Broderick urges Carlow players to enjoy very moment as they prepare for Croke Park final

In 2018, Paul Broderick was on the Carlow team which clinched NFL 4 promotion against Antrim in Belfast. That year he went on to score eleven points as the Barrowsiders beat Kildare in the Leinster Championship in Tullamore. At the end of the season, he was nominated for an All-Star and while he didn’t get the gong, he had made his mark on the game in the second smallest county in Ireland.

He can still remember those wonderful days and looks to what the current crop of players are experiencing.

“Next Saturday and the following two weeks, it is a great few weeks that they are going to have. There will be a lot of excitement. I am not saying next weekend doesn’t matter but the hard job is done,” he said after Carlow ensured Division 3 football for 2027.

Possibly if there is a smallest hint of regret about his own time in the jersey, Carlow played Laois in the league final but didn’t perform up to the level they had displayed earlier in the league. Broderick hopes the current group of players will leave no regrets on the Jones Road ground.

“They have to go up and enjoy themselves. That is what I would be hoping they will get out of it,” says the Tinryland man.

“Sometimes I think the occasion can pass you by. Do you ask yourself do you have any regrets? It is hard to see it when you are in it. Do you see the wood from the trees? Do you look back and ask yourself where we a bit tense or nervous?”

There will be comparisons to the previous Carlow team Broderick featured on. That is natural.

“I think this team is a little different. To come back from what happened to them, after Longford derailed them. London are a very good team and they came here and won,” he points out.

He admits he was surprised with the depth in the squad and what their input was on Sunday.

“To come out and have that performance was incredible. To have five or six subs who can help improve it, it is fantastic. Massive character to come back.”

And what is Broderick’s advice to the current group as they prepare for the visit to Croke Park.

“Train lightly. You make it a bit of fun. You enjoy it. That is the main thing. Do something different. Go for a swim. Collective anyway. The more you can be together, the better. Spend a bit of time with the family today. Enjoy it but come Tuesday you hit the field. A bit of fun but look forward,” he suggests.