On the opening weekend of the Women's Super League, newly promoted Fr Mathews will be ready for their first game in the top flight, as they mark the opening of the new Fr Mathews Arena with a clash against Galway's NUIG Mystics.
They are looking forward to getting their Super League season under way, with a strengthened squad that includes former Glanmire star, Grainne Dwyer (who now rejoins sister Niamh on the court), Chantell Alford and Shannon Brady.
“This is a new experience for the club and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” said head coach, James Fleming. “Hopefully with the squad we have assembled, we will be competitive. NUIG will be tough, but we’ve prepared well and hopefully we’ll give our supporters a performance.”
Up the road, Mark Scannell has taken back up his role at the helm of Ambassador UCC Glanmire and is preparing for a Sunday afternoon clash against newly promoted Marble City Hawks in Cork.
“I’m looking forward to game one of the season, we’ve a very young team and it will be a great experience for them,” he said. “Kilkenny did well last year and have good Americans so we’ll need to be focused. There’s a good spirit in the squad so hopefully that will get us a good start and our Americans are settling in well so we’ll see where it takes us.”
Double header
In Dublin meanwhile, Pyrobel Killester will host Singleton SuperValu Brunell at the IWA in Clontarf as part of a double header with their men’s team. Looking ahead to the clash, head coach, Karl Kilbride stated: “We’re really excited for Saturday. It’s been a long and really productive pre-season, we can’t wait to play a proper, meaningful game.
“Brunell are a bit of an unknown, with a new coach and we haven’t seen them play yet. Being the first game of the season, I’d imagine it’ll be a bit sloppy and it could come down to whoever makes the fewest mistakes defensively. It’s a really difficult game, but one we’re very much looking forward to.”
In the Men’s Super League, Garvey’s Tralee Warriors are hoping that they can bounce back strong after a three-point loss to neighbours Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin in the opening game of the season last weekend. They will travel to Cork on Friday evening to face UCC Demons, who are coming into the game off the back of a 12-point win over C and S Neptune last weekend.
Looking ahead to the challenge, Warriors' head coach, Pat Price stated: "We're looking for a stronger performance on both ends of the floor this Friday night. At this point of the season, it's all about improvement. Demons have a strong, balanced starting five and we'll need to value every possession."
