MELISSA Duggan is one of Cork’s top footballers, but still felt she had to prove herself all over again this season.
It’s a challenge the Dunmanway woman embraced.
During the off-season, an entire new Cork management team was put in place, led by Joe Carroll who brought Castlehaven’s James McCarthy on board as a coach – Duggan had never worked with either before so felt she needed to show her worth.
Since bursting on the inter-county scene in 2017, she has risen to become one of the top defenders in the country. She has the All-Star award to prove it. There was another All-Star nomination last season. This is her ninth season with Cork, but the slate was wiped clear. Time to get to work.
‘One hundred percent, I felt more pressure this year compared to other years because of that fact,’ Duggan tells The Southern Star.
‘The “non-college girls”, as we call ourselves, put down a really hard off-season – we were running together in groups, we’d be out in the Farm in UCC in no light trying to do some football skills and running, and we used to get kicked off at some stages!
‘There is a core group of girls who don’t play college football and who are working, so we put in extra work in the off-season. I felt really fit going into the start of the season, more so compared to other years.
‘It was always in the back of my mind that some of the new management didn’t know me at all – they didn't know how I play or maybe had never seen me play. I felt the pressure. Then you have the younger ones coming in, full of energy and flying fit from colleges’ football.’
Melissa Duggan loves playing against Dublin.
There was a first-day-at-school feel when Cork got together ahead of the new season, but Duggan has the experience to take it all in her stride. She already worked with new Cork selectors Brian McCarthy and Anne O’Grady from her time with the West Cork divisional team, so there was some familiarity. But a new management brings new ideas, so Duggan had to step up again to win her place. Never in doubt.
She missed Cork’s opening Division 2 game against Westmeath, but has started in the Cork defence in every game since – that’s six in the league including the league final against Galway, three in the Munster championship and two in the All-Ireland series. She hasn’t missed a minute in the games she’s started.
‘There was fierce competition at the start of the year to get a jersey for the league,’ Duggan says.
‘It was refreshing that the management didn’t know us that well. The competition was really intense. In the first league game we had so many debutants, I hadn’t seen that before. Normally it’s one or two, but we had loads involved. But we need those young girls coming up and getting that experience, so it was great to see.’
The Doheny star is a leader in this Cork team. The young players look up to her, and she has also become more vocal. Duggan will be needed to lead against Dublin in Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final, especially with full back Shauna Kelly ruled out through injury. Again, she’ll take it in her stride. And she’s backing this young Cork team to step up too. She has seen positive signs in recent weeks, especially in the All-Ireland round-robin games against Kerry and Mayo.
‘While playing in Division 2 was great to get young girls game-time and give so many new players their debuts, it meant we didn’t play a Division 1 team for a while – it was in the Munster championship when we played Kerry and Waterford. Munster came too soon for us. We weren’t ready for the step up in standard, having played in Division 2,’ Duggan explains.
‘Now, after a few challenge games and round-robin games, I do see us progressing in the right direction. I think we have shown glimpses of what we can do and how we can play, so we are taking one step up the ladder each time. We are going in the right direction.’
Cork manager Joe Carroll and coach James McCarthy.
The responsibility the new management team has put back on the players has helped.
‘This year the team is so much closer, there is a great bond between the girls,’ Duggan says.
‘The management has taken a step back, they want us to lead the team because it’s our team – everyone has a right to say something if they are not happy with it. It’s nice they are putting so much trust in us.
‘We can all openly discuss what way we want to set up in the back line or how we should handle opposition kick-outs – the management obviously look after the structure, but they leave a lot up to us.
‘Because we are talking more as a team, everyone is really getting involved and showing how much interest and pride they have to play for Cork.
‘Game by game we are developing and hopefully we can show that again on Saturday.’
Parnell Park this Saturday afternoon is the next stop on the journey for Duggan and her team-mates. The Dubs will be favourites, but Cork have a chance to prove they have made progress this season.
‘We won’t fear them but they will be favourites and we will be the underdogs,’ Duggan says.
‘I always love playing Dublin – it’s always a good game against them and it will be good to see how we measure up against them. If we stick together as a unit, we know what we can do, like we showed in the first half against Kerry and grinding out the win against Mayo. Anything is possible, so who knows what will happen.’
One certainty is that Duggan will lead by example. She’s proved herself again this season.
