By Katrina Brennan

WHILE some things came to a halt during Covid-19 pandemic, Darragh McGurn’s career as an online S&C coach took off.

The Belnaleck man had not long finished his degree in aerospace engineering at the time, a far cry from what he does now .

With over 50,000 followers on Instagram, McGurn’s bio states that he “helps GAA athletes transform their performance on the pitch by getting lean, robust and explosive”.

His focus on nutrition and exercise has helped others as well as himself as he’s worked his way back from a hip/groin injury which dates back to November 2022. Playing pain-free for the first time in a long time is a relief.

“Last year, I probably spent the whole year convincing myself I would be back by the end of the league, I’d be back for Tailteann Cup flying, and that was the hope I was holding onto last year throughout that period,” said the 26-year-old.

“I just ran out of time. At inter-county level, if you’re not putting in a big preseason then you’re going to really struggle to make up the ground later on later on in the year.

“The focus this year was getting back playing at the highest level. I suppose that’s what I started out wanting to do when I started playing county. That was the goal to go on and represent your county and it’s enjoyable having that purpose early in the year.”

On Saturday evening, the Belnaleck man kicked three points and against Louth he landed four. Despite not landing a two-pointer, he’s well able to kick them and overall he’s enthused about the new rules;

“I’d probably fancy myself in terms of a long range kicker so, up to now we haven’t played that much football, so I haven’t seen how many opportunities are going to arise in games but it’s definitely an exciting one to think that’ll be an option. I suppose the ‘pot shot’ isn’t as relevant anymore.

“It’s a different approach as an inside forward. Previously you would’ve been spending a lot of time running back towards your own goal and it was a lot more difficult to impact the game when you were nearly always fatigued from running back.

“I have found when the ball comes up now, you’re a lot fresher and you’re able to make an impact a bit better. I’ve enjoyed that side of things. For me, I’ve always thrived on one v ones, or taking men on, and creating scoring opportunities, so it’s that freshness that you have now that you can’t go past your halfway line if you’re one of the three.”

Division Three is going to be competitive and after dropping down along with Kildare last season, there’s a determination among the Fermanagh players to bounce back up;

“The aspiration is to get promoted out of Division three, 100 per cent,” stated McGurn. “That’s definitely the goal. Promotion first and it would be nice to win a Division Three title as well. Then, you’ve obviously got the Tailteann Cup coming up after that.

“We know the potential that’s in the squad and we know we’re capable of competing in Division Two . We showed last year we were very unlucky to get relegated and we’ve players back this year as well. So yeah, promotion and then we’ll think about the Tailteann Cup which is 100 per cent within our sights as well.”

The road to reaching those goals starts on Saturday evening at 5pm.

“I expect a massive game from Kildare. They’re coming in with a fresh management, a fresh approach. They’ve probably struggled for the last two years, so they’re going to have a massive kick.

“Newbridge is only after getting revamped as well, so they’re expecting a big crowd. I’m expecting one of the toughest games we’re going to get, down in Newbridge, in the first game but if we can get a win it’s going to set us up massively leading into the next couple of games.”