WHEN MARK RODGERS was pressed into action in Croke Park twelve months ago, he walked into a hurling horror show from a Clare perspective.
They had shipped 1-17 in the first half and were staring at a Kilkenny team 14 points clear.
It was a damage limitation exercise.
Rodgers came on at the interval, facing into an unforgiving second half. He chipped in with two impressively-struck points but at the final whistle the Scariff native was facing the same scenario as the rest of his Clare team-mates, down and out after suffering a 12 point beating.
A year on they get a chance to make amends.
And this time Rodgers is in from the start, central to the Clare cause, an attacker they are pinning hopes on to help shift this game in their favour.
It’s only 11 weeks since Rodgers first tasted championship action as a starter for Clare in senior combat. He made his mark that day, pickpocketing the Tipperary rearguard for two goals in the first half.
Since then his performance graph has continued to travel in an upward direction. In the epic round-robin encounter against Limerick, Rodgers notched 0-3, including a brilliantly-crafted sideline cut. If quiet outings ensued against Waterford and Cork, he shone again when taking on Limerick in the Munster final as he bagged 1-2.
The goal captured Rodgers’ opportunism when he grabbed a ball that struck off the upright from Tony Kelly’s point attempt and slotted his shot to bottom corner of the net. Then there was his nimble footwork to accelerate into a pocket of space in the second half, cutting in from the left wing and clipping over a point.
His liking for the Gaelic Grounds venue surfaced again when he smashed 1-11 past the Dublin defence in the quarter-final a fortnight ago. Assuming the free-taking responsibilities saw him register five points, the 1-6 tally from play was a sizeable contribution.
“Basically, Mark is, I always consider him a younger version of Conor McGrath,” says Anthony Nash, the Cork All-Star winner who has coached Rodgers in the Fitzgibbon Cup with UL.
“in my opinion, if he keeps going the way he’s going, he’ll be better.
“He is just very driven, very silent, kind of a guy. Great craic but on the field, he’s just my kind of forward where first thought is, ‘Can I get a goal?’
“And after that then look if he’s to settle for a point, he’ll take it.”
Rodgers has grabbed four goals from play in this summer’s senior championship, his penchant for raising green flags has been evident with a while.
Underage days may not have yielded the riches of silverware but they did showcase Rodgers ability to impact.
In 2018, when the round-robin system was introduced at minor level, Clare finished bottom of the table in Munster. But their livewire forward showed up well in finding the net in every game, bagging seven goals across four appearances.
If hurling was a dominant part of his life, he was also making his mark in handball. In March 2019, Rodgers won an All-Ireland singles semi-final against a Wexford opponent, before later that Saturday evening he nailed two injury-time frees, part of an overall 1-13 return, as a Scariff-Ogonelloe selection defeated Cratloe in the Clare U21 A hurling championship.
The U20 grade saw Clare make early exits in the 2019 and 2020 championships, but by his last year at that level in 2021, Rodgers was ineligible after getting his call-up papers to senior level.
Brian Lohan had clearly invested faith in Rodgers but it took time to adjust to the higher altitude of senior hurling and injury also wrecked his progress.
In 2021 he was gently introduced with substitute appearances, hitting two points off the bench with a qualifier win over Wexford. But when Clare lost to Cork, it was a hugely difficult experience for the corner-forward, brought on in the 28th minute and then taken off in the 52nd minute.
The following spring he was starting to show up well, posting 1-5 v Cork and 0-12 v Wexford, before a knock to his knee in the Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final with UL derailed his development.
“Every time he was asked to do something on the field, he was brilliant,” says Nash.
“He made a huge sacrifice for us because he missed the whole season last year with Clare he hurt himself playing Fitzgibbon.
“He was half injured going to the Fitz final this year and still put us first and wanted to win the Fitz on the field and only for getting the scores at the vital time, the game wouldn’t have been as easy.”
The 2022 championship was a write-off for Rodgers until the Munster decider, he was brought on in extra-time in the thriller against Limerick.
This summer he has exploded to life.
There were flashes in the off season from the inter-county game of the threat he poses, firing 4-12 last September in the play-off win that helped Scariff retain their senior status in Clare. In February he collected a Fitzgibbon Cup medal for the second straight year with UL.
“I think he’s just going to be a superstar, to be honest,” outlines Nash.
“His skill level is phenomenal, extremely strong. Once he can avoid injury going forward, I think he’s going to be multiple All-Star for Clare.
“And just to see what he did the last day against Dublin, people haven’t seen the best of him yet.
“People might think I’m just being biased, but just working with him up close, just to see the talent and the skill he has. Very dedicated and a very nice young fella.”
Now Croke Park beckons for Rodgers. A starter with Clare. Hitting the frees. In an attack filled with leading lights like Tony Kelly, Peter Duggan and Shane O’Donnell, Rodgers is an added weapon loaded into that forward line.
Twelve months on, he is primed for action.