Meath's Seán Rafferty pictured at the launch of the Leinster SFC. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
By Cian O'Connell
It has been an eventful start to life as a senior inter-county footballer for Sean Rafferty.
Having featured in Meath's seven Allianz Football League Division Two matches, Rafferty has emerged as an important player in Robbie Brennan's panel.
At the weekend news emerged that the highly regarded Joe McMahon and Martin Corey had stepped away from the Meath coaching set-up. "From a players point of view we found out Saturday," Rafferty explains. "I don't really have much more to tell you other than we found out Saturday and we found out that the boys had decided to step away.
"Don't know why they did that, not too sure, but from a players point of view we're just focused on Carlow on Sunday and whatever else has to be dealt with, it's going to be the powers that be to sort that out."
The upcoming assignment against Carlow will be tricky, but Rafferty is encouraged about the progress he's making with the Royals. "I suppose when you're training, it took me a while to get up to speed with it, first year in there I was probably a bit in awe of everything, my first time had I been in and around that, getting up to speed with it took me a while," he says.
"I won't lie it did take me a while, but now I feel I'm there, have that kind of belief in my own ability now and at the moment it's going well for me, I just hope it keeps going that way."
Meath senior football team manager Robbie Brennan. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
The fact that Meath didn't secure promotion was disappointing considering they had assumed a decent position entering the last two rounds. "Robbie did do a very good job of kind of keeping us week to week and not looking at the bigger picture," Rafferty explains.
"But when it's everywhere that you could possibly get to Division One, of course, it is in the back of your head.
"We did feel like we could have done it, but it didn't go that way. So, we kind of had to take a step back and look at it as if you offered us third place in the league at the start of the year would we have taken it?
"I think we all would have taken it. I don't think many people would have given us that position in the league.
"So, rather than look at it as a negative we have to look at the positives and we played well and we played good football and we finished high in the League and there is something, a core there to build on.
"So, it's not really flat. I'd say we still have the enthusiasm there and we're eager to now push on to Leinster and then hopefully the All-Ireland."
