Semple to host historic first Senior Camogie final

CAMOGIE: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Championship Final Preview

By Joe Scully

CLONOULTY/ROSSMORE

v

THURLES SARSFIELDS

FBD Semple Stadium

Saturday, 11th October

Throw-in @ 3.30pm

Referee: David Kennedy (Nenagh Eire Og)

The Tipperary Senior Camogie Championship will be decided on Saturday in what will be a repeat of the 2024 final, with defending champions Clonoulty/Rossmore coming up against Thurles Sarsfields.

Clonoulty/Rossmore are looking to make it two-in-a-row, and a second ever title, against a Thurles side seeking their first ever championship in just their second ever final at this level.

An extra element to this is that it will be played in Semple Stadium in what will be an historic occasion for the game of camogie in Tipperary, and it is a tremendous boost to the sport of camogie in the county.

The game pits the two best teams in the county up against each other, with both teams coming in with a 100% record so far in the championship, and it promises to be a cracking final, and hopefully the sides will get a good crowd in for the historic occasion as well.

Thurles Sarsfields come into the game in serious form after racking up massive scores in both the quarter final where they hit 2-23 against Moneygall and were even more impressive in their semi-final win over Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams with 5-22.

Clonoulty/Rossmore also come into the final in good form, albeit not as free scoring as their opponents, after coming through a real tough battle against Drom & Inch in the semi-final, eventually winning by four points, although they had an impressive win over Burgess/Duharra in the quarter final by 25 points, racking up 5-15 in the process.

Thurles have looked the most impressive team in the championship so far, and seem to have the strongest panel, who work so well as a team with danger coming from all areas of the pitch, a fact borne out with them having nine different scorers in their quarter final win and eight in the semi-final victory.

They have also been very strong in defence, led by Emma Carey who has been one of the outstanding players of the championship to date.

In midfield they have looked extra strong with both Karen Kennedy and Aoife Dwyer dominating this sector, both capable of scoring and setting up scores, with the quality of ball going into the forwards.

And then you have the forwards who led by one of the best youngsters in the game Caoimhe Stakelum, ably assisted by the likes of Andrea Loughnane, Sarah Stakelum and the hat-trick hero from the semi-final Laura Loughnane.

While Thurles have been mighty impressive to date in the championship, they haven’t really been tested, apart from periods against Burgess/Duharra and Silvermines, but that will certainly change on Saturday when they come up against champions Clonoulty/Rossmore, who have not been at their best at times, but have done enough to get to another final.

They have some real quality throughout their team and looked very good defensively in the semi-final win over Drom & Inch with the likes of Courtney Ryan, Moira Kinane, and Eimear Loughman tough to break down.

With Casey Hennessy in midfield, and a forward line more than capable of clicking lead by the likes of Sarah Fryday, Eimear Bourke, Kellie Quirke and of course the evergreen Cait Devane, who is one of the best to ever play the game.

A key aspect of the game could well be how well the Clonoulty defence can contain a Thurles attack that, if it hits form, is more than capable of running amok and leading Sars to what could be an historic win.

It is hard to see this happening though as Clonoulty/Rossmore have plenty of experience to deal with the Sarsfields attack, and will no doubt have a plan to contain them.

Another key factor will be the fact that Clonoulty/Rossmore have a lot more experience of county finals than Thurles and also know what it takes to win a final after finally getting over the line last year, after years of heartbreak.

This could be key to the outcome, but Thurles Sarsfields after suffering heartbreak last year seem to be hell bent on gaining revenge, and with the way they have been performing so far, they are just slight favourites heading into the final as they aim to get their hands on the O’Dowd Cup for the first time in this history.

Don’t be surprised if a replay is required to separate these two heavyweights of Tipperary Camogie.

VERDICT: Thurles Sarsfields