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5th March 2022
09:24am GMT

By Daragh Small
“Thank God, I actually feel the fittest I ever felt. I have a full pre-season under my belt. In the few League games, I’ve picked up nothing. I’m buzzing, thank God,” said Dillon.
“Hopefully I’ve turned over a new leaf.”
And while Dillon prepares for a crucial Lidl NFL clash with Galway tomorrow, and a Yoplait Lynch semi-final with her TUS Midlands teammates next week, there are others who are not quite so fortunate.
Lucy McCartan, who also scored a goal in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate final last year, is out with a serious ACL injury. Another influential player, Vicky Carr, has a shoulder problem and Dillon’s sister, Rachel, remains on the comeback trail following her own ACL disaster.
“It’s so tough. You are looking at them and you know how challenging, mentally and physically, it is,” said Dillon.
“It is really tough to watch someone else go through it. So we will just be there to support them and make it as easy for them as it can be.”
And Westmeath have struggled in their absence at the start of 2022, resulting in their game against Galway this weekend taking on huge significance.
A relegation play-off looms large and Michael Finneran will be desperate to avoid the drop in his first season as manager.
But bereft of 18 players from last year’s All-Ireland winning squad, it makes his job that bit more difficult.
“We lost key leaders, Fiona Claffey, Jennifer Rogers, girls who had so much experience,” said Dillon.
“We are adjusting to new girls coming in. We have new management in as well. We did take a lot of learnings from our start this year and we did bring them into the Donegal game.
“We did have a better performance, we didn’t get a win but we got a lot from the Mayo game. We will see if we can get more from the Donegal game and bring that into the Galway game.”
But any team would struggle if the backbone was taken out of their squad, and that, coupled with injuries for McCartan and Carr, have resulted in back-to-back defeats in Division 1A.
“All we want to do is put up a performance and play as well as we can and not make mistakes,” said Dillon.
“Galway are in the same boat as us, they have two losses as well. It’s going to be a really competitive game for both of us. Hopefully we can come out on the good side of it but you never know. We will give it our best shot anyway.”
And while Dillon continues to give everything her best shot, she knows that last September’s stunning 4-19 to 0-6 win on the biggest stage could have been a poisoned chalice.
At just 20, it will hopefully not be the pinnacle of her career but she knows it may have softened the blow for others who headed for the exits.
“It is tough but that’s what happens,” said Dillon.
“But you can’t fault any of the girls for having left the group having gave so much to Westmeath ladies.
“Now there is a new phase of players coming through. We have to adjust to that. Our goal is to develop as a team and keep competing at Division 1 and senior level.
“If we can stay doing that for this year anyway, we will be happy and we will keep trying to progress each year.”Explore more on these topics:

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