Foley returns to Carlow squad

Former Carlow senior football captain, Darragh Foley, is back in the Carlow senior football panel and will be available for selection for the first round of the Tailteann Cup.

There was no formal announcement but when contacted the Kilbride man, who scored 12 goals and 433 points for his county in 165 appearances, confirmed that he was “slipping back in” but would not be carrying out any interviews at the moment.

Speculation will be rife as to why Foley has changed his mind but no doubt the introduction of the new rules would have been a factor. Donegal’s Michael Murphy was another high-profile player, who had announced his retirement, but when he decided to return to the count set-up, it was felt the man who captained Donegal to All-Ireland success in 2012 wanted to test himself with the new rules.

The same could be said now for Foley. In the past, the big man has excelled at midfield and full-forward with Carlow. The new rules, particularly the three up and the three back means he will have more space to play an open brand of football.

Regarding the two-point rule for successful attempts at goal from outside the 45-metre line, that would suit Foley who has a prodigious kick of a ball.

The appointment of Joe Murphy as the new manager of Carlow would also have to be a factor for the former captain. No doubt, Foley would have been told that the new manager’s approach to training has been a breath of fresh air for the players.

The appointment of Chris Bolger and Mick Kehoe with the return of James Clarke to the backroom team was also well-received by the players and a number of those who had left under the previous manager, Shane Curran, have returned to the fold.

Carlow made their exit out of the Leinster senior football championship when Meath beat them by 1-30 to 0-19. A fourteen-point defeat may have sounded convincing but the new Carlow manager had only met the squad a few days earlier. The Barrowside visitors to Navan for that first round game performed well at times. No doubt, Foley would have taken all this into account before making his decision.

He will be under no illusion that he cannot walk straight back into a starting place. The new manager, will surely, pick players who are fit and showing form on the training pitch. Previous form will count for nothing with Murphy. Foley will have to prove that he has something to offer if he is to don a Carlow jersey once more.