2005 and most recently in 2019. While it\u2019s a competition they have appeared to target, more than Dublin anyway, in recent years, it\u2019s hard to measure their approach this season.<\/p>\n
Shane Ronayne is the new man at the helm, after himself and now-Waterford men\u2019s football boss Ephie Fitzgerald effectively swapped jobs, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role.<\/p>\n
Ronayne\u2019s reign opened with a two-point defeat to Meath in Navan last Saturday, though he was without his Mourneabbey contingent. The same applies this weekend as most of the 2018 and 2019 All-Ireland club champions and 2021 runners-up recharge the batteries after their recent defeat, though goal-scoring machine Laura Fitzgerald is included on the bench for the trip to HQ.<\/p>\n
\n Shane Ronayne on the line with Mourneabbey.<\/p>\n
Source: Lorraine O\u2019Sullivan\/INPHO<\/p>\n
There are two changes to their starting team, as of now, with Roisin Phelan and Libby Coppinger drafted in as they face into a must-win encounter. The absence of the Mourneabbey contingent means Cork are without vital cogs in new captain M\u00e1ire O\u2019Callaghan, the O\u2019Sullivan sisters, Ciara and Doireann, and top defender Eimear Meaney.<\/p>\n
Rising star forward, Niamh Hetherton, meanwhile, comes in for Dublin, who got up and running last weekend with a 4-7 to 1-4 victory in Waterford, while blooding several new players.<\/p>\n
Both panels show a mixture of youth and experience, a blend of familiar and fresh faces, with no big departures announced as of yet \u2014 Cork dual star Hannah Looney is currently living in New York, though.<\/p>\n
A raft of Dublin retirements were expected, after Bohan lamented \u201cthe end of a road for probably half a dozen of that group\u201d in the wake of last year\u2019s All-Ireland final.<\/p>\n
But speaking to The42<\/em> last week, Carla Rowe indicated that Siobhan McGrath was \u201cthe only girl who I think has not returned yet\u201d. That said, that\u2019s not exactly uncommon. The 2019 Footballer of the Year and Thomas Davis stalwart did suffer with injury last year, and it could be a case of giving her time.<\/p>\n There\u2019s none of such for Lyndsey Davey, who has been named in both matchday squads as she opens her 19th campaign, while likewise long-serving Sin\u00e9ad Aherne is yet to feature after her All-Ireland intermediate winning club campaign with St Sylvester\u2019s.<\/p>\n The same applies for Sin\u00e9ad Goldrick and Lauren Magee, who are tied up with AFLW commitments in Melbourne, and uncertainty does remain over Niamh McEvoy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Several Dublin players have spoken about their hunger and motivation to get back to the top this year, while Erika O\u2019Shea is the Cork face who has fulfilled the most media duties over the past few weeks.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the 2021 All-Star said: \u201cShane Roynane is focusing on [getting back to] the All-Ireland final and that is all that is in his head at the moment and we are using the league as experience and hopefully it will be very worthwhile.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really hoping for the All-Ireland anyway and it\u2019s definitely a new chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Source: Laszlo Geczo\/INPHO<\/p>\n The next chapter in this storied Cork-Dublin rivalry begins this evening, too, the clash forming part of a double-header with the Dubin-Mayo men\u2019s showdown.<\/p>\n This duel comes as the latest installment of a gripping contest, which has captured the imagination in recent years, and will never dissipate. Their rivalry, and mutual respect, is one like no other in the game, the sides guaranteed to cross swords in the business end of competitions each and every year.<\/p>\n And every time they meet, they serve up a classic, with free-flowing, attacking football guaranteed.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re probably one of our favourite teams to play in terms of style of football, they\u2019ve always been really exciting and really challenging games,\u201d as Dublin star Niamh Collins told DubsTV this week.<\/p>\n \n Get closer to the stories that matter with exclusive analysis, insight and debate in The42 Membership.\n <\/p>\n Become a Member<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cNo matter how much the teams move in terms of new players, it always seems to be a great battle between Dublin and Cork. Great to have it in Croke Park as well, there were times in the past where the only game we got in Croke Park was an All-Ireland final.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great for new young players to experience playing in that stadium and it\u2019s always exciting, so looking forward to it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Division 1 Lidl Ladies National Football League fixtures<\/p>\n Saturday 19 February 19<\/p>\n Division 1B<\/p>\n Sunday February 20:<\/p>\n Division 1A<\/p>\n Division 1B<\/p>\n
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