Last year's championship saw Castlepollard relinquish their title at the semi final stage in what can only be described as a poor display by the defending champions. Now the club find themselves in the unusual predicament of being underdogs going into the 2005 campaign. Many neutrals and indeed some of their own club members believe that the current squad of players at their disposal is advancing in years, with a vast majority of the squad over the 30-mark. However, write Castlepollard off at your peril, as true class will always shine through. The fact that the club are currently forced to amalgamate with neighbours Ringtown at underage level is a worrying factor for the North Westmeath club as the number of youngsters coming through the ranks has dwindled in recent years. A little over a decade or so ago, Castlepollard dominated the underage scene in Westmeath hurling but as the old saying goes, 'every dog has its day'. Two years ago Pollard claimed the County title in dramatic circumstances when captain Darren McCormack scored an injury time goal to give the 'Town' their 14th title. And the victory was made all the more sweeter as it was in the club's Centenary year. Last year saw John Davis remain at the helm following his success the previous season and Pollard were tipped to retain their title despite strong opposition from the likes of Lough Lene Gaels, Clonkill and eventual champions Castlepollard. Long serving player Brendan Murphy admits that the former Meath and Westmeath hurling manager has brought about a renewed confidence in the squad since taking over the position three years ago. "John is a very good trainer with a proven track record. He is a very determined man who gets his point across in a very direct manner," said Brendan, who is one of the senior members of the squad. "Winning the championship in our Centenary Year meant a great deal to the club and everyone involved. We set out last year to repeat that and our early preparations went according to plan. Brendan admits that the decline in younger members making the breakthrough to the senior ranks is a worrying factor, especially with a number of players edging towards the twilight of their careers. "In fairness there are a few lads that have came through with the likes of Noel Boylan, Adrian Smyth and Martin Egan all showing that they are capable of playing senior hurling, but yeah it would be good to see a few more. "There are a fair few of us on the wrong side of 30 at present," he joked. "The likes of myself, Robert McLoughlin, Sean McLoughlin, Jody Murray, Alfie Devine and Noel Devine cannot keep going on for ever and today's game has definitely turned into a young man's game." Pollard would face newly crowned intermediate champions Delvin in their opening match of the championship and they were overwhelming favourites to begin the campaign with a win. As expected, Castlepollard ran out winners by eleven points but Delvin did test the defending champions resolve for long periods of the match before eventually they folded towards the end of the game. Their second outing saw them pitched against one of the sides that were serious contenders for the title - Castletown Geoghegan. In a match that saw the defending champions never really hit top gear, their opponents proved that they were intent on going all the way in the championship. Castletown eased to a four-point victory over Pollard to inflict their first defeat of the campaign and their next match in the championship would see them face neighbours and fierce rivals Lough Lene Gaels. Over the years these two sides have had many a great battle on and off the field, but in recent years their rivalry has reached fever pitch as both sides have dominated senior hurling in Westmeath. As has been the case for the past few years, a close contest was the outcome of their meeting in the championship. The Gaels looked set to edge out Pollard but a late flourish ensured the defending champions a share of the spoils on a scoreline of 1-10 to 0-13. Castlepollard now had three points from their opening three matches and needed a win in their next match to get back into the top half of the table, but they faced another tough encounter against Clonkill, the team they beat in the previous year's final. Clonkill went some way to erasing the painful memories of the 2003 county final defeat as they totally outplayed a Castlepollard team that looked static in their display. The Loughegar side had nine points to spare over their rivals. "The heavy defeat to Clonkill was a wake up call to us all and one that we did not expect to be honest. We were never in that match and Clonkill were always in control," revealed Brendan. As expected Pollard recorded wins over relegation strugglers Brownstown and Ringtown to bring them right back into contention for a place in the quarterfinals. In the last series of matches of the group stages Raharney were outclassed, but the sides would meet once again in the last eight of the 2004 championship. Pollard's standing in the final group table meant that they would have to play an extra match as both Lough Lene Gaels and Clonkill qualified for the semi finals. In the quarterfinal, Castlepollard were once again less than inspiring, although they had enough in the tank to see off the challenge of Raharney by 1-9 to 0-6, but there were worrying signs as the defending champions had not performed to the best of their capabilities all year. "We were very poor against Raharney. They had the chances to win the match but fortunately for us their forwards had an off day. We knew going into the semi final that we would have to up our performance or face defeat at the penultimate stage," pointed out Brendan. Their semi final opponents would be old foes the Gaels who were slight favourites to advance to the final. Played in front of a good attendance, the match was all set to be an epic encounter. Pollard started the brighter and dominated proceedings in the opening quarter but three goals between the 15th and 30th minute of the first half left Lough Lene Gaels six points in front at the interval. Castlepollard were stunned and this was evident by their second half performance when on two separate occasions they trailed by eight points. However, the defending champions were not to go down without a fight and closed the gap between the teams to within two points with the same amount of time remaining in the match. But, heartache was soon to follow as the Collinstown side hit their fourth goal of the match in injury time and although Pollard hit back with two points, it was a case of too little too late. New champions would be crowned in 2004 as the 'Town' returned home to lick their wounds. Brendan said: "It was very disappointing to lose to the Gaels, they seem to have had the upper hand on us in recent years. It was very difficult to comeback from the three goals scored in the first half but it looked as if we might just do that. The turning point of the game seemed to be when Jody Devine had to go off injured." So 2005 is upon us and another championship is about to get under way and as always Castlepollard will be there or there abouts at the end of the year. Whether they will have the same faces as last year remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain, many of their rivals will be hopeful that a number of their players might call it a day! Tweet

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