Rosemount blazed through to the semi-final stage of the Westmeath IFC yet again in 2005, only to deliver another below-par display on the big stage. The Black & Ambers returned to silverware-winning ways by landing the junior 'B' championship, however, and winning captain Des Collins is viewing that success as something more than a mere consolation. It's hardly a major surprise that Rosemount have struggled to come to terms with the demands of intermediate football. They held senior status for 72 uninterrupted years up until 2000, so demotion to the middle grade must surely have come as a massive jolt to the system. Since slipping down, the black and amber brigade has invariably contested the latter stages of the IFC, but thus far without any notable degree of success. Perennial semi-finalists, they reached the last four again in '05, only to come unstuck against a fired-up Ballynacargy team on the day. That defeat was a distinct disappointment for all associated with this proud rural club, but all is far from lost. Rosemount salvaged their season by annexing the junior 'B' football championship in considerable style and that success could provide a launching pad for future glory. It was the first time in 16 long years that Rosemount collected an adult championship, so a monkey has certainly been removed from the collective back of Rosemount GFC. Okay, a junior 'B' title is hardly the equivalent of an All-Ireland club heist in Croker on St Patrick's Day - but you have to start somewhere and the 2005 breakthrough may well serve as a catalyst for future successes. Des Collins captained the junior 'B's to glory in September. St Loman's were beaten by 1-11 to 0-6 in the final in Mullingar and the Galway native is optimistic that the breakthrough can lift the club as they bid to regain their precious place at the top table. Des is under no illusion as to the difficulty of the task lying ahead in '06, but he firmly believes the team is ready to finish the job and actually lay claim to the Peter Geraghty Cup: "We trained hard again in '05 and prepared well, but it wasn't good enough. We have the same aspiration this year, so we have to up the ante. The positive side is that we have a more mature side and we would be better able to cope with the demands of senior football if we were to go up. We know it's not an easy task, but we're up for it…" There's nothing wrong with the attitude in the clubhouse as the players prepare for the challenge of another season. Rosemount made a perfect start to their 2005 IFC campaign with six wins from six in the group stage, accounting for Tang (1-12 to 1-7), Milltownpass (1-13 to 0-9), Milltown (0-14 to 0-7), Kilbeggan (2-12 to 0-9), Maryland (0-16 to 0-7) and Bunbrosna (2-5 to 0-9). Though they were determined to avoid a repeat of the one-point semi-final defeat suffered at the hands of Rochfortbridge in 2004, the Black & Amber misfired again on the knockout stage and succumbed meekly to Ballynacargy in mid-September. It was a crushing defeat, especially as the club went into that game on a high. They carried a 100% record into the semi-final and had captured the junior 'B' championship in some style only a week earlier. As it transpired, that success would be the highlight of their year. Boasting a splendid mixture of precocious youth and steering experience, Rosemount were a revelation in the reserve competition. They opened with a rousing 4-16 to 1-7 defeat of Maryland and never looked back. Bunbrosna (0-9 to 0-8), Ballymore (1-10 to 1-8) and Ballycomoyle (1-14 to 0-4) were seen off before the champions-elect pulled off three successive victories of the highest order to take the spoils. Despite the fact that they were underdogs on all three occasions, Rosemount frustrated fancied opposition from Mullingar Shamrocks (1-10 to 1-4), St Malachy's (1-11 to 1-7) and Lomans (on their own patch) to lay claim to a rare but thoroughly-deserved silverware coup. The victorious captain agrees that it was an important win for the club: "It was, to be honest. We had a lot of young players on that team and they performed well, so it looks good for the future. A few stars shone through, who wouldn't have got a shot at intermediate level. Some of them were pushing for places on the intermediate team as the year progressed. "Lads like Shane Toal and Danny Fielding should go on to feature for the county at minor level. The junior 'B' gave them a chance to play championship football and they took it. When it came to intermediate football, they were ready. Shane and Danny and Richie O'Brien will all be in contention for first-team places this year and we should be a lot stronger for it. We'll have a better blend in the team and we hope to get it right. "The junior 'B' run was good for the club. Everybody trained together and we never had less than 35 at training all year, which was excellent." Declan O'Flaherty (Lanesboro) took charge of first-team affairs, and his selector Tom Darcy mostly handled the day-to-day management of the reserve side. The same first-team management set-up will apply again in '06 and Des is happy with the continuity: "It's a positive move. The players have confidence in the management and they have confidence in us." Did Rosemount set out to win the junior 'B' championship in 2005 or was it a case of things gradually falling into place? "No, we took it seriously from Day One. A couple of lads played out of position but that didn't bother them as long as they got games and the team was winning. Paddy Keenan, for example, normally would have been a forward in the past, but he gave some excellent displays at wing back and would get my vote for Player of the Year. "We went out with the intention of winning it. We knew we had the panel of footballers. The only game we lost in 2004 was to a decent Milltownpass side and we knew we were at least as good as Tubberclair, who won it out that year. The young lads really performed on the big day, which has been our downfall too often in the past…" The intermediate championship is thus far proving exasperatingly elusive. "We've been intermediate five years and we've always reached a semi-final at least, but we can't seem to win it," Des muses. "If you knew you weren't good enough, you'd accept that. But when it's down to simply not performing on the day, then it is annoying. For five years in a row, we have produced a poor performance either in a semi-final or final. We know we have to get our act together. At one stage in mid-September last year, we were three games away from a league and championship double but we ended up winning nothing!" Des is at a loss to pinpoint where exactly it has gone wrong in those games: "We just haven't performed on the day. We went out against a Ballynacargy team that we had beaten in the league and the Intermediate Cup, but we weren't over-confident. We knew they had forwards who could do damage on the day. There's plenty of talent in the club, though, and we believe we can get it right this year. "Winning the junior 'B' was a step forward and the lads coming through from that team will add to our intermediate side. We have a lot of lads coming through and we're ready to give it a real go. You couldn't fault anyone for commitment. We're ready to up the ante and if we get the breaks we know we can do it. "Nobody would have put money on Killucan last year but they're a senior side now. We know we slipped up ourselves and the experience should make us a stronger side in '06. "Interest levels are high and we've just captured our first adult title since the Flanagan Cup in 1989. That has given us back our hunger and the Peter Geraghty Cup is the next logical step." Des is in his eighth year with Rosemount. He accepts that the intermediate championship is a deceptively difficult one to scoop. "I have learned to respect every club," he confides. "There are no bad teams in the intermediate championship. There's very little between reaching a semi-final or ending up in a relegation play-off. You just have to give it your best in every game. "Rosemount will go out to win every competitive game we play in 2006. If that means showing our hand early in the year, so be it. We have to be a big enough team for that now." Des Collins is also active on Rosemount's pitch development committee, which last year completed Phase One of a massive redevelopment project. This comprises a second full-size playing pitch, which is floodlit and was officially launched by Association president Sean Kelly on December 8 2005. The new pitch is surrounded by a walking track, which is a valuable facility to the whole community. If the IFC is culled later this year, that very community will come to life in a big way. Tweet

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