IT’S NOT often that a new team enters a league and is immediately installed as the favourites to win it.
However, the bookies are tipping Shamrock Rovers to triumph this year in the Women’s National League, or the Women’s Premier Division as it has just been rebranded.
Tipping the Hoops for the title does not seem like an unreasonable prediction, given that they have swiftly signed a number of top players, including Ireland internationals Aine O’Gorman, Stephanie Roche, Abbie Larkin, and Savannah McCarthy.
Yet Shelbourne, who won a league and cup double last year, will likely prove stiff opposition.
Rovers have ruffled feathers with their prompt hoovering up of some of the best talents in the country, but Shels captain Pearl Slattery sees their introduction to proceedings in a positive light.
Asked whether there is a degree of envy from rival teams, the recent winner of the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Women’s Personality of the Year award says: “I don’t think there’s envy there at all. Rovers have been dominating the men’s side of the game for the last two or three years, so it’s a breath of fresh air that they’ve now got a women’s team in.
“They obviously went around the league and took a few of the players, but that’s football, that’s life.
“We have a brilliant squad here, we’re really focused on ourselves, so there’s definitely no envy there. If we focus on ourselves, we’ll be fine this year.
“I think it’s good for the league overall. Every year, you want the teams to improve. Rovers are coming in, they’re a new team. It brings a different dimension, a different rivalry. All of a sudden, you have Shels v Rovers on the fixture list, and Bohs against Rovers. So I think it’s an exciting time for women’s football and it’s going to be a very close league campaign.”
Peamount might be seen by some as the biggest loser in this scenario, given the departure of key players such as O’Gorman and Roche. However, Avril Brierley, who herself joined the Peas from DLR Waves in the close season is similarly unperturbed by the Hoops’ sudden emergence as a force to be reckoned with.
“There’s a lot of controversy over it and Shamrock Rovers coming into a new league,” she says. “Where else do people think they’re going to get players? You can’t pick them out of the sky.
“What I think Shamrock Rovers have done is set a standard, not even financially — people get so worked up on the money end of it, but it’s never been about money, we’ve never played for money before. So it’s not all of a sudden that people have gotten money hungry.
“They have these facilities that I’ve heard are second to none. This is what every club should be striving for. I don’t see their entry into the league as bad news or controversial whatsoever.
“It’s giving everyone the incentive to say: ‘Okay, well, they’re here. They’re not messing around.’ I know, they’re in a fortunate position, and they do have funding with the men’s team behind them.
“But I’m just like: ‘Are we going to stay in an amateur league forever?’ No one wants to do that, I’d love to be able to make a career out of it and not have to leave the country.
“I have a good group of friends who have to go abroad to play football and they’re earning a pittance and they’re away from home. So I think if there was a financial incentive and gains to playing football domestically, everyone would take it with two hands.”
Sligo Rovers’ Emma Hansberry agrees: “They’ll be another team in the league, another team to play against, fresh new faces. And it’s great that they’re in the league. Obviously, they’re pumping a bit of money into it too, which is great for the women’s game because other teams have to step up to the plate as well. It’s only a good thing for the players. We’re playing them in our opening game this season, so we’re looking forward to it and we’ll see what happens on the day.”
At 33, Slattery has been involved in the domestic game for well over a decade and is one of the most decorated footballers in WNL history.
However, the Shels captain insists she has lost none of that incredible drive as she prepares for yet another season and will be taking no team for granted as Noel King’s side bid to retain the title, which they won in thrilling fashion last year, gathering 60 points, just ahead of Athlone (58), Peamount (56) and Wexford Youths (56).
“We had a great season last year, but that’s gone now,” she says. “So we have a new focus. I’d love to think the league is going to be as competitive as ever this year.
“We’ll want to continue what we’re doing, competing for everything and being there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
“I think in previous seasons, it probably would have been two or three teams, I think it’s going to be five or six teams fighting for the title this year.
“You’ve Wexford, Athlone, Peamount, Rovers coming into the mix, a young Galway and DLR, Cork are improving, so I think every weekend is going to be tough.
“I don’t think we will have a biggest rival — for me, it’s focusing on ourselves and making sure that we show up.”
Peamount too will still feel they have can challenge and Brierley has been impressed by her new surroundings after signing last December.
“I just feel like I fit in really well. It does feel like people flourish in environments like the one created in Peamount. There are no frills about what Peamount do. It’s quite old school in its way. James [O’Callaghan] is quite an old-school manager.
“It just works. We have a woman that works behind the scenes for us, Barbara. Every night we go up, there are protein shakes, and freshly cut fruit after training sessions, it’s not big frilly post-match meals or whatever, it’s just really authentic, genuine work from both players and management, which aligns with my morals. I’d be a woman of high values and I just like genuine efforts from people.
“Because that’s what you’ll get from me, genuine authenticness and work rate, the camaraderie within the team
“So I think firstly the culture of Peamount will put us in a good position. There are no egos on the team, no cliques, people just get in and get on.”
She continues: “There’s been a bit of a transformation within Peas as well, they’re after losing a couple of big starting players but speaking to the girls, the players that have come have been just as good as the players that have left.
“I think it kind of reshapes the face, and the idea of what people think of when they think of Peamount.
“But there have been players knocking around that team for so long that I don’t feel got the public recognition that they probably deserved.
“And it’s not until I’m there in amongst them, and I see what they do on and off the pitch that I’m like: ‘If only people knew if you were a fly on the wall, you might have just a new opinion on a new perspective on what teamwork really is,’ as opposed to just focusing on one or two key faces or key names.”
“So I do think we’re in good shape. And I do feel like it is a bit of a clean slate, not only for Peamount but for most teams in the league.
“There have been shifts everywhere so it’s going to force people to reevaluate and say: ‘Who are we? What do we want to achieve? Who’s on board? Who’s not on board? So people can only reap rewards from that.”
Wexford Youths — whose re-signing of Ireland international and former WNL Player of the Year Rianna Jarrett was one of the highest profile deals of the off-season — are another side who will be hoping to add to the four WNL titles they have already claimed — the last of which was won in 2018.
And if they are to go all the way, Aoibheann Clancy will likely be an important player.
The 19-year-old midfielder from Limerick, who is already in her fourth season with the club and was handed an Ireland senior debut by Vera Pauw against Morocco last November, is hoping they can bounce back after a couple of relatively fallow seasons in contrast with the high standards previously set.
“I’d really love to win the league and cup because I think there’s a group of girls there — you have the more experienced players like Kylie [Murphy], Edel [Kennedy], Nicola [Sinnott] that have won everything that there is to win and then you have the younger players that haven’t won apart from when we won the cup final in 2021. We haven’t won a league title together and this group has been on the go for a while so I think it would be really nice for the two to come together and win the title.
“I think last season, we weren’t clinical enough. With the additions we made to the squad, there are some really good attacking players signed, so I think that could be a huge help.
“But I think just raising standards all the time in everything that we do as well [is important]. We fell short the last few seasons, so we’re going to have to add something extra to hopefully get across the line or look to really push for that title this season.”
So an exciting season beckons amid a tide of optimism in the Irish women’s game on the back of Vera Pauw’s side qualifying for the World Cup as well as growing interest in the domestic product.
Slattery has been through the good times as well as bad and feels now it is better than ever in many ways, with TG4 recently announcing 12 live games to be shown this year.
“Previously, we’ve only had one game live on RTÉ, which used to be the cup final. Last year, we saw 10 live games on TG4, which was brilliant.
“So I think that promotion, publicity, and getting people into seats — we’ve had great games in Tolka and other places around the league, getting really good crowds.
“And you want to keep on building on that coming into this year. And I think with the new dimensions to the rivalry, how close the last two years have been, the crowds will keep growing.”
Opening fixtures:
- Shelbourne v Cork City (2pm)
- Galway v Wexford Youths (2pm)
- Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers (5pm)
- Treaty United v Bohemians (5pm)
- Athlone Town v Peamount (7pm)